Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1909-01-22

M Congressman Iindbergh 9 action on
the Little Falls post0ffice has the
merit Of novelty IN this region. On
the belief that the people should exert
all possible power as directly as
possible, the action was fair enough.
To appeal to popular vote for choice of
a postmaster may strike the magma.
ton at first. The question, however.
bristles with practical difficulties. No
such vote as the congressman requests
IS authorized or provided by law, and
1T would therefore be without any of
the safeguards of law. How could,
for instance, corruption in connection
with such q vote be punlshed9 There
IS difficulty enough now with the
franchise guaranteed and protected by
law. No matter what wrong occurred
in connection with the postofRce vote,
it would hardly be prevented or any
one punisehd.
The city council has no legal right
to allow the judges to supervise the
ballot or to pay them if they agreed to
do the work. or compel If they
declined. 1t would have to be a
matter of good will all around. And
the question will arise as to whether
allowing the postof1ce vote to go on
during the hours of the regular cleo
tion and in the same polling place,
would not invalidate the regular cleo
ton. These difficulties, however, are
susceptible of solution. The con-
gresham can select trustworthy men
to receive the ballot at some fixed
place, and provide rules that will
make the result probably a fair ex-
preston of the peoples will. We
suppose. as he proposed the plan, he
has already figured means and methods
of getting the result
Why did the congressman overturn
precedent and custom In this matter2
It is claimed that the reason is be-
cause he has been INSTRUCTED all over
the district In postof1ce matters, and
the men who are responsible are said
to be Senator'S Nelson and Clapp. This
is on the authority of close friends of
the congressman. The congressman
determined to put the matter directly
up to the senators by letting the
people make the choice, and see
whether the senators will obstruct it.
It is pointed out that the conditions
here tho congressman home-are
different than elsewhere in the dis
trict and that the senators would
hardly care to slap the congressman so
directly in the face. He should have
made his recommendation, made a
choice, no matter what the senators
would subsequently do. His skirts
would thus be clear. Friends of the
senator's say they are not interfering.
Under the congressman letter,
there IS nothing to prevent any man or
woman, no matter of what politics,
being a candidate, and lndictions
are that, if the proposition is carried
through, there will be multiplicity
Of candidates, and bitter contest
which may leave unpleasant sores.
The political effect of the congress-
mans action is considered by party
workers, as destructive of party dis
cipline and party harmony. If a
bitter political and personal enemy of
the congressman In his own party, or
democrat, gets the most votes, he will,
according to the congressman s letter,
get the recommendation. That would
not be encouraging to Llndbergh' s
friends. What leading republican
paper thinks may be seen in the COM
ment of the st. Cloud journal Press,
given on another page. The fear IS
expressed that the congressman will
injure himself and his futrue, as we'll
as his party.
Some of the congressman friends
criticlse his action in strong terms,
others say he has shown himself above
mere political consideration, and ex-
emplified in practical way his
remark during the campaign, that
being once elected, the Congressman
should be the representative of all the
people and not OF his party alone. It
is clear, however, that the proposition
will not please the party workers
throughout the district Mr.. Lind.
bergh has shown commendable
independence in many things, and he
may convince his party friends that he
has exhibited political ideallsm of the
highest kind, which perhaps IN the
end may be as practical as ideal.
Nearly one-fourth of the total
population of the United States
eighty millions of people-are in