The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1920-08-27
THE VOTER AND
THE PLATFORMS
After Reading The Platforms He
VIII Not Know Which
Way TO Jump

:'1he independent voter Gf such an
animal there bel who wants to vote one
of the old-party tickets seems likely this
year to have even a harder time than
usual deciding which way to jump" de-
clares Lynn Haines. in the: current issue
of The Searchlight, Washington, D. c..
Mr.. Haines then SAYS. One might be
tempted. indeed, to compare him with
the celebrated metaphy ysical ass of the
Greek philosophers, except for the fact
that that well-known beast really had a
choice between two bundles of hay,
while the luckless voter who turns to
the historic parties is apparently limited
to choice between two bales of saw
dust.
HE looks first, to tell the truth, at
candidates, though he was brought up to
study principles, having been taught that
this is a government of laws and not OF
men. But comparison of Harding anG
Cox does not resolve his doubt. In the
first place, they are both Ohioans, so
locality does not help him out.
Next he tries looking up their re-
cord. He finds that both have been in
favor of good things, and strongly op-
posed to bad ones, particularly if the
bad ones were done by the opposition
party-and so far as he discovers, they
always were. Of course there is a diff
ference. Harding favors things in a
more conservative Plymouth Rock fash
ion, while Cox is for salvation through
volubility as opposed to the front porch
Still, this is a matter of taste, not mo-
rails.
"Unhappily, neither candidate was
born in a log cabin and neither split
rails for a living at two dollars month
So that criterion of choice is lacking
On the other hand, both are abundantly
provided with delighted parents who tes-
tify to their high character in infancy
to say nothing of the serried ranks of
their sisters and their cousins and their
aunts, If Governor Cox has a baby,
Senator Harding eats his lunch out of
a shOe-box, so there is clearly little
choice on the score Of fundamental dem
ocracy.
The conscientious Independents, de-
termined to do the right thing, there
fore turns to the painful perusal of
platforms, though he prefers reading
the movie cut-ins
Platform Promises
'There are a few things he really
cares about. He does want the price
of sugar and shoes to go down; and he
wants people to stop striking and get to
working six days a week and going to
church on Sunday; he wants his income
tax to go down; and he wants things
arranged somehow so the boys will not
have to go to war again. He turns hope
fully to the platforms.
.'In the Republican document he learns
that the high cost of living is due to de-
preciated money, and in lesser degree to
reduced production, burdensome taxa
ton, swollen profits and increased de-
mand for goods. He finds the Republi-
cans condemning 'Ethe usound fiscal pol
icies of the Democratic administration
which have brought these things to pass,
and their attempts to impute the conse-
ouences to minor and secondary causes"
.'F'rom the Democratic platform he
finds that high prices are due to the
war itself, and that the Republicans are
responsible for the failure to restore
peace, and therefore for "post- armis-
tice.'' Plainly, whichever party is de-
feated, the cost of living is going down
yet this does not help our puzzled in
dependent to. decide which way to vote
Concluded on Page 5.)