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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/5088.txt b/5088.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..af4fc0a --- /dev/null +++ b/5088.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17929 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Community Civics and Rural Life, by Arthur W. Dunn + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Community Civics and Rural Life + +Author: Arthur W. Dunn + +Release Date: February, 2004 [EBook #5088] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on April 24, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMMUNITY CIVICS *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +RURAL EDUCATION SERIES + +EDITED BY HAROLD W. FOGHT + +PRESIDENT SOUTH DAKOTA TEACHERS COLLEGE + +COMMUNITY CIVICS AND RURAL LIFE + +BY ARTHUR W. DUNN + +SPECIALIST IN CIVIC EDUCATION, UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION; +AUTHOR OF "THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN" + + + + + +INTRODUCTORY NOTE + + +This book, like the author's earlier one, The Community and the +Citizen, is a "community civics" text. Two purposes led to the +preparation of this second volume. The first was to produce a text +that would meet the needs of pupils and teachers who live outside +of the environment of the large city. Training for citizenship in +a democracy is a fundamentally identical process in all +communities, whether urban or rural. But, if it really functions +in the life of the citizen, this process must consist largely in +deriving educational values from the actual civic situations in +which he normally finds himself. Moreover, instruction that +relates to matters that lie beyond immediate experience must +nevertheless be interpreted in terms of that experience if it is +really to have meaning. At least half of the young citizens of +America live in an environment that is essentially rural. Hence +their need for civics instruction that takes its point of +departure in, and refers back to, a body of experience that +differs in many ways from that of the urban citizen. + +This does not imply that urban conditions should be ignored in the +civic education of the rural citizen. On the contrary, one of the +things that every citizen should be led to appreciate is the +interdependence of country and city in a unified national life. In +the present volume emphasis is given to this interdependence. For +this reason, and because of the fundamental principles which have +controlled the development of the text, it is believed that the +book may perform a distinct service even in city schools. + +The second purpose in undertaking the present book has been to +make as obvious as possible the elements which, in the author's +judgment, characterize "community civics" and give it vitality. +The Community and the Citizen was a pioneer among texts that have +sought to vitalize the study of government and citizenship. The +term "community civics" became current only at a later time to +designate the "new civics" which that book represented. It seems +to the author, however, that many teachers and others have seized +upon some of the more incidental, even though important, features +of the "new civics" without apparently recognizing its really +vital characteristics. + +For example, the "new civics" performed a real service in giving +emphasis to the study of the "local community," which was being +sadly neglected ten or fifteen years ago. It was this emphasis, +doubtless, that gave rise to the name "community civics." But +"local study," even though labelled "community civics," may be, +and often is, entirely lacking in vitalizing features. On the +other hand, the vitalizing methods that should characterize +community civics may be applied to the study of our "national +community," and even of the embryonic "world community,"--and +should be so applied in any "community civics" that is worthy of a +place in our schools in this critical period of national and world +history. The real significance of the term "community civics" is +to be found in its application to an interpretation of the +COMMUNITY-CHARACTER of national and international life equally +with that of town or neighborhood. + +Another service that community civics performed was in introducing +certain elements of social or "sociological" study into grades as +low as the grammar school. This has sometimes led to the +description of community civics as "elementary sociology." The +Community and the Citizen was perhaps the first "civics" textbook +to include such "sociological" material. So far as that book is +concerned, at least, the "sociological" material was included +PRIMARILY to afford a viewpoint from which the better to interpret +GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP. This point seems often to be missed, +with the result that in some schools we find a more or less +vitalized "social study" labelled "community civics," FOLLOWED BY +a formal study of government that shows no obvious, organic +relation to the earlier study. Whatever else "community civics" +may accomplish, one of its foremost aims should be TO MAKE +GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING THAT OF THE NATION, MEAN SOMETHING TO THE +YOUNG CITIZEN. In the present book the author has endeavored to +keep this aim prominent in the mind of the teacher. It is hoped +that the organic relation of the last few chapters, which deal +explicitly with governmental mechanism and operation, to the +earlier chapters will be obvious. + +The underlying, vitalizing features of community civics may be +summed up as: + +1. THE DEMONSTRATION TO THE YOUNG CITIZEN, BY REFERENCE TO HIS OWN +OBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE, OF THE MEANING OF HIS COMMUNITY LIFE +(LOCAL AND NATIONAL), AND OF GOVERNMENT IN ITS RELATION TO THAT +LIFE; + +2. THE CULTIVATION OF CERTAIN HABITS, IDEALS, AND ATTITUDES +ESSENTIAL TO EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THAT LIFE THROUGH +GOVERNMENT AND OTHERWISE. + +The aim of the following text is to fix in the pupil's +consciousness a few essential ideas, which will help to determine +his ideals and attitudes, by a judicious USE of facts, which will +thereby be more readily remembered and understood. "The most +important element of success in community life ... is TEAM WORK; +and team work depends, first of all, UPON A COMMON PURPOSE". The +controlling ideas throughout the following chapters are: + +1. The common purposes in our community life; + +2. Our interdependence in attaining these common purposes; + +3. The consequent necessity for cooperation (team work); + +4. Government as a means of securing teamwork for the common good. +These ideas are set up in the first few chapters and exemplified +in the remaining chapters. They are easily grasped by young +citizens when DEMONSTRATED by reference to their own observation +and experience, which the text and the accompanying topics seek as +far as possible to compel. The last few chapters contain an +analysis of our governmental mechanism which seeks to answer the +question, How far does our government provide the organization, +the leadership, and the control over leadership necessary to +secure the teamwork which the preceding chapters have shown to be +essential? + +The present volume is larger than The Community and the Citizen. +The author believes that this is an advantage, especially for +pupils in communities where supplementary materials are not so +easily available. The increased length is due chiefly to the +liberal incorporation of concrete illustrative and explanatory +matter. Young students need larger textbooks, provided the +additional matter clothes the skeleton with living flesh. + +Whether based on this textbook or some other, however, community +civics cannot be successfully taught if it is made primarily a +textbook study. The word "demonstration" has been used advisedly +in the paragraphs above as applied to the ideas to be taught. The +text sets up ideas, interprets and exemplifies them; but +"demonstration" can be made only as the pupils draw upon their own +observation and experience. Hence, numerous SUGGESTIVE topics are +interspersed throughout to divert attention from the text and to +direct it to the actualities of the pupils' experience. Even the +topics should not be followed literally in every case, but should +be diversified to meet the needs and opportunities of the +occasion. But to "omit" such studies as suggested by the topics is +to negate the value of community civics. + +The successful teacher will seek to extend the pupil's opportunity +to participate in group activities both within the school and in +the community outside, and will make the fullest possible use of +such activities both as a means of demonstrating the operation of +the fundamental principles of civic life, and as a means of +cultivating "habits, ideals, and attitudes." "Training for +citizenship through service" is an essential factor in community +civics. + +"Community civics" has now been quite definitely assigned to the +junior high school grades (see Report of Committee on Social +Studies, Bulletin, 1916, No. 28, U.S. Bureau of Education). While +the tendency is toward continuous civics instruction in all of +these grades, practice still varies greatly. The present text has +been written in recognition of this variation and is, in the +author's judgment, adapt able to any of the grades in question. If +community civics is placed below the ninth grade, however, the +author would suggest its distribution over both seventh and eighth +grades. An outline suggesting a vital coordination between the +civics and the history of these grades, and of particular service +in the seventh grade, is given in United States Bureau of +Education Bulletin, 1919, No. 50, Part 3 (a report on Civic +Education for the Schools of Memphis, Tenn.). + +It may be added that community civics in the junior high school +grades will be vastly more effective if it is preceded in the six +elementary grades by some such course as that outlined in +Citizenship in School and Out (Dunn and Harris, published by D.C. +Heath & Company). See also Lessons in Civics for the Six +Elementary Grades of City Schools, by Hannah Margaret Harris +(Bulletin, 1920, No. 18, U.S. Bureau of Education). + +A list of "Readings" is appended to each of the following +chapters. While it is not expected that pupils in the grades for +which the book is intended will do a great deal of reading outside +of the text, an abundance of illustrative material is desirable +and much more easily available, even for rural schools, than is +often appreciated. Let the pupils USE THEIR GOVERNMENT, in this +connection, as freely as possible. A very large part of the +references given are to government publications, many of which can +be obtained free of cost directly from the departments issuing +them, and all of which can be had for a nominal cost from the +Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, +Washington, D.C. Useful publications of the state government and +of state institutions can usually be had for the asking. In +ordering from the Superintendent of Documents the money must be +sent in advance (stamps are not accepted). Lists of publications +with the prices may be obtained from the Superintendent of +Documents, or from the several Departments of the Government. + +Frequent reference is made to Lessons in Community and National +Life. These are issued in three pamphlets (Series A, B, and C) by +the United States Bureau of Education, at 15 cents per pamphlet. +They contain a large amount of illustrative material. A very few +books are referred to in certain chapters because of their +especial value when obtainable. Among these are two collections of +patriotic selections valuable because of their emphasis upon +national ideals--Long's American Patriotic Prose (D.C. Heath & +Company), and Foerster and Pierson's American Ideals (Houghton +Mifflin Company). Other similar collections will be found useful. + +The illustrations of the book, with comparatively few exceptions, +are from photographs furnished by various departments of the +United States Government. + +ARTHUR W. DUNN. + + + + + +EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION + + +Rural schools, and schools whose pupils have largely a background +of rural experience, have not done as much as they should towards +training for citizenship. This is largely because the text books +have failed to interpret citizenship and government in terms of +the actual experience of such pupils, or to stimulate teamwork and +leadership in communities with a distinctly rural background. More +over, in city and rural schools alike, there has been failure to +emphasize the interdependence of rural and urban communities in a +single national enterprise. Community Civics and Rural Life is +planned to meet these deficiencies. + +There has been too much TALKING ABOUT citizenship in school, and +too little LIVING it from day to day. Training for citizenship +necessitates its daily practice in school and out. In the hands of +an able teacher, Community Civics and Rural Life should point the +way to real community living, both now and in the future. It +should teach the pupils what their real civic responsibilities are +as well as their civic opportunities--and assist them to embrace +them when they come. Children so trained will learn to respect, +now and later, the rights of their neighbors, and will become as +fair in their dealings with the government as with their +fellowmen. They will furnish their communities with the right kind +of leaders, unselfish and public spirited. When the time calls, +they will be ready to accept and shed a new dignity upon the old +positions of school trustee, highway engineer, sanitary inspector, +township supervisor, county commissioner, or the more conspicuous +offices of state and national government. Or as plain citizens +they will lend these officials their active support for community +and national betterment. + +HAROLD W. FOGHT. + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I. Our Common Purposes in Community Life +II. How We Depend Upon One Another in Community Life +III. The Need for Cooperation in Community Life +IV. Why We Have Government +V. What is Citizenship? +VI. What is Our Community? +VII. Our National Community +VIII. A World Community +IX. The Home +X. Why Government Helps in Home Making +XI. Earning a Living +XII. Government as a Means of Cooperation in Agriculture +XIII. Thrift +XIV. The Relation Between the People and the Land +XV. Conserving Our Natural Resources +XVI. Protection of Property and Property Rights +XVII. Roads and Transportation +XVIII. Communication +XIX. Education +XX. The Community's Health +XXI. Social, Aesthetic, and Spiritual Wants +XXII. Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Members of the Community +XXIII. Teamwork in Taxation +XXIV. How We Govern Ourselves +XXV. Our Local Governments +XXVI. Our State Governments +XXVII. Our National Government +Appendix--The Constitution of the United States + + + + + +COMMUNITY CIVICS + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +OUR COMMON PURPOSES IN COMMUNITY LIFE + +TEAM WORK AND COMMON PURPOSES + + +The most important element of success in community life, as in a +ball game, a family, or a school, is TEAM WORK; and team work +depends, first of all, upon a COMMON PURPOSE. Our nation gave an +example of team work during the recent war such as is seldom seen; +and this was be cause every member of the nation was keenly intent +on WINNING. We may see the same thing in our school when Christmas +entertainment is being planned, when an athletic tournament is +approaching, or when some other school activity is under way in +which all are deeply interested. It is often illustrated in our +town, or rural neighborhood when some important enterprise is on +foot, such as the building of a new railroad into town, a Red +Cross "drive" and a county fair, or the construction of a much +needed new schoolhouse. + +RECOGNITION OF COMMON PURPOSES + +All communities have common purposes, although they are not always +as clearly defined as when our nation was at war, or as in the +other cases mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Sometimes the +people of a community, or a large portion of them, seem to be +wholly unconscious that a common purpose exists. This may be true +even in a family or in a school. And when this happens, the effect +is the same as if there WERE no common purpose. No club or +athletic team can be successful unless its members have a common +purpose AND UNDERSTAND IT. Insofar as our communities are +imperfect--and none of them, is perfect--it is largely because +their members fail to recognize or understand their common +purposes. + +People in communities have common purposes because they have the +same wants. This may not at first seem to be true. + +COMMON PURPOSES DUE TO COMMON WANTS + +If we visit a large city, we see throngs of people hurrying hither +and thither, jostling one another, apparently in the greatest +confusion. We wonder where they are all going, what they are +doing, what they are seeking. In rural communities or in small +towns there is less apparent confusion than in the bustling life +of the city. Yet even here it is not always easy to see common +purposes and common interests. Whether in large or small +communities, we are more likely to be impressed by the VARIETY of +men's wants and even by the CONFLICT of their purposes. + +But no matter how numerous and conflicting our wants may seem, +they may all be grouped in a very few important kinds, which are +common to all of us alike. It will be worthwhile to test the truth +of this, because it will help us to see our community life in some +kind of order, and will throw a flood of light upon the common +purposes that control it. + +PHYSICAL WANTS: LIFE AND HEALTH + +For example, we all want food, drink, and sleep, clothing to +protect our bodies, and houses to shelter us. But all these things +supply our PHYSICAL wants; that is, they re late to LIFE AND +HEALTH. Many of the things that we do every day are important +because of their relation to our physical well-being. One reason +why we enjoy out door sports is that they make our blood tingle +and give a sense of physical pleasure. Unless our physical wants +are provided for, the other wants of life cannot well be +satisfied. Good health is a priceless possession. + +Mention some things you have done today for your physical welfare. + +THE WANT FOR ASSOCIATION WITH OTHERS + +Another reason why sports and games give pleasure is be cause of +the association they afford with other people. ASSOCIATION WITH +OTHERS is a second great want which explains many of the things we +do. Whatever may be our other reasons for going to school, it +affords us the opportunity to meet and work and play with other +boys and girls to our pleasure and profit. One of the objections +often raised against life in the country is the lack of +opportunity for association with other people. But life in the +country is not so isolated as it once was; and one may be very +much alone in a city crowd, where nearly all are strangers to one +another, and where there is very little real association among +individuals. City families often live in the same apartment house +without knowing one another. + +What are some things you do especially for the sake of +companionship? + +THE WANT FOR KNOWLEDGE + +While going to school enables us to associate with others, the +principal reason for going is to gain KNOWLEDGE. Whether we always +like our studies or not, we certainly want knowledge, and seek it +in many ways. We read the newspaper or magazine that comes to the +home. We ask questions of parents and others who have had more +experience than we. We may travel to see new sights. We examine +with curiosity a new machine for the farm. The discoveries and +inventions that mark man's progress in civilization are the result +of his unquenchable thirst for knowledge. + +Mention some of the different ways in which you seek knowledge. + +Mention some geographic and scientific discoveries that have been +made through man's search for knowledge. + +What is science? Name some sciences. + +THE WANT FOR BEAUTY + +Besides health and knowledge and association with other people, we +want surroundings that are pleasant and beautiful. The want for +BEAUTY is sometimes more neglected than other wants, but it is +important, and we all have it and seek to satisfy it in some way +or other. It may be at one time by a walk in the woods or fields, +or at other times by cultivating flowers, by keeping our room +tidy, by looking at pictures, or by exercising good taste in +clothing. We also enjoy beauty in sound, as the song of birds or +music in the home or school. + +In what ways do you provide for this want? + +THE RELIGIOUS WANT + +Very likely we go to church on Sunday. It affords opportunity to +enjoy association with others, to add to our knowledge, and to +hear beautiful music. But the church service is one of the chief +means by which people satisfy another of the great wants of life +--the RELIGIOUS want. Individuals differ in their religious ideas +and in the depth of their religious feelings, but in every +community there are certain things that men do because of it. + +What are some of the great religions of the world? + +Is religion a strong influence in your community? + +Can you mention any great historical events that were due to +religious causes? + +THE WANT FOR WEALTH + +Perhaps after school, or on Saturdays, or in vacation time, we +work at tasks to earn money, or at least help in occupations that +contribute to the "living" of the family. Doubtless we have +thought more or less about what we are going to do for a living +after we leave school. We all have a desire to own things, to have +property, to accumulate WEALTH. This also is one of the great +wants of life. We have perhaps already experienced the +satisfaction of raising our own first crop of corn or potatoes, of +acquiring our first livestock, of putting away or selling our +first supply of canned fruits or vegetables, of buying a set of +tools, a bicycle, or some books, of starting a bank account. But +after all the chief reason why we want wealth, or to "make money," +is because of what we can do with it. It enables us to satisfy our +wants. Earning a living simply means earning the things that +satisfy our wants in life. + +Make a blackboard list of the occupations by which the parents and +other members of the families of the pupils in the class make a +living. + +Make a blackboard list of things done by members of the class to +earn money. + +What is your choice of occupation by which to make a living in the +future? Why? Make a blackboard list for the whole class. + +THESE WANTS GIVE PURPOSE TO COMMUNITY LIFE + +The six kinds of wants that we have indicated clearly account for +many of the things that we do. In fact, ALL of our wants are of +one or another of these kinds and EVERYTHING we do is important +because of its relation to them. We may not be ready, yet, to +accept this statement. We may think of wants that seem at first +not to fall under any of these six kinds. It will do no harm to +add other kinds to the list if we think it necessary. But, at all +events, the six kinds of wants mentioned are common to all of us. +We live in communities in order to provide for them, and a +community is good to live in proportion as it provides for all of +them adequately. It is these wants that give COMMON PURPOSE to our +community life. + +Make as complete a list as possible of the things you did +yesterday (outside of school as well as in school). Then extend +the list to include the more important things done during the +entire week. + +Write the six wants across the top of a page of your notebook or a +sheet of paper: + +Health +Knowledge +Association +Beauty +Religion +Wealth + +Arrange the activities in your list in the six columns according +to the wants which they satisfy. If any activity clearly satisfies +more than one of the wants, write it down in EACH of the proper +columns. + +Which column is the longest? which comes next? which is the +shortest? + +Is your longest column also the longest in the lists made by other +members of your class? Compare your other columns with those of +your classmates. Which wants seem to keep you busiest? + +Which do you think is most important? Why? Discuss this question +in class. Do you all agree in regard to this point? + +If any of the activities in your list are for the purpose of +earning money, tell for what you expect to spend the money. Show +how the things you expect to buy with your money will help to +satisfy your other five wants. + +For which of these six wants do you spend the most time in +providing? your father? your mother? If there is a difference in +the three answers, why is it? + +Do you have difficulty in classifying any of the things you do, or +that you see others do, under any of the six heads? Make note of +these things and, as your study proceeds, see if the difficulty of +classification is removed. + +Suppose a boy is a BULLY: what wants does he satisfy by his +bullying conduct? Suppose a boy or a girl is ambitious to become a +LEADER, either among present companions or later in social life, +business, or politics: under which head or heads would you place +this ambition? + +A boy wants to enlist in the army, or a girl as an army nurse: do +these wants come under any of the six heads? + +Would you, after your discussion of these topics, add any other +group or kind of wants to the six mentioned? If so, what would you +call it? + +Every one wants HAPPINESS. Why is it not necessary to make a +special group under this head? + +Make a list of things done in your home to provide for each of the +six wants. + +What is done in your school to provide for the want for health? +for beauty? for association with others? for the religious want? +Has your school work any relation to your desire to make a living? +Is it the business of the school to provide for all these things +as well as for the want for knowledge? + +Make a list of a few things done in your community outside of the +home and school to provide for each of the six wants. + +Think of something in which your entire community is deeply +interested, such as the improvement of the roads, or the building +of a new high school, or a county fair, and explain what wants it +provides for. + +What wants do the following things provide for: rural mail +delivery; weather reports; a corn club (or a similar club); a +school garden; a library; the telephone; a hospital; a parent- +teacher association? + +THE PURPOSE OF DEMOCRACY + +We may often hear our common purposes as communities or as a +nation stated in different terms than those suggested in the +paragraphs above. For example, Franklin K. Lane, the Secretary of +the Interior during the war, said, "Our national purpose is to +transmute days of dreary work into happier lives--for ourselves +first and for all others in their time." Again, President Wilson +said that our purpose in entering the world war was to help "make +the world safe for democracy." Although these two statements read +differently, they mean very much the same thing; and they both +refer in general terms to the things this chapter discusses in +more familiar and express terms. For "happier lives" can only +result from a more complete satisfaction of our common wants. Our +own happiness comes from the satisfaction of our own wants AND +FROM HELPING TO SATISFY THE WANTS OF OTHERS. And "democracy" +means, in part, that the COMMON WANTS OF ALL shall be properly +provided for. + +In the Declaration of Independence we read: + + WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED +EQUAL THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN +UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE +PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. + +OUR UNALIENABLE RIGHTS + +The statement that "all men are created equal" has troubled many +people when they have thought of the obvious inequalities that +exist in natural ability and opportunity. But whatever +inequalities may exist, people are absolutely equal in their RIGHT +to satisfy the wants described in this chapter. These are the +"unalienable rights" which the Declaration of Independence sums up +in the phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That +community is best to live in that most nearly provides equal +opportunity for all its citizens to enjoy these rights. From the +Declaration of Independence to the present day, our great national +purpose has been to increase this opportunity, even though at +times we have apparently not been conscious of it, and even though +we have fallen short of its fulfillment. One of the chief objects +of our study is to find out how our communities are seeking to +accomplish this purpose. + +"The Declaration of Independence did not mention the questions of +our day. It is of no consequence to us unless we can translate its +general terms into examples of the present day and substitute them +in some vital way for the examples it itself gives, so concrete, +so intimately involved in the circumstances of the day in which it +was conceived and written. It is an eminently practical document, +meant for the use of practical men ... Unless we can translate it +into the questions of our own day, we are not worthy of it, we are +not sons of the sires who acted in response to its challenge."