| Show BELONGING TO A PARTY A temporary oo is generous to say eay that if a man gets tired of one party let him get into some other there are some people who seem to bo look upon political organizations as the beall be all and endall end all of this adte the sine qua non the sum and substance of all that is honorable and straightforward this 1 is their privilege ge which they can and do enjoy without molestation still in an humble way those who do not exactly so regard it ought to be entitled to opinions and enjoy the right occasionally of expressing them without the ones so doing being placed in doubt regarding their sanity or subjected to vituperative or insinuating criticism it is not believed by everybody here or elsewhere that a wan man or woman Is compelled to belong to a political politic al party at all or to ta give any such organizations the slightest aid comfort hope or encouragement doing either of these things is a matter exclusively within the control of tine the person he may attach himself to whatever party he chooses or refuse to be attached to any and still be 9 a good elti citizen zeil or he may cease his connection with the party with which he is acting and still not be compelled by any moral reason or social obligation to act with any other or he may act partly with one and partly with another not perhaps to the extent of participating in the deliberations or other official proceedings of two or more but certainly to the extent of voting thereon there is no penalty provided by law for any of these things the only punishment that can be inflicted is the withdrawal of recognition as a fellow member which the one who so acts is generally prep prepared axed for another mistaken idea is that a person cannot point out what he conceives to be the error either of the head or heart on the part of those with whom he is acting as a co partisan without albandos ning the organization this kind of thing would w effectually bar out nearly all people who were not completely subservient and who stach themselves to a party because of the principles which underlie it it does not follow that criticism should amount to antagonism nor that one person or a few should control the many it does follow however that the voice of the bhe one or the few should not be stifled nor should their endeavors to be heard subject them to reproach |
