Whom Shall I Vote For?

White Ribbon, Volume 8, Issue 89, 1 October 1902, Page 7

Whom Shall I Vote For?

Is a question that many are asking ol themselves. And in many cases it is a difficult matter to answer. There are still party lines, and the Liberal finds it difficult to vote for a Conservative,, and the Conservative for a Liberal There are some candidates that seem a bad lot, offering no choice in their badness, and other candidates seem difficult to choose between, because they have all so many excellent points. There are, however, some “ touchstones” that may help us. And first and foremost we would place Truthfulness. We would rather vote for a bad man whose word is his bond than we would vote for Mr Plausible who is as slippery as an eel. Honesty is our next requisite. The man whose hands are clean from public or private pilfering has one trustworthy feature. And we think that none of those who helped themselves to an increased honorarium from the public purse can be said to have clean hands, or be worthy of our vote. We want men who will be guardians, not pilferers, of the public money. Sobriety is a virtue that we expert in the man we vote for. A man who drinks heavily is unfit for the making of laws, and is an embarrassment to the Legislature, and a disgrace to the constituency that elected him. If we are fortunate enough to have several candidates who fulfil these requirements, we shall apply further tests. We want one who is in favour of the removal of the disabilities of women, who is in favour of trusting the people with the Initiative and Re-

fererdum, who will support the movement for an Elective Executive, for an Absolute Majority Vote, and other measures which our women consider of importance. If the next Parliament consists of men who have successfully stood these and similar tests, it will be the best we have ever had.