-- +Woodrow Wilson, in The New Freedom, pp. 48, 49. + +A and B are two boys of the same age. One was born in a rich +family, and one in a very poor family. So far as this accident of +birth is concerned, have they equal OPPORTUNITY to satisfy the +wants of life? Have they an equal RIGHT to health? to an +education? to pleasant surroundings? to earn a good living? + +Suppose A is a Native American boy, and B a foreign-born boy who +speaks a foreign language: does this make any difference in their +RIGHT to life and health, an education, etc.? Does it make any +difference in their OPPORTUNITY to satisfy their wants in these +directions? + +Can you think of persons in your community who have less +OPPORTUNITY to satisfy their wants than you have? Can you think of +any persons who have less RIGHT to satisfy their wants than you +have? + +The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States +comprise what is known as a "bill of rights." Study together in +class this bill of rights (see Appendix) to see how many of the +wants described in this chapter are there, provided for directly +and indirectly. + +Has your state constitution a bill of rights? If so, read it +together in class for the same purpose as suggested in the last +question. + +READINGS + +Preamble of the Constitution of the United States (see Appendix). + +The Declaration of Independence. + +Dunn, Arthur W., The Community and the Citizen, Chapters, i, iv. +(Heath). + +Tufts, James H., The Real Business of Living (Henry Holt & Co.), +Chapter xxxix, ("Democracy as Equality"). + +Van Dyke, Henry, "Equality of Opportunity," in Long's American +Patriotic Prose, pp. 311, 312 (Heath). + +See the note on reference materials in the Introduction to this +book. + +It should become a HABIT of both teacher and pupils to be on the +constant lookout for news items and discussions in available +newspapers and periodicals illustrative of the points made in each +chapter or lesson. Individual scrapbooks may be made, but more +important than this is the assembling of such material as a class +enterprise, its classification under proper heads, and its +preservation in scrapbooks or in files as working material for +succeeding classes. There will always be enough for each class to +do, while each class at the same time contributes to the success +of the work of later classes. The idea of SERVICE should dominate +such work. + + + + + +CHAPTER II + +HOW WE DEPEND UPON ONE ANOTHER IN COMMUNITY LIFE + +INTERDEPENDENCE AN IMPORTANT FACT + + +Nothing could be freer than air. But even as we sit in our +schoolroom, whether or not we get all the pure air we need, +depends upon how the schoolhouse was built for ventilation, the +number of people who occupy the room, the care that is taken by +others to keep the room free from dust, the health and cleanliness +of those who sit in the room with us. If this dependence upon +others is true in the case of the very air we breathe, how much +more true it must be of other necessities of life that are not so +abundant. + +This dependence of people upon one another for the satisfaction of +their wants is one of the most important facts about community +life. It is not merely that A and B have the SAME wants, but that +A is dependent upon B, and B upon A, for the satisfaction of their +wants, that makes their wants COMMON. + +Mention the people, both inside and outside of your home, who had +a share in providing for you the food you had for breakfast or +dinner. + +Mention all the workers that occur to you who have been employed +in producing the clothing you wear; the book you are reading; the +materials of which your house is built. + +Show how the people who produce these things are dependent upon +your wants for their livelihood. + +Show that you are dependent upon other people for your education; +for recreation. Are other people dependent upon your education for +their welfare? Are others dependent on you for their recreation? + +INDEPENDENCE OF THE PIONEER + +The farmer's life is often spoken of as an independent life. His +independence was certainly much more complete in pioneer days than +it is now. In regard to the early days of Indiana, it has been +said: + +Give the pioneer farmer an axe and an auger, or in place of the +last a burning iron, and he could make almost any machine that he +was wont to work with. With his sharp axe he could not only cut +the logs for his cabin and notch them down, but he could make a +close-fitting door and supply it with wooden hinges and a neat +latch. From the roots of an oak or ash he could fashion his hames +and sled runners; he could make an axle-tree for his wagon, a +rake, a flax brake, a barrow, a scythe-snath, a grain cradle a +pitchfork, a loom, a reel, a washboard, a stool, a chair, a table, +a bedstead, a dresser, and a cradle in which to rock the baby. If +he was more than ordinarily clever, he repaired his own cooperage, +and adding a drawing knife to his kit of tools, he even went so +far as to make his own casks, tubs, and buckets. He made and +mended his own shoes. [Footnote: Quoted in Pioneer Indianapolis, +by Ida Stearns Stickney, p. 11 (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis).] + +We also read that in early New England: + +Every farmhouse was a manufactory, not of one kind of goods, but +of many. All day long in the chamber or attic the sound of the +spinning-wheel and loom could be heard. Carpets, shawls, +bedspreads, tablecovers, towels, and cloth for garments were made +from materials made on the farm. The kitchen of the house was a +baker's shop, a confectioner's establishment, and a chemist's +laboratory. Every kind of food for immediate use was prepared +there daily; and on special occasions sausages, head cheese, +pickles, apple butter, and preserves were made. It was also the +place where soap, candles, and vinegar were manufactured. +Agricultural implements were then few and simple, and farmers made +as many of them as they could. Every farmhouse was a creamery and +cheese factory. As there were no sewing machines, the farmer's +wife and daughters had to ply the hand needle most of the time +when they were not engaged in more laborious pursuits. During the +long evenings they generally knit socks and mittens or made rag +carpets. [Footnote: Nourse, Agricultural Economics, p 64, from +"The Farmer's Changed Conditions," by Rodney Welsh, in the Forum, +x, 689-92 (Feb., 1891).] + +THE PRICE OF INDEPENDENCE + +But even under such conditions as those described, the farmer and +his family were not wholly independent. Even Robinson Crusoe on +his lonely island was dependent upon the tools and equipment that +he saved from shipwrecks, and that were the product of other men's +labor. So, also, the pioneer farmer had to maintain some kind of +relation, however infrequent and slight, with the outside world. +Moreover, he had to pay for his comparative independence by many +privations. He had all the wants described in the preceding +chapter, but he had to provide for them in the simplest way +possible, and often they were hardly provided for at all. + +THE GROWTH OF INTERDEPENDENCE + +As soon as a number of people come to live together, even in a +pioneer community, it is likely that some members will have a +knack for doing certain things of use to the community better than +others can do them. Thus one man may be especially skillful in +making axe handles. In time, the entire community comes to depend +upon him for its axe handles. In addition, he probably makes other +tools and does repair work of all kinds. This requires so much of +his time that he does little or no farming, and depends upon +others for his food supply. So in a course of time the community +has its blacksmiths, carpenters, shoe-makers, teachers, +storekeepers and doctors upon whom it depends for their special +kinds of service, while each of them depends upon others to supply +the wants that he has neither the time nor the skill to supply for +himself. Thus interdependence develops in the simplest +communities. + +THE DEPENDENCE ON OTHERS OF THE MODERN FARMER + +The farmer still does many things on the farm that in the city +would be done by special workers, such as repairing houses, barns, +and tools. But he has become vastly more dependent upon others +than formerly. This is due partly to improved farming methods, +requiring the use of complicated machines and greater technical +knowledge; and partly to improved means of transportation and +communication which bring him in close touch with trade centers. +If a farmer needs a new axe handle, he can get a better one with +less expenditure of time and effort by going to town in his +automobile than if he made it himself. His farm machinery is too +complicated for him to repair except in small matters, and even +then he must go or send to town for the necessary parts, which may +be sent to him by parcel post. Not only does he get better tools +and services generally through this reliance upon others who are +specialists in their lines, but also on account of it has more +time to give to the actual business of farming, for which others +depend upon him, and leisure for thoughtful study of his problems, +for social life, and for recreation. + +THE VALUE OF SELF-RELIANCE + +It must be acknowledged that reliance upon others may be carried +so far as to result in loss or disadvantage. "Self-reliance" is +one of the most admirable traits of character. The pioneer farmer +possessed it from necessity to a remarkable extent. A habit of +depending upon others may quickly cause a person to lose the +"knack" of doing things for himself, to become less "handy about +the place," and less "thrifty" about keeping things in repair or +installing small improvements--the casting of a cement trough, +mending the harness or the fence or painting the barn. + +WHO MAKES OUR SHOES + +The interdependence of people in community life to-day may be +illustrated by starting with some of our own needs, as was +suggested in the topics on page 12. For example, if we need a pair +of shoes, we must have money, which we will suppose that we earn +by farming. In order to farm successfully we must have machinery. +This we also buy in town; but it is manufactured for us in distant +city factories from metals procured from mines and from wood from +the forest. The shoes bought at the store were also made in a +factory employing hundreds of men and women, perhaps in +Massachusetts. They were made from leather from the hides of +cattle raised in the far west, or perhaps even in the Argentine +Republic. The leather is tanned by another industry, and tanning +requires the use of an acid from the bark of certain trees from +the forest. The making of the shoes also requires machinery which +is made by still other machines, the necessary metals coming from +mines. To smelt the metals and to run the factories there must be +fuel from other mines. Meanwhile the workers in all these +industries must be fed and clothed and housed. This means the work +of farmers, food packers, millers and bakers, lumbermen, +carpenters, cotton and woolen mills, clothing factories, and many +others. At every stage transportation enters in,--by team and +automobile truck, by railway, by water. These are only a part of +the activities necessary in order that we may have a pair of +shoes. It would seem that practically every kind of worker and +industry in the world had something to do with it. People in +communities today are indeed very interdependent. + +The following item appeared in a newspaper: + +HELD BACK BY NEIGHBORS + +Farmer Is Limited by Conditions in Community + +The average farmer is limited in the changes he can make in his +farm business by the farm practices of the community in which he +is living. + +There are farmers in every community who would like to change +their systems of agriculture but are restrained from doing so by +the fact that their neighbors will not change. Many farmers have +tried to change from one type of farming to another better suited +to the region, but failed because the cost of running such an +entirely independent business was too great. + +A man owning an orchard in a locality where there are no other +orchards has trouble getting rid of his crop. Even when the farmer +is so fortunate as to get buyers, he generally receives a lower +price for the same grade of fruit than would be received in a +general apple-growing region. + +If a man wants to buy several purebred Holstein cows, he generally +goes to a locality where a large number of farmers keep that kind +of stock. Often there is a man in his own community who has for +sale Holsteins that are just as highly bred as those in other +districts, but he either has no market for them or must sell them +at a greatly reduced price. + +The farmer ought not to think on account of these facts that he +should not change his system of farming just because his neighbors +do not do likewise. + +Probably the best way for a farmer to start such a movement is to +arouse the interest of his neighbors in his farming operations. As +soon as this has been accomplished he can gradually bring about +the change that he advocates. Farmers in a community profit from +the experiences of other individuals. + +WHAT GIVES VALUE TO LAND + +The value of a man's property is dependent not upon his efforts +alone, but upon what his neighbors do. The land occupied by a +pioneer increases in value as other people settle in the +neighborhood, and BECAUSE they settle there. Men often buy land +and then simply wait for it to increase in value because of +improvements in the neighborhood. The property that we own may +increase or decrease in value according to the care that neighbors +take of their property. Even if we take good care of our property, +it will be less valuable if the neighbors let their fences and +buildings run down and the weeds grow than it will be if they keep +their fences and buildings in good repair and their weeds cut. + +INTERDEPENDENCE IN HEALTH + +Malaria is carried by mosquitoes, and we know that mosquitoes +breed in standing water, as in swamps and in old barrels or tin +cans that hold rainwater until it becomes stagnant. Now we may +endeavor to get rid of mosquitoes, and thus of malaria, by +removing all open receptacles of water about our premises and by +draining the marshes on our land; but unless our neighbors do the +same, we are not much better off than we were before. + +Give other illustrations to show the dependence of people upon one +another in your community. + +Compare the farmer of to-day in your neighborhood with the pioneer +of Indiana described on page 14 with respect to his equipment, +skill in making things and kinds of implements used. + +Compare the average farmer's home in your neighborhood to-day with +that of the New England farmer described on page 14 with respect +to household activities. + +Are farmers in your neighborhood to-day more or less dependent +upon others to supply their wants than they were when your parents +were children? Why is it? Get all the information you can from +your parents on this point. + +Which is more dependent upon others for its daily wants: a family +that lives on a farm in your neighborhood or one that lives in +town? Give examples to prove your answer. + +Do you know cases in your own community where land has increased +in value while lying idle? What are the reasons? + +Do you know of cases in your community where property has +depreciated in value because of neighborhood influences such as +suggested on page 18? + +Do you know of cases in your community similar to the one +described on page 17 under the heading "Held Back by Neighbors"? +Explain. (Consult at home.) + +UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF INTERDEPENDENCE + +We do not always realize how dependent we are upon one another +until something happens to disturb our accustomed relations. We +best realize our dependence upon the telephone when it is out of +order. The recent great war produced conditions that made us +conscious of our interdependence in unexpected ways. + +For example, if we had gone into a store to buy underwear in the +early part of the war, we would have found that the price had +greatly increased, and we might have been told, if the salesman +were well informed, that the high price was due to the manufacture +of airplanes! The explanation is that the wire stays used in the +manufacture of airplanes are made of steel wire from which machine +knitting needles are also made. In the early part of the war all +of the available wire of this kind was taken for airplanes, thus +limiting the supply of knitting needles and consequently of knit +goods. + +The manufacture of airplanes is also said to have affected the +price of fish! The nets used for catching certain deep-sea fish, +such as cod, must be made of linen, which is invisible in water. +The linen which had been used for this purpose suddenly came into +great demand for the manufacture of airplane wings. Since +airplanes were necessary, linen fishing nets were sacrificed and +the price of deep-sea fish went up. This, of course, created a +demand for other kinds of fish, and the price of the latter also +went up. + +CONFLICTS DUE TO INTERDEPENDENCE + +When people are so closely dependent upon one another conflicts +are likely to occur. Sometimes they are due to selfish disregard +by some persons of the rights and interests of others; but more +often they are due simply to failure to see what the real results +of a particular act may be and how it may affect other people. It +was not dreamed that the building of airplanes would affect the +price of underwear and fish, and it was only after careful +investigation that the relation between these things was +discovered. A family that is careless in the disposal of refuse +from the household and stables may unconsciously poison the wells +of neighbors half a mile away. Sometimes men oppose public +improvements, such as better roads, or a new schoolhouse, because +they see only the direct costs of the improvements, and fail to +see the more important losses to themselves and to the community +if the improvements are not made. + +DANGER OF HASTY JUDGMENTS + +One thing we may learn from such facts as these is the danger of +forming hasty judgments about things that happen, or conditions +that exist, or proposals that are made, in our community life. +Even those conditions or events that are apparently most simple +may be related to other conditions and events that are not at +first apparent. Wise judgment and wise action are dependent upon +the most complete knowledge obtainable. + +We shall see, as we proceed with our study, how this fact of +interdependence appears in every phase of our community life. + +From observation in your own community, give illustrations to show +how people, in attempting to satisfy their own wants, may +interfere with the efforts of others to satisfy theirs. The +following are given as suggestions: + +An employer and those whom he employs. + +A man who owns a house or farm and the tenant to whom he rents it. + +A man who keeps a livery stable adjoining a schoolhouse. + +A grocer who displays his goods on the sidewalk (especially food +products). + +Men who raise cattle and those who raise sheep on the western +ranges. + +A boy who raises chickens and one who has a garden adjoining. + +Suppose a schoolmate comes to school with measles or some other +contagious disease. How may this affect your schoolwork? your +association with your friends? How may it even add to your +father's expenses? + +Show that your schoolmates are as dependent upon you as you are +upon them. + +Is the community in which you live dependent upon you in any way? +Give illustrations. + +Taxpayers like to keep the tax rate as low as possible. In their +interest in doing this, is it possible that they might interfere +with your getting a good education in favorable surroundings? +Explain. Who are the taxpayers? + +We often hear of "self-made men." What does it mean? Can a man be +entirely "self-made"? + +Does a child become more or less dependent upon others as he grows +older? Explain your answer. + +Show that as a person becomes more "self-dependent" other people +become more dependent upon him; for example, in the home, and in +school. + +Watch the newspapers for items illustrating interdependence, or +conflicts due to it. + +READINGS + +Lessons in Community and National Life (see note on reference +materials in Introduction) + +Series A: Lesson 1, Some fundamental aspects of social organization. + Lesson 2, The western pioneer. + +Series B: Lesson 1, The effect of the war on commerce in nitrate. + Lesson 2, The varied occupations of a colonial farm. + Lesson 12, Impersonality of modern life. + +Series C: Lesson 1, The war and aeroplanes. + Lesson 2, Spinning and dyeing in colonial times. + Lesson 9, Inventions. + Lesson 11, The effects of machinery on rural life. + +Dunn, Arthur W., The Community and the Citizen, Chapters i, v. + +Tufts, James H., The Real Business of Living, Chapter xxxi +(Problems of country life). + +Earle, Alice Morse, Home Life in Colonial Days (Macmillan). + +Finley, John H., "Paths of the Pioneers," in Long's American +Patriotic Prose, pp. 1-4. + +Pioneer stories from any available source, especially local +history stories. + + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE NEED FOR COOPERATION IN COMMUNITY LIFE + +THE NEED FOR TEAMWORK + + +When people have common purposes and are dependent upon one +another in accomplishing them, there must be COOPERATION, which is +another name for "teamwork." A team of horses that does not pull +together can not haul a heavy load. A baseball team, though +composed of good players, will seldom win games unless its +teamwork is good. A few soldiers may easily disperse a large mob +because they have teamwork, while a mob usually does not. This +principle of "pulling together," "teamwork," or "cooperation," is +of the greatest importance in community life. There can be no real +community life without it. + +SIMPLE TYPES OF COOPERATION + +In the early days there were "barn raisings," when neighbors came +together to help one of their number to "raise" his barn; and all +the men of a pioneer community contributed their labor in building +the community church or schoolhouse. This was a simple form of +cooperation. It may be seen now at threshing time, when +neighboring farmers combine to thresh the grain of each, the same +group of men and the same threshing machine doing the work for +all. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that: + +In a group of 14 farmers situated in a community in one of the +best farming regions in the corn belt, ... it was found that 5 men +out of the 14 failed to get all their corn planted by the last +week in May. They had worked as hard and as steadily at that +operation as had their neighbors, but they were delayed by one +cause or another, such as lack of labor or teams, or were handling +a larger acreage than their equipment would allow them to handle +satisfactorily. In this same community were 3 men who completed +all their planting operations before the 20th of May, and 5 others +who completed their work by the 25th of May. ... If all these men +had considered that corn planting was a national necessity and had +pooled their efforts, all of the corn on all the farms could have +been planted within the most favorable time. [Footnote: The Farm +Labor Problem, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the +Secretary, Circular No. 112, p. 5.] + +Give other illustrations of this sort of cooperation from the farm +or community life of your neighborhood. + +Give illustrations of such teamwork among boys and girls. + +Give illustrations of the failure of enterprises in which you have +been interested because of a lack of teamwork. + +Why is it an advantage for the farmers to use one threshing +machine for all the threshing of the neighborhood instead of each +farmer having his own machine? + +ORGANIZED COOPERATION AND LEADERSHIP + +As communities grow and the people become more dependent upon one +another, and especially when it becomes hard to see how one thing +that happens may affect others, as shown in Chapter II, +cooperation becomes more difficult, but it becomes even more +necessary. It needs to be ORGANIZED, and it needs LEADERSHIP. The +experience of fruit growers in California affords a good +illustration of this. When they acted independently of one +another, they often had difficulty in disposing of their product +to advantage. Sometimes it rotted on the ground. As individuals +they did not have the means of learning where the best markets +were. They had to make their own terms separately with the +railroads for transportation and since they shipped in small +quantities, they paid high freight rates. They had no adequate +means of storing fruit while it was awaiting shipment. They were +dependent upon commission merchants in the cities for such prices +as they could get, which were often practically nothing at all. + +These and other difficulties that made fruit growing unprofitable +were overcome by the organization of fruit growers' associations, +in which each grower may become a member by purchasing shares of +stock. The members elect from their number a BOARD OF DIRECTORS, +who in turn appoint a BUSINESS MANAGER who gives his entire +attention to the association's business. The association has +central offices and storage and packing houses. + +The manager keeps in close touch with market conditions,--where +the demand for fruit is greatest, the kinds of fruit wanted, the +best prices paid. He contracts for the sale of fruit at fair +prices. Shipping in large quantities, he gets the advantage of low +rates on fast freight trains with refrigerator cars. Uniform +methods of packing fruit are adopted, sometimes the fruit being +packed at the central packing house. Information is distributed as +to the best methods of growing fruit, the best varieties to grow, +and so on. On the other hand, supplies and provisions are bought +in large quantities, securing the best quality at the lowest +prices. + +VOLUNTARY COOPERATION IN CITIES + +In cities there are almost innumerable organizations by which +groups of people cooperate for one purpose or another. Men in the +same line of business or in the same profession organize to +promote their common interests. There are boards of trade, +chambers of commerce, merchants' and manufacturers' associations. +Lawyers have their bar associations, physicians their medical +associations. There are associations of teachers, and work men in +the various trades have their unions. Besides such business and +professional organizations, there are clubs and associations of +all sorts for men, for women, and even for children, some of them +educational, some social or recreational, some philanthropic, some +religious. Where there are so many people interested in the same +thing, where it is easy for them to meet together, and where +competent leadership is forthcoming, it is quite the usual thing +to organize for united action. + +COOPERATION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES + +In agricultural communities cooperation has developed more slowly. +Farmers have been too isolated from one another to make +organization easy, they have not fully realized its advantages, +and they have lacked leadership. This has been an obstacle to the +fullest development of community life. The most backward +communities are those where there is the least cooperation. In +such communities "the farmer works single-handed, getting no +strength from joint action or combined effort." + +But all this is changing. Organizations like the fruit growers' +associations are becoming common and are proving their value. The +map on page 36 shows the distribution of organizations among +farmers in the United States for cooperation in business +enterprises of various kinds, though it shows only about half as +many as actually exist. They include cooperative grain elevators +and warehouses, creameries and cheese factories, cooperative +stores, fruit and grain growers' associations, livestock +associations, cotton and tobacco associations, and many others. + +Study the map on page 36 and indicate the region or regions where +you think cooperative grain elevators and warehouses would be most +numerous; livestock associations; dairies and creameries; fruit +growers' associations; cotton growers' associations; tobacco +growers' associations. + +Are there any organizations of farmers in your community similar +to those in the list in the last paragraph above? Make a list of +them. What are their purposes? What are their advantages? What +obstacles have they encountered? Are all the farmers in the +community members? If not, why? Describe their plans of +organization--membership, officers, management, etc. (Discuss +these questions at home and report results.) + +Is there any organization of businessmen, or of workmen, in your +town or neighboring town? If so, ascertain what advantages it +seeks. + +Show how an ordinary store, or a bank, or a grain elevator, is a +means by which people cooperate. + +Are there any boys' or girls' clubs in your community? Show how +such clubs require and secure cooperation. How is leadership +provided? + +If there is a parents' association connected with your school, +show how it brings about cooperation among its members in the +interest of the school. + +Make a list of all the organizations you can think of in your +community (such as clubs, societies, associations). Opposite the +name of each write the chief purposes for which it exists. + +Write the six great wants across the top of a page, as suggested +in the fifth topic on page 6, and arrange the list of +organizations suggested in the last question above in the proper +columns according to the wants they provide for. + +Discuss the importance of leadership in school activities. What +are the qualities that make a good leader? + +Who are some of the leaders in your community, both men and women? + +THE FARM BUREAU + +At the close of 1916 there were nearly three hundred "farm +bureaus" in the northern and western states with a membership of +nearly 100,000. A farm bureau is an organization to secure +cooperation throughout an entire county for the promotion of +agricultural interests. The members elect an executive committee +to manage the affairs of the bureau. In each of the small +communities of which the county is made up, there is a "community +committee." The chairmen of the several community committees +constitute a county agricultural council. The chairmen and members +of the various committees are chosen because of their interest in +special lines of work and their fitness to direct such work. +Various other organizations in the county, such as the fair +association, breeders' associations, the Grange, the schools, and +others, are represented in the committees of the bureau, the +purpose being to secure teamwork among them, as well as among the +different communities of the county and among the individual +farmers. The bureau also cooperates with the state and national +governments in employing a COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AGENT, who is the +bureau's adviser, or leader. In short, the farm bureau represents +the county working together in an organized way and under +leadership for the improvement of community life. + +In the Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for the year +1915, the story is told of Christian County, Kentucky. [Footnote: +"How the Whole County Demonstrated," 1915 Year Book, U.S. +Department of Agriculture, pp. 225-248.] + +A CASE OF COUNTY COOPERATION + +This county is almost wholly agricultural, but the county seat is +a small city of 10,000. There had formerly been more or less +jealousy between the city and county, as too frequently happens. +But a businessmen's association was organized in the city, which +interested itself in bettering the agricultural conditions of the +county, because the business of the city was very dependent upon +the neighboring agriculture. A "crop improvement association" was +formed, including farmers in its membership. A county agricultural +agent was employed, and local community clubs were organized in +different parts of the county, which held meetings attended by the +farmers and their families, and by businessmen from the city. A +good roads association was organized, and a "good roads day" was +held on which businessmen turned out with the farmers, stores of +the city were closed, and on one of the principal roads at least +90 per cent of the workmen were city men. Stone was contributed by +contractors, concrete firms furnished men gratis to repair +bridges, one company supplied outfits for trimming trees, and a +large amount of work was done by the county and town working side +by side ... Such results could only be accomplished through unity +of purpose and cooperation of all the people. + +Among other things accomplished in this county, a fair association +has been formed; medical instruction has been introduced into the +schools; a public library and hospital have been built; the school +system of the county has cooperated in all educational work; both +town and county merchants have offered prizes to members of the +boys' clubs; also for cooking in the schools, and have put women's +restrooms in the stores for the use of the public. + +There is now an active girls' canning club in every community in +the county, attended by the girls and also by their mothers. There +are 12 social clubs which meet regularly; 15 parent-teachers' and +mothers' clubs; and there is not a school in the county which does +not have some form of community meeting. The schoolhouses are +generally used for the meetings of the community clubs. In some +instances farmers have given sufficient ground for amusement +purposes at the schoolhouses. Here may be found the ball diamond, +tennis court, and basketball courts. + +It is said of this county that it "stands as a demonstration of +the effect of education and organization under the proper +leadership. THE TOWN AND THE COUNTY ARE ONE. The result is better +agriculture, better business, and better living." Write a brief +theme on one of the following topics: + +(a) The importance of the telephone as a means of cooperation in +my community. + +(b) Instances in my community where bad roads have caused a lack +of cooperation. + +(c) Instances in my community where improvement of roads has led +to better cooperation. + +In what ways do you think there is need for better cooperation in +your community? Discuss this with your parents, and report in +class the result of your talk with them. + +Is there any organized cooperation in your community or county as +a whole for the general improvement of the community or county? + +Investigate the organization and work of a farm bureau. (If there +is none in your county, write to your State Agricultural College +or to the States Relations Service, Department of Agriculture, +Washington, D.C., for information. See references at the end of +this chapter.) + +PUBLIC LIBRARY AS AN EXAMPLE + +Cooperation is as necessary for the fullest satisfaction of our +other wants as it is in the business of making a living. In one +pioneer community there were few "books and papers and they were +handed about from house to house." There may be comparatively few +people in a community who can afford to buy a hundred books each +year; but there may easily be a hundred persons who could buy one +book each, and by some arrangement exchange with one another, so +that each could in the course of a year have the use of a hundred +books. Neighborhood clubs are often organized to subscribe for +magazines on this plan. A public library provides an arrangement +by which a great variety of good reading matter can be enjoyed by +the entire community at trifling cost to each member. In fact, we +may be able to draw books from such a library without any cost to +ourselves; but the books which we thus enjoy do cost the community +a large sum of money, and our free enjoyment of them is one of the +advantages of community cooperation. Our part in the cooperation +is in using the books carefully and in returning them promptly, so +that as many people as possible may have the use of them. + +NATION-WIDE COOPERATION + +The necessity for cooperation is by no means limited to our +neighborhood or county or city. People with common purposes +organize for cooperation on a state-wide or nation-wide scale. +Following is a list of national organizations in the interest of +agriculture. As our study proceeds, we shall have abundant +illustration of the value of cooperation and of the disadvantages +that follow from its absence. + +FARMERS' ORGANIZATIONS + +American Cooperative Association (Cooperative League of America). + +American Dairy Farmers' Association. + +American Federation of Organized Farmers. + +American National Live Stock Association. + +American Pomological Society. + +American Poultry Association. + +American Society of Equity. + +Corn Belt Meat Producers' Association, + +Dairy Cattle Congress. + +Farm Women's National Congress. + +Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union of America (The +Farmers' Union). + +Farmers' Equity Union. + +Farmers' National Congress. + +Farmers' Society of Equity. + +Federation of Jewish Farmers of America. + +Gleaners, The Ancient Order of. + +Grange, National (Patrons of Husbandry). + +National Agricultural Organization Society. + +National Board of Farm Organizations. + +National Council of Farmers' Cooperative Associations. + +National Dairy Council. + +National Dairy Union. + +National Farmers' Associations. + +National Farmers' Cooperative Grain and Live Stock Associations. + +National Nut Growers' Association. + +National Society of Record Associations. + +National Swine Growers' Association. + +National Wool Growers' Association. + +National Women's Farm and Garden Association. + +Southern Rice Growers' Association. + +COOPERATION A MATTER OF HABIT + +Cooperation is largely a matter of habit. Habits can be formed +only by practice; and opportunity to practice cooperation is +abundant if we are only on the lookout for it. We shall find that +it not only secures better results in whatever we are doing, but +that it also adds greatly to the enjoyment of life. Let us not +forget that cooperation merely means "team work," working together +for the common good. + +"They who cannot or will not work together are always in a weak +position when brought into competition with those who can and do." +[Footnote: Carver, The Organization of a Rural Community, p. 5.] + +If there is a public library in your community, what benefits do +you get from it? About how many books do you draw from it in the +course of a year? What would these books cost you if you bought +them? What do they cost you when you draw them from the library? + +Usually a fine is imposed for keeping a book from the library +beyond a specified time. Show why this is proper. + +Do you have the use of a "traveling library" in your school or +community? If so, where do the books come from? Show how it +secures cooperation. + +Give examples of cooperation in your home, and show what is gained +by it. + +In what ways do you think that cooperation could be improved in +your home? Work out a plan for it. + +Give examples of cooperation in your school. + +Suggest plans for more and better cooperation in your school. + +In what ways have you cooperated with others during the last month +for the good of the community in which you live? + +Make a list in your notebook of ways in which you think you could +cooperate with others to promote the welfare of your community, +and add to the list from time to time as new opportunities for +such cooperation occur to you. + +Are any of the national organizations in the list on page 35 +represented in your community? What are their purposes? (Consult +parents and friends.) + +READINGS + +Lessons in Community and National Life + +Series A: Lesson 1, Some fundamental aspects of social organization. + Lesson 3, The cooperation of specialists in modern society. + Lesson 7, Organization. + Lesson 8, The rise of machine industry. + +Series B: Lesson 4, Feeding a city. + Lesson 25, Concentration of production in the meat packing + industry. + Lesson 26, Concentration in the marketing of citrus fruits + +The publications of the United States Department of Agriculture +have a wide range of material relating to practical cooperation. +The following selected titles are illustrative. + +The threshing ring in the corn belt, Year Book 1918, 247-268. + +Boys' Pig Club Work, Year Book 1915, 173-188. + +Poultry Club Work in the South, Year Book 1915, 193-200. + +How the whole county demonstrated, Year Book 1915, 225-248. + +Organization of rural interests, Year Book 1913, 239-258. + +Organization of a rural community, Year Book 1914, 89-138. + +Cooperative purchasing and marketing organizations, Department of +Agriculture Bulletin No. 547. + +Cooperative grain companies, Department of Agriculture Bulletin +No. 371. + +Cooperative stores, Department of Agriculture Bulletin. No. 394. + +County Organization, States Relations Service Document 65. + +Farm Bureau Organization, States Relations Service Document 54. + +See note on reference material in Introduction with regard to +method of applying for this material. The assistance of the local +county agent, the state agricultural college, or of the +congressman, may be enlisted if necessary. + +Cooperative enterprise in North Carolina, North Carolina Club Year +Book, 1915-1916, pp. 47-49, University of North Carolina, Chapel +Hill, N. C. + +Publications of the State Agricultural College and Experiment +Station of your own state, relating to cooperation. + +Tufts, James H, The Real Business of Living, chaps ii, iii, viii, +xv, xvi. