CHAPTER XX SOME DEFECTS IN THE SELF-GOVERNMENT OF OUR mands active interest of all citi COMMUNITIES IN some ways our self-government does not work as intended. In the first place it is not always representative of all the people, but is a government of the people Self-government de- by a few. One reason for this is that the people themselves lack sufficient interest to take part in government as much as they could. They do in this as they are inclined to do in other matters: having employed some one to look after the business of government for them, they feel relieved of all responsibility. If we are to be a really self-governing people, each citizen must take an active part. zens There are only a few ways in which most citizens can take part in government, but these are very important. Not The duty of many citizens can hold office. In a self-governtaking office ing community it is the duty of a citizen, as well as a privilege, to take office when the community calls upon him. It may seem unnecessary to emphasize this, for usually there are more men who want office than there are offices to fill. The trouble is that the men who seek office do not always make the best officers. The men who will look after the community business best are most often men who have large interests of their own. The wide-awake community that is fully alive to its best interests will usually look among these busy, successful men and say to one of them, "You are capable, honest, and successful in man aging your own affairs; we want you to help manage the community's affairs in office." Unfortunately such men too often shrink from the burdens and cares of office, or from giving up the necessary time from their own business. Patriotism to one's community calls for just such sacrifices. The same lack of patriotism is shown in a smaller way by a larger number of citizens who make all manner of excuses to avoid public service of various kinds. Patriotism in A good example of this is in jury service. Every jury service person accused of crime or sued at law has the right to trial before a jury of his fellow-citizens (Constitution, Amendments VI and VII). Nearly every man may be called upon to serve on a jury, and he is shirking an important responsibility if, without good cause, he seeks to avoid it. There are some classes of men who are regularly and properly excused from jury service, such as physicians. Other men may, at times, have a valid excuse for not serving. The fact that it is so difficult to get jurymen from the best classes of citizens often results in juries of idlers and ignorant men. One of the strongest safeguards against injustice is thus weakened. The paying of taxes is a most important way of taking part in the government. All citizens who have property are taxed to help pay the expense of government. Patriotism It is surprising to find how many citizens en- in paying deavor to avoid paying their share toward taxes sustaining the government in its work for them. Thou Another way of taking part in the government is by voting for the nomination and election of officers. sands of voters stay away from the polls on Patriotism election day, throwing away the privilege of self- in voting government, and allowing others to govern them. This is especially true at the primaries, which are really the most important part of an election. The choice of good men for the highest offices in the land, even the President, depends on the choice of good men at the primaries. Yet it is notorious that the primaries are poorly attended. Why men do not attend the primaries There are several reasons for this. One is that men feel too busy to leave their work, or they consider the election of delegates and the nomination of local officers too unimportant to take their time. Another reason voters give for not attending the primaries is that they are unacquainted with the candidates for nomination or election, and therefore cannot vote intelligently. In large communities where men do not know all their neighbors, it is difficult for the ordinary busy citizen to keep informed in regard to the merits of the various candidates. If a citizen is sufficiently interested, and does not wait until a day or two before the primary to inform himself, it is usually possible for him to enlighten himself sufficiently to cast his vote wisely. This excuse is often an admission of flagging interest in what is going on in the community during the time between elections. In many of our cities there are reform associations which publish, before election time, the names of the candidates of all parties with a sketch of their records as citizens and public servants. Primaries controlled by a few Another thing that keeps many voters away from the primaries is the feeling that their votes have no real influence, either because of unfair treatment at the primaries, or because the action of the primary is determined beforehand by a few party leaders. Even these are not sufficient reasons for staying away from the polls. If all good citizens in a primary district always attended the primaries, there would usually be enough of them to prevent a small group of politicians from controlling affairs against their will. By staying away the timid voters abandon the fight, before it is begun, to the small but wide-awake group of politicians, who can therefore run things as they please, whether for good or for ill. This brings us to some of the dangers to self-government resulting from the way in which political parties are organized and managed. Dangers of Political parties are unavoidable under a form of government like ours. They are the means of securing united action among the voters who think alike. A voter cannot accomplish much unless he belongs the party to a party and works and votes with it. Yet it spirit must be remembered that a party is merely a means to accomplish a result, and not in itself a sacred thing. The purpose of a party should be to secure good government for all the people. The words of Washington in his Farewell Address should always be kept in mind by the patriotic American citizen. He said: "The spirit [of party], unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissensions . . . is itself a frightful despotism.. The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it." In a government in which the voice of the people rules, and in which the people are divided in their opinion, it is The ma rule for the necessary that the majority shall rule. The party that represents the majority of the voters must jority should determine the policy of the government; but it should not be forgotten that the party in power should govern in the interests of the minority as well as of the majority. The minority should always have an opportunity of expressing their views in the councils of the government, and the party in power should respect their views as far as possible. The party machine, rings and bosses To secure united action among the members of a party there must be organization under the direction of leaders. Each city ward has its leader, or leaders, who gain their position through their ability to influence the voters of the ward and to hold them together. These ward leaders are under the authority of a leader, or "ring" of leaders, for the whole city. If one leader gains great influence over the party in the city, or in the state, he is called a boss. This organization extends throughout the nation, with branches in every community. The organization is often called the machine, the group of leaders controlling the machine is a political ring, and the boss is the commander-in-chief of all, his influence sometimes being limited to a city, or extending over a state or even the whole nation. Party man- These names machine, ring, and boss were applied by the party's enemies. They do not necessarily mean anything bad. A machine (that is, an organization) is necessary, and there must be bosses, or leaders. The evil connected with these things arises from the fact that the machine sometimes falls into the hands of ambitious, but unscrupulous, bosses and rings, who manage the party merely for the party's sake, or what is worse, for their own selfish ends. |