$2.00 y I a !
20 CENTS
A MAGAZINE OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP
THE TRAIL THAT LEADS TO RESPONSIBLE
POLITICAL GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA
PRIMARY ELECTION may not mean much to a great
many people who proclaim themselves Americans of a non­
partisan brand of political independence, but the man whose
political convictions cannot square with any principle of any party
is clearly out of step with most Americans who believe that the
political party, whatever its name, is the indispensable vehicle to
political government in the United States. The citizen who reg-
isters independent of party may feel his own importance; but,
when he shuts himself out of the direct primaries, he simply
demonstrates that his political intelligence is below par. The pri-
maries are the intelligent American’s hall of selection, his initial
means to a popular choice of representatives--the gateway to
government in this republic. The independent non-partisan voter
who cannot participate in the primaries must, in the general elec-
tion, choose either between the primary nominees, or vote for
some unknown independent entrant who has little or no chance
of being elected. He belongs to that particular type of citizenry
who have lost their political bearings, who spend their energy
chasing vagaries and notions, who are unable to adjust their po-
litical views with others, and who display a deplorable lack of
training in the art of American citizenship.
The instrument to government in America is the party. Call
it what you will, but it is an indispensable institution which will
and must function if popular government is to survive. It has
been the intelligent American’s means to responsible government
since the Declaration of Independence, and since the wheels for a
limited democracy were set in motion. The demagogue’s democ­
racy, with plenty of mob rule and mob action, is the alternative.
Your conscientious participation in the partisan primaries is
essential to sustain principled government in America.
MAY, 1926
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PORTLAND, OREGON