Newspaper Page Text
WAKING THE PUS LIC CONSCIENCE
"Little Speeches” on Citizenship by the Man Who May be the Next President—Why? ‘Because He "Redeemed St. Louis,
Honored Missouri and Has Giben a Moral Tonic to the Nation.
CMP >
HE MOST conspicuous fault of munici
pal governments in the United States
today is that they are governments by
the few and not by the whole people.
There has been improvement in the last
few years, but there remains much to be
done in the direction of better things.
As a rule, in all large cities there is a
“boss,” or a set of “bosses,” and by the
word “boss” I do not mean leaders that organizations
must have, but one who dictates nominations for
office and controls officials after they get into office
for personal interest. These bosses are usually men
of strong mentality, but of feeble morality. They
generally have behind them the public service cor
poration and the saloon. They are the connecting
links between the criminal rich and the criminal
poor. They rule because the people do not rule.
There is more aggressive rottenness and less ag
gressive patriotism in all large cities than anywhere
else. If the patriotism could be made as aggressive
as the rottenness, the problem of good municipal
government would be solved by the people taking
the government in their own hands. If corruption
exists anywhere, the people are to blame. If cor
ruption is to be eradicated, the peo~’e alone can do
it. What is needed is more of the kind of patriotism
that fights for city, State and country every day,
the kind of patriotism that will go into battles of
peace as readily as into the battles of war.
Not Willing to “Live” for His Country.
Some eight years ago a banquet was given in the
.city of St. Louis, which was attended by some of the
leading business men. After the repast was over,
the band played “America,” and the audience stood
and sang the familiar, inspiring words. As the last
strain of that song died away, one of the men, with
tears of patriotic delight trickling down his cheeks,
said, “Oh, that I could die for my country'” Just
"THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEN.”
Rev. B. F. Riley, 2033 Thirteenth
nvenue, South Birmingham, Ala., is
completing the publication of a book
bearing the above title. The con
tents deal with various phases of the
Negro problem, and the book prom
ises to be a very interesting and in
structive treatise.
It begins with a genesis of the Ne
gro problem and follows the thread of
progress and backsliding through two
hundred and fifty-eight years, or since
the Negro first entered the States in
the hands of the slave traffic.
The price of the book is $1.25 net,
or $1.35 by mail, and can be had direct
from the author.
*
THE RING OF THE TRUE METAL.
The address delivered in Chicago
on March 27 by Governor Stubbs, of
Kansas, is the kind of talk that makes
pure prohibition sentiment possible.
He vigorously denies that prohibition
has been a hardship to his State, and
sustains his argument with incontro
vertible facts. He says in part:
“The cry of the anti-prohibitionists
that wiping out the saloons would
bring business stagnation has been
utterly refuted. I have proof by
which, figuratively speaking, I think
I have my foot on the necks of those
who circulate anti-prohibition talk.
“It was said three years ago that
the wiping out of Wichita’s saloons
would ruin the town. Today, with no
saloons, that town has doubled its
population, more than doubled its
THINGS THAT APE HAPPENING
three weeks after that this man was cringing at the
feet of justice, confessing that he had bribed an en
tire municipal assembly to pass a railroad franchise
bill. He was willing to die for his country, he said,
but, by his conduct, he had shown that he was un
willing to live for his country. He had patriotism
on his lips and treason in his heart. He aspired to
be known as a patriot, and he was a traitor of peace.
This man was but a type. Many men would be
willing, if necessary, to give up their lives for their
city or State. They are needed sometimes, and this
kind of patriotism can not be too highly commended.
But the man who lives for his city and State every
day is the man the country needs now. True patriot
ism does not abide alone in the roar of cannon, amid
the din and clash of arms, but in the every-day
duties of civic life as well. There may be as much
patriotism in giving one’s time to the betterment of
civic conditions, and the election of good men to
office, and in purifying the ballot as in baring one’s
breast to the bullets of the enemy.' The patriotism
of peace is often more necessary than the patriotism
of war, for history shows that where one government
has been destroyed by wars, pestilence and all other
calamities combined, corruption in times of peace
has undermined a score.
The Brave, Unselfish Citizen.
How can one live for his city or State? you ask.
There never was a time when the need of patriotic
men in public affairs was greater than now. We
need more men actuated alone by the public good,
and fewer of those who are in position for revenue
only. I do not refer to those in public office alone,
for one does not have to hold public office to serve
his country. It is just as essential to good govern
ment for private citizens to discharge the civic re
sponsibility resting upon them as it is for the faith
ful carrying out of official duties in the public ser
vice. The people can overthrow civic evils when-
bank accounts, has better people, less
crime, more schools and more intellf
gence.
“I have just received letters and tel
egrams from the mayors of twenty
cities and towns, from twenty district
judges and from chiefs of police, and
they all agree that the day State-wide
prohibition went into effect in Kansas
was the brightest day in that State’s
history.”
Governor Stubbs offered to escort a
delegation of Chicago business men
over Kansas to prove his contentions.
HONESTY.
Speaking of the early American
prairie settlements, a modern histor
ian says: “Theft was almost un
known; the pioneers brought with
them the same rigid notions of hon
esty which they had previously main
tained. A man in Mancoupin county
left his wagon, loaded with corn,
st’ ok in the prairie mud for two
weeks near a frequented road. When
he returned he found some of his corn
gone, but there was money enough
tied in the sacks to pay for what was
taken.
BAN ON LIQUOR ADS.
Managers of railroads which pub
lish magazines for the benefit of their
employees have taken a stand against
whisky and beer advertisements.
Such prominent railroads as the Santa
Fe, Rock Island, Erie and Illinois Cen
tral print monthly periodicals, which
go to each employee of the railroad
The Golden Age for June 9,17 W.
Sy Ex-Gobernor Joseph W. Folk.
L ETIER NUMBER TWO.
when he receives his monthly pay
check. The magazines are published
in the interest of the men and to
establish a bond between the manage
ment and the employees. Advertising
is solicited from various sources, with
the idea of making these publications
self-supporting. With the increase in
area of “dry” territory, brewers and
liquor dealers have become very
anxious to buy space in these publica
tions to advertise their various
brands. However, in each case, the
managers of the railroads have de
clined to accept such advertisements
at any rate.—Md. Issue.
AN IMPRUDENT ENDORSEMENT.
An old Washington gentleman tells
a story which he overheard President
Lincoln repeat, and which he believes
has not been published.
During one of his busy reception
hours, when the president was talking
first to one, then to another of the
many who filled the room in the White
House, a gentleman asked if any news
had been received from John Morgan,
whose Confederate cavalry were raid
ing Kentucky and Ohio.
“We’ll catch John some of these
days,” replied Lincoln. “I admire
him, for he is a bold operator. He
always goes after the mail-trains in
order to get information from Wash
ington. On his last raid he opened
some mail-bags and took possession
of the official correspondence.
“One letter was from the War De
partment to a lieutenant in Grant’s
army; it contained a captain’s com-
ever they want to, and get just as good government
as they deserve or as bad as they permit it to be
come.
If a government anywhere neglects the people, it
is because the people first neglect the government.
The law abiding people are in the majority, and there
is hardly a community in this country of which this
can not be said. They are usually quiet, though,
while the lawless are so vociferous as to deceive
many as to their number. A majority of the people
are honest and want good government, but do not, as
a rule, work for it, while the minority are per
niciously active all the time. The lawless stand on
the streets and talk for their side, while the law
abiding are timid and unobtrusive. A dozen law
breakers can make more noise than five hundred
law-abiding citizens, but they do not count for much
against the united efforts of the law-abiding. They
are always active, however, while the average good
citizen becomes active only occasionally.
The Siren Song of the Wicked.
They surround an official and sing to him the
siren song of the good politics of serving them in
stead of the public. It is always easier for an
official to serve the “gang” instead of serving the
people. Unless the official be strong, he will be led
astray by their alluring promises.
When the lawless get a bad man in office they
support him in all the evil that he does; but when
the law-abiding get a man in office, too often they
are ready to criticise him and leave him to fight the
battle without their active aid. That is the trouble.
Good men are divided and bad men are united. If
good citizens could only be induced to join hands in
every patriotic endeavor before the election, and
stay joined after the election, the forces of error
could be vanquished like evil spirits at the dawn of
day.
mission for him. Right under the
signature of A. Lincoln the audacious
Morgan wrote: ‘Approved, John Mor
gan,’ and sent the commission on its
way. So there is one officer in our
army whose commission bears my
signature with the approval of that
dare-devil rebel raider.”
TITHING FOR FIFTEEN YEARS.
Mr. H. Z. Duke, a stalwart business
man, of Bowie, Texas, tells, in The
Western Evangel, how tithing has
helped him as a Christian. It is sur
prising to note how large an amount
is really the just dues every Christian
owes the Lord. Mr. Duke says:
“I went into a mercantile business
known as the ‘five and ten-cent busi
ness’ in Bowie, Texas, in 1894, and in
January following my pastor, Brother
F. M. McConnell and I agreed to tithe
for one year. Before the year was out
I said, ‘This suits me, and I will tithe,
not for one year only, but for life.
The business prospered from the start,
although begun in a small way. Hav
ing only about S7OO capital, doing a
strictly cash business, both in buying
and selling, of course our business was
limited. Yet the first year our tenth
was $110; the second year, 154; third,
$360; fourth, $388; fifth, $330; sixth,
$662; seventh, $556; eighth, $250;
ninth, $556; tenth, $1,040, and each
year since our tithe has increased pro
portionately.
“I have tried the Lord in this busi
ness way, and I would no more quit
tithing than I would quit providing for
my family.”
7
