Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-10-29
YOUNG MAN, 1T is YOUR DUTY TO
VOTE.

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press upon every man, that it is his
duty as citizen, to vote. Every man
in this republic owes a duty to this
government. Every man who Is a
citizen Of the United States should
vote at every election, at which he
can legally do SO. He should bear his
part Of the responsibilities Of govern
ment. Any man who can legally vote
and does not do SO, is allowing some
one else to cast his vote for him. If
only one-third of the voters in com
munity voted, then that third would
cast the vote Of and govern the other
two-thirds.
To vote is to exercise the rights of
citizenship. A full realization of the
benefits of citizenship in the U. S.
will increase ones estimation of the
great benefit he Is receiving.
1t is a great blessing to be a citi-
zen of this country. but it must be
borne in mind that to be useful citi-
zen, carries with it responsibilities.
That Is the feature Of it that is the
benefit to every man individually and
collectively. No man is worth kicking
out of the door unless he carries some
responsibility. He will only develop
as he realizes and increases that re-
sponsibility.
There are responsibilities of citi-
zenship and responsibilities of bust.
ness. They are directly connected.
Politics and business are simply
links in.th same chain. The success
or the failure of any business in this
community Is in great degree gov
erned by the policy of the political
party in power. Some men feel that
their business will succeed better I'M
der a governing policy Of one party
and some under another. That is the
privilege of every man. He has a
right to his opinion and a right to ex-
press it. He has the privilege of going
to the polls and voting for the party
that stands for that opinion. Fur
thermore, it not only is his right, but
it is his duty as citizen, TO go and
vote for the men who represent the
party that he believes will govern the
country best for him and his neighbor.
The man who does not do this is
neglecting his duty to himself, his
family and his community.
Good government can only be OBJ
tanned by full expression of the peo-
pie.
This article is directed to the young
man as well as the older ones
Young man, you should vote You
should vote at the election on Nov.
8. You should vote just as soon as
you can. Go to the polls on election
dow iy,ct vi
let you. And when you get there,
don't stand around waiting till some
of the older men come and ask you to
vote. Be man on your own hook.
Go right into the polling place, tell
the election clerk your name. get a
ballot, go into the booth, mark your
ballot the way that you feel will
bring the best results for your county,
your state and your country, fold it
up and give it to the Judge This is
your country if you will show interest
enough in it to help run your part of
it. You can't run it all and no one
expects you to. But you are expected
to attend to your share of it. If you
don't, some other fellow will and he
may do it in just the same manner
that you don't want him to.
But young man, remember this: If
you go and cast your own vote, the
other fellow can't cast it for you. And
some time in your life, your respon-
sibility must begin. Today, right
now, is the best time you will ever
have to start it. Make up your mind
that you are going to help run the
show, that your are going to be fac
tor in the community, that you are
going to do your own voting and that
you are going to register next Satur.
day and vote early Tuesday, Nov. 3rd.