Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1915-10-28

Iftse
TakHa stand; be firm and outspoks
en- ins your convictions See Rev.
IIS
10ysthen because thou are luke
warm, ami neither hot on cold, i Will
spew thee d Of my mouth.
We must study the duties and
weigh the responsibilities az citnaens
ship. This applies equally to the wos
mem who are now on the ere of en-.
franchisement. We 1 shirk The
duties. but we cannot escape the re-
responsibilities Al we d " SO shall!
we reap
Unfortunately we nave acquired the
partisan habit; and, like all bad hab-
it's IL is. hard to shake on. So long
as we continue the practice, we must
pay the penalty.
Now the good Christian citizen
more partisan than gOod-goes 10 the
polls and votes for what he does not
want-and gets 1t.
The better Christian citizen-too
good to- mix Id poIitfcs-stays at home
and helps get what he does not
want. And each viii boast Of his
independent American citizenship. Is
lat any wonder that 1t is SO easy for
the lingodly to capture politics for
Mammong
II the processing Christians OF the
to capture politics for Cod ii could
be done easily In November, 1916
What q possibility! Instead, we will,
L no yvpGGkOnn{fn 49, f.-f~.A
issues, carefully prepared By the men
who control, to distract bur attention
from the main issue; and from force
Of habit we walk right into the trap.
Duties ana Responsibilities.
What are the duties and responsis
bilites OF citizenship
Our form of government lis what
we call the representative system.
I've delegate to our representatives
an uncontrolled. irrevocabIe and un-
limited power Of attorney to Iegislate
for us as they please. III gives them
the unlimited power Of taxation, di-
rect and Indirect, and to spend the
money SO collected to give to indi-
yiduals and corporations valuable
Especial privileges and private monop-
oily OF public necessities and utilities,
enabling them to control the indus
tries of the nation. Will each special
privilege conferred the demand Is for;
more, and always more.
We place gross temptation In the.
path Of ambitious men, whose whole
aim III life lis to accumulate wealth,
and then complain or public graft
and extravaganza. They are using
h Innx,n - Ahn Sf,,JJ ,rfnnf$xha4 4hnp
think the producers will continue to
produce for, and the consumers be.
able to pay for.
cedess There is a battle royal I'M
Waste no time in trying to convert
the practical politicians. They are
immune so long as successful. We
must first defeat them.
Be as careful in the selection OF
your public servants, and apply the
same business principles to your pub
lie as yon do to your private employ
,.es.
When a man is selected by your
party managers to represent you, the
first question to ask yourself is, does
hes5represent my principles9 Can I
trust him TO represent me. and leg
islate for me, and mine? Has he
made a study of civil government and
political economy?
Use Common Sense.
Candidates for legislative positions
should be qualified to serve by study
and investigation. You would not
think OF employing a doctor to plead
la law Ease for you. MOI a lawyer to
treat sickness In your family. Poll
lticsn-4the science OF government
should be a trained profession, and
candidates be compelled to pass q
public examination o. current prob
lens before employment; just as is
now done with every other profess
sion, doctor, lawyer, preacher, teach
Ter, or In the industries they must first
learn their trade before they can Sc
cure. employment in It.
We should use more common sense
in politics.
All these things and much more
nh!ould be considered. How is i
now?
a few practical politicians get to.
gether in secret, long in advance OF
the campaign, to talk over and plan
for it. Do they discuss principles?
No; principles are a nuisance to be
evaded. What they want is a cam,
paign fund and political patronage
and they proceed to plan and select
with that object in view. II theiI
party has a strong majority. they Sc,
lect the reliable party workers as 9
reward for past services. II parties
are close, they must select some good
men who can draw votes from the
other parties. The. most important
50 far as the public is concerned
the legislative candidates-are leftts
the last. If there are several, they
will make sure of one reliable practf
cal politician; the others are used al
filters to draw votes for the whole
ticket, and it is wonderful how vel
the machine works. Beware OF ma
chine selected candidates.
You will be told that aall legisla
ton Is a. matter of compromise Thu
practical politician never compromis
es except to obtain an advantage
When the good man compromises