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +WHY WE HAVE GOVERNMENT + +GOVERNMENT A MEANS TO SECURE COOPERATION + + +We are now in a better position to understand why we have +government. It is a means by which to secure cooperation, or team +work. + +IN EDUCATION + +When a schoolhouse is built to-day, it is not done by combined +manual labor, as in the pioneer community. As in all building, +there is cooperation of a highly organized kind in the production +and assembling of the materials and in the construction of the +building by workmen of different kinds. But more than this, since +the schoolhouse is a PUBLIC BUILDING, the community cooperates in +paying for it. This is done by means of TAXES. The people pay +taxes not only for the building, but also to meet the cost of +operating the school, paying the teachers, buying equipment, and +heating the building. + +The community must know how much money is needed for the school, +the taxes must be fairly apportioned and collected, and the school +must be properly managed to perform the community's work of +education. In small communities the people may meet together to +vote the taxes and to decide on other matters relating to +education, as in New England towns. But there must be leadership, +and there must be an organization to perform the work which the +community wants done. Every community therefore has its board of +education, or school committee, a superintendent, and other +officials. Such organization corresponds to the board of directors +and business manager of the fruit growers' association, only it +represents the entire community and attends to the community's +business of education. It is part of the community's governing +machinery. + +Ascertain from your father how much school tax he pays each year. +Who determines the amount of this tax? To whom does he pay it? + +Could you employ a teacher at home for the amount your father pays +as school tax? If you had a teacher at home, could you get as good +an education as you can now get at school? Explain your answer. + +In what ways do you cooperate with the community to make the +school a success? + +If there is a public library in your community, is it supported by +taxation? Who manages the public library for the community? + +IN FIRE PROTECTION + +When a building takes fire in the country the neighbors gather as +quickly as possible to fight the flames by such means as may be at +hand, but seldom very effectively. In a small city or town, there +may be a volunteer fire company composed of men who, when a fire +breaks out, leave their usual occupations to save the property. In +large cities, fully equipped and costly fire departments are +maintained, with paid firemen who are always on duty. The police +usually keep the crowd away from the burning building, not only +for their own safety, but because they would hinder rather than +help the trained and organized firemen. In each case there is +cooperation for fire protection; the greater the common danger, +the more perfect the organization and the more complete the +control by government. + +IN ROAD BUILDING + +It was once the usual practice, as it still is in some localities, +for each farmer to give a certain number of days each year to work +on the roads. Now, in the most progressive communities, the roads +are better and more uniformly built and kept in better repair +because they are placed by the community in charge of skilled +roadmakers paid for by taxation. But whether the farmer +contributes money or labor, or both, cooperation is planned and +directed by the government. (See Chapter XVII.) + +IN HEALTH PROTECTION + +In Benjamin Franklin's time, each householder in Philadelphia +swept the pavement in front of his home if he wanted it kept +clean. Franklin, who was a splendid example of good citizenship in +that he was always looking for opportunities to improve his +community, tells what happened: + +One day I found a poor industrious man, who was willing to +undertake keeping the pavement clean by sweeping it twice a week, +carrying off the dirt from before all the neighbors' doors, for +the sum of sixpence per month to be paid by each house. I then +wrote and printed a paper setting forth the advantages to the +neighborhood that might be obtained by this small expense. ... I +sent one of these papers to each house, and in a day or two went +around to see who would subscribe an agreement to pay these +sixpences; it was unanimously signed, and for a time well +executed. This raised a general desire to have all the streets +paved, and made the people more willing to submit to a tax for +that purpose. + +This was community cooperation under simple conditions. A hundred +years later, the one and a half million people living in +Philadelphia were just as truly cooperating to keep their city +clean by means of more than 1200 miles of sewers for which they +had paid nearly 35 millions of dollars, and by means of a +department of highways and street-cleaning which employed a +contractor to clean the streets and to remove all ashes and +garbage at an annual cost of more than a million and a half +dollars. This is all under the direction of the city government. + +IN STATE AND NATIONAL AFFAIRS + +What is true of our local boards of education, road supervisors, +fire and street-cleaning departments, and other departments of our +local governments, is also true of state and national governments. +We shall not stop for illustrations of this now, because they will +be numerous in later chapters. (See, for example, Chapter XII.) + +Is there a government in your home? If so, prove whether or not it +is a means by which the members of the family cooperate. + +Describe the government of your school and show how it secures +cooperation. + +If you can get a copy of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, find +in it further instances in which he improved the cooperation of +his community, as for fire protection and street lighting. + +Show how street lights in town represent community cooperation. +For what purpose is this form of cooperation? + +Give additional illustrations to prove that government in your +community is a means of cooperation. + +In what ways can you cooperate with the school board or trustees +of your community, and thus with the community itself, for better +schools? + +GOVERNMENT TO HELP AND NOT TO REPRESS + +A number of boys whose lives were spent mostly in the city streets +were once asked what the word "government" suggested to them. Some +of them at once answered, "The policeman!" And when they were +asked "Why?" they replied, "He arrests people," "He makes us keep +off the grass in the parks," "He drives us off when we play ball +in vacant lots." These answers represent a common idea about +government, that it is something over us to restrict our freedom. +Government does restrict the freedom of individuals at times; but +one of the best illustrations of its real purpose is the traffic +policeman in cities. He stands at the crossing of busy streets, +regulating the movement of people and vehicles in such a way as to +insure the safety of all and to keep the intersecting streams of +traffic moving smoothly and with as little interruption as +possible. Now and then he leaves his post to help a child or an +aged person or a cripple across the street; or answers the +inquiries of a stranger. If now and then he arrests a driver, it +is because the latter disregards the rights or welfare of others. + +LAWS AS SIGNALS OF COOPERATION + +In small or thinly settled communities there may be no traffic +policeman; but there may be signs at the intersection of highways +to guide travelers, or warnings such as "Dangerous Curve!" or +"School: Drive Slowly!" Such signs are usually posted by state or +local authorities in accordance with LAW. And even where there are +no signs, the laws themselves are supposed to regulate traffic. +Some one has compared the laws in our country to the signals given +to a football team by the quarterback. These signals are agreed +upon in advance by the team, and tell each player not only what he +himself, but also what every other player, is to do, and thus team +work is secured. And so our laws are said to be "signals of +cooperation," just as much as the sign "Drive Slowly," or as when +the traffic policeman holds up his hand or blows his whistle. + +LAWS AS RULES OF THE GAME + +Laws, however, are more than "signals" of cooperation; they are +also RULES by which cooperation is secured--"rules of the game." +Wherever people are dependent upon one another and work together +there must be rules of conduct. One kind of rules consists of what +we call "etiquette" or "good manners." We have doubtless all +observed how much better an athletic contest moves along, or even +the ordinary sports of the playground, where good manners prevail. +"Good manners" include more than the "party manners" that we put +on and take off on special occasions, like "party clothes." They +consist of the accepted rules of behavior toward those with whom +we associate. In the home, in school, in business, in public +places, there are "good manners" that are recognized by custom and +that make the wheels move smoothly and without jar. We do not need +a law or a policeman to require a man to give way to a woman, or +even to another man, in passing through a doorway; good manners +provide for this. Even on the public street much confusion is +avoided by an observance of good manners, or CUSTOM. Thoughtful +people instinctively turn to the right in passing others (in +England and Canada the custom is to turn to the left) without +thinking whether there is a law on the subject or not. + +LAW GIVES FREEDOM + +Now most of our laws that regulate the conduct of individuals are +simply rules that experience has proved to be of the greatest +advantage to the greatest number, and that are necessary because +SOME people have not "good manners." Most people observe them, not +because they are laws, but because they are reasonable and helpful +in avoiding friction and in securing cooperation. If they are good +laws, it is only the "ill-mannered" who are really conscious of +their existence. Just laws restrict the freedom only of the "ill- +mannered," while they GIVE freedom to those who have "good +manners." + +What street or highway signs are there in your community? Who +placed them? Are they faithfully observed? If not, why? + +What signals are there in your school? Discuss their usefulness. + +What are some of the "rules" of your school? Are they good rules? +Why? Are they an advantage or a disadvantage to yourself? If they +did not exist, would your own conduct be different? Why? + +What are some of the rules of good manners that are supposed to +control conduct in your school? in your home? in the street? +Discuss their reasonableness. Do they enlarge or restrict freedom? + +Do the rules of football, or other games, increase or decrease the +freedom of play? + +What are some of the laws that control conduct in your community? +Would most people observe the laws you mention even if they were +not written laws, and if there were no penalty for failing to +observe them? Why? + +THE ORIGIN OF LAW + +The following story illustrates the difference between law and +custom, or "manners," and how the former may develop out of the +latter. [Footnote: "Rudimentary Society among Boys," by John +Johnson, in Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and +Political Science, vol. ii (1884). The story as here given is +reproduced from Lessons in Community and National Life, Series C, +p. 145, U. S. Bureau of Education (Lesson C-18, "Cooperation +through Law," by Arthur W. Dunn). ] There was once a boys' school +located in an 800-acre tract of land, in the fields and woods of +which the boys, when free from their studies, gathered nuts, +trapped small animals, and otherwise lived much like primitive +hunters. + +Just after midnight some morning early in October, when the first +frosts of the season loosened the grasp of the nuts upon the +limbs, parties of two or three boys might be seen rushing at full +speed over the wet fields. When the swiftest party reached a +walnut tree, one of the number climbed up rapidly, shook off half +a bushel of nuts and scrambled down again. Then off the boys went +to the next tree, where the process was repeated unless the tree +was occupied by other boys doing likewise. Nut hunters coming to +the tree after the first party had been there, and wishing to +shake the tree some more, were required by custom to pile up all +the nuts that lay under the tree. Until this was done, the +unwritten law did not permit their shaking any more nuts on the +ground. + +So far this was a CUSTOM accepted by the boys because of its +reasonableness. But after a while, some members of this boy +community thought to get ahead of the other members. One night +before frost came they secretly went to the woods and took +possession of most of the nut trees by shaking them according to +custom. When this was discovered, some of the leaders of the +community CALLED A MEETING of all the boys. After discussing the +matter thoroughly, they provided against a repetition of the trick +by MAKING A RULE (passing a law) that thereafter the harvesting of +nuts should not begin before A FIXED DATE in October. + +These boys acted very much as men have often acted under simple +conditions of community life. The New England "town meeting," for +example, is precisely the same thing as the boys' meeting. + +THE SECOND ELEMENT IN DEMOCRACY: CONTROL BY THE PEOPLE + +We shall study the organization and methods of lawmaking in later +chapters. At present we are merely noting WHY we have laws, and +the fact that they are supposed to be made, directly or +indirectly, by the people themselves. And right here we see the +second thing necessary to make a DEMOCRACY. On page 9 we saw that +in a democracy all people have certain equal and "unalienable" +rights, and that that community is most democratic that affords +its members most nearly equal opportunity to enjoy these rights. +Now we see further that in a democracy the people make their own +laws. Moreover, the laws of a democracy control, not only the +conduct of the people, but also the government itself. The +government of a democracy may do only those things, and use only +those methods, for which the people give the authority. It is only +when government exercises power without control by the people that +it becomes autocratic. + +TWO HISTORIC DOCUMENTS + +The purpose of our government is clearly stated in two historic +documents. One of these is the Declaration of Independence, which +has already been quoted in Chapter I. The same quotation is given +here with an additional sentence in italics: + +We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created +equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain +unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness. That, TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, GOVERNMENTS +ARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN, DERIVING THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE +CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED... + +The second great document is the Constitution of the United +States, the preamble to which reads: + +We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more +perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, +provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and +secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do +ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of +America. + +DEMOCRACY A GOAL STILL TO BE REACHED + +It is not to be supposed that our government and our laws are +perfect. They cannot be perfect as long as they are made and +operated by imperfect people. It is possible, for example, that +the boys of the city had a just complaint against the government +for not permitting them to play ball in vacant lots, UNLESS THE +COMMUNITY AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDED THEM WITH ANOTHER SUITABLE +PLACE FOR THE GAME--for every community should protect the right +of its boys and girls to play. We are far from having attained +complete democracy. It is a goal toward which men are struggling, +and have been struggling for centuries--since long before our +Revolutionary War, and in other countries as well as in our own. +The great world war which began in 1914, and which the United +States entered in 1917, was a war to establish more firmly in the +world the principles of democratic government. Whether these +principles shall be carried out in practice, and whether our +governments--local, state, and national--shall fulfill the +purposes so clearly stated in the preamble to the Constitution, +depends upon the extent to which each citizen understands these +purposes, and cooperates with his fellow-citizens and with his +governments in support of them. + +THE "RIGHT IDEA OF IT" + +It is said that in one of the training camps during the war an +officer addressed a squad of new recruits as follows: + +Boys, I want you to get the right idea of the salute. I do not +want you to think that you are being compelled to salute me as an +individual. No! When you salute me, you are simply rendering +respect to the power I represent; AND THE POWER I REPRESENT IS +YOU. Now let me explain. You elect the President of the United +States, and the President of the United States grants me a +commission to represent his authority in this army. His only +authority is the authority that you vest in him when you elect him +President. Now, when you salute an officer, you salute not the +man, but the representative of your own authority. The salute is +going to be rigidly enforced in this army, and I want you boys to +get the right idea of it. I want you to know what you salute and +why. + +It is very important that we should "get the right idea" of what +our government is. It is very much the idea that the officer gave +his soldiers about the salute. It is the idea contained in this +chapter: that government is our own organization for team work in +community life. All through this book we shall be engaged in +discovering how far this is true. + +Do you know of instances in which the national government has +helped to secure cooperation among the farmers of your locality? + +Discuss the parcel post as a means of cooperation. + +During the war with Germany the United States government assumed +control of all the railroads of the country. Show how this was to +secure better cooperation. + +Is the government of your school democratic? Explain your answer. +Do you think it should be made more democratic? Why? + +Compare the purposes stated in the preamble to the Constitution +with the common purposes stated on page 6 of Chapter I. + +Show how the pupil who does as he pleases in school may interfere +with the rights and liberties of other pupils. Is it right that +his liberty should then be restricted? Why? Is liberty the right +to do as one pleases? If not, what is it? + +Read together in class the preamble to the Constitution and +carefully discuss the meaning of each phrase. + +READINGS + +Lessons in Community and National Life: + +Series B: Lesson 17, The development of a system of laws. + +Series C: Lesson 17, Custom as a basis for law. + Lesson 18, Cooperation through law. + +In Long's American Patriotic Prose: + +Lincoln, "Mob Law," pp. 173-177. + +Lincoln, "Back to the Declaration," pp. 170-181. + +McKinley, "Liberty is Responsibility, Not License," pp. 254-255. + +The Declaration of Independence, pp. 67-71. + +Beard, Chas. A., American Citizenship, chap, i ("The Nature of +Modern Government"). + +Franklin, Benjamin, Autobiography. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + +WHAT IS CITIZENSHIP? + +WHAT MEMBERSHIP MEANS + + +Before we go further, let us get a definite idea of what it means +to be a citizen. + +IN THE BODY + +We have frequently referred to the fact that we are "members" of +various communities. Our bodies have members, such as arms and +hands. The tongue has been called an unruly member. "It is a +little member and boasteth great things." [Footnote: James iii: +5.] + +There are two important facts about members of the body. One is +THAT THEY GET THEIR LIFE FROM THE BODY. If the hand is cut off, it +quickly ceases to be a hand because it is severed from the source +of life. If the body is seriously ill, its members are unable to +perform their proper work. + +The second important fact is THAT THE BODY IS DEPENDENT UPON ITS +MEMBERS FOR ITS LIFE. If the hand is cut off, or an eye put out, +the body does not necessarily die, but it is seriously +handicapped. If a member is paralyzed or diseased it may be a +positive hindrance to the body, and the disease may spread to +other members. The body may suffer merely because its members are +poorly trained. + +IN THE COMMUNITY + +That is what it means to be a member of the body; and membership +in a family, or a school, or a club, or a community, is just the +same. We have already seen, and we shall see more fully as we go +on with our study, how completely we are dependent upon our +communities for food, for the protection of life, for education, +and for all else that makes up our life. The community that does +not provide for its members in these things is like a sick body. +On the other hand, as members of a community we are always +contributing something to its life--either to its advantage or +disadvantage. Of course, each of us is only one of a great many +members in a large community, and we may seem to be very +unimportant. But each performs his part, whether it be great or +small, and whether he does it well or poorly. + +CITIZENSHIP MEANS MEMBERSHIP + +Now we often speak of members of a community as CITIZENS of that +community. CITIZENSHIP means practically the same thing as +membership in the community. As a good community is one that +provides well for its members, so the good citizen is the member +who does well his part in the life of the community. A bad citizen +is the member who hinders the progress of the community when he +might be helping. A citizen has certain RIGHTS and certain DUTIES. +His rights are what the community owes him; his duties are what he +owes the community. + +TRAINED AND UNTRAINED CITIZENS + +There are many members of communities who are like the diseased or +paralyzed hand, or like the hand that is untrained. A member of an +athletic team who does not "train" will probably be dropped from +the team--he fails to become an athlete. A member of a community, +or a citizen, who does not "train" still remains a member, but an +inefficient one. He is a handicap to his community and interferes +with community team work. The part that a member plays in +community life may be more important than he realizes. Even in +small things, "the falling short of one may mean disaster to +many." Each member of a community, like each member of a body, +must be not only in a healthy condition but also well trained. + +WHO ARE CITIZENS + +Let us not make the mistake of thinking that we are not yet +citizens because we are young. The Constitution of the United +States says that "ALL PERSONS born or naturalized in the United +States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" (that is, subject +to its laws) "are citizens of the United States and of the state +wherein they reside." Even persons born in foreign countries and +who have not yet been naturalized [Footnote: "Naturalization" is +the legal process by which persons of foreign birth renounce their +allegiance to the land of their birth and pledge their allegiance +to our government.] enjoy almost all the rights of native-born +Americans, and therefore have much of the responsibility of +citizenship. Until they are naturalized they are still considered +members of the country from which they came, and therefore as +owing certain duties to that country which would be inconsistent +with their duties as members of our nation. Therefore they are +denied certain POLITICAL rights, such as voting and holding +office. [Footnote: In a few states even unnaturalized persons are +allowed to vote after they have declared their intention of +becoming citizens.] These same political rights are denied to +native-born citizens until they have reached maturity. But we must +not confuse this right to vote with citizenship. + +Explain how the idea of membership as described in the text +applies to your membership in the family; to membership in a club; +in a church; in a farmers' cooperative organization. + +Can you be a member of your class or school without doing it +either good or harm? Explain your answer. + +Read Romans xii: 4-8 and James iii: 5-8. + +Show how an injury or a benefit to one pupil in the school may be +an injury or a benefit to the entire school. Give illustrations to +prove this. + +Show how a failure to save food, to buy savings stamps, or to +perform other services that one is able to perform, weakened our +nation and other nations who were her allies during the war with +Germany. + +Make a list of things you have done during the week for the +benefit of your school; for the welfare of your neighborhood, +town, or school district. Do you do as much for your family, +school, or community as they do for you? + +Turn to Amendment XIV of the Constitution of the United States +(see Appendix), and read the entire first section containing the +definition of a citizen. Discuss the meaning of the section. + +At what age does the native-born citizen acquire the right to +vote? Why is he not allowed to vote before that time? + +What native-born citizens of the United States do not have the +right to vote even after they are of voting age? + +READINGS + +In Long's American Patriotic Prose: + +Doane, "The Men to Make a State," pp. 236-238. + +Lane, "Makers of the Flag," pp. 314-316. + +Steiner, "On Becoming an American Citizen," pp. 317-320. + +Wilson, "To Newly-Made Citizens," pp. 322-326. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +WHAT IS OUR COMMUNITY? + +ELEMENTS THAT MAKE A COMMUNITY + + +In the preceding chapters we have often spoken of "our community." +As a matter of fact, each of us is a member of a number of +communities. It is time to consider just what they are + +Every community, of course, consists of a GROUP OF PEOPLE who +occupy a more or less DEFINITE LOCALITY. Much depends, in +community life, upon the character of both the people and the +locality they occupy. But the essential thing about a community is +that the people who comprise it are WORKING TOGETHER (cooperating) +under an ORGANIZATION (government) for the COMMON GOOD (common +purposes). + +LARGE AND SMALL COMMUNITIES + +A neighborhood of farmers with their families may constitute a +community. In this case the area occupied may be extensive while +the people are few in number. Or the community may be a city with +a population very large in proportion to area it occupies. There +are villages, towns, and small cities of varying sizes both as to +population and area. Each state in our Union is a community and so +is the nation itself because each is composed of a group of people +(very large in these cases), occupying a definite territory (also +large), and having a government through which the people are +working for common ends. There is a world community, but it is, as +yet, very imperfect. The nations and peoples that comprise it have +been slow to recognize their common purposes and have so far +failed to develop adequate means of cooperation, (See Chapter +VIII.) + +Is your class a community? (Apply the definition given above.) +What common interests does it have? Has it any government or laws? +Is your school a community? Apply the same tests as above. + +Is your home a community? What are some of its common interests? +Are there laws in your family? + +What are some of the things in which your family and your nearest +neighbors have a common interest because of living close together? +Do your family and your neighbors work together to provide for +these interests? + +What are some of the things in which all the people of your city +or village (or the one nearest to you) have a common interest, and +which the city, or village, government helps to provide for? + +INTERDEPENDENCE OF RURAL AND CITY COMMUNITIES + +A community of farmers has interests of its own, largely centering +around farming activities, or the social life of the local +neighborhood. A few miles away is a village or city whose people +also have their own peculiar interests, such as the lighting of +the streets at night, or the building of a new high school, or the +election of a mayor. Yet there are interests common to both the +farming community and the city community. The city is dependent +upon the country for its food supply, and the farmers are +dependent upon the city for their market. Probably some of the +farmers send their children to the city schools. Thus city and +rural communities are bound together into a larger community with +interests common to both. + +In the early days of western settlement a community was founded in +Illinois. It was an agricultural community, but in the midst of it +a village grew, which in the course of time became a small city. +One of the first settlers was a young farmer with a mechanical +turn of mind. He began experimenting to improve the methods of +planting grain. The result was the invention of a corn planter, +the manufacture of which became one of the chief industries of the +growing city, employing hundreds of men and sending machines to +all parts of the world. Another young farmer invented a better +plow than those which had been in use, the manufacture of which +became another of the city's industries. In those pioneer days +each family usually made its own brooms, but one young man in this +community earned his way through the local college by making +brooms from corn raised on the college farm. The college cornfield +disappeared in the course of time, but on one part of it there +grew up a broom factory employing a large number of workmen. These +city industries were thus literally "children of the soil," and +the city's prosperity depended upon the agriculture of the +surrounding region. On the other hand, the city provided the +farmers with improved plows and corn planters, furnished them an +immediate market for their products, supplied them with goods +through its shops and stores, and gave education to hundreds of +farmers' children in its schools and college. + +NEED FOR RURAL AND CITY TEAMWORK + +Sometimes jealousies and antagonisms arise between small +neighboring communities, and especially between rural and city +communities. This interferes with the progress of both +communities, and of the larger community of which each is a part. +It may be proposed to build a township high school. It is natural +that the several communities that comprise the township should +each want it. But the interest of the entire township should be +considered in determining the location of the school, and not +merely the advantage of one local district as against others. It +sometimes happens that the people of a city are exempted from +taxation for county purposes outside of the city, although the +benefits would be almost, if not quite as great, for the city as +for the country. This sort of thing serves to set off city and +country against each other instead of binding them together to +their mutual advantage. The case of Christian County, Kentucky, +described in Chapter III, is an excellent illustration of teamwork +between city and country in the interest of the entire county, and +of the results achieved by it. + +SMALL COMMUNITIES UNITE IN LARGE ONES + +In this chapter there are three maps of Dane County, Wisconsin, +which show how small communities, both rural and urban, are united +into a large community, the county. Map I shows the school +districts and the townships which comprise the county. The city of +Madison occupies the center, and small towns and villages are +scattered here and there. The country school is the chief center +of interest in each school district. Here and there through the +county are high schools. Each of these is a center of a larger +irregular area, including a number of school districts and parts +of several townships as shown in map 2. Map 3 shows TRADE AREAS. +Trade and education are two of the chief interests that bind +people into communities. But where these interests exist, there +are likely to be other interests; the high school is likely to be +a meeting place for social and recreational purposes. + +The area and boundaries of a "farming" or "rural neighborhood" +community are usually rather indefinite and changeable, depending +upon surface features and upon transportation conditions, or the +length of the "day's haul." With improved roads and better means +of transportation, larger areas and more people are included. A +"neighborhood" or "trade area" with automobiles is much larger +than one where horses or ox carts are used exclusively. The +consolidated school with transportation provided for pupils +expands the rural neighborhood community. + +COMMON INTERESTS OF THE LARGER COMMUNITY + +Each of the small dots on map 3 represents a farm home. If we +select one of these dots and imagine ourselves members of the +family that lives there, we shall see that we are members of a +certain school district, of a certain township, of a community +that has grown up around a trade center and a high school, and of +course of the county as a whole. No matter in what school district +we live, we have an interest in some matters in common with the +people of all other school districts in the county. For example, +there is a state university at Madison, and connected with it is a +training school for teachers. The work done here influences the +teaching in all the schools of the county, and indeed of the whole +state. There is also an agricultural college at the state +university which serves the farmers throughout the entire county +and state. If we look closely at map 3, we shall see how highways +and railroads center at Madison, which is the county seat of Dane +County and the capital of the state of Wisconsin. + +Just as the many small communities that make up a county are +dependent upon one another, requiring organized cooperation for +the county welfare, so all the counties of a state, and all the +people who live in all the counties, are interdependent in many +ways. The people of the city of Madison, for example, depend for +their food supply upon the farmers not only of Dane County but of +the entire state. The university at Madison serves not Dane County +alone, but the people of all the counties of the state. The public +schools of the state should be equally good in all counties and +managed by a uniform plan. Roads and other means of transportation +are a matter of concern to the entire state. And so the state is a +community, organized with a government, to secure cooperation +among all the people and all the smaller communities that compose +it. In fact, a large part of the business of the governments of +the local communities, such as city and county and township, is to +administer the laws of the central state government. + +In a similar manner, the forty-eight states of the Union, with all +the counties and smaller communities of which they consist, +comprise our great national community, of which we are all +members. + +COMMUNITIES IN THE LARGER COMMUNITIES + +When we speak of "our community" we are likely to think at once of +the small community immediately around us--our neighborhood, +village, or city. Our citizenship in these local communities is +extremely important, and will demand no small part of our +attention. But it is equally important to be fully alive to our +citizenship in the larger communities. This is true wherever we +live; but there is a sense in which our national community is +peculiarly important to those of us who live in rural communities. +The wants of people in cities are, as a rule, looked after more +completely by their local governments than is the case in rural +communities. + +The people of rural communities, and especially farmers +themselves, are directly served by the national government in a +great variety of ways. In the next chapter we shall consider our +nation as a community. + +Show how the different classes of your school are bound together +by interests common to the entire school. Compare this union of +classes with the union of states into a nation. What constitutes +the government of your school? + +Mention some things in which all the people of your county have a +special interest. Are these things of equal interest to farmers +and townspeople? + +Do the farmers and townspeople of your county work well together, +or are there conflicts between them? If there are conflicts, what +are the causes? + +Point out some ways in which the prosperity and welfare of the +farmers of your locality depend upon a neighboring city or town. +Also some ways in which, the city or town depend upon the +neighboring farmers. + +If there is organized cooperation in your county, similar to that +described on page 32, has it been brought about or encouraged by +government, or solely by voluntary effort on the part of citizens? +If the government had anything to do with it, was it the county +government, state government, or national government? + +Has farmland increased or decreased in value in your locality +since your father was a boy? Can you show a relation between this +change in value of farmland and the growth of nearby towns or +cities? + +What industries in your town (or a neighboring town) are dependent +upon farming for their raw materials? for the sale of their +product? + +What is the cotton gin? the spinning jenny? Show how these +inventions were a benefit to agriculture. How did they promote the +growth of cities? + +Make a map of your school district. Do the people of this district +cooperate in matters other than those pertaining to the school? + +On a map of your county, show approximately the "trade area" +served by the "trade center" nearest you. For what other purposes +besides trade do the farmers of this trade area come to the trade +center? + +On a map of your county, show the area from which pupils come to +the high school nearest you. + +On a map of your state, show the principle "railroad centers." +Show how these are the centers of larger trade areas corresponding +to the small trade areas of your county. Show how the farmers and +the residents of these railroad centers have common interests. + +READINGS + +Dunn, Arthur W., The Community and the Citizen, Chapters, i-iii. + +Galpin, C. J., "The Social Anatomy of an Agricultural Community," +Research Bulletin 34, Agricultural Experiment Station, University +of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. + +Gillette, John M., Constructive Rural Sociology (Sturgis & Walton +Co., New York), Chapter iv ("Types of Communities"). + +Small and Vincent, An Introduction to the Study of Society +(American Book Co.), Book II, Chapters i-iv. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OUR NATIONAL COMMUNITY + +IMPERFECTIONS OF OUR NATIONAL COMMUNITY + + +It is important to get in the habit of thinking of our nation as a +community, just as we think of our school or town or rural +neighborhood as one. This is not always easy to do because of its +huge size and complicated character. It would be wrong, too, to +get the idea that it is a perfect community--none of our +communities is perfect. Conflicts of interest are often more +apparent than community of interest. Teamwork among the different +parts and groups that make up our nation is often very poor. +Although our government is a wonderfully good one, it is still +only an imperfect means of cooperation. Our nation is far from +being a complete democracy, for there are many people in it who do +not have the full enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of +happiness; and large numbers of our "self-governing" people really +have little or no part in government. + +LOYALTY TO IDEALS + +It need not give us an unpatriotic feeling to acknowledge the +imperfections of our nation or of our government; for communities +GROW, not only in size, but also in ability to perform their +proper work, just as individuals do. We call a person conceited +who thinks that he is perfect, especially if he boasts of it. But +his conceit is itself an imperfection and a hindrance to growth. +So the patriotic citizen is not one who is unable to see defects +in his community, or who refuses to acknowledge them, but one who +has high CIVIC IDEALS and is loyal to them, who understands in +what respects these ideals have not been reached, and who, as a +member of the community, contributes everything he can to keep it +growing in THE RIGHT DIRECTION. + +"The problem of government is, after all, the problem of human +growth. ... The one constant and inconstant quantity with which +man must deal is man--changing, inert, impulsive, limited, +sympathetic, selfish, aspiring man. His institutions, whether +social or political, must come out of his wants and out of his +capacities. Luther Burbank has not yet made grapes to grow on +thorns or figs on thistles. Neither has any system of government +made all men wise..."--FRANKLIN K. LANE. + +Is it possible for a community to be 100 percent perfect? Why? + +What people in your community take no part in government? + +May people who cannot vote have any influence upon government? +Explain. + +Has a good citizen a right to criticize his government? What is +the difference between helpful and harmful criticism? + +What is an "ideal"? a "civic ideal"? + +WELDING OF THE NATION BY WAR + +It is easier now than usual to think of our nation as a community, +because the war with Germany served to arouse our "national +spirit," and showed very clearly the importance in our national +life of those elements which characterize all community life-- +common purpose, interdependence, and organized, cooperation (see +Chapters I-III). The creation of a National Army did much to bring +this about. + +When the benefits which come to the nation through the creation of +the National Army are catalogued, the fact that it has welded the +country into a homogeneous society, [Footnote: "Homogeneous +society"--a society or community all of whose parts and members +have like purposes and interests.] seeking the same national ends +and animated by the same national ideals, will overtop all other +advantages. The organization of the selected Army fuses the +thousand separate elements making up the United States into one +steel-hard mass. Men of the North, South, East, and West meet and +mingle, and on the anvil of war become citizens worthy of the +liberty won by the first American armies. [Footnote: Major +Granville R. Fortesque, in National Geographic Magazine, Dec., +1917]. How this welding of the parts of the nation together was +brought about by the war is suggested by the words of an old +Confederate soldier who wrote to a friend in the North: + +"During the war between the states I was a rebel, and continued +one in heart until this great war. But now I am a devoted follower +of Uncle Sam and endorse him in every respect." + +DIVERSE ELEMENTS IN OUR NATION + +The fact that our nation contained in its population large numbers +of people from practically every country of Europe caused no +little anxiety when we entered the European war. Our population +embraces a hundred different races and nationalities. Of these, +ten million are negroes and three hundred thirty-six thousand are +Indians. Thirty-three million are of foreign parentage, and of +these, thirteen million are foreign-born. Five million do not +speak English, and there are one thousand five hundred news papers +in the United States printed in foreign languages. Five and one- +half million above the age of ten years, including both foreign +and native, cannot read or write in any language. New York City +has a larger Hebrew population than any other city in the world, +contains more Italians than Rome, and its German population is the +fourth largest among the cities of the world. Pittsburgh has more +Serbs than the capital of Serbia. It is said that there were more +Greeks subject to draft in the American army than there were in +the entire army of Greece. Would all these people be loyal to our +nation, or would they divide it against itself? + +LOYALTY OF DIVERSE ELEMENTS + +The war, in fact, showed us that there were some among us who had +never really become "members" of our nation and who were dangerous +to our peace and safety. It also showed us the danger that comes +from the presence of so many illiterates, or of those who cannot +use the English language; for such people, even though loyal in +spirit to the United States, cannot understand instructions either +in the army or in industry, and otherwise prevent effective +cooperation. And yet the most striking thing that the war showed +us in regard to this mixed population is that the great mass of +it, regardless of color or place of birth, is really American in +spirit and loyal to our flag and the ideas which it represents. + +NATIONAL SAFETY DEPENDS ON HARMONY + +Another weakness within our nation that the war emphasized is the +lack of harmony between wage earners and their employers. There +were many sharp conflicts between them. Strikes occurred, or were +threatened, in factories, shipyards, mines, and railroads, that +blocked the wheels of industry at a time when the nation needed to +strain every nerve to provide the materials of war. This lack of +harmony between workmen and employers, which in war threatened our +national safety, has existed for many years and has always been an +obstacle to national progress. But the common purpose of winning +the war caused employers and wage earners, in most cases, to +adjust their differences. In nearly every case, one side or the +other, or both sides, yielded certain points and agreed not to +dispute over others, at least for the period of the war. The +national government did much to bring this about by the creation +of labor adjustment boards to hear complaints from either side and +to settle disputes. If our national community life is to develop +in a wholesome way, complete cooperation between workmen and +employers must be secured and made permanent on the basis of +interests that are common to both. + +THE EFFECT OF A COMMON PURPOSE + +Such facts as these show how easy it is, in a huge, complex +community like our nation, for conflicts to arise among different +sections and groups of the population; and how difficult it is +always to see the common interests that exist. But they also show +how such conflicts tend to disappear when a situation arises which +forces us to think of the common interests instead of the +differences. All else was forgotten in the common purpose to "win +the war." No sacrifice was too great on the part of any individual +in order that this national purpose might be served. Everywhere +throughout the country, in cities and in remote rural districts, +service flags in the windows testified that the homes of the land +were offering members that the nation and its ideals might live. +Men, women, and even children contributed their work and their +savings and denied themselves customary comforts to help win the +war. THE ENTIRE NATION WAS WORKING TOGETHER FOR A COMMON PURPOSE. + +OUR NATIONAL PURPOSE + +We have said that this common purpose was to "win the war." But +there were purposes that lie much deeper than this, without which +it would not have been worth while to enter the war at all. As we +saw in Chapter I, our nation is founded on a belief in the right +of every one to life and physical well-being; to be secure in +one's rightful possessions; to freedom of thought--education, free +speech, a free press; to freedom of religion; to happiness in +pleasant surroundings and a wholesome social life; and, above all, +to a voice in the government which exists to protect these rights. +It was to secure a larger freedom to enjoy these rights, "for +ourselves first and for all others in their time," that our nation +was solidly united against the enemy that threatened it from +without. But it was with this same purpose that the War of +Independence was fought, that our Constitution was adopted, that +slavery was abolished, that millions of people from foreign lands +have come to our shores. It is this common purpose that makes the +great mass of foreigners in our country Americans, ready to fight +for America, if necessary even against the land of their birth. It +is this for which the American flag stands at all times, whether +in peace or in war. + +What proof can you give of a "national spirit" in your locality +during the war? + +What evidence can you give to show that this national spirit is or +is not as strong since the war closed? + +What was the "National Army"? the "National Guard"? Which of these +organizations was most likely to develop a "national spirit"? Why? +What good reasons can you give for the action of the government in +consolidating the Regular Army, the National Army, and the +National Guard into a "United States Army"? + +What arguments can you give in favor of requiring all instruction +in the public schools to be given in the English language? + +What arguments can you give in favor of teaching lessons in +citizenship in foreign-language newspapers? + +What foreign nationalities are represented in your locality? + +Make a blackboard table showing the nationality of the parents and +grandparents of each member of your class. + +Give illustrations to show that "winning the war" was the +controlling purpose in your community during the war. + +In what way has the war made YOU think about the right-to-life and +the need for physical well-being? about security in property? +about freedom of thought? about the desirability of an education? +about the right of people to pleasant surroundings? about self- +government? + +Show how the Spanish-American war was fought for the same purpose +as that mentioned in the paragraph above. + +Write a brief theme on "What the Flag Means to Me." + +NATIONAL INTERDEPENDENCE + +The attempt to work together in the war made it very apparent how +dependent the nation is upon all its parts, and how dependent each +part is upon all the others. It was often said that "the farmers +would win the war." At other times it was said to be ships, or +fuel, or airplanes, or railroad transportation, or trained +scientists and technical workers. The truth is, of course, that +all these things and many more were absolutely necessary, and that +no one of them would have been of much value without all the +others. + +It is true that the winning of the war depended upon the farmers, +because they are the producers of the food and of the raw +materials for textiles without which the nation and every group +and person in it would have been helpless. But the farmer could +not supply food to the nation without machinery for its +production, and without city markets and railroads and ships for +its distribution. Machinery could not be made, nor ships and +locomotives built, without steel. For the manufacture of steel +there must be iron and fuel and tungsten and other materials. And +for all these things there must be inventors and skilled +mechanics, and to produce these there must be schools. And so we +could go on indefinitely to show how the war made us feel our +interdependence. What we need to understand, however, is that THIS +INTERDEPENDENCE IS CHARACTERISTIC OF OUR NATIONAL LIFE AT ALL +TIMES; the war only made us feel it more keenly. + +NATION-BUILDING IN WAR TIME + +During the war, strange as it may seem, while we were devoting our +national energies to the work of destruction incident to war, we +as a nation made astonishing progress in many ways other than in +the art of war--in what we might call nation-building. + +In some ways we made progress in a year or two that under ordinary +circumstances might have required a generation. A striking +illustration of this is in the development of a great fleet of +merchant ships at a rate that would have been impossible before +the war. Beginning with almost nothing when the war began, we had, +in less than two years, a merchant fleet larger than that of any +other nation, and that in spite of the constant destruction of +ships by the enemy. The chairman of the shipping board of the +United States government says that this is because the necessities +of the war made the whole nation see how much it depends upon +ships, and caused not only ship-builders, but also engineers and +manufacturers and businessmen and the Navy department of the +government, and many others, to concentrate upon this problem, +with the result that we discovered methods of shipbuilding, and of +loading and unloading and operating ships when they were built, +that will probably enable us to maintain permanently a merchant +marine, the lack of which we have deplored for many years. + +In a similar way we discovered and brought into use valuable +natural resources of whose existence we had largely been ignorant +and for which we had been dependent upon other nations. We made +astonishing progress in scientific knowledge, and especially in +the application of this knowledge to invention and to industrial +enterprises. We developed a new interest in agriculture, and +learned the food values of many products that had formerly been +neglected. We were led to attack seriously the great problem of +suitable housing for workmen, and had an important lesson in the +relation between wholesome home-life and industrial efficiency +(see Chapter X, pp. 112-113). Foundations were laid for the +adjustment of the unfortunate differences that have long existed +between workmen and their employers. The war suggested changes in +our educational methods, some of which will doubtless become +effective, to the great improvement of our public schools, +colleges, and technical schools. + +We shall study some of these things more fully in later chapters. +They are mentioned now to illustrate how OUR NATIONAL PROGRESS WAS +STIMULATED WHEN THE WAR FORCED US TO SEE THE RELATION OF ALL THESE +THINGS TO ONE ANOTHER AND TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OUR NATIONAL +PURPOSE. On the other hand, failure to recognize this national +interdependence means slow progress as a national community. When +the war began, our nation was said to be "unprepared." Insofar as +this was true--and it was true in many particulars--it was because +in the times of peace before the war we had not thought enough +about the dependence of our national strength and safety upon all +these factors in our national life WORKING TOGETHER. And so, in +the times of peace AFTER THE WAR, if the purposes for which our +nation fought are to be fulfilled, we must continue to profit by +this lesson which the war has taught us. + +Recall your discussion of national interdependence in connection +with your study of Chapter II. + +Report on some of the important scientific and commercial +developments resulting from the war; as, for example: + +The development of the commercial use of the airplane. + +The development of new food supplies. + +The production of fertilizer from the nitrogen of the air. + +The development of new industries in the United States. + +Changes in methods of farming. + +What are some changes in education that are likely to result from +the war? + +Show how the strike of coal miners in 1919 affected the life of +the nation. + +THE "SUPREME TEST" OF THE NATION + +The "working together" of all these interdependent parts is the +important thing. "The supreme test of the nation has come," said +President Wilson. "We must all speak, act, and serve together." +[Footnote: Message to the American People, April 15, 1919]. + +1 + +It is not an army that we must shape and train for war ... it is a +Nation. To this end our people must draw close in one compact +front against a common foe. But this cannot be if each man pursues +a private purpose. The Nation needs all men, but it needs each +man, not in the field that will most pleasure him, but in the +endeavor that will best serve the common good. ... The whole +Nation must be a team, in which each man must play the part for +which he is best fitted. [Footnote: Conscription Proclamation, May +18, 1917.] + +THE NATION AS A TEAM + +We had some suggestion on page 72 of how such national team work +became a fact. "Do your bit!" was the watch-word. It was splendid +to see how personal interests gave way before the desire to serve +the nation. It is a thrilling story how the racial elements in our +population forgot their differences of race and language and +remembered only that they were American; how employers and +employees laid aside their differences; how farmers and +businessmen, manufacturers and mechanics, miners and woodsmen, +inventors and teachers, women in the home and children in the +schools, doctors and nurses, and every other class and group +subordinated their personal interests to the one national purpose +of winning the war in order that "the world might become a decent +place in which to live." + +As soon as the United States entered the war, Washington, the +nation's capital, became filled with people from all parts of the +country who wanted to help in some way. Some were called there by +the government; others came to volunteer their services and to +offer ideas that they thought useful. Many came as representatives +of organizations--business and industrial organizations, +scientific associations, civic societies. New committees and +associations were formed, until the number of voluntary citizen +organizations eager to do "war work" became almost too numerous to +remember. They were all an indication of the desire of the people +to do their part in the national enterprise. + +CONFUSION WITHOUT ORGANIZATION + +But there followed a period of confusion. All these organizations +and the people whom they represented wanted to help, but they did +not always know just what to do nor how to do it. Each +organization had its own ideas which it often magnified above all +others. Different organizations wanted to accomplish the same +purpose, but wanted to do it in different ways. Often they +duplicated one another's efforts. A war could not be won under +such conditions. But out of all this confusion there finally +developed order, and this was because the various organizations of +people realized that if they were to accomplish anything they must +work in cooperation with the national government, whose business +it was, after all, to organize the nation for united action. In +fact, it was for this reason that they came to Washington. Many of +them sought to influence the government to adopt this or that +plan, and sometimes succeeded; but it was the government that +finally decided what plans were to be adopted, and all of the +effort of the numerous organizations and of individuals must be +brought into harmony with these. + +NATIONAL TEAM WORK THROUGH GOVERNMENT + +The period of the war afforded many striking examples of national +cooperation secured by the government. It may have seemed +sometimes that our government interfered with personal freedom to +an unreasonable extent, as when it limited the amount of coal we +could buy, fixed the prices of many articles, determined the wages +that should be paid for labor, took over the management of the +railroads and of the telegraph and telephone lines, and did many +other things that it never had done in times of peace. We expected +government to exercise powers in war time that it would not be +permitted to exercise in times of peace. But it can be shown that +even during the war, the government, with all its unusual powers, +did not "ride roughshod" over the people, but sought to "make them +partners in an enterprise which after all was their own." The +nation was fighting for its life and for the very principles upon +which it was founded, and it was necessary that cooperation should +be complete and effective. This was what the government sought, +and it exercised its powers by inviting and obtaining national +cooperation to a remarkable extent. + +THE SELECTIVE DRAFT AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF TEAM WORK + +Our national army was created by a "selective" draft, or +conscription. Conscription had formerly been looked upon with +disfavor as a form of forced military service. A volunteer army +was thought to be more in harmony with a democratic form of +government. But the draft is now seen to be far more democratic +than a volunteer army because it treats all able-bodied men alike, +instead of leaving the fighting to those who are most courageous +and most patriotic, while those who are inclined to shirk may +easily do so. Moreover, the SELECTIVE draft means the selection of +men to serve in the capacity for which they are best fitted. In +Great Britain, under a volunteer system, and in France, under a +system of compulsory military service for all men, thousands of +brave men went to the trenches in the early days of the war who, +because of their training, should have been kept at home to +perform the vast amount of skilled labor and scientific work which +this war demanded. War industry, without which there could be no +fighting, was thus greatly hampered. + +By our selective draft, on the other hand, while every man was +expected to do his share, each was selected as far as possible to +do the thing which he could do best and therefore which would best +serve the country. It also sought to prevent those who had +families dependent upon them from going to war until they were +absolutely needed. Thus the selective draft is an example of +government organizing our national manpower for more effective +teamwork and with less hardship than if it had been left to +voluntary action. + +TEAM WORK THROUGH THE FOOD ADMINISTRATION + +The United States Food Administration was created by the President +to carry out the provisions of a law passed by Congress", to +provide further for the national security and defense by +encouraging the production, conserving the supply, and controlling +the distribution of food products and fuel." The President placed +at its head a man in whom the people of the country had great +confidence, because of his experience and success in organizing +and managing the Belgian relief work, Mr. Herbert Hoover. He +gathered around him men familiar with the problems relating to the +food supply of the nation, and then proceeded to enlighten the +country in regard to the nature of these problems and to seek for +the cooperation of the people in solving them. + +As soon as he was appointed, the food administrator issued a +statement containing the following facts: + +Whereas we exported before the war but 80,000,000 bushels of wheat +per annum, this year we must find for all our allies 225,000,000 +bushels, and this in the face of a short crop. ... France and +Italy formerly produced their own sugar, while England and Ireland +imported largely from Germany. Owing to the inability of the +first-named to produce more than one third of their needs, and the +necessity for the others to import from other markets, they must +all come to the West Indies for their very large supplies, and +therefore deplete our resources. + +If we can reduce our consumption of wheat flour by 1 pound, our +meat by 7 ounces, our sugar by 7 ounces, our fat by 7 ounces PER +PERSON PER WEEK, these quantities, multiplied by 100,000,000 (the +population of the United States) will immeasurably aid and +encourage our allies, help our own growing armies, and so +effectively serve the great and noble cause of humanity in which +our nation has embarked. + +DEMOCRACY A PARTNERSHIP + +This illustrates how the Food Administration sought cooperation. +It "made partners" of the people, explained to them the situation, +and asked them to help as individuals. It showed the nation what +it must do if it were to be successful in its undertaking. It is +true that the President had large powers to enforce observance of +the rules outlined by the Food Administration, but it was only in +the exceptional case of the individual consumer and producer who +refused to cooperate for the common good that it became necessary +to use the power. The method of democracy is to point out clearly +how the desired result may be obtained and to depend upon the +people to govern themselves accordingly. + +After a year of the war a member of the Food Administration is +quoted as saying, [Footnote: In an article on "Your Wheatless +Days," by W. A. Wolff, in Collier's Weekly, Aug. 17, 1918.] +"There's never been anything like it in history. ... We asked the +American people to do voluntarily more than any other people has +ever been asked to do under compulsion. And the American people +made good!" + +What was true in the unusual time of war is true to even a greater +extent in the ordinary time of peace. We have little to fear from +our national government as long as we and those to whom we entrust +its management, always keep in mind its real purpose, which is to +show us how to work together effectively as a nation and to help +us do it. + +EVERY MAN COUNTS + +All through this study we are going to observe how in the ordinary +affairs of life our national government serves us in this respect. +One thing that we need especially to learn is that we have a great +national purpose ALL THE TIME, in peace as well as in war. In +fact, PEACE IS A PART OF THAT PURPOSE. We went to war because +without it there could be no assurance of a lasting peace. While +we fought to defend our national purpose and our national ideals +against a powerful foe from without, this purpose and these ideals +cannot be fully achieved by the war alone. They can be finally +achieved only by ourselves as we develop, day by day, our national +community life. To do this we must always keep in mind our great +national purpose, we must realize our dependence upon one another +in achieving this purpose, and we must make our national team work +as perfect as it can be made. Above all, we must realize that, in +peace as in war, EVERY MAN COUNTS in our national community life. +As President Wilson said: + +"THE NATION NEEDS ALL MEN, BUT IT NEEDS EACH MAN. ..." "THE WHOLE +NATION MUST BE A TEAM, IN WHICH EACH MAN SHALL PLAY THE PART FOR +WHICH HE IS BEST FITTED." + +Read and discuss President Wilson's "Message to the American +People," of April 15, 1917. + +What organizations existed in your community to secure teamwork +for war purposes? + +Show how boys' and girls' clubs, or the School Garden Army, made +cooperation possible on a national scale. Is this true in peace +times as well as in war time? + +Is there greater or less need of national teamwork today than +during the war? Explain your answer. + +What evidences are there that the teamwork of our nation has not +been as good since the war as during the war? Why is this? + +Show how universal military training might increase the national +spirit What arguments can you give against it? + +Should or should not the food administration of wartime be +continued in peace time? Why? + +What does it mean to you to be an American? + +READINGS + +In Long's American Patriotic Prose: + +Van Dyke, "The Blending of Races," p. 4. + +De Crevecoeur, "The American," p. 38. + +Webster, "Imaginary Speech of John Adams," p. 77. + +Brooks, "The Fourth of July in Westminster Abbey," p. 89. + +Van Dyke, "The Americanism of Washington," pp. 135-137. + +Jay, "Unity as a Protection against Foreign Force and Influence," +p. 139. + +Webster, "Liberty and Union Inseparable," p. 158. + +Lincoln, "Gettysburg Speech," p. 181. + +Lincoln, "Second Inaugural Address," p. 183. + +Whitman, "Two Brothers, One North, One South," p. 201. + +Wilson, "Spirit of America," p. 266. + +Roosevelt, "True Americanism," p. 270. + +Wilson, "Conscription Proclamation," p. 283. + +Hughes, "What the Flag Means," p. 288. + +Eliot, "Five American Contributions to Civilization," p. 310. + +Lane, "Makers of the Flag," p. 314. + +McCall, "America the Melting Pot," p. 320. + +Wilson, "To Newly-Made Citizens," p. 322. + +Gibbons, "The Republic Will Endure," p. 340. + +Eliot, "What Americans Believe In," p. 361. + +Abbott, "Patriotism," p. 362. + +In Foerster and Pierson's American Ideals: + +Wilson, "Conscription Proclamation," p. 175. + +Wilson, "Americanism and the Foreign-Born," p. 178. + +Alderman, "Can Democracy be Organized?" p. 158. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +A WORLD COMMUNITY + + +Is there a world community? A world torn by war, as our world was +from 1914 to 1918, may not seem to give much evidence of it, and +many would at once answer "No" to our question. And yet such +phrases as the "brotherhood of man" and the "cause of humanity" +are familiar to us all. We may briefly discuss the question in +this study, because if there is such a community, we are all +members of it, and our membership in it affects our lives as +individuals and as a nation. + +WHAT THE WAR DISCLOSED WITH REGARD TO A WORLD COMMUNITY + +The world community is certainly very imperfectly developed, but +while the war emphasized its imperfections, it also furnished +evidence if its reality. Its existence depends upon the presence +of recognized common purposes and of organized teamwork in +accomplishing these purposes, as in the case of any community. The +war disclosed conflicting interests among the nations; but it +united for a common purpose a larger part of the world's +population than had ever before acted together in a common cause. +It disclosed an interdependence among the nations and the peoples +of the world that we had not thought of. And while it disclosed +the weakness of the world's organization for teamwork, it aroused +us to the possibilities of such organization, made us long for it, +and brought us, as many believe, a step nearer to its +accomplishment. + +AMERICA'S DETACHMENT FROM THE WORLD + +Separated by wide oceans, from the rest of the world, our nation +grew and prospered with a sense of security from the conflicts +that from time to time disturbed the Old World. We early adopted a +policy of avoiding entanglements that might draw us into these +conflicts. In his Farewell Address, Washington said: + +The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, +in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little +political connection as possible. ... Why, by interweaving our +destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and +posterity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, +humor, or caprice? It is our true policy to steer clear of +permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world. + +A few years later, President Monroe issued his famous statement, +known as the Monroe Doctrine, which, recognizing the principle +that Washington had stated, also denied the right of European +powers to interfere with the free growth of the republican nations +of North and South America. The United States has steadfastly held +to this doctrine from that day to this. + +NATIONS HAVE BECOME CLOSE NEIGHBORS + +But great changes have come to the world since the time of +Washington. The use of steam in navigation, the submarine cable +and wireless telegraphy have brought all the world into closer +relations than existed between New England and the Southern States +in the early days of our national life. Our government at +Washington may send messages to European capitals and receive a +reply within ten minutes. The Atlantic has been crossed by +airplane. The nations of the world have become very close +neighbors. The murder of a prince in a little city of central +Europe drew from millions of homes in America their sons to fight +on the soil of Europe. We entered the war because our interests +were so closely bound up with those of the world that we could not +keep out; because "what affects mankind is inevitably our affair, +as well as the affair of the nations of Europe and Asia." + +The war did not create this interdependence; it only emphasized +it. But now that we are aware of it, it will probably influence +our lives to a much greater extent than before the war. + +WHAT THE WORLD WAS FIGHTING FOR + +The nations that were associated against Germany, occupy, with +their dependencies, two-thirds of the earth's surface and include +more than four-fifths of its population. The governments of these +nations declared that they were fighting primarily, not for +selfish interests such as "ports and provinces and trade," but +"for the common interests of the whole family of civilized +nations--for nothing less than the cause of mankind." [Footnote: +Stuart P. Sherman, American and Allied Ideals, p. 14.] Even if +some of the governments were influenced to a greater or lesser +extent by selfish motives, they still recognized a common interest +of the peoples of the world, a "cause of mankind," and based their +appeals upon it. The prime minister of England said, "We must not +allow any sense of revenge, any spirit of greed, any grasping +desire, to overcome the fundamental principles of righteousness." +Faraway Siam declared that she entered the war "to uphold the +sanctity of international rights against nations showing a +contempt for humanity." And little Guatemala proclaimed that she +had "from the first adhered to and supported the attitude of the +United States in defense of the rights of nations, of liberty of +the seas, and of international justice." Our President said that +"what we demand in this war is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It +is that the world be made fit and safe to live in for every peace- +loving nation. ... All the peoples of the world are in effect +partners in this interest." + +The avowed purpose for which the United States entered the war, +and for which "all the peoples of the world are in effect +partners," is the same as that for which the American +Revolutionary War was fought, which was proclaimed in our +Declaration of Independence, and for which America has always +stood--the equal right of all men to "life, liberty, and the +pursuit of happiness," and to self-government. Nearly the whole +world was united against a few autocratic governments that denied +these rights. + +AMERICA HAS FOUGHT FOR THE FREEDOM OF OTHERS + +At the time of the American Revolution the colonists had no desire +to fight the English PEOPLE, but revolted against the autocratic +English GOVERNMENT of that time, which refused to recognize the +rights of the people. The English people had many times fought for +these rights, and many of them sympathized with the American +colonists, The winning of American independence was a victory for +free government in England as well as in America, and the +government of England today is as democratic as our own. This +understanding about the American Revolution throws light upon what +the President of the United States meant when he said that we +fought Germany for "the ultimate peace of the world and for the +liberation of its peoples, THE GERMAN PEOPLES INCLUDED." Another +writer said, "We are not fighting to put the Germans out but to +get them in." + +THE GROWTH OF HUMAN SYMPATHY + +It has taken a long time for the peoples of the world to develop a +sense of their common wants and purposes. Differences in language, +in race and color, in religious beliefs and observances, in forms +of government, even in such matters as dress and other habits and +customs, have tended to obscure the common feelings of all. This +lack of sympathetic understanding is suggested by Shylock, in +Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice: + +Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, +senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with +the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same +means, warmed and cooled by the same Winter and Summer, as a +Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, +do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong +us, shall we not revenge? if we are like you in the rest, we will +resemble you in that. + +Increased opportunity for travel, better means of communication, +and more widespread education have greatly increased the +understanding among peoples and nations, and have disclosed to +view common purposes and ideals in spite of differences. The fact +that large numbers of people from every part of the globe have +come to the United States to live together as one nation has +contributed to the same result. + +Give illustrations from your own experience and reading to show +that differences in dress, language, race, and customs make +sympathetic understanding difficult. + +What is meant by "America, the melting-pot"? + +INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION + +As the peoples of the world have become better acquainted, +individuals and groups have tended to associate themselves +together, regardless of national boundaries, for the promotion of +common interests. + +One example of this is the common movement of organized labor +which has overstepped national boundaries. + +There is an International Institute of Agriculture, with +headquarters at Rome, and representing 56 countries, the purpose +of which is to promote better economic and social conditions among +agricultural populations of the world. Some of its publications +are published in five languages. + +Literature and art bind all the world together, and science knows +no national boundary lines. Christianity is one of the greatest +influences for a "brotherhood of man." Differences in religious +belief have presented most difficult barriers to overcome, but +there has been a steadily increasing tolerance of one religious +faith toward others. + +These are only a few of hundreds of illustrations that might be +given. + +SERVICE OF THE RED CROSS + +We have all become familiar, during the war, with the work of the +Red Cross. No other organization has done more to extend the +feeling of common brotherhood in the world and the spirit of world +service. During the war a Junior Department of the Red Cross was +organized, enrolling in its membership about twelve million +American boys and girls and organizing them for practical service +to war-stricken Europe and Asia. Since the war, the Junior Red +Cross, whose headquarters are at Washington, D. C., has undertaken +to use its organization to promote correspondence among boys and +girls of different lands, and an exchange of handiwork, pictures, +and other things illustrative of their interests. The American +School Citizenship League (405 Marlboro Street, Boston) is +encouraging the same idea, and there is a Bureau of French- +American Education Correspondence for a similar purpose, with +headquarters at the George Peabody College for Teachers, +Nashville, Tenn. + +THE MOVEMENT FOR WORLD PEACE + +Numerous INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONGRESSES have been held, the first +one as early as 1843, and in the United States and other countries +organizations exist for the promotion of friendly relations among +the nations, and especially for the substitution of arbitration +for war as a means of settling international disputes. + +Among such organizations in the United States are the League to +Enforce Peace, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the +American Peace and Arbitration League, the American Peace Society, +the World Peace Federation, the Church Peace Union. + +What may be gained by correspondence between the young people of +different lands? + +Report on the following (see references): + +The work of the Pan-American Union. + +The work of the Red Cross in war and peace. + +PAN-AMERICAN UNION + +One of the most successful experiments in international +cooperation is that of the North and South American republics. The +first Pan-American Conference, attended by delegates from the +twenty-one American republics, was held in Washington, D.C., in +1889. As a result of this Conference the Pan-American Union was +established, with permanent headquarters in Washington. Its +purpose is "the development of commerce, friendly intercourse, and +good understanding among these countries." + +INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENT + +To secure anything like effective teamwork among the nations for +the common interest and to substitute arbitration for war as a +means of settling differences, there must be some kind of +international organization, and rules to which the governments of +the nations will agree. Civilized nations have always had their +official means of dealing with one another through their +governments, such as the diplomatic and consular services. +Alliances have, from time immemorial, been made between nations, +treaties have been solemnly agreed to, and a body of international +law has gradually grown up. But treaties and international law +have frequently been violated, and no international government has +existed with sufficient authority or power to force nations to +observe the law or to keep their agreements. As a result of two +peace conferences held at The Hague in Holland, in 1899 and 1907, +an international Court of Arbitration was established at The Hague +(The Hague Tribunal), before which disputes might be brought by +nations if they desired to do so. But there was no way by which a +nation could be compelled to appeal to the court. + +NATIONALITY AND SOVEREIGNTY + +Nations have a strong sense of their NATIONALITY, and are +extremely jealous of their SOVEREIGNTY, which is the supreme power +claimed by every nation to form its own government and to manage +its own affairs without interference by other nations. It is this +that has prevented the development of anything like a real +international government that could control the conduct of +national governments, or that could require a nation to submit its +grievances to any judge other than itself. This has perhaps been +the chief weakness of the world community. + +A LEAGUE OF NATIONS + +Many people have long believed that the self-governing nations of +the world must sooner or later unite, in the interest of world +peace, in some kind of federation or league, with a central +organization to which all would agree to submit their differences. +The war made it seem even more necessary. Accordingly, the Peace +Conference at Versailles at the close of the war included in the +treaty of peace a Covenant (or constitution) for a League of +Nations. The treaty, including the Covenant, has been ratified +(March, 1920) by four of the five great nations associated against +Germany (France, England, Italy, and Japan; the United States +being the exception), besides several other nations. While the +President of the United States strongly advocated the treaty with +the Covenant, the Senate did not approve of its ratification. +Those in our country who opposed the Covenant did so for a variety +of reasons, but chief among them were: first, the fear that the +Covenant would cause us to depart from the principles laid down by +Washington and Monroe; and, second, the fear that the powers +conferred upon the international government would deprive our +national government of some of its sovereign powers. The friends +of the Covenant denied that either of these things would be true. + +Whether or not the United States should enter the League +[Footnote: The Council of the new League of Nations held its first +meeting January 16, 1920, the United States, of course, not being +represented.] we shall have to leave for the statesmen to decide; +and whether or not the League will accomplish the desired ends, +time alone can prove. But two or three things may safely be said +with regard to any really effective world government. + +MIGHT DOES NOT MAKE RIGHT + +When people live together in communities, each person has to +sacrifice something of his personal freedom in order that all may +enjoy the largest possible liberty. The same is true of families +in a neighborhood, of communities in a state, of the states in our +nation. There is no reason why it should not be true of nations +which are neighbors to one another. No nation has any more right +to do as it pleases than a person or a family has, IF WHAT IT +PLEASES TO DO IS UNJUST TO ITS NEIGHBORS. The only thing, however, +that a nation can properly be asked to give up IS BEING UNJUST TO +ITS NEIGHBORS. We saw in Chapter IV that government and law +increase rather than decrease the individual citizen's freedom, +and that it is only the "ill-mannered" who feel the restrictions +of a wise government. So, when we finally get a world government +that is good, it will be one that will increase the freedom of all +"good-mannered" nations, restricting only those that are "ill- +mannered." + +WHAT "AMERICA FIRST" MEANS + +Moreover, when we finally get a league of nations that will really +secure friendly cooperation among the nations for their common +interests, it will be brought about, not by sacrificing +nationality and national patriotism, but by STRENGTHENING them. + +What is required is not less loyalty to one's nationality, but +more sympathetic understanding of nationalities and national +ideals different from one's own, combined with a recognition of +the fundamental interests ... which unite them to each other. +[Footnote: "Thoughts on Nationalism and Internationalism," in +History Teachers' Magazine, June 1918, p. 334.] + +The only way to be sure of a perfect neighborhood is first to see +to it that the homes of the neighborhood are strong and whole +some. No person can really be loyal to his neighborhood who is not +first of all loyal to his home. Thoroughly efficient townships and +counties and cities are essential to a thoroughly efficient state; +and no citizen is loyal to his state who is not loyal to his +township, county, and city. The strength of our nation depends +upon the strength of the states that compose it, and real national +patriotism cannot well exist in the heart of a citizen who is +disloyal to his state. The first essential step toward an +effective WORLD government is to see that our national government +is efficient and at the same time JUST. The first and best service +that a citizen can perform for the world community is to be loyal +to AMERICAN IDEALS, which are becoming the ideals of an ever- +increasing part of the world's population. + +THE NEW TYPE OF PATRIOT NO LONGER CRIES, "MY COUNTRY AGAINST THE +WORLD," BUT "MY COUNTRY FOR THE WORLD." [Footnote: Stuart P. +Sherman, American and Allied Ideals, p. 14.] + +Topics for investigation: + +The Hague Tribunal. Disputes that have been settled by it. Why the +dispute that led to the recent war was not settled by it. + +The meaning of "nationality." Of "sovereignty." + +Has a government any more right to be dishonest than an +individual? + +Both sides of the argument over the ratification by the United +States of the treaty of peace with the Covenant for the League of +Nations (see references). + +The truth of the statement that "the only way to be sure of a +perfect neighborhood is first to see to it that the homes of the +neighborhood are strong and wholesome." + +The meaning of the statement in the quotation at the end of the +text above. + +READINGS + +In Long's AMERICAN PATRIOTIC PROSE: + +Washington, "Farewell Address," pp. 105-124. + +Washington, "Proclamation of Neutrality," pp. 143-146. + +"The Monroe Doctrine," pp. 148-149. + +John Quincy Adams, "The Mission of America," pp. 149-150. + +George F. Hoar, "A Warning Against the Spirit of Empire," pp. 244- +247. + +Woodrow Wilson, "Spirit of America," pp. 266-268. + +Franklin K. Lane, "Why We Are Fighting Germany," pp. 282-283. + +Carl Schurz, "The Rule of Honor for the Republic," pp. 342-343. + +Woodrow Wilson, "War Message of April 2, 1917," pp. 351-361. + +In Foerster and Pierson's AMERICAN IDEALS: + +Washington, "Counsel on Alliances" (Farewell Address), pp. 185- +189. + +"The Monroe Doctrine," pp. 190-193. + +Henry Clay, "The Emancipation of South America," pp. 194-199. + +Robert E. Lansing, "Pan-Americanism," pp. 200-296. + +A. Lawrence Lowell, "A League to Enforce Peace," pp. 207-223. + +George G. Wilson, "The Monroe Doctrine and the League to Enforce +Peace," pp. 224-232. + +Woodrow Wilson, "The Conditions of Peace," pp. 233-241. + +Woodrow Wilson, "War for Democracy and Peace," pp. 242-256. + +Various books and pamphlets have been written relating to the +League of Nations and world relations following the war. Among +these are: + +THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, edited by Henry E. Jackson (published by +Prentice-Hall, Inc., 70 Fifth Ave., N.Y. Paper, 50 cents; cloth, +$1). "A document prepared to stimulate community discussion and +promote organized public opinion." This book contains, at the end, +a list of titles of books and pamphlets on the subject. + +The Lodge-Lowell DEBATE ON THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS +(World Peace Foundation, Boston). President Lowell, of Harvard +University, argued for, and Senator Lodge against, the Covenant as +contained in the treaty of peace. + +Taft, William Howard, WHY A LEAGUE OF NATIONS IS NECESSARY (League +to Enforce Peace, New York). + +Sherman, Stuart P., AMERICAN AND ALLIED IDEALS (World Peace +Foundation, Boston). + +The complete official record of the United States Senate debate on +the treaty of peace is to be found in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, a +file of which SHOULD be in your public library. + +THE JUNIOR RED CROSS NEWS, American Red Cross, Washington, D.C. + +For the work of the Pan American Union and the Red Cross, consult +your public library; and write to the Pan American Union and the +American Red Cross, both in Washington, D.C., for descriptive +publications. + +For the Hague Conferences and the Hague Tribunal, consult any good +modern encyclopedia, and your public library. Write for materials +to the American School Citizenship League, 405 Marlboro St., +Boston, and the World Peace Foundation, Boston. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE HOME + +"NO NATION CAN BE DESTROYED WHILE IT POSSESSES A GOOD HOME LIFE." + + +The home is the smallest, the simplest, and the most familiar +community of which we are members. In many respects it is also the +most important. The quotation with which this chapter opens +suggests this. It will appear at many points in our study. + +What do you think that the quotation at the head of the chapter +means? In what respects do you think it true? + +Some cities take pride in the fact that they are "cities of +homes." What does this mean? Why is it a cause for pride? + +Is your community (neighborhood or town) a community of homes? +What is a "home"? When a person is "homesick" for what is he +"sick"? + +May a good home exist in a poor dwelling? A poor home in a fine +dwelling? + +Is a hotel a home? May a family living in a hotel have a home +there? + +Is an orphan asylum a home? Would you exchange life in your own +home for life in an orphan asylum? Why? There are children who +think an orphan asylum is a fine place to live; why is this? + +The home is important (1) because of what it does for its own +members, and (2) because of what it does for the larger community +of which it is a part. We shall consider first what it does for +its own members. + +THE PIONEER FAMILY + +Under the conditions of pioneer life the wants of the members of +the family were provided for almost entirely by their own united +efforts. They built their own dwelling from materials which they +themselves procured from the forest. They made their living from +the land which they occupied, with tools which were largely +homemade. They provided their own defense against attack from +without and against sickness within. Such education as the +children obtained was of the most practical kind, and was obtained +by actual experience in their daily work supplemented by such +instruction as parents and older brothers and sisters could give. +There was little social life except within the family circle. + +EFFECT OF COMMUNITY GROWTH + +When other homes were built in the neighborhood a larger community +life began. The neighboring homes came to depend upon one another +and to cooperate in many ways. The store at the crossroads +provided for many wants that each home had formerly provided for +itself. The doctor who came to live in the community relieved the +home of much anxiety in case of sickness. The education of the +children was in part, at least, turned over to the community +school. And so, as a community grows, the home shifts much of the +responsibility for providing for the wants of its members upon +community agencies. + +DEPENDENCE OF THE CITY HOME + +This shifting of responsibility for the welfare of citizens from +the home to the larger community is carried furthest in cities. +Almost everything wanted in the home may be bought in the city +shops, and work that is done in the home for the family, such as +repair work, dressmaking, laundry work, and cooking, is likely to +be done by people brought in from outside. Water is piped in from +a public water supply and sewage is piped out through public +sewers. Gas and electricity for lighting and heating are furnished +by city plants. Since many city homes have not a spot of ground +for a garden or for outdoor play, they depend upon public parks +and playgrounds provided by the city. These are among the many so- +called advantages of city life. + +THE OBLIGATION OF THE HOME + +When so much is done for the citizen by the larger community +agencies, there is danger that the family may forget its own +responsibility for the welfare of its members in connection with +every want of life. For no matter how good the community's +arrangements for health protection may be, the health of every +citizen depends more upon the home than upon any other agency (see +Chapter XX). No matter how good the schools, the home always has +great responsibility for the education of the children, both +within the home itself and through cooperation with the schools +(Chapter XIX). No matter how many social organizations and places +of amusement the community may afford, the social and recreational +life of the home is the most important of all and the most far- +reaching in its influence (Chapter XXI). No matter how excellent +the form of government in a community may be, its results will be +very imperfect unless the government in each home is good. + +IMPORTANCE OF THE HOME IN RURAL COMMUNITIES + +The home has especial importance in the rural community of to-day. +The rural home is no longer so isolated and self-dependent as the +pioneer home, but the life of the rural citizen is much more +dependent upon efforts within the home itself than the life of the +city resident. The business of farming by which the family living +is secured is carried on at home, and, as a rule, all the members +of the family have some part in it. It is a cooperative family +enterprise to a much greater extent than any other modern +business. + +In cities, in the great majority of cases, the work by which the +family living is earned is done away from home, and very often no +member of the family except the father has any direct part in it. +There are numerous cases, however, where the mother and even the +children go out to work, and in such cases the home life may be +seriously interfered with. + +It would be hard to find a rural home in the United States to-day +that is not near enough to a schoolhouse to enable the children to +attend it, at least for an elementary education. Unfortunately, +high schools are not yet easily accessible in all rural +communities (see Chapter XIX). But whether the education afforded +by the rural school is of the best or not, the boy or girl on the +farm gets in addition a kind of education through the varied +occupations of the farm life that the city boy or girl does not +get, and for which the city schools have tried in vain to find an +adequate substitute. It is remarkable how many of the successful +men and women of our country were raised on farms; and they almost +always bear witness to the value of the training received there. + +So in matters of health, of social life and recreation, of +pleasant and beautiful surroundings, the rural home must depend +very largely upon itself. The strength and happiness of the +community, of our nation itself, depend largely upon the extent to +which the homes perform their proper work in providing for the +wants of their members. + +Review what was said in Chapter II regarding the independence of +the pioneer family. + +Review also what was said in Chapter I regarding the growing +dependence of the family upon the community. + +Gather stories regarding pioneer home life (a) in your own +locality, (b) in the settlement of the West; (c) in colonial +times. Illustrate from these stories how the home provided for the +wants of its members. + +Show in detail how the various members of a farmer's family take +part in the business of farming. Compare with a family in town +whose living is provided for by some other business. + +Make a list of the different people who come to the home of a +family in town to provide for its wants (such as the grocer's boy, +the milkman, the