Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-07-22

Inerc may De Danger IlaC the tQea
OF workingman having q peculiar po-
, litical status will be oyerdOne In this
| country. 1t halls from countries where
the workingman Is always a working
man, always expects to be and brings
up sons to follow his footsteps in the
same class. Except in a few localities,
in this country the workingman is first
a citizen impressed with the political
views of his neighborhood, and he sell
dom becomes a narrow minded thinker
in politics. If he has small hope of
himself, he wants his children to make
progress, and the general questions Of
social progress and opportunity will
appeal to him more strongly than the
so called class issues involved with
labor. While the wage question Is Of
first importance, the workingman can
not always be so sure that his vote
will increase his wages as he can that
1t will improve the social and educa-
tional advantages of his children and
promote the local prosperity of his
town, county or state
The average American workingman
either owns home or hopes to. His
associates in church and other social
societies are not all Of the same wage
earning grade as himself. Some are
better of, and he emulates but does
not envy them. What interests his
community interests him, and he rea-
sons from the bottom Up when he is
celebrating how his vote In a given
election will do him the most good.
He may be impressed with economic
theories, and he would vote them were
he as sure that they would work out
well as he Is that a certain school
measure or road measure or town I'm
provement measure will benefit his
children or his little home investment.
His interest In these matters often de
termines his immediate political asso-
Citations, and 1t is not easy to get away
from voting year after year with pref
ty much the same crowd and paying
chief attention to those issues in which
the crowd is interested. And the
American workingman is proud of his
American citizenship and next to his
immediate local political interests
probably thinks more about that than
about any abstruse question of eco
Monies. Probably the average 50
day man is more concerned with the |
national dignity on election day than |
the 5000 a month man. The less he |
has Of the worlds goods the more he |
enlarges upon the sentimental benefits |
that fall to his lot He first of all |
wants to be citizen of great and |
free and progressive nation. After that |
Is settled he wifi look after the minor
question Of how mitch he is to get out
OF 1t day by day.
This dual view Of public Affairs
makes It exceedingly dEmcult to- put /
through an actual rally and deliver
ance Of large labor vote. The labor
er1 are there and the votes are there,
but the issues and problems presented i
all along the line, from the very door
Of the nottingham up 10 the Last ball Of 4
where his vote L. to be- rep-
are divers and complex, he
n not q secret society man under con-
stratnt >nOr a political club member
who must VOTE as be IS told or lose bis
fob All the deliverable vOtS IN this
country can ba delivered anyway, no
matter who p running * what tie
platform. And wherever the working
mems votes are deliverable they are to
Be found IA the vote Of the party with /
which they have long been anfliated
through interest and sentiment since
their voting days beGaA No great
stump Of the iaboR vote has s~e1 been
effected. aud IL b doubtful Il 4 can
be as conditions a4S IN thtN asAnkzy at
present.