The need of roads.

The need of protection for life and property.

may be obtained through regular purchase, each man must provide them for himself and for those dependent on him. He cannot expect his neighbors to supply him with such articles as he may want, for they will not do for him what he can do for himself. 2. Public Needs. Besides food, clothing, shelter, and other personal requirements, there are many things which we need that cannot be bought from other people. In order that we may go from our homes to the stores where goods are sold, there must be roads, which will, of course, cross the property of a great many persons. A road cannot be laid out unless the property owners or their representatives agree upon a route to be followed, nor can it be used to advantage unless the width is everywhere the same and unless it is constructed in the same way throughout its entire length. A road which, even for a short distance, is nothing but a narrow footpath is useless for wagons, and therefore is valueless for trade of any importance.

Much more necessary than roads is the need of protection for ourselves and our property. If some villain steals our food or burns our houses, we shall suffer personal want, nor can we properly protect ourselves if obliged to depend exclusively on our own efforts. Have you ever stopped to think what would happen if every person from whom anything is' stolen were obliged to hunt up the offender, and, if the thief could be found, to punish him for his misdeed? In how many cases would it be possible to learn who the guilty party was? How long would it

tects itself.

be before thieves and murderers would seize property and destroy life without any risk whatever, if every man were obliged to protect his possessions and the members of his family from those who desire to do him injury? Is it not clear that life and property How the cannot be safe unless the members of a community public proorganize to protect themselves against wrongdoers? Not only must they organize for this purpose, but they must have for their protection some uniform rules which people must obey, if serious dangers are to be avoided. Furthermore, since what is everybody's business is nobody's business, they must have certain members of the community who see that the rules or laws are obeyed, and that lawbreakers are brought to justice and punished.

These are but two examples of the many needs which must be met if we are to continue to live and do business. Our houses will be of little value to us if any one may burn them without risk of punishment. We should not long enjoy the privilege of purchasing what is necessary for the satisfaction of our personal needs, unless there are rules or laws. under which business may be transacted and which will protect the honest dealer from the sharper and the swindler. In short, PUBLIC needs must be satisfied before we can satisfy our PERSONAL NEEDS. Indeed, there could be no civilization such as that in the United States to-day, unless we may live and care for our personal interests in security; and this security can be preserved in no other way than by a permanent and responsible organization which exists.

Public needs

and personal needs.

What government

is and what it does.

for the purpose of satisfying our public or political needs.

3. Government. To this permanent organization, which cares for these vital public interests of ours that make civilization possible, the name government is given. If we were to look into the history of mankind, we should find that at no time was there lacking some kind of government, because these public needs have existed everywhere and always. But we should also find, as we should expect, that because our life is very different from that found among semibarbarous peoples whose homes are scattered and often temporary, our government is very much more elaborate than theirs. Nevertheless, we shall find that the governments have this in common, that in every case government is a permanent political organization, which possesses authority to make, enforce, and interpret rules for the public protection and welfare. It is a permanent organization because these interests cannot be cared for properly except by an organization that is ready for action every day in the year. It has been found advisable to leave not only such vital subjects as the protection of life and property, but all other public matters of common interest, to our governments, which are fitted for these duties, both on account of their organization and by virtue of the authority which they possess.

WHAT OUR GOVERNMENTS ARE LIKE

4. Why we have Three Departments of Government. It would be unwise to leave all the work of

governing to one person, even if this were con- An example showing the venient, but it is clearly impossible. The policeman government who arrests an offender in the street cannot send him at work. to prison as a punishment for his offense. The act of arrest simply brings him before a court, where he is detained only in case a definite charge is brought against him. The court listens to the evidence which is presented, and decides whether the accused man is guilty of the crime with which he is charged. If it appears that he is not guilty, he is at once released; otherwise the court sentences him to imprisonment, or compels him to pay a fine. But the court may not try the accused man unless he is supposed to have committed an offense that is named in a law which has been passed at some previous time for the protection of the community.

tive, executive, and

departments.

We can see, then, that officials connected with our The legislagovernments have been engaged in three distinct acts: (1) the act of making the law, when the crime judicial was defined and a suitable punishment proposed for those who break the law; (2) the act of enforcing the law, which was performed by the policeman; and (3) the act of interpreting the law, when the court decided what the law was and whether the accused man had broken the law. Because these acts are distinct, we have three departments of government, each of which performs one set of duties and one only the legislative department, which makes the laws; the executive department, which enforces them; and the judicial department, which interprets or explains the meaning of the law.

Why we
have written
constitutions.

What the constitutions are like.

5. The Need of Constitutions for our Governments. Not only do our governments need machinery or departments with which to carry on their work, but they must have authority. If any person or set of persons may perform acts which interfere with the work of our governments, and the governments have no authority to overcome this opposition, they certainly will fail to perform their tasks. Without authority a government would be an object of ridicule and contempt. In this country none of our governments have any inherent authority, that is, no authority that comes from themselves; they derive all of their authority from the people, who give them certain duties to perform and confer upon them the necessary powers. But for fear that the governments may assume duties and powers to which they have no right, and that they may exercise their authority by restricting the liberty of the people, the people have adopted documents called written constitutions. These constitutions set forth in some detail what machinery the governments shall have, that is, how the different departments shall be composed or organized, and what powers they shall be permitted to exercise. The constitutions, therefore, serve the double purpose of conferring powers on the governments and of limiting the powers of the governments. They do this because too little government is anarchy, whereas too much government is tyranny.

6. Our National and State Constitutions. In studying geography we noticed that we live not only