postman, etc.). Compare with a farmer's home with +respect to this service from outside. + +LABOR SAVING IN THE HOME + +We have read in an earlier chapter that "our national purpose is +to transmute days of dreary work into happier lives--for ourselves +first and for all others in their time." This purpose cannot be +fully achieved if it is not first of all achieved in the home. One +of the objections often raised to life on the farm is that it is a +life of drudgery, of few conveniences and comforts, of long hours, +hard work, and little recreation. Happily this is not so true as +it once was. Labor-saving machinery, better methods of +transportation and communication, better schools, have done much +to improve conditions of rural home life. But occasionally there +still come statements like the following from some of the women in +farm homes: + +In many homes life on the farm is a somewhat one-sided affair. +Many times the spare money above living expenses is expended on +costly machinery and farm implements to make the farmer's work +lighter; on more land where there is already a sufficiency; on +expensive horses and cattle and new out-buildings; while little or +nothing is done for home improvement and no provision made for the +comfort and convenience of the women of the family. + +If a silo will help to reduce the man's labor, a vacuum cleaner +will do likewise for his wife. If the stock at the barn needs a +good water system to help it grow, the stock in the house needs it +too, and needs it warm for baths. + +You see many a farm where there is a cement floor in the barn, +while the cellar in the house is awful. A sheep dip, but no +bathtub; a fine buggy and a poor baby carriage. On many farms a +hundred dollars in cash are not spent in the home in a year. + +EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE HOME + +These are not meant as complaints about the purchase of labor- +saving farm machinery. Such complaints would be short-sighted, for +it is only by improved methods of farming that the means and the +leisure can be found to enrich the home life in every way. But the +advantages gained by improvements that increase the farmer's +returns are largely lost if they do not at the same time bring +"happier lives" to the family as a whole. The farm home is not +only the place where the family living is EARNED; it is also the +place where the family life is LIVED. Democracy aims at EQUAL +opportunity to enjoy "life, liberty, and the pursuit of +happiness"; "days of dreary work" must be transmuted into "happier +lives" for the women and children as well as for the men. Unless +this is done in the home there is little chance of its being done +at all. + +A story is told of a housekeeper in a farm-home in the West who +saw in the sacred rite of old-school housekeepers something more +than scrubbing and polishing ... When her housecleaning was over +she knew just what linen she would need during the coming year, +just how much fruits and vegetables she would need to can or +preserve or dry, just what clothing must be replaced or repaired, +and what dishes would be needed to keep her set complete. She not +only made changes to improve the appearance of her house, but +planned and made the changes in her workshop which would save +steps and make her work as easy as possible. When her mind got to +work, housekeeping became a game, the object being to eliminate +all unnecessary labor. Her benches and tables and sinks were +raised to the proper height and she became ashamed of the back- +breaking energy she had wasted bending over them. A high stool, +made by removing the back and arms from the baby's outgrown high +chair, made dishwashing and ironing much easier. She has been +housekeeping intelligently a dozen years, yet each house-cleaning +or stock-taking period she installs some new labor saver. + +She not only makes her head save her heels, but she takes another +kind of inventory which is as well worth while. It is the +inventory which we all need to take of ourselves to be sure that +we are making the best of our opportunities instead of drifting +along day by day in a rut. She searches out the hidden places in +her soul to see if she is just as patient, as thoughtful, as +cheerful as she might be ... [Footnote: RECLAMATION RECORD, Feb., +1918, p.55, "Project Women and Their Materials," by Mrs. Louella +Littlepage.] + +COMMUNITY COOPERATION AND THE HOME + +In some rural communities the home has been relieved of much of +the household drudgery by the development of cooperative +creameries, cooperative laundries, and other community +institutions to do work that was formerly done entirely in the +home. In such cooperative enterprises, citizens of the community +buy shares of stock as in the case of the fruit growers' +association. In one community in Michigan "a vote was taken, the +women voting as well as the men, to determine the sentiment of the +community on the establishment of such a laundry, and the vote was +so overwhelmingly in favor of the proposition that the Farmers' +Club promptly called a meeting to promote the enterprise." An +addition was built to the cooperative creamery, which the +community already possessed, so that the same steam plant could be +used for both. The farmers brought their laundry when they brought +their cream, and carried it back on the next trip. "The laundry +has been successful in relieving the hard life of a farmer's wife, +and in addition has been not only self-sustaining but a profitable +institution." One of the women of the community says, + +It has lightened the work in the home to such an extent that one +can manage the work without keeping help, which is very scarce and +high priced, when it would be impossible to do so if the washing +was included with our other duties. + +And another writes, + +This change gives me two days of recreation that I can call my own +every week and also gives me more time in which to accomplish the +household duties. [Footnote: "A Successful Rural Cooperative +Laundry," in the Year Book, Department of Agriculture, 1915, pp. +189-194.] + +GOVERNMENT SERVES THE HOME + +A great deal of help is now being given to the home by the +government, and this is especially true in the case of the rural +home. The public schools, both in city and country, now consider +home making and "home economics" as worthy of a place in the +course of study as geography and mathematics (see Chapter XIX). +State agricultural colleges are beginning to give as much +attention to these subjects as they do to soils and fertilizers +and stock-breeding. Moreover, the colleges conduct "extension +courses," sending teachers trained in the art of home making to +give instruction to women and girls in every part of the state. +They assist in organizing clubs of girls and women to study +various aspects of home making and housekeeping, and give +demonstrations of the most successful methods of cooking, of +canning, and of other activities connected with home life on the +farm, as well as of labor-saving devices in the household. The +state agricultural colleges have the cooperation of the Department +of Agriculture of the national government in all this work. + +WHAT ONE GIRL ACCOMPLISHED + +In the Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for 1916 there +is an account of results derived from home demonstration work in +the Southern States. The following story of what Ruth Anderson +accomplished is a good illustration of the possibilities of this +work. + +Ruth Anderson, of Etowah County, Alabama, in her second year of +club work, had an excellent plot of one tenth of an acre of beans +and tomatoes. She is the second girl in a family of eleven, and +takes a great interest in her club work. The family home was +small, dark, and crowded, and somewhat unattractive. One day a +carpenter friend of her father saw her one tenth of an acre and +said he wished he had time to plant a garden. She told him she +would furnish vegetables in exchange for some of his time. ... +After a while a bargain was made by which the carpenter agreed to +begin work on the remodeling of the house if Ruth would furnish +him with fresh and canned vegetables for the season. + +The other members of the family were soon interested in this +undertaking and worked willingly to contribute their share to its +success. When the house was partly finished Ruth won a canning- +club prize given by a hardware merchant in Gadsden, the county +seat. Silverware was offered her, but, intent upon completing the +new house she asked the merchant how much a front door of glass +would cost, and learned that she could get the door, side lights, +and windows for the price of the silverware. In this way Ruth +brought light and joy to her family with her windows and door. To- +day they live in a pretty bungalow that she helped to build with +her gardening and canning work. At the age of 14, in the second +year of her work, Ruth put up 700 cans of tomatoes and 750 cans of +beans. [Footnote: "Effect of Home Demonstration Work in the +South," in 1916 Year Book of the Department of Agriculture, p. +254.] + +Ruth's home before and after she began her work is shown in the +accompanying illustrations. + +NATIONAL AID TO THE HOME + +The national government helps in home making in other ways than +those suggested above, and through other departments than that of +agriculture. In the Department of the Interior the General Land +Office, the Bureau of Education, the Reclamation Service, the +Office of Indian Affairs are all doing work to improve the homes +of the land. So, also, is the Public Health Service of the +Treasury Department; the Bureau of Standards in the Department of +Commerce; the Children's Bureau in the Department of Labor. We +shall encounter some of this work as we proceed with our study. + +In what ways has household work been relieved of its drudgery +since your mothers were girls? + +What labor-saving devices have been introduced in your home? + +Make a report on labor-saving inventions for the household (see +references at end of chapter). + +What are some labor-saving household devices that could be made by +boys and girls (such as fireless cookers, iceless refrigerators, +etc.)? (See references below). Can your school help in such +projects? To what extent could (or do) boys' and girls' clubs +undertake such projects? Is there any leader in your community who +could direct or advise in such projects? + +Is the kitchen in your home properly arranged to save steps, +labor, and time in doing kitchen work? Consider plans for +improvement. Consult parents. + +Does experience in your community confirm the feeling of the women +quoted on page 104? + +Are there any cooperative enterprises in your community that +relieve the housekeeper of household labor, such as cooperative +laundries, creameries, etc.? Are they a business success? Have +they improved conditions of home life? + +What is the difference between a "cooperative" laundry and an +ordinary laundry such as may be found in most towns? Does one +relieve the home more than the other? + +What other business enterprises are carried on in towns that +relieve the home of work? Why are such business enterprises not +conducted in the same way in rural communities? + +Is there any special interest in home improvement in your +community? Who or what has brought it about? What can you do to +encourage such interest? + +READINGS + +"Lessons in Community and National Life": Series C, Lesson 20, +"The Family and Social Control." + +For an extensive list of titles of publications relating to the +home, send to the United States Bureau of Education for its +Bulletin, 1919, No. 46, "Bibliography of Home Economics," +especially section VIII on "The Family," and section X on "The +House and Household Activities." Among the many titles given in +this are: + +Earle, Alice Morse, "Home Life in Colonial Days" (Macmillan). + +Gillette, J. M., "The Family and Society" (A. C. McClurg). + +Thwing and Butler, "The Family" (Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co.). + +Gilman, Charlotte P., The Home (Doubleday, Page and Co.). + +Talbot and Breckenridge, "The Modern Household" (Whitcomb and +Barrows, Boston). + +Addams, Jane, The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets +(Macmillan). + +Ellwood, Charles A., "Sociology and Modern Social Problems," +chapters on the family (American Book Co.). + +Scott, Rhea, "Home Labor-Saving Devices" (Lippincott). + +Foght, H. W., "The Rural Teacher and his Work," Part I, chap. iii. + +U. S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Secretary, Reports +103, 104, 105, 106: + + "Social and Labor Needs of Farm Women." + "Domestic Needs of Farm Women." + "Educational Needs of Farm Women." + "Economic Needs of Farm Women." + +These reports can be obtained only from the Superintendent of +Documents, Government Printing Office, 15 cents each. + +"The American Farm Woman as She Sees Herself," U. S. Department of +Agriculture Year Book, 1914, pp. 311-318. + +"Selection of Household Equipment," Department of Agriculture Year +Book 1914, pp. 330-362. + +Dunn, Arthur W., "The Community and the Citizen," chaps, v, vi. + + + + + +CHAPTER X + +WHY GOVERNMENT HELPS IN HOME MAKING + + +Our nation requires healthy citizens, intelligent citizens, +prosperous and happy citizens. The home can do more to produce +them than any other community agency. Therefore the nation is wise +to look after its homes. + +RELATION OF HOME CONDITIONS TO INDUSTRY + +People cannot do their work well if they live in unwholesome or +unpleasant homes. This was made clear during the recent war. The +lack of suitable living places for workmen and their families was +one of the chief obstacles to shipbuilding and munitions +manufacture during the early part of the war. England found this +out as well as the United States, and one of the first things both +countries had to do was to take measures to provide proper home +conditions for those who were engaged in supplying the nation's +needs. During the first year of the war our Congress appropriated +$200,000,000 to build houses for industrial workers. + +The problem of securing good physical conditions of home life has +naturally been greatest in crowded industrial centers, but it is +by no means absent in small communities, or even in the open +country. One writer describes a certain farmhouse where five +people were accustomed to sleep in one not very large bedroom, +which had only one small window, and even that was nailed shut, +one of these five had incipient tuberculosis. These people were +well-to-do farmers, living in a large twelve-room, stone house and +simply crowded into one room for the sake of mistaken economy-- +presumably to save coal and wood. + +Many such cases could be described, not only in the more remote +and backward regions, but even in prosperous farming communities. + +What is the result of this overcrowding and lack of proper housing +in the country? Just exactly the same as in the great cities--lack +of efficiency, disease, and premature death to many ... While the +great majority of people subjected to overcrowding and bad housing +conditions do not prematurely die, yet they have a lessened +physical and mental vigor, are less able to do properly their +daily work, and not only become a loss to themselves and their +families, but to the state ... [Footnote: Bashore, "Overcrowding +and defective housing in the rural districts," quoted in Nourse, +AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, pp. 118, 119, 121.] + +STRENGTH OF THE NATION DEPENDS ON THE HOME + +Some of our states and many of our cities have laws to regulate +housing conditions, but such laws seldom apply to small +communities. In cities where people live crowded together in +closely built city blocks, unsanitary conditions in one home +endanger the health of the entire community. There is also danger +from fire, and vice and crime may breed and spread quickly and +unseen. The community is driven, therefore, in its own defense, to +regulate the people's housing. In small communities, and +especially in rural communities, where homes are more widely +separated and in some cases quite isolated, it has seemed of +little concern to others how one citizen builds his home and what +he does in it. Thoughtful consideration of such cases as that +described above, however, must convince us that it IS a matter of +national concern what happens even in remote homes. Both the +physical and the economic strength of the nation are undermined by +unwholesome conditions in the separate homes of the land. + +COMMUNITY PLANNING + +Economic loss to the community may result not merely from +UNWHOLESOME home conditions, but also from INCONVENIENCE of +location and arrangement of the homes. A good deal of attention is +being given to "community planning" in the United States and +especially in England and other European countries. Community +planning includes not only provision for the proper location and +construction of public buildings and streets, for water supply, +lights, parks, etc., but also for the convenient, as well as +wholesome and pleasant location of homes. Large cities, like +London, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, have spent enormous +sums of money in city planning after they have already grown up +without plan. It has necessitated destroying old structures and +widening streets. Villages and small towns are in a position to +introduce a plan for future growth without this needless expense. +Our beautiful capital city of Washington has grown according to a +plan that was carefully laid out before a building was erected. +But even in Washington one of the greatest problems the city had +to face during the war was that of providing homes for the +enormous number of workers who came to the city to do the work of +the government. + +PLANNING THE FARMSTEAD + +"The need of careful arrangement in country homes is much more +urgent than in city homes for the reason that country people use +their homes as the business center of their profession," says +Prof. R.J. Pearce, of Iowa State College. "The farmer in his +business center must not only produce enough raw material to +provide for him self and family, but he needs to produce enough to +feed and clothe the entire human race." "CONSERVATION OF SPACE +must be taken into consideration to obtain the greatest results +from our high-priced land; CONVENIENCE must be a prime factor when +expensive labor is at a premium; and ATTRACTIVENESS must be one of +the chief motives not only to make farm property more saleable but +to give greater enjoyment to the owner and his family..." "A +farmstead is, but a unit in a farming community, yet travelers +form an impression of the entire community by individual farm +homes which they see in passing. Therefore, not only financial +consideration but personal pride and a feeling of community spirit +and enterprise should urge the farm owner to develop his farmstead +according to the best of modern methods." + +What facts can you find in regard to what the government did to +provide homes for workers in shipbuilding or munitions plants +during the war? + +In many of the war industries preference was given to men with +families in employing workmen. Why was this? + +In some rural communities in the United States a "teacherage" +(home for the teacher) is provided. Of what advantage to the +community is this? + +Is there a "housing problem" in your community? + +Are there any laws in your state regulating the building of homes? +If so, what are some of them? Do they apply in your community? Are +they carefully observed and enforced? + +Make a study of the arrangement of the buildings on farms with +which you are familiar, drawing diagrams, and report whether or +not they are well planned with reference to ECONOMY OF SPACE +occupied, CONVENIENCE, and ATTRACTIVENESS. Consider + +(a) Are they properly placed with reference to the highway? + +(b) Are they conveniently placed in relation to one another? + +(c) Are they suitably protected from the prevailing winds? How? + +(d) What makes them attractive or unattractive? + +(e) Are the stables properly situated to protect the health of the +family? How? + +Must a home be large and costly to be attractive? + +What impression would a stranger get in regard to the "community +spirit" of your community from the appearance of its homes? Would +he be right? + +THE HOME AND COMMUNITY STABILITY + +Home ownership is one of the strongest influences that give +permanence and stability to the community. The census taken by the +United States government every ten years shows that home ownership +has been decreasing throughout the country as a whole. The +decrease has been greatest in cities, but it is true also of +farmhome ownership. In 1880 only 25% of the farms of the United +States were occupied by tenants (renters); in 1910, 37% were so +occupied. It is true that in the ten years from 1900 to 1910 there +was a slight increase in the proportion of farms owned by their +occupants in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, and in a +large part of the West; but the increase in these parts was more +than overbalanced by the decrease in the South Atlantic and Gulf +states and in the Mississippi Valley. The smallest proportion of +farm tenancy is found in New England (8%), and the largest in the +southern states (45.9% in the South Atlantic states, and more than +50% in the South central states). A large part of the farming in +the South is done by negroes, most of whom are either laborers on +the farms of the white population or tenants on small farms which +they usually work on shares. And yet the number of negro farm +owners in the South has been rapidly increasing in the last few +years, though not so rapidly as the number of tenants. In 1910 +negro farm owners cultivated nearly 16,000,000 acres of land in +the South, all of which they have acquired since the Civil War. + +EFFECTS OF DECLINE OF HOME OWNERSHIP + +The decline in home ownership both in the cities and in the rural +districts of the United States has been observed with considerable +anxiety because of the effect upon our national welfare and upon +the citizenship of the country. One writer says: + +Farming is a permanent business; it is no "fly by night" +occupation. ... No man can pull up stakes and leave a farm at the +close of the year without sacrificing the results of labor which +he has done ... The renter who ends harvest knowing that he will +move in the spring, will not do as good a job of hauling manure +and fall plowing as he would were he to stay; nor does he take as +good care of the buildings and other improvements ... + +The cost to the farming business of the country each year for this +annual farm moving-week mounts into the millions of dollars. And +the pity of it all is that practically no one is the winner +thereby ... The renter loses, the landlord loses, the general +community and the nation at large lose. [Footnote: W.D. Boyce, in +an editorial in THE FARMING BUSINESS, February 26, 1916, quoted in +Nourse, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, p. 651.] + +Tenant farming also places obstacles in the way of community +progress in other ways. + +The tenant takes little interest in community affairs. The +questions of schools, churches, or roads are of little moment to +him. He does not wish to invest in enterprises which will of +necessity be left wholly ... to his successor. In short, he is in +the community, but hardly of it. [Footnote: B.H. Hibbard, "Farm +Tenancy in the United States," in Annals of the American Academy +of Political and Social Science, March, 1912, p. 39.] + +A family that owns its home feels a sense of proprietorship in a +part of the community land. The money value of a home increases in +proportion to the prosperity of the community as a whole; its +owner will therefore be inclined to do all he can to promote the +welfare of the community. A community that is made up largely of +homes owned by their occupants is likely to be more prosperous and +more progressive, and its citizens more loyal to it, than a +community whose families are tenants. + +THE TENANT AS A CITIZEN + +While all that has been said in the preceding paragraph is true, +it must not be thought that tenancy is necessarily a bad thing in +all cases, nor that a man who does not own his home cannot be a +thoroughly good citizen. There are circumstances that make it +necessary for many families to live in dwellings that they do not +own. Tenancy may be a step toward home ownership. A citizen may +have insufficient money to buy a farm, but enough to enable him to +rent one. By industry, economy, and intelligence, he may soon +accumulate means with which to buy the farm he occupies or some +other. The increase in the number of tenants in the Southern +States is due in large part to the breaking up of many larger +plantations into small farms which are occupied by tenants, many +of them negroes. That many of these tenants are on the road to +home ownership is indicated by the facts stated on page 117. + +It is as much the duty of the home renter as it is of the home +owner to take an interest in the community life in which he and +his family share, and to cooperate with his neighbors for the +common good. While he lives in the community he is largely +dependent upon it, like any other citizen, for the satisfaction of +his wants. Its markets and its roads are his for the +transportation and disposal of his produce and stock. He gets the +benefit of its schools for the education of his children. He may +share in its social life if he cares to do so. His property is +protected by the same agencies that protect that of his neighbors. +He cannot, therefore, escape the responsibility of contributing to +the progress of his community to the extent of his ability. + +TEAMWORK BETWEEN LANDLORD AND TENANT + +It is as much the duty of the man who rents a farm as it is of the +man who owns one to make his farm produce to its full capacity, to +protect the soil from exhaustion and the buildings and fences from +destruction. But on the other hand, it is the duty of the +landlord, both as a good business man and as a good citizen, to +make such terms with his tenant that the latter will take an +interest in the farm and will find it profitable to farm properly. +There must be team work. + +The landlord must be interested not only in his land but in his +tenant. The tenant must be interested not only in himself but in +his landlord and his land. A system that favors the tenant to the +injury of the land is bad. A system that favors the land to the +injury of the tenant is equally harmful. Either system will result +in the poverty of both the landlord and the tenant. [Footnote: Dr. +Seaman A. Knapp, quoted by Dr. Thomas Jesse Jones in "Negroes and +the Census of 1910," p 16. (Reprint from THE SOUTHERN WORKMAN for +August, 1912.)] + +The fact remains, however, that home ownership contributes to the +permanence, the stability, and the progress of a community. It is +also a fact that conditions have developed in our country, both in +cities and in rural communities, which make home ownership +increasingly difficult. In another chapter (Chapter XIV) we shall +see what some of these conditions are, and what our government has +done and may do to overcome them. + +THE HOME A SCHOOL OF CITIZENSHIP + +One of the most important services performed for the community by +the home is that of training its members for citizenship. The +family has been called "a school of all the virtues" that go to +make good citizenship. It is a school in which not only the +children, but also the parents, not only the boys and men, but +also the girls and women, receive training by practice. In the +home are developed thoughtfulness for others, a spirit of self- +sacrifice for the common good, loyalty to the group of which the +individual is a member, respect for the opinions of others of long +experience, a spirit of teamwork, obedience to rules which exist +for the welfare of all. If these and other qualities of good +citizenship are not cultivated in the home, it is not in a healthy +condition nor performing its proper service to the community. + +Moreover, the exercise of these virtues in the home is not only +training for good citizenship; it IS good citizenship. If the home +is as important a factor in our national life as this chapter has +indicated, then one of the greatest opportunities for good +citizenship, and one of the greatest duties of good citizenship, +is that of making the home what it should be; and in this each +member of the family has his or her share. + +Make a study of farm tenancy in your locality (neighborhood, +township, or county). + +How many of the farms of the locality are occupied and operated by +their owners? how many by tenants? What is the percentage of +tenancy? + +To what extent are the tenants men who were formerly farm +laborers, but who by renting farms are making a start on their own +account? Is this a sign of progress? + +What percentage of the tenants are white? negro? + +To what extent are the tenants foreigners who have recently come +to the locality? + +Are the tenant farms usually rented for long periods or for short +periods? + +What is the system of tenancy in your locality (i.e. cash rental, +working on shares, partnership with the owner, etc.)