Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1911-03-11
Why Didn't You Vote Tuesday?

luesudy IleuJ NOtt ct th' J""'N'7
ary primaries In netrgit prompts the
Free Press 10 maize inquiry as 10 the
cause OF the Indifference manifested
In the selection of candidates for Gill
cult Judges. Tire situation 10 Detroit
was the same as elsewhere In the
STATE, and the digest of the condition
by The Free Press will apply to Char
levoix County as well as Detroit and
other places Tie editorial Is as fol-
lows:
The utter lack OF popular interest
in the judicial primaries this we' X
has been observed with misgivings by |
thoughtful people. Mr.. Codd, who
led the poll, received total Of little,
If any. more than 1900 IN the entire
county, and his city vote will barely
mount to 10000. 1t seems fair to put
he aggregate number of republican
ballots below $4,000, and the official
count may show that IL was consider
ably below that figure.
To what cause is this want of con.
Germ TO be traced? The selection OF
Judges certainly cannot be considered
a matter of such slight Importance u
our governmental affairs that it can
be regarded with indifference bv prac-
t'cally all OF the electorate. Yet a.
900 is "A lriflng percentage OF the nor
NAL republican strength OF WAYNE
county. o Even the mayoralty prim-
aries of last September, nnlmprssiVe
as they were until al,er the polls were
closed, brought out 2o,509 voters ia
the party. The ensuing election was
of course, not measure of either the
republican or the democratic following
and its tota. of 1000 Tor the nominal
candidate of one party for the ONCE
as we'll as its $4,000 combined vote
for the two candidates, cannot proper
~ be used for comparison Take the
1908 election instead however, and II
appears that the Breitmeyer $4,000
must pretty well represent the repub-
lican normal number at the time, M
creased by the growth of population
in the meantime TO 10000 at least
this year
or these 10000 voters less than a
quarter took The trouble TO go to Tie
|. booths This week. TO what must
their indifference be laid? 1t is not a
sufficient explanation To say that this
was only judicial election aud That
people don't care about such contests,
! for the judicial election That installed
|; the present circuit judges six years
I ago brought out 10000 voters for
: Judge Brooke. who led the republican
) ticket and $4,000 for Judge Murphy.
!; the democratic leader. The city
!. must have added 100000 TO It's popu-
J lat:on in the six intervening years,
, but the incoming residents are not
discovered at all in the present test
, and the concern Of the voters who
were here in 1905 has dropped of to
meager part Of It's former proportions.
The total vote in the city election
of last fall fell eff materially from
that recorded two years before. The
I total vote In the judicial primary is
insignificant compared with that OF
the spring judicial election six years
ago. The fall showing might he &C.
C united for by the explanation that II
as not presidential year, but hoy
is The sngu ar apathy OF Tuesday tf
be eXcused2
What is The cause of the indffer
) ence to this urgent public duty, and
what is the remedy?
The politicians have their theories
no doubt, but we should like TO hear
from the average man. Why didn't
you vote this week? Is your Interest
in politics decreasing, or were yoJ
merely unconcerned Ia this particular
contest? A frank expression of be-
! efs on the sui ject ought to furnish
some timely luforma alton about the
present sentiments of the vot ers, anC
of the non-voters as well.