South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-11-03
WHAT THE ELECTION MEANS.

WHAT THE ELECTION MEANS. 4
The battle Of the ballots will be on
today, succeeding the babble Of
tongues and the splattering of pens
that have entertained the electorate.
10 these many weeks
The campaign has been an intense
one in many respects-for principle
or without principle,--as is always the
case. with a division. in all probability.
approximating the middle and driving
truth and falsehood 10 the opposite
poles OF thought.
Accordingly we do net think it nee
essary, the hour being late. TO attempt
extensive reference TO our evening
contemporaries eleventh hour spill Of
yesterday.
In letter to itself it set up a man
OF straw. advancing the cause of
someone or other. and then editorial
ized for a column or more TO uphold
Z. 1T letter-just as though it were in
need Of the self assurance.
Another boost for its "slate"-re-
publico- ''independent''-is another of
the big features, calculated to humbug
somebody under the false pretense of
-paTtisanship.
And then il takes up the war reve-
nue. tax seeking TO make capital out Of
that-a chestnut that has been crack
ed a dozen times or mountaineering
great burden. falling upon the mass
es. while in fact the heaviest weight
of il falls upon the makers of whis-
kies. beers and tobaccos.
In other words the voters of St
Joseph county. are mistaken for an
aggregation Of fools TO be led about
any old sort OF claptrap-a mis-
take, which we doubt not will be full
ly. established before another sunrise.
Happily the average common sense
of the American people is a thing that
can be trusted. IL generally lands
upon about the right discount to place
upon exaggeratiOn. 1t invariably hews
pretty close TO the line where truth
stops and prevarication begin. II
gOeg after square deal in spite OF
itself and detests crooked-work with
out regard To the sOcalled occasional
political expediencies.
Men today are regarding their citi-
zenshp. as a general rule. more Sc
riously than ever before in the his
tory Of the republic They differ in
their opinions political as they do in
their creeds religious They natural
~ suspect that their political view
point is along the only sure road
leading TO life liberty and the pursuit
OF happiness, quite as they anticipate
that theirs is only pathway running
straight 10 paradise. But they are
beginning 10 respect each others opin-
ions 1t that.
AS time moves on, thinkers are con-
stantly finding out that their opinions
OF yesterday were unsound. and this
inelines them TO be less self-assertive
OF the morrow. 10 accounts too for
our taking too positive assertions
with a grain OF salt Men are feeling
their way cautiously. IL is after this
manner that the American ballot.
measures mp more and more closely.
with each succeeding election. 20 the
best that America ON the average has
20 offer
The result OF today's election Will
represent that standard. nothing more
and nothing less. This is true with
regard to the officers TO be elected and
equally true with regard 10 the special
propositions being submitted. The
stream can never rise above its sur
face. No man can rise above his in
heritance. No community can advance
beyond the average OF it's citizenship
II ought not Democracy could not
exist II II did. and in this respect the
ref, ence is 10 democracy with
small "a"
The Observation-Disclosures and mOrali-
zation OF the individual are the things
that draw him and ;he community in
which he lives onward ana upward.
Laws are mere expedients Nature
has never intended that law should go
much farther than the preservation OF
opportunity and whenever you at
tempt 10 make men good by law you
destroy the very germs OF virtue.
When Iago conceived 10 proverb that
honesty Is the best policy" he told
the truth. but the statement would
have been more significant had ne left