Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1921-11-24
Points Way to- ousting- Of Graft,
Bosses and Red Menace
BY lEMUEL BOLLES

talks like soldier fights. straigh
from the sholder The followin
should give food for sober refiectio
to all American citizens who desir
see our nation purged of all that i
evil in its civic and political life. H
handles the grave questions that fac
-FOUR nation without gloves, and draw
conclusions as sharp and distinctas
possible for any man regardless o
his opportunities or abilities.
If America (the United States) ev
er goes crumbling away into politica
and economic ruin the fault will Ii,
not from the enemies without but frt
citizens within, not guilty of Grim,
commissions but guilty of as grave (
fault, ommissiOn of the very duty tha
gave them their freedom.
If all the blood and tears, all the
great effort and unselfish love ani
devotion that has gone into the erect
ion of the United States is to be
wasted the fault will lie at the door
of you and your meighbor and history
in the centuries to come will poin1
a pitiless finger at you and yours and
declare that the greatest advance In
human government the world ever
knew was lost because you and yours
failed to do your duty, a simple, easy
duty that shoull be JOY and a mat
ter of untold pride.
America today stands in the path
of destructive force. Not whirl-
wind to tear and rend but slow,
creeping, insidious, relentless force
that attacks the very heart of your
country, drains the strength and pow
er and hopes and dreams of their
being and will never pause in it's
blight until you and yours have been
aroused.
Today in the United States, where
popular government has reached it's
highest development, large por-
tion of our citizens have abandoned
the effort to exercise any of their po-
litical rights. So, in increased meas
ure, the urgent need exists for bring
ing home to every individual his own
responsibility for sef-assertion in po-
iit;cal life.
In war the qualified man who fails
to take arms In defense of his coun-
try becomes abhorrent in the eyes of
his decent fellows. The obligation
to take arms at such a time is no
greater than the obligations of peace
in the life of any good citizen. II
the necessity arises, he renders this
service in the discharge of his civic
duties. But this is not true of all.
Every country has it's Bergdoll and
every age its slackers. The occupy
an unenviable place in public opin-
ion; their children will live to blush
at mention of their names.
But with the political slackers-
many of them are respected citizens.
We find them in every community;
the business man who is too busy to
register; the working man who will
not take time from his tasks to cast
his ballot; the housewife who thinks
that a woman's place is in the home |
the society woman who cannot be
bithered; the average Tom, Dick and
Harry who don't take enough inter-
est in the welfare of their communi-
ties to keep informed of the time and
place of the elections. All of these
constitute an alarming proportion of
our adult citizenry who have a right
to exercise a share in the direction
Of our political destinies, but do not.
There is not an i'll in American
life today with cannot be curel, and
cured promptly, If each voter will in
form himself as to issues with the
means at his immediate disposal.
There is not weakness in our social
structure which cannot be bolstered
( individually and oonscientiously
We try to discharge the obligations
md exercise the privileges granted
Is by the Constitution Of our United ,
States. 8
Political bosses, machine rule and I
craft are impossible I'm that COM
nunfty where the citizens are awake ,
o their responsibilities; where they |
Measure up to the obligation resting 4
upon the individual. In every COM
nunity there Is that element, always I
n the minority but bound together by .
elfish interests, thriving upon cor. I
upton of public officials and spec /
al privileges, the very existence OF ,
which is malicious menace to demo-
ratio institutions. In the lowest I
lasses of society there is a danger
'us criminal element, ever crouched
o spring at the throat OF decent So
iety and to fatten itself from the I
esults of riot, turmoil and destruc- I
ion. Il
Well organized governments are