Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1915-11-12
JOHN e. JACKSON.

JOHN IL. JACKSON.
mary election or who takes part in
the proceedings of Il party mass meet
ing or convention or in the election
of delegates pledges himself to abide
the result. When we vote in general
election we know that the men Off
cially and legally declared to have the
majority of votes will be our cxccu-
tive officers or our Legislative repre-
scntat-ves. This rule run through
our whole system of government from
President of these United States and
, members of the Federal senate down
= to mayors, members of councils or
county supervisors. We are required
by law to respect and obey these men
and to accept their acts as our own,
because they have been chosen by the
majority of our fellow Citizens 70
speak and act for US.
The same rule applies to party CON
ventions and primaries. When we
take part in them we bind ourselves
solcmnly, make n definite and distinct
promise, to abide by the result, to ac-
cept the will Of the majority, as law
fully expressed, and to try TO make
that will effective. Some scores of
thousands of us in Virginia voted
+ against prohibition. Yet when the ma
/ Jority voted for it we felt bound to
accept the decision loyalty. If any
of us undertake to repudiate or dis
J regard the prohibition laws that will
! be enacted, we will be sent to Jail. We
cannot be punished in that way for
violations of our obligations to accept
the will of the majority in our party
contests. Therefore the obligation on
us to keep our promise is all the
more urgent and compelling. 1t is
matter of personal honor. The boot
logger who takes his chances of Jail
d or enforced work on the public roads,
really is less guilty and more decent
than the man who deliberately VIC
lates his promise and disregards his
own p.igthed word.
1t is like going into n game of some
kind with an implied and binding
promise to take the fall of tie cards or
the dice or the decision of the UNI
pire. In the last worlds series base
tall players, young, comparatively IL
responsible and more or less wicked,
met without n murmur losses of thou
sands of dollars on a close decision
OF the umpire, which they belived to
be mistaken and unjust. Yet mature
and responsible citizens supposed to
be Christians and patterns of piety
Will throw aside the promise they
made and the obligations they took in
a primary election on flimsy and man.
ufactured preteXts. In one county of
Virginia, men who voted in the party
primary did all they could to defeat
thc choice of the majority of their
fellow Democrats, some on the ground
that they did not believe the nominees
intended to be true to their pledges.
others on the improved allegation that
the primary was conducted unfairly
and that Republicans had been al
lowed to vote in it.
Mr.. citizen, if you will look souarelv
at yourself and your own conduct and
conscience you will know that when
you do this kind of thing, you do
wrong, cheat your fellow citizens of
your own party, ere guilty of absolute
dlshonor, have persuaded and swim
died yourself into doing a pretty low
and common thing. 1t is your bust
ness before you vote in primary to
LOOK over the list of candidates. Ii
you find among them men YOU can
not swallow, cannot support and vote
Tor at general election STAY out
OF the primary and take your chances
as an Independent or with the opposi-
ton party. You have no right to trv
10 t your cake and have it TOO. II
is dishonest to take two chances. TO
Try to defeat the man you dislike or
distrust in the primary andt, if he is
nominated, to vote against him at the
regular election or to use your influ-
ence against him. Party primaries
and conventions are things of mutual
ialth ad trust. You expect your OPP
ponents to keep faith with you and
support your man if he is the nominee
The opponents have the right to de-
, mand of ycu the same loyalty. 1t is
your part as man to take your med
icine, however bitter it may be.
Politics is like business or pastime
or anything else in which we engage
| actively in this life. The underlying
principle and idea of it is fair play
, and honesty. When man supposed
IN ha n .r,,nI o;t;,o,, L: