The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-06-20
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FREE AMERICAN QUESTIONABLE
the Editor of The Age-Herald:

To the Editor of The Age-Herad:
 It is the open season for candidates Every is free to whack at them, and that is, per haps, as it should be. But how about the ques- tionaire? Is this fair either in the open or closed season? There is hardly a day passes but the candidate receives formidable list of printed questions concerning his attitude on this or that issue. It is not as it used to be, an inquiry designed to develop the candidates qualifications, if any, for the office he seeks, but it is covert attempt to line up the candi- date with the organization propounding the questions. If he answers the questions satis- factorily, he inapliedly aligns himself with the organization and wins their favor. If he ig- nores the questions or answers them nega- lively he is regarded as unsympathetic or even hostile towards the organization and thence forth he is put in their bad books In any event, he is elected or rejected, so far as that organization goes, long before election day. Suppose, for example, candidate announces for circuit court judgeshp Along comes a questionaire, from, say the Free and Untram- meled Association for the Promotion of Com munication with Mars Question No 1 reads: Don't you believe we ought to have com inunication with Mars? If elected will you use your efforts toward establishing communica- tion with that planet? In the event we succeed in communicating with Mars do you not think that all persons engaged in the work of com rnunication ought to speak Siamese and wear wigs?'
 What is your asprant for the circuit court judgeship to do? Pledge his support to the free and untrammelled association, etc., when he lrv,Nx ,.0th ak < .4 for? Or should be frankly decline to commit himself disregarding the proposition, either because it does not affect his constituency as whole, because he is unwilling to recog- nize the authority of the organization to in- terrogate him?
 If he answers the questions satisfactorily the candidate is hailed as a pro-Mars man, and orders go out to every member of the free and untrammelled, etc., to vote for him. If he fails or declines to answer the questions, or if he answers them unsatisfactorily he incurs the distrust or opposition of the free and untrammeed, and ordcrs similarly go out to knife him. If the free and untrammelled has big following-and the more the pretensions the bigger the following, usually--the circuit court may lose brilliant member, and the country at large good servant,
 All this is by way of preamble to the fol- lowing questions which I herewith submit to all candidates now in the running,
 1. Do you approve the practice now in vogue of organizations whose interests are not those of the whole community endeavor- ing to secure, by means of questionaires, the views of the candidates on the organizations issues for the purpose of enabling the organ ization to determine collectively which can didate should have it's backing?
 2. Do you regard as ideal a candidate who has privately informed any organization con cerning his views on issues peculiar to it, and do you believe that any candidate can become an ideal public servant who, in advance of his election, privately assures any body of people short of the electorate itself what his atti- tude will be on any. measure or issue likely to come before him in office?
 8. Do you regard it as proper for a candi- date, in order to secure office, to approve and agree to help enact or make operative a law or regulation designed in the interest of any group or combination of citizens short of the entire electorate!
 4. Do you not think the time has come to declare it improper for amy group or sub division of the electorate to seek to impose it's selfish claims or demands on any candi- date!
 5: Do you not think that the man is con