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Show WHAT IS A FREE ELECTION? Tho barber was talking to me tho other day. Ho says ho admires Senator Smoot because of his intellect tho senator's, not tho barber's because of tho record he has made, because ho is a cloan man personally, and because ho doos work for tho interest of his constituents. But ho is dead agin Senator Smoot bocauso ho says tho Mormon church caused his election, and his ro-eloction. I asked if Senator Smoot had, in addition to being a good senator and a good man, rondered patriotic national service, and tho barber said ho had, as much as any other sonator, so far as tho record showed. And that brings up a rather interesting quostion. quos-tion. Follow, gentle reader; follow pationtly: In tlfo first place, I don't suppose I am a Smoot. man, especially. But I am a Utah man. This is my state. These are my people. Hero are my living loves, and hero my dead is buried. Here I try to help. And between a sonator of good personal character, of notably valuable public service considered nationally, and of admitted effective M interest in the affairs of Utah people; a man M who is universally concedod to have intellect- ual ability, moral character, and cloan service, M who has been at first helped to his position by BJ an influence outside the ideal expression of M public choice; M And a sonator of bad character, of no na M tional value and of limited or doubtful value fl to the state, but elected by a spontaneous out- M burst of popular indorsement, I am for the M former, and agin the latter. I am as much agin M as is the barber. M Let us start this quarrel perfectly fair. M Taken two senators; one of them chosen in fl part by tho preference of tho American electorate and partly by some church or score M society or some national prejudice, or somo any BJ other influence distinguished from tho free M American selection; a senator who discloses M in twelve long years of service in tho white light of public activity at Washington no flaw in his B armour as a man, as oitizon, as patriot, as sen- H ator of tho United States from tho State of fl Utah; a man from a state not too rich in boast- jfl ing warrants which the East will recognize; a M man whom the August Review of Reviews can H publish as the absolute leader of the great Re- jfl publican party in tho United States Senate H AND a senator chosen by the free will of 'jfl the people expressed at tho polls, and known H only as ninety of tho ninety-six are known; M men whoso only record appearance is their H signing of pay vouchers; whose only footprints H on tho sands of time in tho Congressional rec- M ord is the solid agate table of the votes; who sit flj in the chairs and draw tho pay and whoso H names you have to hunt in tho almanacs, as you H must for nino-tonths of tho United States sen- H a tors today Or, those sonators who challenge fl attention bocauso of thoir whiskors, or their H pitchforks, or thoir broach-of-promiso suits, fl and H I am for tho product of the controlled H olection. fl Now don't understand by this I am admit- fl ting that Sonator Smoot tracos his title to tho H Mormon church. I don't know nor care whother H or not ho did, but if ho did, and if that is a sam- H plo of tho Mormon church work, lot mo ox- H pross tho belief that it was a darned good job, H well done. H Tho point I am trying to make and sue- fl cooding; you know that is that it is better to B have a good public servant chosen as a result H H of some "influence" Llinn a weak or wickod Hj public servant clioson by Lho unlrammeled B voice of the people -which isn't lho voice of H God, by a wholo lot. H What is a free choice of Lho people? Was H ever a candidate oloolod whose sponsors didn't Hj bank on holp from sonio organization, some H. class, some influence? Is the science of politics H so utterly unknown as to pormit tho belief that, H oither hero or olsowhoro, tho candidate's H strength is unconsidered? Isn't an olomont of H that strength jiis ability to got support from H some already organized influonco? Tho Knights H of Pythias ton years ago ran tho politics of In- H diana. In some states it is tho Masons; in some, H tho Catholics. Methodists mado a governor of H Colorado. The Scandinavians mado John Lind H govornor, and sent Knuto Nolson to tho United H States sonato and did a mighty good job both H timos, at that. If the Southern Pacific once in- H fluencod the politics of California, the anti- H Southern Pacific sentiment gave the state's H worst administration. And the labor unions H fastened on San Francisco tho shame of Abe Hji llouf, and a criminal mayor. H Thoro is no free oloction, and thore nover H will bo. No candidato will put up his head with H1 the challongo that ho dospisos any organization H and wants none of its holp at tho polls unless H by so doing ho can court tho holp of an organ- H ization beliovod to bo stronger. H' Nationality, fratornity, occupation, goog- B, raphy all holp. Why, Grant in 'G8 carried H stato after stato booauso ho had boon a tanner H' and ho wasn't much of a tanner, oither. We H boosted Hancock booauso ho was "suporb" at H Gettysburg, and Garilold because he worked on H a canal, and Grovor Cleveland because ho wasn't H afraid of all the Maria Ilalpins this side of Uo- H bokon, and Bryan booauso ho lovod our preoious H silver, and Parker because wo thought ho could H carry New York state, and McKinley booauso H Mark Ilanna was back of him, and Roosovolt H because ho could rope a stoor, and Taft booauso Hoosovolt told us to, and Wilson booauso What H' did wo boost Wilson for? H But it all comes back to this: A candidate H is going to bo holpod, or ho won't win. You H may call that holp by whatovor name you want H to call it, but it is a holp aside from, foreign to, H and independent of, tho spontaneous uninflu- H onood choice of tho individual oitizon. And H onoo you concede tho point, tho objection to in- H fluonco in tho selection of an office holder goes H glimmoring. H Now, don't got tho notion that I am nomin- K ating Senator Smoot for re-election. I am H simply trying to controvert tho argument of tho H barber and some other citizens, maybo, who H don't caro how much of a botch tho job is, so H that they do it themselves. |