The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1910-11-07
sols 1leaL al TIaINe.

=.
ETt4E cAaP AieN's
ISL sTuMP sPEEcH.
Tomorrow. began the Prohibition
Speaker, as the band stopped playing
and the great crowd mat filled the;
Eside street for a block, nd oyeraowed
into the main thorous htare, snrget
little closef 70 the speak ers stand.
tomorrow Is Election Day when.
I'm theory at least, the American
people give expression TO their will
soncerning the conduct 81 Tie govern
Enent Of this great country. KIN
81 think we will be pretty nearly
all agreed in believing that every man
Who, according to the law Of the land,
HAS thefrigbt TO vote tomorrow, ought
oicast his vote. Not that there Is
iny special value In the act of voting,
ssor, IL SO, be a voter who has no
Thought Of choice concerning the at;
IiatIs Of government, and has given
mo consideration to the great ques,
lions that are before tie people, II
were better that he should not vote
| it all; but that every citizen, having,
by the law Of The land, a part Of the,
government of the nation, ought SO.
q have weighed and analysed and
:ested the questions which are at Is
sue before the people, that he shall
thaye definite thought and choice con.
Ieerning them, and shall Know what
ought TO be established as wise gov
arm policy and what ought 10 be
Esvoided or abolished.
We have; heard, during the cam.
paign, from certain orators, consid-
;sraBfe aboat throwing away votes,
and 4 think. perhaps. that tonight
We may properly. give a moment OF
consideration to that subject When
Is a vote thrown away?
""Let us first ask, What is a vote?
"A vote Is the means or instrument
whereby the voter officially expresses
his opinion in the affairs Of govern
ment. A vote, then, has no other
office save. the expression OF the vo-
tiers opinion, and that vote Is thrown
laway which does not express his
opinion, and, no vote is thrown away
when, It ,expressessthe voters honest
conviction CONCERNING the affairs Of
government. whether it be cast alone
T I'LL company 3Mith ten million of
die Voters fello@iSitizens. 'fi.iiI : Z.
| llEHWes Neutrality-suspicious. our T minds
ahsohes land tefSs dtphlly Of the notion
TIL ipatp 1sa III voting is to. win.
I TfesI puER Ey9ting 6 to express
m bones dltizsiRs opinion, whether
that opinion sfssste be approved and
supported by wise fellow citizens OF
overridden BY thoughtless rabble.
THE, citizen upon Election Day has
lust as much right-and no more
,lrlght--to cast his vote in view OF
what. he thinks his fellow citizens
will vote%as the juror has to cast his
vote in view of what he thinks will
be the action of the other eleven
men upon the jury
What would you think Of Juror
sworn to faithfully render a verdict,
convinced that an accused man Is In.
nocent, yet voting him guilty because
he. believes the other eleven men will
vote guilty and he doesn't want to
throw away his vote? Such 4 Juror
is acting exactly as an American elf
zen would act who should vote some.
thing less or something other than
Ills highest conviction in the affairs OF
government, because he thinks the
other thing will have the majority. =
I'm stating that position, believe
that have given you the correct
analysis OF the voters duty, and that
have put my finger upon that point
where thousands Of men are led away
from voting their honest convictions.
There is no question in my mind-I
believe there is as little question in
the nind Of any man who has intel
Iigently studied the subject-that If
every citizen who believes the liquor
traffic to be ian evil. requiring abo.
lition by law. who believes that the
principle and policy OF Prohibition are
right, would tomorrow vote his honest
conviction and his highest thought
concerning the government Of this
nation, the candidates Of the Prohib-
ition party would be elected on local,