The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1911-05-04
THE FIRST DUTY OF EVERY
AMERICAN CITIZEN.

/ the Treasury, delivered a few day
ago notable speech before the Soutl
( Carolina Bankers Association. Hi
theme was as to the first duty o
every patriotic American citizen, n,
matter whether born in the Demo
cratic party or the Republican party
Mr.. MacVeagh began by stating t.
his audience that he was born ant
raised a Democrat, but that he wa!
at present affiliating with the Repub
lican party, and doing so because he
believed that at present the best in
terests of the country were subserved
by Republican principles and pol.
lc1es. He declared to his audience
that he was ready at any time to
again affiliate with the Democratic
party, when he thought he could best
perform his duty as an American citi-
zen by so doing.
After these preliminary statements
Mr.. MacVeaugh then came down tn
the real questions he desired to dis
cuss, by saying to his audience that
he was, therefore, not addressing
them as either "a Democrat" or "a
Republican," but that he was adj
dressing them as IAN American citi-
zen." He then proceeded to point
out the evils which grow up when
ever and wherever one party is in so
great a majority that there are not
enough Independent voters to put the
opposing party in power when the
dominant party has failed to keep
faith with the people and give good
government. He said that no intelli-
gent patriotic citizen could deny that
such evils would necessarily grow
up under such one-party-rule con-
ditions.
He said that if this was true
which no one could successfully deny,
that then the first duty of every
American citizen, no matter in what
party he was born and reared. and
no matter with what party he was
to-day associated, was to resolve to
be an independent American citizen
before being a servant of any party
He said that having so resolved that
then each one of us would come to be
what might be termed an indepen-
dent in politics, or in other words a
American citizen first. Hell
said that when a sufficient number OIL
american citizens reached this inde-l
pendent patriotic position, that then
We would all see to it that there
we're In the South as well as in the
North two strong parties, of so near
y equal strength, that the indepen-
lent voters could rebuke one and
1--WE the other trial whenever rea-
onable cause required such rebuke
He said to his Democratic aud;-
nee that the last election showed
hat the people of the North had
cached this state of mind, because
large number of the Republican
states in the North had gone Demo
ratio at the last election. He then
sked why would it not be better for
ne South or for an equal number of
'emocratic States in the South to go
republican for the same reasons that I.
number of Republican States in the
forth went Democratic? He asked
there was a single State in the {
outn that would rebuke the Demo-
ratio party and put the Republican
arty in power, even if the provoca-
ons We're many times greater than
le causes and provocations that
aused the Republican voters in the )
orth to vote the Democratic ticket a
the last election? t
Just what effect his speech had up- :
his audience we have not been :