Part 24 (2/2)

There was a time when each one of that masterful race that lived upon the Tiber's banks in the days of the Eternal City's greatest glory believed that ”to be a Roman was greater than to be a king.” And the ideals of civic duty were more nearly realized in that golden hour of human history than they had ever been before--or than they have ever been since until now.

Very well, young man. If to be a Roman then was greater than to be a king, what is it to be an American now?

Think of it! To be an American at the beginning of the twentieth century!

Ponder over these eleven words for ten minutes every day. After a while you will begin to appreciate your country, its inst.i.tutions, and the possibilities which both produce.

Realizing, then, that you are an American, and that, after all, this is a richer possession than royal birth, make up your mind that you will be worthy of it, and then go ahead and be worthy of it.

Be a part of our inst.i.tutions. And understand clearly what our inst.i.tutions are. They are not a set of written laws. _American inst.i.tutions are citizens in action._ American inst.i.tutions are the American people in the tangible and physical process of governing themselves.

A book ought to be written describing how our government actually works. I do not mean the formal machinery of administration and law-making at Was.h.i.+ngton or at our state capitals. These mult.i.tudes of officers and groups of departments, these governors and presidents, these legislatures and congresses, are not the government; they are the instruments of government.

_The people are the government._ What said Lincoln in his greatest utterance? ”A government of the people, for the people, _and by the people_,” are the great American's words. And Lincoln knew.

The real thing is found at the American fireside. This is the forum of both primary and final discussion. These firesides are the hives whence the voters swarm to the polls. The family is the American political unit. Men and measures, candidates and policies, are there discussed, and their fate and that of the Republic determined. This is the first phase of our government, the first manifestation of our inst.i.tutions.

Then comes the machinery through which these millions of homes ”run the government.” I cannot in the limited s.p.a.ce of this paper describe this system of the people; the best I can do is to take a type, an example. In every county of every state of the Nation each party has its committee. This committee consists of a man from each precinct in each towns.h.i.+p of the county. These precinct committeemen are chosen by a process of natural selection. They are men who have an apt.i.tude for marshaling their fellow men.

In the country districts of the Republic they are usually men of good character, good ability, good health, alert, sleepless, strong-willed.

They are men who have enough mental vitality to believe in something.

When they cease to be effective they are dropped, and new men subst.i.tuted by a sort of common consent. There are nearly two hundred thousand precinct committeemen in the United States.

These men are a part of American inst.i.tutions in action. They work all the time. They talk politics and think politics in the midst of their business or their labor. Their casual conversation with or about every family within their jurisdiction keeps them constantly and freshly informed of the tendency of public opinion.

They know how each one of their neighbors feels on the subject of protection, or the Philippines, or civil service, or the currency.

They know the views of every voter and every voter's wife on public men. They understand whether the people think this man honest and that man a mere pretender. The consensus of judgment of these precinct committeemen indicates with fair accuracy who is the ”strongest man”

for his party to nominate, and what policies will get the most votes among the people.

This is their preliminary work. When platforms have been formulated and candidates have been chosen, these men develop from the partizan pa.s.sive to the partizan militant. They know those who, in their own party, are ”weakening,” and by the same token those who are ”weakening” in the other party.

They know just what argument will reach each man, just what speaker the people of their respective sections want to hear upon public questions. They keep everybody supplied with the right kind of literature from their party's view-point.

They either take the poll of their precinct or see that it is taken; and that means the putting down in a book the name of each voter, his past political allegiance, his present political inclinations, the probable ballot he will cast, etc.

Not many of these men do this work for money or office. There are too many of them to hope for reward. Primarily they do it because they are naturally Americans, because they have the gift of government, because they like to help ”run the show.” They are useful elements of our political life, and they are modest. They seldom ask anything for themselves.

They do require, however, that their opinions shall be taken into account as to appointments to office made from their county, and of course they make their opinions felt in all nominating conventions.

Without these men our ”American inst.i.tutions” would look beautiful on paper but they would work haltingly. They would move sluggishly. They might even rust, and fall to pieces from decay.

This much s.p.a.ce has been given to the political precinct committeeman because, as I have said, he is a type. He is the man who sees that the ”citizen” does not forget his citizens.h.i.+p. This great body of men, fresh from the people, of the people, living among the people, are perpetually renewed from the ranks of the people.

All this occurs, as has been said, by a process of natural selection.

The same process selects from this great company of ”workers” county, district, and state committeemen--county, district, and state chairmen. And the process continues until it culminates in our great National committees, headed by masterful captains of popular government, under whose generals.h.i.+p the enormous work of National and state campaigns is conducted.

Very well. If you appreciate your Americanism, young man, show it by being a part of American inst.i.tutions. Be one of these precinct committeemen, or a county committeeman, or a state committeeman, or a worker of some kind. If _you_ do not, a bad man will; and that will mean bad politics and bad government.

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