Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-09-02
WHO SHALL BE QUEEN ?

ED. STANDARD:
There has been good deal of criti-
cism going on in private circles re-
garding the present method of voting
for queen to preside at the coming
souvenir entertainment in this city.
Ever since the inception of the
queen o the May" all such elections
have been conducted on the principle
of personal regard, esteem and friend
ship.
In the rural districts of England,
to-day, where dancing around the
May-pole is not yet an eflcte affair,
the pretty maid who by common con
sent is the most fitted for, and deserv-
ing of, such honor, is chosen to pre-
side rs queen during the days merry
making. So, too, in our own land,
the Old-fashioned as well rs new fash
Toned goddess OF liberty for the Fourth
of July is chosen from promptings of
friendship and tender regard, pure
and simple. Pecuniary, or filthy
lucre considerations, in such cases
would he revclting to every noble in
stinct of humanity.
Now if rightly construed, the plan
being pursued for securing queen to
preside at the proposed souvenir
demonstration simply involves the
motive power OF dollars and cents.
The queen is to be bought and paid
for and not chosen. To speak in
broader terms, it is within the bounds
Of possibility for the most ill-descry-
ing and obnoxious female to be made
queen of brilliant fcte day, provided
only, that she has cash enough to pay
hired agents for polling the requisite
number OF votes since everybody can
vote as often as he pleases by simply
paying a nickel for the privilege, and
when the votes are counted everybody
will know that nobody knows any
thing about who threw away the most
nickels in ballots or for what candi-
date he or she voted, or it is just pos
sible for lover to change few dol
lars into nickels and thus pay for the
votes, cast by his agents, that will
elect his best girl.
Mr.. Editor, you may size it up and
size it down, but you can come to no
other conclusion but that it is money
that will make the mare go.
The pretty Cinderella who is maxi
ing her own way in the world has the
lone chance OF voting for herself, of
course, but in vital conflict with her
limited savings. The leisure summer
girl, on the contrary, who is a boss
scorcher and one of the high kickers
in every social hop can utilize her
social popularity to good account by
soliciting with Il fair prospect of sue
cess the elective franchise OF a score of
obsequious admirers.
Olympia's older citizens will doubt.
less remember ridiculous episode
that occurred at "church festival"
away back in the days when the Capt.
tai City was sowing her wild oats and
everybody was as good as his neighbor,
so long as he behaved himself and was
free with his money. Well, n big
crowd had assembled composed of the
good, bad and Indifferent. Every
thing was going along, in Byronic par
lance, merry rs marriage bell' for
the church, when someone proposed
to have it decided by vote who was
the most popular man present. Men,
women, boys and young girls voted
with elacrity when 10, the good minis
ter and his flock were painfully
shocked to hear it announced in a
stentorian voice that prominent
salOon-keeper was the most popu.
lar man in the company! After the
festival had closed and unsuspecting
people were in their beds, the way
that "most popular man" dispensed
free drinks from behind his bar, clearly
explained the stuffing of the ballot
box.
Well, / was only thinking of old
times, as it were, while contemplating
the new-fangled nickel voting scheme
now being pursued in our little COM
munity for the election of n Chrysan-
themum queen. VOTER.
OLYMPIA, Aug. 80, 1898.
For Fusion Convention, Ellensburg,
Sept. 6 and 7, tickets will be sold Sept.
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