The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-20

! Are you going to yOte?' asked Pol
line, last Monday afternoon. -.
I said I was not thinking of it, never
never had thought Of it, and never ex-
| pected to think Of it. And then I prompt
| ly went away and forgot it. Yet the next
| morning, my first thought was that it was
my bounden duy to vote. Strange things
| sleep does, it seems, beside hemming up
| the frazzled garments of life. I was actu-
ally so enthused over nay sudden CONVEX
| sion that l asked the iceman where l
should vote; what they asked me; what
the men at polling place would say
| and do. All he said was meat to my NAVY
but still did not believe him. I walked
in upon the Great Mogul at the office be-
| fore took off my hat even and said: s,
! do you think 1 had better vote to-
day?''
shall be everlastingly grateful to the
man for taking the matter seriously and
replying as he would to another, man:
"sure!"
Then came the still hunt to find my pre-
cinct Amy man knew my ward. I never
did, and am afraid that if Intelligent
voting in the future should be judged by
! that standard, I should fall by the way.
simply can't keep track Of the bound
aries of wards, precincts and congress
siona1 districts. Geography always was
my poor point. -, g; y.
One of the boys in the office had a
map that sorted that out for me- and it
was not minute longer before knew
| that the ice man had told the truth and
that the polling place was Just around two
corners from my house. Then: came
trouble One man said they would ask
my age,-as If that made any difference
when one has lived in town all her life
and all her dear (?) friends know her
age even to days. Another said: 2 III.
'Vote for X. Y. IT, 'E>....r"l = !
dropped at once into colloquialism and
replied
mot on your life! He is the very man
whom want to see downed." .,.=/Es.L, -.
| 'Well," was the reply from a man had
known as a pugnacious, argumentatiye
schoolboy ''if you don't vote for x. 7. q.
you are no friend of mine. I'll cut you
i right off the list"
And such feeling of fighting for a
cause come over me when replied
Cut away. I'm standing up for my
principles"
A third handed me out some printed in
Tstructions as to the right Of voters will
judges, etc., which meekly accepted ant
went away to a corner to read and pom
der.
But do you know, the nearer the tim
came for voting the less I cared for m,
principles. I wished that sleep had don
e, some sleeping on her own account, In
stead of fooling around tinkering at
= hitherto undeveloped spot in my menta
. equipment I began to think that it di
not make much difference, any Way, VIII
was on the school board; that If the pub
lie seriously objected to the way thing
were done the said public, composed o
pas and mas, would not find 1t hard t
: bear down hard on the recalcttrant mem
f bers and switch things to the side the
;, thought meant for the good of the schools
Then the other man that lives within u
i all said that it was this feeling that mad
: all sorts of abuses in all lines possible
d that everybody expected his neighbor
). make the first move. or take the frs
l. interest.-and so my feeling of 9TH
It Cause" came back and I girded up m
!, oozing courage.
& But l wanted company in my niser,
:. Every man I knew but one in that neigh
$ borhood,f voted in some other precinc
: This one man when I tried to get him as
Y serted that he was so up to his eyes
d his business that he did not know whethe
d he could get away to go home to lunel
. my specified time. Then I said cou]
\ do it as we'll in the evening, but he bald
! ly insisted that he doubted whether h
4 would get out to vote at all. might hay
| had the company Of some of the men frol
| the office, but long experience has cause
! me to be wary of the opportunities giy
| them for jokes.
| Then l tried to get women to go wit
| me. First, approached newspaper VIZ
! man, a Canadian and a stranger to tf
| ways and worries of this great republi
! The genuine newspaper woman is alwa!
| il; search of copy, and I supposed tn
| would be an experience that she would (
| able to use som etinle and that this fax
| would strike her and appeal to her. b
| she pleaded press of work,-and I WEI
i off feeling like political orphan, indee
j On my way home to lunch I met tv
\ more women I knew and tried to pre-!
| them into my service. But both had tt
| excuse that their incoming was almost |
Il and that heads were being chopped off !;
| their office upon the slightest provoc;
| ton, and it was a case of bread and bu
i ter. 4 block farther on, I met :anoth
| womdn Il know,-and have known sim
! childhood. I was then almost to the tut
| on the last lap to the goal Of the pollir
| place. This friend walked a, block Wi
I me to hear my story, but baked then al
refused to go farther. She, too had E