? If more than +one exists, which seems to work best? Why? + +Is tenancy increasing or decreasing in your locality? What reasons +are given for this? + +Does experience in your locality support the statement that tenant +farmers are less likely than others to interest themselves in +community progress? + +If you live or go to school in town, make a study of home +ownership in the town. (If a small community, the class may study +the entire area; if large, different sections may be studied by +different groups of pupils.) How many homes are occupied by their +owners? how many by tenants? What is the percentage of tenancy? Is +tenancy increasing or decreasing? For what reasons? + +Is there some section of the community where most of the people +own their homes, and another section where most of the people +rent? If so, do you notice any difference in the general +appearance of the two sections? Do you think that the difference, +if any exists, is due in any part to the fact that some own and +others rent their homes? + +Is there a tendency for the farmers of your locality to move into +town? If so, why? What becomes of their farms? + +Review the points made in the discussion of topics 4 and 5 on page +38 (Chapter III). Continue to develop plans for cooperation in the +home and school. + +What does it mean to be "in training" for athletics? In the light +of your answer to this question, what would it mean to be "in +training" for citizen ship? + +READINGS + +See Readings for Chapter IX. Also: + +"Housing the Worker on the Farm," Department of Agriculture Year +Book, 1918, pp. 347-356. + +"What the Department of Agriculture is Doing for the Housekeeper," +Department of Agriculture Year Book, 1913, pp. 143-162. + +"The Effect of Home Demonstration on the Community and the +County," Department of Agriculture Year Book, 1916, pp. 251-266. + +"Farm Tenantry in the United States," Department of Agriculture +Year Book, 1916, pp. 321-346. + +Lessons in Community and National Life: Series C, Lesson 32, +"Housing for Workers." + + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +EARNING A LIVING + +LIVING, NOT EARNING, THE END IN VIEW + + +The most conspicuous activities that we see going on in the +community are usually those that have to do with earning a living +or the production of wealth. [Footnote: The activities by which we +earn a living are also the activities by which wealth is produced. +It is important to understand that when we speak of "wealth" we do +not necessarily mean GREAT wealth. A boy who has a fifty-cent +knife, or a girl who has a twenty-five-cent purse, has wealth as +truly as the man who owns a well-stocked farm. The difference is +merely in kind and amount. Food, clothing, houses, books, tools, +cattle, are all forms of wealth. ANY material thing, for which we +are willing to work and make sacrifices because it satisfies our +wants, is wealth. Earning a living is merely earning or producing +wealth to satisfy our wants and those of others.] Indeed, some +people become so absorbed in the business of earning a living that +they seem to be LIVING TO EARN rather than EARNING TO LIVE. It +does not do to forget that not EARNING, but LIVING, is the real +end in view. Unless we know how to use what we earn to provide +properly for all of our normal wants, the effort we spend in +earning is very largely wasted. + +Nevertheless, before we can enjoy a living it has to be earned, by +ourselves or by someone else; and the activities by which it is +earned occupy so important a place in our lives, are so closely +dependent upon the community, have so much to do with our +citizenship, and receive so much attention from government, that +we must give them some consideration in this chapter and several +chapters following. + +IMPORTANCE OF VOCATIONAL LIFE + +While young people are spending most of their time at school or at +play, their fathers and other grown people are usually chiefly +occupied in the business of making a living or "earning money." + +[Footnote: Gold and silver and paper and wood are forms of wealth. +Out of wood we make a yardstick or a peck measure with which TO +MEASURE QUANTITIES of cloth or grain. In a similar manner, out of +gold, silver, paper, and other materials, we make money, and for a +similar reason, viz. to MEASURE THE VALUE of wealth. When we speak +of a FIFTY-CENT KNIFE and a TWENTY-FIVE CENT PURSE, we measure the +value of these articles. It would take thousands of DOLLARS to +measure the value of a well-stocked farm. + +When we say that a boy earns a dollar, or that a man earns $4.00 a +day, we measure the value of his work or his service. If a man +works for a farmer, he very likely receives his "board and +lodging" in part payment for his services; he makes a direct +exchange of his services for food and shelter. But he also +probably receives in addition an amount of money, because with the +money he can buy clothes and other things that the farmer cannot +give. He takes the money and buys with it these other things that +he needs to supply his wants. Thus money becomes something more +than a measure of wealth or of services; it is also A MEANS OF +EXCHANGING WEALTH OR SERVICES. + +These are the two uses of money. Money has value only because of +what it represents in wealth, and wealth is useful because it +enables us to satisfy wants. These things are mentioned because it +is quite important that we should never forget that "money" and +"wealth" are worth working for only because of the "living," or +life, that they help us to attain.] + +Children are, as a rule, wholly dependent upon their parents for +their living. But during their period of dependence they are +gaining skill and experience, in school and otherwise, that will +later enable them to earn their own living and that of other +people who may, in turn, become dependent upon them. + +As adult life approaches, there comes an increasing desire for +independence of others, to have possessions, own property, or +accumulate wealth. Our VOCATIONS, or occupations, by which we earn +a livelihood, come to occupy a prominent place in our thought, and +to a large extent control our activity. Doubtless most of those +who read this chapter have begun to think more or less seriously +about what they are going to do for a living. Some may be already +doing so, in part, or helping to earn that of their families. Boys +and girls who live on farms are especially likely to have a share +in the work by which the family living is provided; but most boys +and girls have more or less regularly "earned money," even if they +have not considered it necessary for their living. An inquiry in a +large, first-year high school class disclosed the fact that the +girls of the class, quite as much as the boys, were thinking of +their choice of vocation. More avenues are open to girls to-day +than formerly by which to earn their living outside of the family; +but even the management of a home is a business as truly as the +management of a farm or factory, and is an exceedingly important +factor in the earning of the family living. + +What part, if any, do you have in helping to earn the family +living? + +What have you done during the past year to earn money (a) out of +school hours on school days, (b) on Saturdays, (c) in vacation +time? Tabulate the results for the entire class. + +What vocation would you like to follow for life? Why? + +If you have not decided upon some one vocation, name several that +seem attractive to you. Why are they attractive? + +What do you know about the opportunities and the qualifications +necessary for success in the vocations you have named? How may you +proceed to find out more about them? + +What vocations offer special opportunities for girls and women to- +day? How do these opportunities compare with those when your +mothers were girls? + +Make a list of the occupations of the fathers (or other members of +the families) of the members of your class. + +Make a list of as many occupations in your community (town or +county) as you can think of. + +DEPENDENCE OF THE PIONEER + +Our dependence upon others for a living by no means ends with +childhood. There is no such thing as an entirely "self-made man," +by which is meant a man who has been successful entirely by his +own efforts. It is true that the primitive hunter and the pioneer +farmer were independent of others to an unusual extent. But their +living was a meager one, and they could not accumulate much +wealth. The very land that a pioneer occupies, even though it is +extensive and fertile, has little value as long as it is remote +from centers of population. + +Even if a pioneer laid claim to a large tract of land, he could +produce little wealth from it in crops if he could get no help to +cultivate it, or if he had no improved machinery (made by others); +and whatever he produced, he and his family could eat but little +of the product. He could feed some to his few animals, and he +would save some for seed; but anything that he raised above what +he could actually use would have no value unless he could get it +to other people who wanted it. If he could not sell what he +produced, neither could he buy from others what they produced to +satisfy other wants than that for food. So the kind of living a +person enjoys, and the amount of wealth he accumulates, depend +largely upon other people, and upon the community in which he +lives. + +DEPENDENCE OF THE MODERN FARMER + +Under present-day conditions, a farmer who raises wheat probably +uses none of it himself. He sells his entire crop for the use of +others, while to supply himself and his family with bread he goes +to the store and buys flour that may have been milled in Minnesota +from wheat raised by other farmers, perhaps in North Dakota or +South Dakota. In exchange for his wheat he also gets clothing +manufactured in New York or New England from cotton raised in +Georgia or Texas, or from wool grown in Montana. He buys a wagon +made in Indiana from lumber cut in the South and iron mined in +Michigan and smelted in Ohio. Thus he earns his living by +producing food for other people, while the things he uses in +living are the product of labor expended by other people in the +effort to earn THEIR living. We noticed in Chapter II how many +people and occupations were concerned in producing a pair of +shoes. + +EARNING BY SERVICE + +While the farmer or other worker may be interested primarily in +providing for his own wants and those of his family, he can do +this only by producing something or performing service for others; +and while each worker may be most concerned about WHAT HE RECEIVES +for his work, the community is most concerned about WHAT HE +PRODUCES. Earning a living has two sides to it: rendering service +to others and being paid for the service rendered. It is as if the +community entered into a sort of agreement with the worker to the +effect that it will provide him with a living in return for +definite service to the community or for the product of his labor. +What we call "business" is SELLING A SERVICE. It may be personal +service, such as teaching, or prescribing medicine, or nursing, or +giving legal advice, or cutting hair, or driving a team, or +running an automobile. Or it may be purchasing, storing, +retailing, and delivering things which have been produced perhaps +many hundreds or thousands of miles away. Or it may be raising +foodstuffs on the farm, or mining fuels and metals from the earth, +or cutting timber from the forest. Or it may be manufacturing-- +buying materials and converting them into products serviceable to +others. Whatever it is, every man's business is also the +community's business, and the community has a right to expect +industry and honest, efficient work from every worker. + +Discuss the occupations named in answer to the two questions on +page 26, from the point of view of their service to the community. + +To what extent is your father's business or occupation dependent +upon the business or occupation of the fathers of other members of +the class? + +Show how your father's business is also the community's business. + +What is the price of land in your neighborhood? Consult your +father or friends in regard to the increase or decrease in price +in recent years and in regard to the reasons for it. + +LIVING WITHOUT EARNING + +There are exceptional cases where people RECEIVE a living without +EARNING it. One class of such people is represented by thieves, +gamblers, swindlers, and persons engaged in occupations that are +positively harmful to the community. Such people may be very +skillful and they may work hard enough, but they take what others +have earned without producing anything of value to the community. + +Then there are those who are incapable of productive work because +of physical defects, or through the feebleness of old age. It is +the duty of every citizen to provide, as far as possible, during +his productive years, for the "rainy day" of misfortune or +advancing age. For those who cannot do so, the community must +provide. + +Very young children are users of wealth produced by others. It is +expected, however, that children will in later years make return +to the community for what they have received during their period +of dependence. + +INHERITED WEALTH + +Some people inherit wealth, or otherwise come into possession of +it without effort on their part. The wealth so received, however, +has been earned by someone, or has come from the community in some +way. If the person who so receives it uses it in a way that is +highly useful to the community, he may in a sense earn it even +after he receives it; but if he uses it solely for his own +enjoyment, without effort to make it highly useful to the +community, he does not in any sense earn it, and places himself in +the class of those who are wholly dependent upon the community. + +UNFAIR COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE + +On the other hand, there are people who do not get for their work +a living that fairly compensates them for the service they render +by it to the community. If our community life were perfectly +adjusted in all its parts; if all the people clearly recognized +their common interests and their interdependence; if they had the +spirit of cooperation and were wise enough to devise smoothly +working machinery of cooperation;--then the returns that a worker +received for his work would be closely proportionate to the +service rendered by his work. That is, he would GET what he +EARNED, so far as wages or profits were concerned. But this is one +of the particulars in which our community life is still imperfect. +Where so many different kinds of workers are engaged in producing +shoes, for example, it is extremely difficult to determine how +much each should be paid for his share of the work. What WAGES +should be given to the different classes of workers who care for +cattle, make the leather, manufacture the machines with which the +shoes are made, operate the machines, mine the coal and iron for +the production of the machines, and so on? What PROFITS shall be +allowed to the men who raise the cattle, to the merchants who sell +the shoes and the machines, and to the transportation companies +that carry them from the factories to the dealers? What INTEREST +shall be received by the men who furnish the CAPITAL necessary to +run the factories and the farms? These questions relating to the +DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH that men produce have proved very difficult +to answer satisfactorily. + +A very useful and interesting, but rather difficult, science has +grown up to explain the PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND USE OF +WEALTH. It is called the SCIENCE OF ECONOMICS. Of all the +divisions of this science, that relating to the distribution of +wealth is the most perplexing. It is the inequalities in the +distribution of wealth, the sense of injustice produced by these +inequalities, and sometimes a failure to understand what a fair +distribution is, that have caused all the labor disputes referred +to in Chapter VII (p. 71), and the discontent sometimes felt by +farmers and other producers in regard to the prices of their +products. + +Have you ever heard any one say, "The world owes me a living"? Is +this a true statement? If so, in what sense do you think it is +true? + +Which do you think is the truer statement: "I have a right to a +living," or "I have a right to earn a living"? Discuss the +difference. + +A thief has been known to say, "I was brought into the world +without my own consent; therefore the world owes me a living, and +I owe the world nothing." Is this good argument? Did the people +upon whom he depends for a living have any more to say about their +being brought into the world than he had? + +What things are you using to-day that were not provided for you by +others? + +If a stranger should come to your community to-day to live, what +are some of the things that he would find already provided by the +community for his use in making a living? + +Name five important inventions and state what they have done for +you. + +Would you say that the world owes Thomas A. Edison and Luther +Burbank a living? Why? + +How are you indebted for your living to the pioneers who settled +your state? to Robert Fulton? to the men who built the first +transcontinental railroad? + +Can you think of some way in which your family is indebted for its +living to the British nation? to France? to ancient Greece? to the +Phoenicians? to the people of Brazil? + +Which is the greater, the debt of your family to the world or the +debt of the world to your family? + +What is a "parasite"? Could this term be appropriately applied to +any of the people referred to in the last few paragraphs of the +text above? + +GOVERNMENT INTERESTED IN PRODUCTION + +Each citizen has a right to feel that the government is interested +in his individual prosperity and happiness; and it is, for unhappy +and discontented citizens are seldom good citizens. But the +government represents community as a whole, and has the interest +of the community as a whole in its keeping rather than the +interest of particular individuals. Its interest is primarily in +what each citizen PRODUCES, for it is upon this that the strength. +of the nation depends. + +THE "NATIONAL SERVICE ARMY" OF PRODUCERS + +A few days after war was declared against Germany, the President +made an appeal to his fellow producers countrymen, in which he +said: + +It is evident to every thinking man that our industries on the +farms, in the shipyards, in the mines, in the factories, must be +made more prolific and more efficient than ever and that they must +be more economically managed and better adapted to the particular +requirements of our task than they have been; and what I want to +say is that the men and women who devote their thought and their +energy to these things will be serving the country and conducting +the fight for peace and freedom just as truly and just as +effectively as the men on the battlefield or in the trenches. The +industrial forces of the country, men and women alike, will be a +great national, a great international Service Army,--a notable and +honored host engaged in the service of the nation and the world ... +Thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands, of men otherwise liable +to military service will of right and necessity be excused from +that service and assigned to the fundamental, sustaining work of +the fields and factories and mines, and they will be as much part +of the great patriotic forces of the nation as the men under fire. + +He then appealed directly to every kind of worker in the country, +and to the farmers he said: + +The supreme need of our own nation and of the nations with which +we are cooperating is an abundance of supplies, and especially of +foodstuffs. ... Without abundant food ... the whole great +enterprise upon which we have embarked will break down and fail ... +Upon the farmers of this country, therefore, in large measure, +rests the fate of the war and the fate of nations. Let me suggest, +also, that every one who creates or cultivates a garden helps, and +helps greatly, to solve the problem of the feeding of the nations; +and that every housewife who practices strict economy puts herself +in the ranks of those who serve the nation. + +The nation needs the productive work of each citizen in time of +peace as truly as in time of war, although when it is not fighting +for its very life it is more tolerant of those who do not +contribute efficiently by their work to the common good. It +carries them along somehow. But such members of the community are +a burden and a source of weakness at all times. Therefore, for +example, there are in most of our communities laws against +vagrancy; that is, against willful and habitual idlers "without +visible means of support," such as beggars and tramps. + +PROBLEM OF THE UNEMPLOYED + +There are times when many men are "out of work." In times of +business depression the number may become very great, while in +prosperous times the number dwindles; but always there are some. +It is often through no fault of their own; it is another result of +the imperfect adjustment of our community life. It often happens +that while large numbers of men are unable to find work in +industrial centers, the farmers may be suffering for want of help. +This may be merely because there is no way by which to let workmen +know where they are needed, or of distributing them to meet the +need. Or, many of the unemployed may be unskilled, while the +demand is for skilled workmen; or they may be skilled in one line, +while the demand is in another line. Whatever the causes, the +"problem of the unemployed" is one of the most serious that the +community has to deal with. During the war the national government +sought to overcome these difficulties by the organization of an +employment service in the Department of Labor, and state and local +communities established employment bureaus. + +Who have been some of the builders of your own community by reason +of their business life? Explain. + +So far as you have observed, what boys have been most successful +after leaving school--those who make it a practice to do all they +can for their employers, or those who have tried to do the least +possible? + +Is it true in your community that the most useful citizens are +those who care more about the excellence of their work than about +what they receive for it? + +Are there many vagrants in your community? Are there laws against +vagrancy? If so, what are they? + +Are there often many men out of work in your community? If so, why +is it? + +Is it ever difficult to get farm labor in your locality? If so, +how do the farmers explain it? + +What experience have the farmers of your locality had during and +since the war in getting labor when it was needed? Did the +government help them at that time? How? + +It is of the greatest importance both to the individual and to the +community that every citizen: (1) should be continuously employed +in a useful occupation, (2) should be free and able to choose the +occupation for which he is best fitted, and in which he will be +happiest, and (3) should be thoroughly efficient in his work, +whatever it is. + +THE RIGHT OF THE COMMUNITY TO INDUSTRY + +(1) The community has a right to expect every citizen to be +industrious and productive, for only in this way can he be self- +sustaining and at the same time contribute his share to the well- +being of the community. Doubtless all who read this chapter are +desirous of doing useful work. At the same time, it is easy for +any of us to fall into the habit of thinking more about what we +can GET than about what we can GIVE. There ARE people who +habitually seek to do as little as possible for what they receive, +or to get all they can for the least possible service. This +applies not only to idlers who live entirely off the community +without any service on their part, but also to those who have +employment, but who seek to evade, by "time-serving" and otherwise +"slacking," the full responsibility of service. We sometimes hear +complaint in regard to public officials who draw good salaries +without rendering adequate or honest public service in return, and +to such we frequently apply the term of "grafter." But the +principle is exactly the same when any person who has undertaken +to do a piece of work fritters away his time or "loafs on the +job." + +SATISFACTION IN SERVICE + +After all, the chief return that we get for our work is not the +wages or the profits, important as they are to us, but the +satisfaction of doing something that is worthwhile. If this +pleasure is absent from the work we do, no amount of money returns +can compensate us for it. The happy man is a busy man, an +industrious man; and his happiness is more in the doing than in +the mere fact of money returns. + +IMPORTANCE OF A RIGHT CHOICE + +(2) The value of our work to the community and the pleasure that +we derive from it both depend to a large extent upon our fitness +for it. It is important to choose our work carefully. There are +four important considerations in choosing a vocation: (a) its +usefulness to the community, (b) one's own fitness for it, (c) +one's happiness in it, and (d) whether it offers an adequate +living to one's self and dependents. The last of these is, of +course, a most important consideration. What a person receives for +his work ought to be determined by the first two considerations, +i.e. the usefulness of the work to the community and one's fitness +for it. We have seen that this is not always true. In such cases +it often becomes necessary to make a further choice--a choice +between working primarily for one's own profit and working +primarily for the satisfaction that comes from important service +well rendered. It is not always easy to make this choice; but +there are many people who have sacrificed large incomes for the +sake of doing work that the community needs and for which they +consider themselves well fitted. + +A CHOICE OF VOCATION IS INEVITABLE + +Many people seem to have little choice in the matter of vocation. +The farmer's boy has to work on the farm whether he wants to or +not; and many a man is a farmer apparently for no other reason +than that he was raised on the farm and has seen no opportunity to +do anything else. Other people seem to be forced into other +occupations by circumstances or drift into them by chance. But +even in these cases there is something of a choice. The farmer's +boy "chooses" to remain on the farm rather than to take the +chances involved in running away, or because he would rather be at +home than in a strange city. The discontented farmer might have +chosen to be a lawyer if he had been willing to make enough +sacrifices to get ready for it; and even now he "chooses" to +remain on the farm in spite of his dislike for it because to do +otherwise would mean sacrifice of some kind or other that he is +unwilling to make. + +THE MEANING OF OUR WORK TO THE COMMUNITY + +The pleasure and effectiveness of ANY work, however, are increased +if its importance to the community or to the world is clearly +understood; for ALL productive work is important. There is no more +terrible work than that of the soldier in the trenches. No man +would voluntarily choose it for his own pleasure. But millions of +men have gone into it joyfully because of the results to be +attained for their country and the world. Other millions of men +and women, and even children, on the farms, in the mines, in the +shops, and in the homes, worked and sacrificed during the war with +Germany as they had never worked and sacrificed before, produced +results such as had never been produced before, and doubtless +experienced a satisfaction in their toil that they had never +experienced before, because each one saw more definitely than +before the relation of his work to the great national and world +purpose. An understanding of the meaning of our work in its +relation to community welfare goes a long way toward "transmuting +days of dreary work into happier lives." + +FREEDOM, EQUALITY AND JUSTICE + +The opportunity to choose one's calling, to decide what service +one will fit himself for, the right of "self-determination" with +regard to what one's work shall be--this is what "freedom" means. +This is why men are happier when they are free. The "equality" and +"justice" that all men want mean EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE +that which they like to do, and AN EQUAL CHANCE TO MAKE A LIVING, +or to obtain compensation for their labor or enterprise. It is for +these things more than for anything else that people have left +old-world conditions and come to America. The ability to make a +living under conditions of freedom and justice depends in part +upon the common wants of the community, and upon the willingness +of members of the community to pay for the satisfaction of their +wants enough to enable those who perform service for them also to +satisfy theirs. But it also depends upon the ability of the +individual to make a choice, and upon his willingness to spend +years in preparation, if need be, to enable him to offer a service +of the kind he likes to render, and for which others are glad to +pay well. + +A DAY OF SPECIALISTS + +We are living in a day of specialists. The very nature of our +interdependent life makes it necessary for each worker to do one +thing and to do it exceedingly well. Even farming is broken up to +a considerable extent into special kinds of farming. Moreover, +since the worker must be a specialist, requiring long, special +training, it is more difficult than it used to be for him to +change from one occupation to another after he has once started. +Each person, therefore, owes it both to himself and to the +community to choose his vocation carefully, so far as he has +opportunity to make a choice. The schools are more and more making +it their business to give boys and girls the knowledge and the +experience that will enable them to choose wisely their mode of +earning a living. + +THE NECESSITY FOR TRAINING + +(3) Whether a citizen follows a vocation of his own voluntary +choice, or one into which he has fallen by chance or by force of +circumstances, he is under obligation to the community as well as +to himself to do his work well. In these days of specialization +this inevitably means preparation, training. If the community +expects the citizen to perform efficient service, it must afford +him a fair opportunity for preparation. During the war the +government made special provision for training, not only for +military service, but also for the industrial occupations that the +nation needed. Vocational training is now receiving great +attention from the schools and from government. + +HASTY ENTRANCE UPON VOCATIONAL LIFE + +As in the choice of a vocation, so in preparation for it the +individual has his share of responsibility. It is always a +temptation for young people to get out into the active work of the +world at the earliest possible moment. The desire to be +independent, to earn one's own living, to "make money," is strong. +It leads many boys and girls to leave school even before they have +finished their elementary education. In the great majority of +cases this results in serious economic loss both to the boy or +girl and to the community. The charts on page 137 furnish evidence +of this. + +PATRIOTISM IN VOCATIONAL LIFE + +We call it patriotism when a man gives all that he has, even his +life if necessary, for the good of his country, without stopping +to consider whether or not he will receive an equal benefit in +return. There is no higher type of patriotism than that which +prompts a citizen to perform his best service for the community in +his daily calling, not for what he can get for it, but for what he +can give. This patriotism is shared by the young citizen who is +willing to defer an apparent immediate gain to himself in order to +prepare himself thoroughly for more effective service later. + +If your father had his life to live over again, would he choose +the same vocation that he is now following? Consult him as to his +reasons. + +What special kinds of farming exist in your locality? Is there a +tendency in your community toward specialization in farming, or +toward general farming? Reasons? + +To what extent is "scientific farming" practiced in your locality? +What does it mean? + +Make a study of the extent to which specialization is necessary in +the industries of your town. + +Does your school offer any vocational training or vocational +guidance? + +Is there a tendency in your school for boys and girls to quit +before completing the course? At what grades do pupils begin to +drop out in considerable numbers? Why do they leave? What sort of +work do they do when they leave school? + +At what ages does the law in your state permit boys and girls to +go to work? Show how this restriction of freedom now increases +freedom later on. + +READINGS + +In Lessons in Community and National Life: + +Series A: Lesson 3, The cooperation of specialists in modern society. + Lesson 5, The human resources of a community. + Lesson 7, Organization. + Lesson 8, The rise of machine industry. + Lesson 9, Social control. + Lesson 10, Indirect costs. + Lesson 11, Education as encouraged by industry. + Lesson 23, The services of money. + Lesson 28, The worker in our society. + +Series B: Lesson 8, Finding a job. + Lesson 11, The work of women. + Lesson 28, Women in industry. + +Series C: Lesson 9, Inventions. + Lesson 11, The effects of machinery on rural life. + Lesson 21, Before coins were made. + Lesson 22, The minting of coins. + Lesson 23, Paper money. + Lesson 24, Money in the community and the home. + Lesson 29, Child labor. + +In Long's American Patriotic Prose: + +Frank A. Vanderlip, "Service Leads to Success," pp. 347-348. + +Charles M. Schwab, "Opportunity is Plentiful in America," pp. 348- +350. + +Tufts, The Real Business of Living, Chapters viii-x; xv-xxviii. + +The following books relating to vocational life may be helpful and +stimulating if available: + +Gowin and Wheatley, Occupations (Ginn & Co.). + +Giles, Vocational Civics (Macmillan). + +Gulick, The Efficient Life (Doubleday, Page & Co.). + +Reid and others, Careers for the Coming Men (Saalfield Pub Co., +Akron, Ohio). + +Marden, Choosing a Career (Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis). + +Marden, Talks with Great Workers (Thos. Y. Crowell). + +Bok, Successward (Doubleday, Page & Co.). + +Williams, How it Is Made, How it Is Done, How it Works (Thos. +Nelson & Sons). + +Fowler, Starting in Life (Little, Brown & Co.). + +Parsons, Choosing a Vocation (Houghton Mifflin Co.). + +Carnegie, The Empire of Business, (Doubleday Page & Co.). + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +GOVERNMENT AS A MEANS OF COOPERATION IN AGRICULTURE + +GAINFUL OCCUPATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES + + +According to the census of 1910, somewhat more than 38 million of +the 92 million people of our country at that time were engaged in +"gainful occupations"; that is, in earning their living and that +of the remaining 54 million people who were dependent upon them. +Of the 38 million, more than 13 1/2 million were producing wealth +directly from the land, in agriculture, forest industries, mining +industries, and fishing. About 10 1/2 million were engaged in +manufacturing and mechanical trades, by which the materials +extracted from the land are transformed into articles of use. The +remainder of the "breadwinners" were engaged in trade and +transportation, and in professional, personal, and public service. + +IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE + +Of the 13 1/2 million people gaining their living directly from +the land, more than 12 1/2 million were engaged in agricultural +pursuits. At the present time (1919) probably one half of the +population, including women and children, is directly dependent +upon agriculture as a means of livelihood, while the other half, +as well, is dependent upon it for food supply and the materials +for clothing. + +In view of the fact that agriculture is the source of the nation's +food supply and of a large part of the national wealth, and that +so large a part of the people are engaged in it as a means of +livelihood, it is not surprising to find our government deeply +interested in it and performing a vast amount of service for its +promotion. + +STATE DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE + +The government of every state in the Union has an organization to +protect and promote the farming industry and the welfare of the +farmer. This organization differs in its form and in the extent of +service performed in the several states, due partly to the varying +importance of agriculture in the different states, and partly to +the varying success with which the people and their +representatives have dealt with the problem. In some of the states +there are departments of agriculture, equal in dignity and power +with the other main divisions of the government. In others +agricultural interests are placed in the hands of subordinate +boards, bureaus, or commissions. In some cases the officials in +charge of the organization, such as the commissioner of +agriculture, are elected directly by the people, while in others +they are appointed by the governor of the state or by the +legislature. Often the department is organized in numerous +branches with specialists at the head of each. Thus, there are +dairy commissioners, horticultural boards, livestock sanitary +boards, foresters, entomologists (specialists in insect life in +its relation to agriculture), and others, to look after every +aspect of farming. In a constantly decreasing number of states the +powers of the agricultural officers are slight and their work +ineffectual; but in others the organization is thorough and the +work efficiently done and of the greatest value to the state. + +DUTIES OF STATE DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE + +In general, state departments of agriculture have had