Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-11-04
DANGER LOOMS
IF ELECTORATE
DOES NOT VOTE
Nomen's League Head Says
Menace Greater Than
Armed Enemy.

Our country IS seriously hiperlleo
BY Just one %thing--the apathy of the
enfranchised men and women and the
danger that threatens is greater than
the menace of any armed enemy, SAD
Mrs. Maud Wood Park, president or
the National League of Women pot-
ers. in a recent address at Washington
D.. C. OBSTRUCTION of our commerce,
hombardment of our coast cities, lnva-
sion of our shores, could in owlse de-
stroy US, Our country is too large,
foo varied. to rich, ever to be con-
nuered. but it can be wrecked from
within. 1t can cease to possess q Gem.
ocratic government, representative OF
the peoples wishes, their ideals, thelr
best interests, and become an autocracy
ruled by the vicious or stupid few, n
every man or woman who fails to vote
this year contributes all that is in his
or her power to such an overthrow OF
the institutions our forefathers left TO
us.
Many Preach Voting
I'm the last two months in many
states / have seen women putting theif
hearts and souls into the WORK OF
nreaching the duty of voting. n L use
fhc word preaching advisedly, for q
religious fervor animates these de-
voted m In the same states l
have heard both men and women ex-
cuse their failure to take part In the
primaries as in a few days they Will
excuse their failure to vote.
".Eyerything's in the hands OF the
machine. anyway one woman SAID.
MY vote wouldn't count, :
Il call that a towards speech. on
is precisely as if a private soldier "nen
the charge is sounded, SAID, wen, thg
enemy has it all planned to peat US.
couldn't change things, I'm only one
nerson-T'm going to drop my gun and
quit oo+-
I'm war time we shoot men Tor act
ing like that and, while l do not adVo-
cate a firing party at sunrise Ior 5ne
Stacker voter, / do hope for the gay
when he-and she-can be made 70 leel
that TO fail to vote is to desert III the
face Of the enemy. hau
Nothing is surer than that we shaii
make small advance toward good gov
eminent until we can bring the Tole5
to an understanding of his personal anu
;Eescanahle responsibility for the con-
d1ct Of public affairs; until we can see
voting not as a mere political priv
lege. but as a duty no more TO pc neg
Iected than any other of the duties
which belong to honor and q clean con
science and right living. n
There is no excuse for neglectlng
IN vote. I have heard it said IN n
place that both tickets are 50 q
neither deserves support. mat ls d
shallow and ignorant plea, for the men
on both tickets cannot be equally uh.
desirable. No party Wouid care 70 Tme
q wholly bad ticket in the tieid. Inc
.nIag1te on both your houses attitude Is
the attitude Of the mentally inert
Vote For Best Men
at is clear to thinking minds that
to vote for the better man, even II
the better does net please us, is m
~finitely more sensible than not 70 VOTE
Mt all. When. as it sometimes nap
mems. one man on a ticket runs far Pc
hind his party because voters Will not
sunnort him, that man seldom comes up
for elections again. Voting Tor the
hest men offered is the surest way TO
improve the quality Of Candidates IN
the next election and it is the only
way.
Il speak of danger to u lnstltu-
tons but | am by no means despono-
cnt. I feel that within the last rev
wears we have made a definite advance
in public conscience. 1t is only a rev
Years since d certain small political
boss used to display the suitcase. IN
which he carried the poll tax receipts
of the voters he controlled. He does
not venture to do so now, for we have
ceased to jest about political corrup-
ton. The tendency to take our poll
ties seriously is marked, but the day
when political duties are universally
recognized as duties has not yet dawn
ed. We lave not yet come fully to real
lie that freedom must be balanced by
personal responsibility; we do not yet
fully realize that liberty lays on all
Of us obligations to which the enslaved
are not subject, and we do not heartily
know that the only safeguard of our
freedom and our rights is conscien-
tious use of the ballot