Part 2 (1/2)
He was stopping with his mother in a country tohen the tailor of the place, in speaking of the day's voting, reen'ally vote, but I did to-day, because they sent a carriage up from the Center for me It takes time to vote and 'tain't much use What does one vote ah to coive me my fare on the cars”
”Why,” said the boy quickly, ”isn't that bribery?”
”Lord, no!” said theabout uneasily ”That jest pays it nothin' for my _vote_”
Sophistries like this should be immediately made clear to the child It would probably be impossible to show them to that tailor
”Our Revolutionary fathers,” said Horace Mann again, ”abandoned their hoer and cold, and stood on the fatal edge of battle, to gain that liberty which their descendants will not even go to the polls to protect Our Pilgrim Fathers expatriated thereater enterprise than now to circuht worshi+p God unmolested,--while many of us throw our votes in wantonness, or for a bribe, or to gratify revenge”
This is a terrible indictment It is not as true now as it was in the time of Horace Mann Still, the lesson contained in it should be impressed upon our children
CHAPTER III
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN POLITICS
Let us have faith that right ht, and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it--ABRAHAM LINCOLN
DURING the last few years the azines have published many helpful series upon politics and a number of these deserve especial credit for their work in this line In one of these articles the writer reh the sins of our time are the same old sins which were denounced by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they are likely now to be enameled with fine new exteriors and called by new na the property of others are characterized by an indirectness and refines”
This is terribly true, and the child should beoutside may cover a black heart Illustrate this fact to him by the story of those beautiful flohose sweet odor is laden with death Tell hiantic thefts alreat city, yet who read a chapter in his Bible every day, and who possessed many kind and even noble qualities Many other publicexaentleman, who did not realize the possible deceitfulness of the outside, went down to the capital of his state to see about some bills which vitally affected his business He had written to the Senator fro and had asked for an appointment to meet him He had never met this man, but the papers had criticized him severely, and our friend was prepared to encounter a mean and churlish creature
”Instead,” he reported upon his return to his hoentleman He met me at the train and took me to my hotel in his own automobile, and invited me to dine with him the next day He lives in a beautiful home I was surprised to see what kind of a o on about him that he had horns and hoofs, but,” he repeated, ”he was a perfect gentleerous ”practical politicians” in the state--one of those who believe that the Ten Command which could benefit himself and his friends He simply could not understand a e not”
”Unlike the old-time villain,” says Mr E A Reed, ”the latter-day malefactor does not wear a slouch-hat and a coin and Bill Sykes and Si types Good, kindly men let the wheels of commerce and industry redden rather than pare their dividends, and our railroads yearly injure one employee in twenty-six, while we look in vain for that promised day of the Lord, which shall ain, ”The tropical belt of sin into which we are noeeping is largely iue mass, 'the public,'
and is there lost to view Hence it does not take a Borgia to knead 'chalk and alu that one cannot know just ill eat that loaf The purveyor of spurious life-preservers need not be a Cain The owner of rotten tenenore the orders of the Health Department, fore-dooms babies, it is true, but for all that, he is no Herod
”Often there are no victims If the crazy hulk sent out for 'just one rafter are now 'good men,' and would have passed for virtuous in the Ao Therefore, people do not always see that boodling is treason; that black is larceny The cloven hoof hides in patent leather, and to-day, as in Hosea's tie”
Let us see to it that our children are not so destroyed
In the old abolition days, Mr Emerson wrote: ”What an education in the public spirit of Massachusetts have been the speeches and reading of our public schools! Every district school has been an anti-slavery convention for these two or three years last past”
Special policies cannot often be taught like this in the modern public school, but the broad principles of pure politics can and should be
For instance, a lesson in Civil Servicethose words, si the sentiment well uttered by Ruskin: ”The first necessity of social life is the clearness of the national conscience in enforcing the law,--_that he should keep who has justly earned_”