The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-10-21
Party Support and individual support
of the Party.

Since the last issue of THE TIMES
was printed there has been no small
amount of talk in this county relative
| to the situation ON sheriff. So much
was.quite natural. The office is an i'm
portant one and the situation for some
time has been of especial interest any,
way. But a new question. quite unan-
ticipated in the TIMES editorial. has
been brought forward by several of the
most stalwart republicans of the coun.
| ty none of whom are interested in the
election of a republican sheriff any more
than any and all republicans should be.
In a. nutshell the question is this.
What right has any republican candi-
date to expect or ask that his party give
him its undivided party vote if he him
self is more than half openly working
for the defeat of another candidate on
his own ticket, doing all that he can
without coming out openly to work for
his fellow candidates democratic oppo-
nent? This is the new question which
seems to have entered the discussion
this week.
As The TIMES has already said, it
had no intention of raising this question
when publishing last weeks editorial on
the sheriff situation. 1t was brought
out by persistent reports concerning
the course of certain gentlemen who are
themselves vitality interested in having
the full party vote polled and in having
it polled straight To investigate the
charges of such treachery to the other
candidates on the ticket this week is not
possible on account of lack, of time.
THE TINES trusts that to follow it up
will be to completely vindicate any
nominee who might be mentioned, but
whether true or not, the question has
been raised and the THETIMES has con-
fidence enough in the good sense and
the loyalty of the rank and file of the
republican party in this county to feel
perfectly free to discuss it frankly
Under the present political system
the people vote for candidates who have
been selected by themselves as divided
into one or more political parties. And
no citizen is nowadays regarded as hay
ing done his full duty as a citizen who
has merely cast his ballot on election
day. 1t is now generally realized that
a man cannot be regarded as having
done his full duty unless he has also at
tended the primaries of his party and
there cast his ballot for the best nomi-
nees for Office, or for delegates who will
vote in the convention to which he helps
send them for other men whom he
would be glad to see on his ticket.
SO much has now been generally ad-
mitted for years, but there is still a
most important duty back of that. The
art of politics is complex one,
and the, duties of citizen are no
less complex. So the man who
wishes his influence to really count
must give time and attention to affairs
in the party which he has selected as his
own-because it the most nearly at
tempts to do what he believes should be
done. The influence of the independ
ent voter who picks out the best man
regardless of party is good as far as it
goes. 1t certainly acts in a measure as
a restraint on the putting up of inferior
men by either party, but the man whose
influence in public life counts for the
most is the one who after having allied
himself with the party, as said above,
which most nearly seems to have ideals
in accord with his, bends all his energies
to keep that party and its nominees up
to as high a standard as he can. And
such q man will soon discover that his
best work is not that which is put off
until the day of the caucus. Rather he
will see that it must be done long before
the caucus itself is held.
The principle of majority rule is as old
as our present political system although
the new primary reform now being tried
appears to provide means whereby the
accidentally biggest minority frequent
ly rules the far greater majority, How
ever after the majority has decided for
a candidate. whether in caucus called
to make nominations and perhaps also
to elect delegates, or in county con-
vention made up of delegates selected
in turn by majorities in the caucuses,
it Is still only the spirit of American
fair play which demands that the mi
nority abide by the decision Of the ma
jority. This applies with equal force
to every member of the party. If he
were member of the majority in the
he surely could not betray
the candidate at the polls for whom he
voted in the convention! But is it any
more honorable for the man who was
i'm the convention to refuse to
abide by the choice of the majority
What right has he in the convention if
he did not expect to abide by its decis-
ion2 Of what use would it be to him
to find the majority with him if he in
turn would be deserted by the minority |
1t also applies to members of the
party who were not members of the
for if they did not do their