The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1909-02-17
PEOPLES FORUM
PARTY LOYALTY.

There are many good men who are
independent but there are none good
who after helping TO make ticket.
scratch H. II is spirit or arrogance
that prompts the scratchcr to- place
his opinion above the opinion Of the
majority. The presumption is that
the majority is better able to deter
mine the fitness of a candidate than
any one man. The occasional mis-.
take Of party In falling to select
the best material should not cause
the slightest DETECTION OF party men.
1t would be almost impossible for
a nominee TO be less worthy t,an the
party man who scratches him The
cry OF yellow dog is often made by
CANNES OF a worse color 10 sounds
too much like the wall Of defeat. the
cry Of personal grievance or the
song OF the chronic doscrter.
when once begun even on an alder
man or constable. the scratching is
easily extended to governor or prcsi-
dent The abe and patriotic uomin-
oes. Bryan and Haskell. than whom
no better men for the high offices to
which they aspired could have Oeon
found, were scratched by men who
had helped to nominate them scratch.
ing good men like these is the logical
result of scratching at al
When one is so lax in loyalty that
he allows himself to defect from the
nominees. he establishes a precedent.
and many an error by tnc same cN-
ample will rush into the party. IN
voting for a nominee whom Won have
helped 10 make, you are voting I'm n
higher sense for yourself His election
10 any office is far less important
than your loyalty 10 your party and
10 yourself The nominee may lose
your vote and still win but yours is
loss for which there Is no compcn-
sation. Your vote affects you as
man more than It affects the candi-
date. even II he should win or lose
by Il.
Tho effectiveness Of a party as Of
an army depends upon tae loyalty
that stands true whom weaker mon
tumble noislly elsewhere" There
are no better fighters than the loval
Japanese. At Lone Hill the first line
Of battle heard their commander say:
Throw yourselves on the Russian
soldiers, my brave men" They leap.
cd TO certain death in order that
their rear lines might charge TO Ger
tain victory. "The world has never
seen better soldiers" says Roosevelt
"than the men who followed Lee"
His loyalty inspired loyalty in his
men and his smaller army was vic
torious In a hundred battlofolds The
most pltiablc man in defeat is not
the brave soldier who charges
through shot and shell but the poor
spinelcss dcscrtor, whose conscience
II he has any. whispers that he might
have turned the tide OF battle.
when n mistake is made, the loyal
party man should say at most that in
his opinion the nominee is not the
best material. but that the selection
by the majority, who are at least 81
good and wise as the minority, is
probably the best that could be made
II he is not too much given to CAB
he says nothing derogatory and votes
the ticket he participated in making
He votes whether he was present or
not This is the voice of reason and
the policy of patriotism. If he cannot
so act, he should Join some party TO
which he can be loyal, or better still
| claim independentism-wh is his
proper home.
But as long as he is In the party,
the voice of duty TO the organization
and to himself cries: stick TO the
ship; II It founders, go down with II
with your colors flying at the mast
head and the bands paying
SENECA.