Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-09-05
BY J. P. Holm.

mo ClLlZeu Oh our BlCdt iSPuS
| whether native born or naturallzeo'
should belong to any political party
To belong Is to be owned. TO De
owned is q degradation and IN
worthy of an American citizen. THIS
statement ia not a sample OF sophis
try nor merely a play with words.
On the contrary, with the polltlcal
party contest before us, this state
ment of a plain fact should set peo-
Pile thinking. Every voter, whether
a member of the Progressive,
Republican, the Democrat, the Pro-
hibition or the Socialist party,
should ask himself this question
"Am / voluntarily a member OF the
party with which / am affiliated, De-
cause that party Is an organic e1-
preston of my own political views
and personal conviction, or am
really by tradition and blind party
bias owned by the party?"
To be a member of one of the dill
ferent political parties as a result
Of ones deliberate, free choice, ana
in obedience to the American spirit
of self-direction, makes 1t possible
for such a citizen to take a broad,
intelligent view of the political SIT
uation, and make a clear dlstlnc-
ton between the individual candi-
late and the party of which such in
dividual is a member. For we
should never lose sight of the fact
that we never vote for the candidate
as an individual, no matter how
much we admire him as such; but
| we vote for the party whose tenets
| the candidate represents and adyo-
Gates.
To Illustrate. Governor Wilson,
who secured the nomination as IAN
| didate for President at the Demo-
cratic national convention only when
the great party bosses gave their
consent, is personally worthy Of the
highest esteem as a man and a
scholar of whom we are all proud.
But as the Democratic candidate for
President he is placed at once In an
entirely different relation to US all.
While we don't for a moment ques-
ton his patriotic motives and high
purposes, there can hardly be any
doubt as to what will happen to
him, and to US, If he should be elect
ed President. In such an event
Mr.. Wilson, the individual, so much
| duuliIo on anu lVoPCSCOot Va uhOaP
pear from view, and Wilson, the ma
tionaI leader and chief exponent of
the Democratic party, will step to
the front. And 1t is at this very
ju~ncture the trouble will begin. Re-
gardless Of what Mr.. Wilson per-
sonally may want to do, or may not
want to do, he will either have to
subjugate his individual views and
purposes in compliance with the ex-
pressed will and declared wishes OF
the party bosses responsible for his
nomination and election or get into
a row with his party advisers which
will spell political oblivion to him
self and serious disasters to the
country at large.
So, by voting for Wilson for
President, one votes for the Demo
cratic party. But can the Demo-
cratic party, if entrusted with the
power to control governmental af-
fairs during the next four years, Sc
cure to the American people a much
needed relief from crooked business
and crooked politics, social and in
dustrial injustice, and less desirable
conditions of life in general? Why
not ask oneself whether or not pine
apples can be raised on the bad
lands out west. This last PROPOSE
ton would appeal with the same
force to all well informed citizens as
the first one To come nearer home
In order to furnish a more concrete
example Of what l am driving at, let
US ask ourselves another question:
Gould Perth Amboy have grown
and developed to Its present size
and Importance as an Industrial cen
ter under the Democratic free trade
or tarif-for-revenue-policy?" AS
suredly not. Do you want to vote
for Wilson and shut down any or ev-
cry manufacturing plant in our city
because you esteem highly Mr.. Will
son as a man and a citizen? This Is
the question a citizen not owned by
his party must ask himself before
voting next November.
1t seems that our only hope for
growing and expanding as a city, a
state and a nation is in the success
at the polls next November OF the
Progressive party under the match
less leadership of former President
Theodore Roosevelt. Mr.. Roosevelt
is openly fighting the crooks in
business and politics. He does moi