Evening star., 1924-08-10
WHO rs sBEST CITIZEN''?
Banker Reproaches Business Men Who Do
Not Vote zs4rs
BY EDWARD F. ROBERTS.

Are politicians good citizens?
In America at least he Is seldom
SO regarded. The esteemed Mr.. Web
] ster. In his we'll known dictionary,
probably expresses the popular idea
when he defines a politician as "one
who uses politics for private advan-
| tage, a spokesman, a political schem-
err" Eut in totally unexpected
quarter the politician has found some
| one to say kind word for him in
the person of Lewis E. Pierson, until
| recently president Of the New York
Merchants Association and formerly
president of the American Bankers
Association. Mr.. Pierson. as chair
man Of the board of the Irving Bank
Columbia Trust Company, is one of
the foremost bankers in the country,
and therefore represents a class
which Is traditionally supposed to
be hostile to politicians and all their
works
1T Is all very well to denounce tho
politician" says Mr.. Pierson, but
so far as. participation in government
Is concerned. the poiilIcian is alert
who denounce him are not The man
who takes no interest in politics and
br2gS of the fact is neither a good
American nor good citizen"
Campaign Issues.
asked Mr.. Pierson, as one of the
leading business men of the country,
to define for me the issues of the
presidential campaign from the point
| of view Of the business community.
The big issue in this campaign"
ne replied. rs the same issue which
twe have had in every campaign Of
which I have any knowledge. 1t is
the issue of good citizenship versus
bad. Complaining about our Govern
ment seems to have become a popu-
lar pastime, but we can never have
better government as long as millions
OF Americans claim all the rights of
citizenship and shirk all the duties
If you want to know what-I mean by
that. I will simply ask you to con-
slider the record Of the presidential
campaign in 1920. II you were to
Judge by the newspapers Of that
time, you would believe that the
| whole nation was stirred to its
depths by the issues which were
then at stake. But what was the
| result when election day came
around?
Only Half Voter. Voted.
approximately one-half OF the
qualified voters of the country never
went near the ballot boxes
Remember that that was a presi-
Dental election, an event which al
| ways arouses greater interest than
local or sectional contests. The rec
| ord in such elections as have been
held since then is more depressing
| and casts a still greater reflection on
| American citizenship.
"In 1922 thirty-two United States
Senator'S were elected. and, IL you
were to judge by the voting, you
| would have to conclude that most
Americans did not care who was
made member OF the highest legis-
| lative body in the sand. Only six
| Of the thirtytwo received as much
as 80 per cent of the registered vote
! In their respective States, and two
| were elected by less than 10 per cent
| of the voters. One of these two was
Senator Shipstead of Minnesota, a
| radical whose revolutionary views
have aroused bitter criticism among
| the business men Of the country, as
we'll as among all Americans who
believe in our institutions and In
the orderly evolution o: government
Senator Shipstead has never made
| any secret Of his views, and yet SO
per cent Of the voters in Minnesota
failed to vote at the time Of his
| election. e. -.