peoples have. Every man knows that he is himself a part of the government, bound by duty as well as by self-interest to devote part of his time and thoughts to it. He may neglect this duty, but he admits it to be a duty. So the system of party organizations already described is built upon this theory; and as this system is more recent, and is the work of practical politicians, it is even better evidence of the general acceptance of the doctrine than are the provisions of Constitutions.

GOOD CITIZENSHIP

I

Obligations of Citizenship

By WILMOT H. GOODALE

DESIRE to consider our civic obligations, not from the

"spoils" standpoint of the mere politician, nor yet from the careless or indifferent standpoint of the average voter, but rather from the solemn and appreciative point of view of the Christian citizen. Surely arguments are not needed to convince any that this is the proper standpoint from which to consider the subject.

Our civic obligations, which are but a part of our social obligations, viewed from the standpoint of Christian philosophy, are not obligations imposed upon us from without by the behest of some higher power, but rather obligations arising from within ourselves, growing out of the very necessities of our own rational being, self-imposed by the very law which asserts and requires us to maintain the dignity of our own manhood.

It is only in a government by the people that the full realization of this idea is possible. Under a government of force the truth remains dormant. The subjects of a despot obey because of the command and the penalty; the reasoning faculty, the sense of duty, the moral obligations to be obedient unto rulers, are rarely and but imperfectly appealed to. There is no thought of personal responsibility in the law or in the command, while under a government republican in form, every individual has responsibility in every law, since law is but the outgrowth of a public sentiment, to which he has contributed his share.

The next question seems to be, Who is a citizen? We answer in the words of the Constitution: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." These are citizens both of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.

I suspect that there are some who are in the habit of placing upon the term "citizen" a more restricted meaning than this: certain young men who are not wont to consider themselves "citizens," because of youth and inexperience; certain women who hold themselves exempt from the responsibilities of citizenship because they have not been charged with the special duty of suffrage. To all such I wish to say, if “born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," you are citizens, fully charged with the duties and responsibilities of citizenship, both "of the United States and of the state wherein you reside." The tiniest infant, when he first opens his shrinking eyes upon the light of day anywhere within this great Republic, is a citizen, just as much a citizen as the highest dignitary in the land. We are too apt to confound electors with citizens, and to look upon the duty of suffrage as expressing, if not the whole, at least the greater part of the duties of citizenship. It is essential to the proper comprehension of our civic duties that we rid our minds of this popular error. The duty of suffrage is but a single duty imposed by the entire mass of citizens upon certain individuals chosen by them from their own number-whether wisely or not we will not at this moment consider-but chosen because they are supposed to be especially qualified for the exercise of this important duty. We risk nothing in asserting that there never was a community in which the entire mass of citizens, regardless of all qualifications whatsoever, were allowed to vote. Always and everywhere some qualification has been imposed either age, or sex, or education, or property-there has always been a restriction along some line to a selected class. Now we have to deal with the duties not of the selected but of the selecting class-if we speak of the other at all, it will be for the reason that they are a part of this greater whole-and we are glad that a proper analysis of our subject has placed this duty be

fore us. We are glad to be able to say to those who feel that they are exempt from responsibility, because not charged with the special duty of suffrage, that the real rulers of this country are not those who cast its ballots, but those who create that public sentiment which determines who shall cast them. If there are sovereigns who make our laws, then "twice-crowned" are they at whose behest the laws are made.

What are the obligations of citizenship? In the first place, let it be noticed that these obligations are reciprocal. The organic unity which we call the state owes certain duties to the citizen. And the citizen, on the other hand, owes certain duties to the state.

The most imperative need of organized society, especially under a free government, is character, high moral standards accepted by the masses and wrought into the very bone and tissue of their lives. Gladstone has said: "The civilized world is asking, not what kind of producer, but what kind of man the American citizen of the future will become." It becomes the duty, therefore, of every citizen-a duty which appeals with especial emphasis to the young-not only from a personal but also from a purely civic standpoint-to secure for himself the fullest possible development along all the lines of the most exalted conception of manhood. There is no possible way in which he can benefit the state so much as by making a real, true man of himself. Of course, we use the term "man" here in its generic sense, without distinction of sex.

What the state needs more than armies or navies, more than cities or mines of gold and silver, is high-toned, honorable, well-rounded citizens-men and women of exalted ideals and blameless lives, who will contribute to that public sentiment which ever determines both the law and its enforcement by the irresistible strength of their own personalities. "These constitute the state." We say, therefore, to every young man and young woman, to every boy and girl, to every person, in fact, to whom this message does not come too late, that if they have not found in themselves a sufficient stimulus to growth and high development, the state calls upon them to secure it for her sake. She needs them. At home, upon the street, in the

school, the social circle, in the marts of trade or in stations which men deem more exalted-wherever the busy shuttles are flying in the looms on which is being woven that public opinion which is the imperial power in a republic, there she needs their contribution to the pure thought, the lofty sentiment, the noble aspiration which constitute the nation's life.

Our civic obligations are positive and not merely negative. It is not sufficient that the citizen should keep that is, not break the law. His duties are positive. He must impress his own personality upon society and make himself felt in the community and age in which he lives. The assertion of this obligation is rendered the more important from the retiring nature of those very qualities of which society stands most in need. It is not always those men who have the most selfassertion who contribute most to the general welfare. Many a man is willing, for a consideration, to serve his country whose services the country could well dispense with. There is no scarcity of persons willing to hold office. What is needed is men and women, boys and girls, citizens, in short, who are willing to work up that public sentiment which will force the wrong men out of office and put the right men in. It is very seldom that a community is misrepresented in its legislative halls or in its elective offices. As a rule, the person elected represents the average public sentiment of the masses who elect him. Elevate the moral tone of any community, increase the ardor of its patriotism, widen its breadth of view, and you will find these increments expressing themselves in the quality of the men elected to represent that community.

As a step toward securing a healthy public sentiment, an uncompromising war should be waged against all popular sayings and maxims that tend to lower our moral standards and wrest the true relation between the citizen and the state. That saying of Senator Marcy, "To the victors belong the spoils," has rightly been characterized by Mr. Fiske as "one of the most shameful remarks recorded in history." Mr. Marcy, in speaking before the United States Senate, in 1831, in defense of the course of President Jackson in removing a large number of his political opponents from office, had occa