The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-11
POLITICAL sLAvuRY.

Il YA8 @<<<1A 0Ak@A V AMA8 A& In one of his southern speeches the
 President told hts hearers that when
 man known to be corrupt Is nomi-
 mated they should let no consideration
 Of party expedicency make them refrain
 from smiting him with the sword of the
 Lord and of Gideon Commenting on
 this somewhat turgid expression The Portland oregonian Is of the opinion that thereafter the men at the head
 of every party must be leaders. not
 bosses. and the parties must represent something besides greed and subser-
 viency to corporate interests. The
 vital principles of Democracy are talk ing new hold upon the American peo- pie. We have learned that the sta
 bility of our institutions depends upon the personal character of the voters and of the men they choose for public once"
 It is not at all likely that the time will ever come when there will be no political parties, nor do we believe that such a condition of affairs would
 be good for the country. Where there
 are two strong parties. especially If
 they are somewhat fairly matched in
 strength and numbers, one will to some
 extent act as a restraint on the other
 and in this way the community, the
 State and the country be bettered
 Uninterrupted control by one party is
 not best for the party or the people.
 But while we do not expect or wish
 to see the time when there will be no political parties we believe the time is coming, and 1t cannot come too soon, when intelligent, good citizens will ne longer place their consciences in the keeping of their party leaders. The word 'boiter' has such a horror for most voters that they will vote the yellow dog" ticket in order to be regular. It matters not how abhorrent the platform may Do nor how united the candidates may be. It has been the habit to vote the straight ticket re- gardless of everything else.
 This habit Is not best for the people nor for the country. When we get uV~h to thC A66s 1ahoAySA0 ehS NosVA0 themselves are responsible for the character of the officials and for their conduct. As long as a corrupt party boss can control sufficient votes to elect him just that long will he remain in power and just that long will he per- sist in his evil ways. And just as long as free white men suffer themselves bound to the theory of party regulari- ty, regardless of all else, just that long will party bosses flourish. If voter will support a known scoundrel for no other or better reason than that the man is the nominee of the party he is primarily responsible for the acts of his candidate, however evil they may be.
 In no recent election has the demand for individual independence in voting been more urgent than it was in Phila- delphia. In nearly all the other e1ec- tions which occurred on Tuesday there were disturbing conditions and factors which seem to have caused voters to disregard party ties for local. personal or other reasons. but such was not the case in Philadelphia. There the issue was directly between honesty and dis honesty. The regular Republican ticket was nominated in the interest and by the orders of one of the most thoroughly corrupt gangs that ever footed a city, while what was known as the city ticket was put out by men of all parties who were tired of corrup- tion and robbery and who stood by Mayor Weaver in his efforts to promote civic honesty and to put the robbers under the sod.
 The result must have been a surprise to the reformers as great as 1t was both surprise and a knockout to the At this writing the exact figures are not at hand but enough Is known to make 1t sure that the city which was claimed to be safe and sure for the regular ticket beyond possibility of change has revolted against machine rule and Elected the citizens ticket by an immense plurality. This was one plain instance where Republicans who believe in honest government were fully justified in voting against their party ticket and they did it. A few lessons of this kind will have a good effect all over the country.
 Such lessons will teach party leaders and would-be leaders that there Is in politics that is higher and peter than regularity" It will | teach the bosses that in order to en- sure the fealty of voters to the ticket | those who control the party must be | besides bosses. If it teaches for all time that those who aspire to | be party leaders must be good citi- | gems who will lead in the direction of | honesty and good government 1t win | be a great advance in the direction of a higher and better system of politics than now prevails in much of the Union. May it mark the beginning of a time when no man will vote for a known scoundrel simply because he is the party nominee.
 Up to Thursday night Montgomery's cotton receipts footed up 102,000 bales, which is several thousand less than