Evening star., 1924-09-21
Days of Blind Party Loyalty J.. =.
Have Gone, to Return No More

| community. am somewhat sur
| prised, however, at the character OF
| the inquiry you make to me. It must
have been written without the de-
| liberate thought which I know you
| always give to great public questions
| I am sure you would not have writ
] ten it If you had just stopped to
consider that our great party had
not yet held it's convention and de-
| clared what we believe upon this
monetary question. ] am quite sure
you will agree with me that neither
you nor 1 have any right to have
definite opinion upon this grea,
| subject until our party has spoke >
X y X
I attended that convention The
candidate was renominated and the
| delegate who had written to him
voted for him.
But those dear, dead days are
gone, and even our belief in immor-
tality gives no assurance of their
resurrection. There is but little hope
or return to the party loyalty that
was grounded on the theory that
the party can do no wrong. Indeed
l would not have us go back to those
days IL i could. With the growth
OF political independence all men
save professional politicians. perhaps
delore the old days when individual
| opinions were cabined, cribbed and
confined by party declarations. But
IKE most onward movements, the ex-
preston of individual opinions has
gone to extreme lengths. 'ra
IL seems necessary no longer for a
man to yield his assent to declara =
tlons in any party PLATFORM Yet ii is
ADVISABLE for several reasons that a
man search among the various plat
forms offered to him for the one that
most nearly voices his judgment as
TO the principles that should control
In the Republic and as to the legisls =
tion which should be pa assed in fur
therance of those principles. IT is
not well that we proceed completely
from platforms to candidates. Not
every man who can get a sheet of
paper and borrow fountain pen
should feel called upon to send to a
| candidate for President a personal
letter demanding categorical answers
to every question that may pop into
his head.
There was more truth than humor
in the comment of one of our Ameri-
can humorists that the way for a
candidate to become popular would
be to stand for enforcement of the
Volstead act in dry territory and for
disregard Of it in wet territory But
the radio and the public press will
not permit this. A candidate must
take a firm stand on this and every
other question, and hold it regardles ss
of the pleas. threats. arguments and
enticements that come to him.
One of the hardest fights that James
z. Clarke, late a Senator from Ar
kansas, had to obtain a denomination
| came over the complaint that he did
not answer his mail. His opponents
sought to make it appear that he was
indolent and unmindful of his con-
stituents. While Clarke was can
vassing his State and explaining his
stand on public questions voter in
terrupted the speech by asking why
the Senator had not answered a GER
tain letter this voter had sent to him.
Because l already had answered too
many fool letters" Clarke responded.
whereupon he said he proposed to an
swer still fewer letters when he was
reelected
Might it not be good idea for can
didates not to answer the thousands
of letters that come to them and
merely pledge themselves to give an
administration based on the declara-
tions of the party platform?
Copyright, 1924, by Twenty first Century
Press.)