Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-05-29

tlon IN tnls city something like ono man IN
every three Of those duly registered stayed
away from the polls Moreover our statisti.
clan adds: This Is about the normal aver.
age Of American neglect Of the franchise"
In this particular instance the reasons may
not he far to seek. The average Philadelphia
voter In these strenuous times Is a busy man.
1t is hard to get up earlier than usual, harder
to prolong the way home by stop at the
polls; besides. It rather looked like rain the
other day. There is something extraordinarily
feline about respectability-it hates to get
wet
DCT there were better reasons for political
- indifference than this, the other day.
There are no actual political differences In
Philadelphia and. as to State and city. there
have not been these many years. Tradition
and inheritance keep some persons Demo-
Gratis; business consideration and the Joy
OF running always with the pack keep some
other persons Republicans" There are
others. doubtless. who have other reasons
which they would have difflculty in making
clear II pressed too hard. And there are our
friends the Independents. the individualists
have enough to object to, to REFORM to In.
dividualize and be Independent about But,
after ALL the questions which worry us locally
are scarcely any OF then, political. Our differ
ences have as little to do with politics as
they have to do with principles they are
mostly personal and factiona!: a question Of
the man who Is in versus the man who wants
10 ger in 1t is mistake to lay II to the
out to express a preference between boss
VINO cleans streets but dlrties politics and
boss who has never vet cleaned anything
The average man intent on decent and i'm
- a ,fN ,r -, "a
o both your houses
MAN is political animal: but we cannot
lX1 expect him to exercise his political
faculties on inanty and undertaking Riot
and murder in the Fifth Ward. Il dlsgraceful
pe police . system. reformab!e only by. the hand
OF the national Government; chief ma es-
trate visited by irregular fts Of vigilance
against gambling-such things are not poll
tics; and II is only because we make them
politics and not matters Of criminal prosecu-
t!on that we cannot sweep them all into the
limbo of irrelevant trash. This war Is teach
ing the world that the irresponsible king IS
an anachron!sm to be swept out of the
human house with all his trappings and al!
his stupid, tawdrv vanities It should teach
us, too. that office in the service of the
people Is no more nationally political than Is
service in the store, the factory or the
kitchen.
'O"HST!3n once asked friend, who
L rather r-ided himself on never voting
what he thought Of the proposition to make
the casting of the ballot COMPULSORY He de-
c!ared that he thought such law would be
an unwarranted interference with his free
dom Of action, as the right to vote involved
the right not to vote. Pressed as to his
view as to loss of franchise for hin, who
neglected to vote, he became vehement ana
declared that such penalty would be an
outrage. He cherished his franchise as h.
cherished credit a 10
but not risk in the using. Another nonvote-
OF different type despises his ballot as "a
precious possession" his for the simple reason
that he is male who has contr!ved to live
twenty-one years and happens to be neither
an Indian nor Japanese. And vet both OF
those men vote in presidential! elections.
Their d!staste Is for faction: not for politics
A WAC once remarked that government wa
"A the opposite Of whisky: for while as to
the latter some is good and some better. all
government Is bad and some Is worse And
vet few will deny. after the exhibit Of the
necessary evil. How best to arrange for
the ceding of individual rights In the interests
OF the rights of the many to a power which
shall be alike the creature and the leader of
given group Of men-this is the eternal ques-
tion. the experiment of every age and the
failure Of many.
WE AMERICANS are a pract!ca! peoc!e
w We do not fall out seriously and get into
excitement over trifes. Why not leave politics
out OF the things about which we are agreed?
IT is small folk that intrigue and pull wires
for petty Offices in lodge. in church, society
and in the hundreds Of little organisms for
this. that and the other thar float in the
waves Of the present like jellyhsh In the
breakers. What we need is to get rid Of the
jellyflsh and give the men who are to run
our cities time to run them instead of
planning necessarily for somebody's re-elec-
a tfyyt tc
business not of politics. They would run
better II run by professionals that is, by
men possessed Of specified knowledge instead
Of by amateurs. And again. when a polti-
clan "misbehaves"-eitheri in getting some
body murdered or beaten up or by protecting
vice makes unsafe the thoroughfares of the
city-how would 1t work occasionally to try
him IN the criminal courts and not at the
pols?-a little less "vindication" with an
occasional resort to the lantern, as the
French did 1t. TO discourage the others.
A1Ow. the Gownsman does not feel quail.
IN fled to write the constitution Of a new
republic. for he Is by no means dissatisfied
with the old. and he feels that few Of the
trite old things that are always repeated are
truer than that which informs us in one way
or another. that we are just as we'll governed,
Just as properly amused and just as admir-
ably supplied with literature drama and the
like as we deserve. But it certainly does
seem a rather inferior grade of city govern
ment which represents our full deservings
in Philadelphia, and we can but wish that
our merit stood trifie higher. Carlyle who
made 1t practice to destroy everything
breakable in sight offered to erect on the
debris the simple structure Of an ideal gov
ernment carlyle's solution Of the inanity
and insufticiency OF human governments was
contained In the nostrum, "A hero king
served by competent officialsr
TTNHAPPILY. kings are rarely heroes. and
l J heroes are seldom kings and when his