Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1919-06-05
OFFICIAL PAPER SIOUX COUNTY
1t Makes a Diffsrsaes


ings." The sunshine and the sha.
dow, moonlight and starshine. green
sod beneath the feet, blue sky over
head. placid lake and cool meadow,
pure air and limpid water Thes.'
are our inheritance, natures gift,
through the ages, to the cons and
daughters of men.
Possibly because they come with
out money aud without price We
fail to appreciate them fully. Thu
the matter of electric light exercises
our minds more than sunlight; tn
long dry" spell that Starts July
next, looms greater to some OF u.
than the unfailing supply Of pur'
water. Yet were pure water to-
vanish it would cause more mis"r.
in a day than the loss OF all other
liquid drinks can in a century. NJ.
man needs to own lake to take de.
light in it, nor does the poaseasior
of a rich meadow give to its owner
the sole right to enjoy the beaut.
Of it.
In this land, in addition to tin
common blessings that we possess.
there has been added another.
through the form of government
adopted by the Fathers of our coln.
try. That is the power and RICH,
to right. In some lands this il
missing, in others it ia unequal,
distributed, fraction of a vote be-
ing given to a poor man and manv
votes given to the rich In Others
again the right is limited both as tn
persons who may vote and the Of
iicers they may vote upon. In sucl'
lands men constantly struggle t"
wipe out the limitation and guard
.ealously the small right which they
all. adv possess.
Probably -becaus- our land makes
the right to vote almost universal,
we do not treasure it or appreciate
it. 1t is like sunlight, air, water
or any other OF our common bless,
ings. That may account for tho
fact that twenty thousand votcr>
failed to exercise their right-an,l
duty as citizens-at the last June
primaries and why twenty thousand
more failed to come up to scratch
at the polls last November.
We know that an epidemic of i'm
duenza affected both elections, but
in all past elections there has been
large number Of citizens who fail.
ed to vote. If any man fail to ,,s,
any of his muscles or Limits, the uu:
used one will atrophy and die. Nat.
ure will permit no waste. She says:
Use it or l take it away" If too
many Of us fail to use the god-sent
right to vote, we stand in danger Of
losing it.
Most men love their country and
would Jay down their lives to de-
fend the verv right that they now
flout and neglect. What they once
were indifferent to, when cl,allenR-
ed or threatened with its loss, will
become marvelously precious, and
they will give their blood to redeem
it.
What will you give for your right
to vote? One might as well ask,
what will you take for your coun.
try and its free government? There
is no price. As the Gallilean asked:
What should a man give in ex.
change for his life?"
Men have shown patriotism by
dying for this land, l,y giving o,
lending their money to sustain it,
by abstaining from taking unjust
when they might have, by givina
their time and labor to aid it. That
does not end the test Of patriotism.
The last test is that a man shall do
even the simpler duty-the duty Of
being interested in his government
and Of recording his vote at each
election.
One vote won't count. anyways
Twenty thousand men eaid that last
November-and it counted. Love
Of country, Of liberty Of your gov.