Show VOTE TO REMAIN FREE almost every week from jan 1 to dec 31 an election is held somewhere in the united states A school district needs more money your town is electing a mayor the county has a new road program to finance the state legislators are being chosen or the nation is electing a president every one of these events in which you are eligible to vote affects your future politically and in the pocketbook and yet if you are a typical american citizen most of the time you dont vote in four out of five elections if your voting record is average you hand over this basic citizenship rig right t this most important human freedom to a group of people whom you must trust to be public spirited and so unselfish they have your interest as well as their own at heart when you dont vote someone in effect decided something for you much like a distant guardian deciding where an orphan shall work or go to school or have an allowance or no one A public school tax election was held in many arkansas communities recently local school boards were a asking aking king for a boost in millage on property tax assessed at the local level this issue had a direct effect on the pocketbook of every property owner and school teacher and indirectly affected the parents and children of every family in the districts where the elections were held and yet in the city of blythe ville population only people voted in warren rent population voted in hot springs population fewer than votes were cast and in little rock capital city of only people voted these figures are perhaps representative of of school elections since on oil the average arkansas citizens are about as politically active as those bf neighboring states and the fact remains that the year in and year out voting record of the nation as a whole is only about 20 percent of perfect this failure to do your duty weakens our democratic form of society and our republican form of government you could almost say that our nation is only 20 percent as strong and as democratic and as wholesome and as sound and as safe as it ft ought to be and as it could be the power of the american citizens vote is his power to remain free our nation cannot be safe and strong if it remains indifferent on oil election days lets all work to improve the voting record george S benson pries pres harding college |