The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-04-26
DON'T BE A SLACKER-REGISTER

In the history of this beloved country
men have toiled, faced ostracism, pledged
their elves, their, fortune and their sacred
honors," faced agonizing death by wounds
and privatiOn, that this might be gov
eminent of the people, by the people and
for the people," To quote Lincoln again, it
is ours to see that "These dead shall not
have died in vain." And, like milestone
around the neck of good government, hangs
an inert mass of men and women, not,
worthy to be called citizens, who nullify the
aims of our governmental structure by re-
linquishing theirblood- bought franchise and
making no more effort to go to the polls
and register their choice as between the
men who will assume the right to rule them
that they would if they really were the serfs
they are at heart.
THE LAST DAY ON WHICH YOU
CAN, REGISTER AS AN AMERICAN
CITIZEN AND QUALIFY AS A VOTER
is APRIL 30
Ii you do not so qualify and vote, then
you have no right to complain if mis-rule
and disagreement shall curse your. COM
munity, you and your children, when the
elected candidates assume the power you
have, by default placed in their hands
1t is to be regretted that there is no
swift and sure punishment awaiting the
malingerers who refuse to do duty on the
Ship of State. 1t has been suggested that
they should lose the right to franchise.
They have already tossed that away as
thing worthless, to them. We might as we'll
punish" an illiterate by telling him that
he would be denied the use of DR.. Ellot's
famous five-foot shelf of books.
A short term of labor on the county
roads for the physically fit, and period Of
meditation IN the county Jail for the ply
sically unfit would be far more appealing
to their mentality and might at least arouse
their interest in government sufficiently to
make them go to the polls highly resolv-
ed'' to elect more complaisant law makers.
The vote of Florida once swung pre-
sidentia election. The vote of Monroe
County may we'll have an influence on the
course of National legislation that shall de-
termine whether prosperity or poverty
shall be the lot of the American people.
The vote in the five districts for County Com
missioners may we'll determine whether
Key West, having at last a chance at the
bat, shall make a home-run or strike out.
1t is no valid excuse to say that none
of the candidates meets your fastidious ap-
prevail 1t may be that they never will I'M
til universal suffrage" becomes fact and
not merely the name of glorious privilege,
a priceless right, and by so much as man
is Stacker in the exercise of his franchise,
by SO much is he A. betrayer, and an under
miner of the structure of the American
Government
Those of us who have registered have
yet one duty, (athough it is perhaps more
a work of superOgation than duty) that
we can perform. If we have neighbOr
who is sleeping on his rights as an Ameri-
can citizen, let US remind him thatif the
right of suffrage We're denied US BY some
usurper, we would risk our lives to regain
it for ourselves and others and urge him
not to hold cheaply what has been gained
for him at such tremendous cost.
BEFORE APRIL 80, REGISTER.