two kinds of +duties: first, regulative and administrative duties, such as the +enforcement of laws relating to agriculture passed by the state +legislature, enforcing quarantine against diseased animals, +establishing standards for the grading of grain, making and +enforcing rules for the control of animal and plant diseases, and +similar matters. Second, investigative and educational duties, +such as the investigation of animal and plant diseases, crop +conditions, and other agricultural problems; and the distribution +of information to the farmers and to the people of the state +generally, relating to agricultural matters. Reports and bulletins +on special subjects are published and farmers' institutes are +conducted. + +AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND EXPERIMENT STATIONS + +The practice is growing, however, to transfer the work of +investigation and education to the STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND +EXPERIMENT STATIONS which have been established and are conducted +with the cooperation of the national Department of Agriculture. +These institutions have a corps of highly trained specialists and +educators and are equipped with laboratories and experimental +farms where research may be carried on under the most favorable +conditions. The agricultural colleges not only educate young men +and women within their walls in agriculture and related subjects, +but carry on EXTENSION WORK throughout the state for the benefit +of the farmers and the people of rural communities. With the +development of these institutions the state department of +agriculture is left with almost purely administrative and +regulative duties. This seems to be the wiser plan of +organization. + +Write to your state commissioner of agriculture or to the +secretary of your state board of agriculture for a copy of the +law, or other published document, containing a description of the +organization of your state department of agriculture and its work. +Also ask for, if available, a list of publications issued by the +department, from which you may later select such as may seem to be +useful. + +Write to your state agricultural college, or to the experiment +station, for its latest report showing the work that it has done, +and for a list of available publications. + +In writing to public officials for materials for class use, it is +well to send but ONE letter for the class or school, and to +request THE SMALLEST NUMBER OF COPIES that will serve the purposes +of the class. Public officials are busy people, and the +publications for which you ask cost the people of the community +money. + +The members of the class may compete, if desired, in formulating a +suitable letter, and a class committee may select the best, or +formulate one on the basis of suggestions from the class. + +Materials collected in this way should become school property, and +the class should be conscious that it is accumulating a library +for later classes as well as for themselves. Study and report on +the following: + +The organization of your state department of agriculture, its +officers and how chosen, its divisions and their work. + +The work done at your state experiment station (individual reports +may be made on the several important lines of work, or on +particular investigations or discoveries of interest). + +The character of the extension courses offered by your state +agricultural college. Courses given in your own community. + +Instances of regulative work done in your state and county by your +state department of agriculture. + +Instances in which your county or locality has been served by your +state agricultural college or by the experiment station. + +The difficulty of the farmer in coping with animal disease or +plant disease by his own effort. + +Facts to show that money has been saved to your community by the +state agricultural department or experiment station. + +Why the people of the cities of your state should pay taxes to +support the department of agriculture. + +Facts to show that your state department of agriculture and your +experiment station are really "means of cooperation" in your state +and county. + +Extent to which the farmers of your locality actually cooperate +through the governmental machinery of the department of +agriculture. + +Consult your parents or farmer friends as to ways in which the +work of your state department of agriculture, agricultural +college, or experiment station should be extended. + +Sentiment among the people of your locality, especially the +farmers, as to the usefulness of your department of agriculture, +experiment station and agricultural college. + +Get information from your county agent, or from your state +agricultural college, as to the states having the best organized +departments of agriculture, and then get information as to their +points of excellence. + +The advantage of a state fair (A) to the farmer, (B) to the state. +The fair as a means of cooperation. + +The management of your county fair (if any). + +AGRICULTURE A NATIONAL ENTERPRISE + +It does one state very little good to fight hog cholera or the +boll weevil unless neighboring states do likewise. Inferior +service in one state by its department of agriculture is a +detriment not only to the farmers of that state, but to those of +other states and of the country as a whole. States gradually learn +from one another and frequently adopt from one another the best +methods that are developed. This is a slow process. The +agriculture of our nation must be considered as a great national +enterprise, and not as forty-eight separate enterprises. This was +made evident during the recent war. Hence the necessity for +national control. + +EARLY NATIONAL SUPPORT OF AGRICULTURE + +Washington and Jefferson, like other founders of our nation, took +the keenest interest in agriculture. But in the early years of our +history little was done by the national government for its +promotion, except by a rather generous policy of disposing of the +public lands (see Chapter XIV). In 1820 a committee on agriculture +was for the first time created in the House of Representatives, +and in 1825 a similar committee in the Senate. In 1839 Congress +made its first appropriation for agricultural purposes, $1000, to +be spent in gathering information about crops and other +agricultural matters. This was a small beginning when compared +with the $37,000,000 appropriated by Congress for agricultural +purposes in 1918. + +CREATION OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE + +The United States Department of Agriculture was created by +Congress in 1862, though it was not placed on an equality with the +other executive departments of the national government, with a +member of the President's cabinet at its head, until 1889. While +it has some very important regulatory powers, that is, powers to +enforce laws and otherwise to control the practice of the people, +its service has been largely by way of scientific investigation of +the problems of agriculture and the distribution of the +information so acquired. Its policy has been one of cooperation +with state authorities. + +NATIONAL COOPERATION WITH THE STATES + +In 1862 Congress gave to the several states portions of the public +lands, the proceeds from which were to be used for the +establishment and support of the agricultural colleges of which +mention has been made. Again, in 1887, Congress made +appropriations for the establishment of the agricultural +experiment stations, which are conducted cooperatively by the +state and national governments. In 1914 the Smith-Lever Act was +passed by Congress, making appropriations for agricultural +extension work to be conducted by the state agricultural colleges +with the cooperation of the Department of Agriculture. By the +terms of this act each state must appropriate a sum of money for +the extension work equal to that received from the national +government. + +THE STATES RELATIONS SERVICE of the Department of Agriculture +supervises and administers these cooperative relations with the +states under the terms of the Smith-Lever Act. In each state there +is a director of extension work who represents both the United +States Department of Agriculture and the state agricultural +college. Under him there is usually a state agent or leader, +district agents, county agents, and specialists of various kinds. +The county agents conduct agricultural demonstration work in their +counties and assist in organizing rural communities for +cooperation. Women county agents, or home demonstration agents, +are rapidly being installed also, to conduct extension work in +home economics and organize cooperation among the women. + +In the Southern States during 1915 about 110,000 farmers carried +out demonstration work under the supervision of county agents. +Each such farm demonstration serves as an object lesson for the +entire community. These demonstrations included corn raising in +446,000 acres, cotton in 202,000 acres, tobacco in 2630 acres, +small grains in 196,000 acres, and many other products in hundreds +of thousands of acres. Stumps were removed from more than 70,000 +acres, 220,000 acres were drained, and there were 29,000 +demonstrations in home gardens. Sixty-four thousand improved +implements were bought. Work was done with orchards involving more +than 2,000,000 trees, 29,000 farmers were instructed in the care +of manure with an estimated saving of more than 3,000,000 tons. +Farmers in 678 cooperative community organizations were advised +with regard to the purchase of fertilizers with a saving in cost +of $125,000. One thousand six hundred fifty-four community +organizations were formed to study local problems and to meet +local business needs. Nearly 63,000 boys were enrolled in corn +clubs. + +There were also in the Southern States 368 counties with home +demonstration agents, who gave instruction to 32,613 girls and +6871 women. Each of the girls produced a one tenth acre home +garden of tomatoes and other vegetables. They put up more than +2,000,000 cans of fruit and vegetables worth $300,000. There were +nearly 10,000 members in poultry clubs and 3000 in bread clubs. +Two hundred fifty women's community clubs were formed. + +Similar work was done in the Northern States, where 209,000 boys +and girls were enrolled in club work. Nearly 25,000 of these were +engaged in profit-making enterprises in which they produced food +worth more than $500,000. Reports from 3155 homes show 546,515 +quarts of fruits and vegetables canned, about half of which +consisted of vegetables, windfall apples, and other products that +frequently go to waste. + +How much money does your state receive from the national treasury +under the terms of the Smith-Lever Act? (Discuss at home, consult +your county agent.) + +Find out from your county agent, and from your home demonstration +agent (if there is one), what their work includes and how it is +done. Invite them to speak to your school on the subject. + +What demonstration work is being carried on in your county for men +and women? Results achieved? + +With the help of your county agent, make a map of your county +showing the distribution of his demonstration work. + +Report on boys' and girls' club work in your county. Describe +particularly any such work in which you are engaged. + +What are some of the problems in regard to which the farmers of +your community need help? + +Make a report on George Washington the Farmer; on Thomas +Jefferson's contributions to agriculture. + +THE OFFICE OF MARKETS AND RURAL ORGANIZATION promotes the +organization of rural communities for cooperation in buying and +selling, in obtaining rural credits and insurance (see Chapter +XIII), in developing means of communication (Chapter XVIII), and +in providing for social needs. It investigates markets and methods +of marketing, and transportation and storage facilities. + +It seeks to establish standards for grading and packing fruits, +vegetables, and other products. + +THE OFFICE OF FARM MANAGEMENT investigates and promotes the +application of business methods to farm management and farm +practice. It studies the cost and profitableness of producing +particular crops, livestock, and dairy products, the use of the +woodlot, the most economic and effective farm equipment. It +investigates the cost of the farmer's living, methods of keeping +accounts, the methods and results of tenantry. + +THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY investigates the causes, prevention, +and treatment of diseases of domestic animals, and has done much +to eradicate them. It studies methods of dairying and dairy +manufacturing, of breeding and feeding livestock, of producing +wool and other animal fibers, of poultry raising. It cooperates +with the States Relations Service and the state agricultural +colleges in educational work, conducting livestock demonstration +work and advising with regard to the establishment and management +of creameries and cheese factories. It promotes the organization +of pig clubs to stimulate interest in swine production. + +THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY investigates the causes, prevention, +and treatment of plant diseases, including those of fruit, shade, +and forest trees. It has introduced over 43,000 varieties of +foreign seeds and plants, from which many new industries have +grown up amounting in value to many millions of dollars each year. +Its explorers have brought new varieties of cereals from Russia +and Siberia; alfalfas from Siberia; date palms from North Africa, +Arabia, and Persia; the pistachio nut from Greece and Sicily; +vanilla and peaches from Mexico; barleys and hops from Europe; +rices and matting rushes from Japan; forage grasses from India; +tropical fruits from South America. It experiments in the breeding +of hardy and disease-resisting grains, fruits, and vegetables, +studies soil fertility, investigates the medicinal qualities of +plants, tests seeds, and improves agricultural implements. Its +experiments are conducted in experimental gardens in Washington, +D.C., at Arlington, Va., and at the experiment stations +distributed widely over the United States. + +This bureau does much educational work, instructing farmers how to +control plant diseases and how to organize for cooperation in the +breeding of disease-resisting plants, and conducting +demonstrations on reclaimed lands in arid regions. During 1916 it +distributed, through members of Congress, 356,000 tulip and +narcissus bulbs, 96,000 strawberry plants of 15 varieties, 14,000 +packages of lawn grass seed, and more than 16,000,000 packages of +vegetable and flower seeds. + +THE BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY studies the influence of environment on +crops and plants; investigates the quality of mill products, the +methods of bread making, of tanning leather, and of paper making. +It tests the food values of all kinds of products, the keeping +quality of poultry, eggs, and fish in the course of +transportation, and the composition of drugs. It is called upon by +other departments of government to make chemical analysis of many +articles. + +THE BUREAU OF SOILS investigates the quality of soils and their +adaptation to different kinds of crops, and the fertilizer sources +of the country. + +THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY is concerned with the study of insects +and their relation to agriculture, including those that are +destructive to fruit, shade, and forest trees. Its work includes +the study and promotion of bee culture. It has carried on a +campaign for the eradication of such diseases as spotted fever, +malaria, and typhoid which are carried by ticks, mosquitoes, +flies, and other insects (see Chapter XX). + +THE BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY maintains game, mammal, and bird +reservations, including among others the Montana National Bison +Range, the winter elk refuge in Wyoming, the Sully's Hill National +Game Preserve in South Dakota, and the Aleutian Islands +Reservation in Alaska. It studies the food habits of North +American birds and mammals in relation to agriculture, +horticulture, and forestry, and the habits, geographical +distribution, and migrations of animals and plants. It conducts +experiments and demonstrations in destroying animals harmful to +agriculture and animal husbandry and in connection with rearing +fur-bearing animals. It cooperates with local authorities in the +protection of migratory birds. + +THE BUREAU OF CROP ESTIMATES gathers and publishes data regarding +agriculture, and particularly estimates relating to crop and +livestock, production. + +THE WEATHER BUREAU is in charge of the forecasting of the weather, +the issuing of storm warnings, the display of weather and flood +signals for the benefit of commerce, agriculture, and navigation +(see Chapter XVI). + +THE FOREST SERVICE has in its keeping the great national forests +(see Chapter XV). + +THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROADS AND RURAL ENGINEERING administers the +work of the federal government for road improvement, and studies +farm engineering problems such as those relating to sanitation and +water supply (see Chapters XVII and XX). + +REGULATORY POWERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE + +The Department of Agriculture has certain important powers of +regulation and control. Animals are inspected at market centers to +discover the presence of disease, and localities infected are +quarantined. + +In 1915 more than 15 million sheep were inspected and nearly 4 +million dipped to cure scabies. As a result nearly one and one +half million square miles of land were released from quarantine. +In the same year more than a million square miles were released +from quarantine against scabies in cattle. + +In quarantining a state, or portion of a state, the Department +acts by authority of laws passed by Congress under its power to +regulate interstate and foreign commerce (Constitution, Art. I, +Sec. 8, cl. 3). By the same authority, all cattle for export and +all imported from foreign countries are inspected and those +diseased excluded. Slaughter houses and meat-packing +establishments where meat is packed for interstate or foreign +commerce are inspected; meat that is unfit for use being +condemned, while that which is good has the government stamp +placed upon it. Such measures are primarily health measures (see +Chapter XX), but they have great economic value. + +In a similar manner imported seeds, plants, and plant products are +inspected to prevent the importation of plant diseases and plant +pests, and also to prevent adulteration of plant products. +Warehouses are inspected and licenses granted to those that are +suitable for the proper storage of cotton, grains, tobacco, +flaxseed, and wool. The Department enforces the laws that fix the +standards for grading cotton and grain, and licenses grain +inspectors. It also enforces the Food and Drugs Act (see Chapter +XX). + +Topics for investigation: + +Difficulties experienced by farmers in your locality in marketing +produce or livestock. + +Assistance received from the United States Department of +Agriculture to overcome the difficulties. + +Experiments in cooperative marketing in your locality. + +Products of your locality that require storage facilities. +Adequacy of storage facilities. + +Transportation needs of your locality. Improvements in +transportation facilities in recent years. + +Consult your county agent, or write to the Office of Farm +Management, for publications relating to farm management, farm +accounting, etc. + +Discuss with farmers of your acquaintance the extent to which they +find farm accounts and farm records useful. + +Diseases of livestock prevalent in your locality and state. +Experiments in cooperation to eradicate these diseases. Assistance +received from the Department of Agriculture. + +Crops of foreign origin raised in your locality. Countries from +which introduced. + +Destructive plant diseases and plant pests of your locality. +Efforts to combat them. + +Importance of bird migrations to the farmers of your locality. +Extent of protection afforded birds. How you cooperate in this +matter. + +Importance of these various farmers' problems to the people in +town--the housekeeper, the merchant, the manufacturer, the +railroad companies. + +Cases of animal quarantine occurring in your locality. + +Why warehouses for food products, cotton, etc., should be +licensed. What "licensing" means. + +How grain, cotton, or other products are "graded." The reason for +grading. Why there needs to be a law on the subject. + +SERVICE OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNMENT + +While the business interests of the farmer, and indeed many of his +other interests, such as health, education, and social life, are +especially looked after by the Department of Agriculture, he +shares with all other citizens the services of all the other +departments of government, each of which also has its elaborate +organization (see Chapter XXVII). It is the Treasury Department, +for example, acting under authority given to it by Congress, that +provides the people with their system of money and with a banking +system, both of which are great cooperative devices. The +Department of Commerce serves the farmer directly by discovering +markets for his products in every part of the world, and +indirectly by everything it does to promote the country's +commerce. The rural mail delivery, the parcel post, and the motor +truck service of the Post Office Department are of untold value to +the farmer (see Chapter XVIII). The Department of the Interior has +supervision over the public lands, the reclamation of arid lands, +and the development of mineral resources (Chapters XIV, XV). + +THE QUESTION OF LABOR SUPPLY + +The question of labor supply is one of the most serious questions +which the farmer has to face. It is one that he must help to solve +for himself: + +As soon as work on the farms is organized, and employment is made +steady for all help, just so soon will a better class of laborers +be attracted to the farm. As the farm-owner wishes life to be free +from eternal drudgery for himself and family, yielding the fruits +of happiness, leisure, and culture, he would do well to consent +and arrange to give the farm hand who shares the shelter of his +roof a fair chance at the same benefits. The laborer wants regular +hours, a chance for recreation, a good place to live in, and +enough wages to maintain a family according to American standards. +[Footnote: W.J. Dougan and M.W. Leiserson in "Rural Social +Problems," Fourth Annual Report Wisconsin Country Life Conference, +quoted in Nourse, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS pp. 258-260.] + +But there are aspects of the labor problem over which the farmer +by his own unaided efforts can have little control. One of these +is the problem of bringing the laborer and the job together (see +Chapter XI, p. 133). The work of the Employment Service in the +Department of Labor during the recent war affords a striking +illustration of cooperation secured through an agency of +government. + +THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE + +The Employment Service had been created in 1914, but was rapidly +developed during the war to meet the demand for farm labor to +provide a food supply adequate to war needs. The main offices of +Employment Service were with the Department of Labor in +Washington. But each state had a federal director of employment, +and branch offices were established in local communities. The +success of the whole scheme depended, first of all, upon +cooperation between national, state, and local governments. + +Thousands of county agents and local rural community organizations +discovered and reported local needs to local employment offices, +which in turn distributed the information by means of the +district, state, and national organizations. Fifty-five thousand +post offices became farm-labor employment agencies, postmasters +and rural carriers acting as agents. Railroads cooperated both in +reporting needs for the districts through which they run and in +distributing labor to the points where needed. Newspaper offices +served as employment bureaus. The operators of nearly 8000 rural +telephone companies weekly called up the homes of two million +farmers to inquire as to needs. State and county councils of +defense, chambers of commerce, labor unions, farmers' +organizations, and other volunteer agencies afforded channels +through which the farmer and the laborer were brought together. + +From January to the end of October 1918, approximately 2,500,000 +workers were directed to employment (not all farm workers). In +that year the enormous wheat crop of the western states was +entirely harvested by labor forces organized and moving northward +as the harvest ripened. "Teamwork between the county agricultural +agents and farm-help specialists of the Department of Agriculture +and the harvest emergency force of the United States Employment +Service is considered largely responsible for the excellent +results." In a similar manner assistance was given in harvesting +the corn and cotton crops, the fruits of orchards and vineyards, +and the vegetable crops of the country. + +The Boys' Working Reserve constituted one division of the +Employment Service. In 1918, 210,000 boys between the ages of 16 +and 20 were enrolled for work on the farms during the summer. The +Reserve was responsible in 1917 and 1918 for saving millions of +dollars worth of crops. It is estimated that in 1918 it raised +enough food to feed a million soldiers for one year. + +EMPLOYMENT SERVICE IN PEACE TIME + +With the passing of the war emergency, the elaborate machinery of +the Employment Service was in large measure allowed to fall to +pieces through lack of appropriations for its maintenance. This is +true of much of the emergency organization of government developed +during the war period. It illustrates the tendency in our country +to leave business control as fully as possible to individual +initiative excepting in times of great emergency. So important is +the problem of bringing the worker and the job together that many +believe that the Employment Service organization should be revived +and continued. + +The central office at Washington is still maintained. In most +states there are still (1919) state directors. The local machinery +has been largely discontinued except in cities where volunteer +agencies, such as the Red Cross and other welfare organizations, +have taken over the work, chiefly to find employment for +discharged soldiers and sailors. A few states have made +appropriations to continue the Boys' Working Reserve. + +NATIONAL VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE + +One division of the Employment Service is the Junior Section, for +the guidance of boys and girls from 16 to 21 years of age seeking +employment. Local junior sections were organized as branches of +local employment offices and in schools. A "junior counselor" was +placed in charge of each local junior section to study the needs +and qualifications of those who applied for employment, and to +give them advice. The Junior Section is still maintained with a +director in the Washington office. The duties of the junior +counselor are stated as follows: + +To influence boys and girls to remain in school as long as +possible. + +To give aid toward the right start for those who have to leave +school to go to work. + +To arouse the ambitions of the boys and girls to fit themselves +for definite careers. + +To direct youth who are employed toward some form of trade, +technical, or business school for special training. + +To promote the opportunities for vocational education. + +To follow up all applicants in their training and at their work to +see that they have the best available advantages of study and +labor. + +GOVERNMENT ALWAYS AT OUR SERVICE + +The array of facts contained in the foregoing paragraphs is given, +not with the expectation that those who read will memorize them, +but to suggest the enormous amount of work that the United States +government is doing in the interest of agriculture and the farmer, +and the extensive machinery necessary to do it. The facts given +are only a few of those that might be given. The detailed story of +how much of this work is done is fascinating, and often of +thrilling interest. All around us may be seen, if our eyes are +open, the evidences of the work of our government. Always the +governmental machinery is at hand to serve us in a thousand ways, +if we are wise enough to use it. The more we study its work, the +more we shall be impressed by the fact that its greatest service +is in opening the way for cooperation, and in providing the +organization and the leadership for such cooperation. + +Topics for investigation: + +How money serves as a means of cooperation. + +How a bank serves as a means of cooperation. + +The attractiveness of the conditions of living for farm laborers +in your community. How they could be improved. + +The farm labor supply in your locality and state. + +The work of the United States Employment Service in your state and +community. + +Employment agencies in your community at the present time. By whom +conducted. Are they free, or run for profit? Advantages and +disadvantages of the two kinds. + +Harvesting the wheat crop in war time. + +The Boys' Working Reserve in your locality. The experience of the +farmers of your locality as to its value. Possible objections +raised to it. Its continuance since the war. + +The Junior Section of the Employment Service. + +Junior counselors in your community. + +READINGS + +Procure from the State Department of Agriculture, the State +Agricultural College, and the State Experiment Station, +publications relating to their work. + +Send to the U. S. Department of Agriculture for its List of +Publications Available for Distribution; or for publications +relating to particular topics. Among the useful publications of +the Department are: + +Farmers' Bulletins (covering a wide variety of subjects). + +States Relations Service Circulars. + +The Year Book. + +Annual Reports of the Secretary of Agriculture. + +Program of Work of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1917 or +later years). + +Report on Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative +Agricultural Extension Work (1915 or later years). + +A very useful publication is the "Guide to United States +Government Publications," published by the U.S. Bureau of +Education as Bulletin, 1918, No. 2. It not only describes the +publications of each department of government, but also the +organization and work of each department and its subdivisions. +(Government Printing Office, 20 cents.) + +More recent and equally useful is "The Federal Executive +Departments as Sources of Information for Libraries," also +published by the Bureau of Education, Bulletin, 1919, No. 74 +(Government Printing Office, 25 cents). The work of each +Department and its subdivisions is described in some detail. + +In Lessons in Community and National Life: + +Series B: Lesson 30, Employment agencies. + +Series C: Lesson 12, Patents and inventions. + Lesson 13, Market reports on fruits and vegetables. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THRIFT + +"THRIFT IS GOOD MANAGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS OF LIVING." + +NATIONAL IMPORTANCE OF THRIFT + + +This definition is taken from "Ten Lessons in Thrift," issued by +the Treasury Department of the United States Government (February, +1919). The United States Government sent out these lessons because +"America to-day stands in the position in which all her economic +problems must be solved through thrift ... Unless our people gain +a deep, sincere appreciation of the absolute necessity for thrift, +we cannot hope to hold the proud position we occupy as the flag +bearer of nations ..." [Footnote: S.W. Strauss, President American +Society for Thrift, in "The Patriotism of War Savings" (National +Education Association pamphlet, THRIFT, 1918)] + +LESSONS OF THE WAR + +The great war taught us some lessons about the importance of +thrift to the nation. The enormous expenses of the war were paid +and the armies and the civilian populations of the countries at +war were fed very largely by the combined small savings of our +people. Nearly 20 million people contributed to the fourth liberty +loan, by which almost seven billion dollars were raised, an +average of about $350 for each contributor. Almost every one +bought war savings stamps, by which about a billion dollars were +raised in 1918. Practically all this money came from savings. +Enormous sums were also given to the Red Cross and other causes. +To do this people saved and sacrificed "until it hurt." The +provisioning of our armies and of the needy peoples of Europe was +made possible by the saving, in American homes, of slices of +bread, of teaspoonfuls of sugar, of small portions of meat and +fats. + +THRIFT AS PATRIOTISM + +Thrift, however, is not merely a war necessity. "The time when +thrift shall not be needed--needed as vitally as food itself--will +never come ... Through thrift alone can the rebuilding come--the +rebuilding of America--the rebuilding of the world ... Thrift is +patriot ism because it is the elimination of every element that +tends to retard..." [Footnote: S W Strauss, "The Patriotism of War +Savings"] + +Thrift is necessary both for individual success and for good +citizenship. It is only by thrift that the individual may in some +measure repay others for the care he himself received during +dependent childhood, and provide, during his productive years, for +the "rainy day" of sickness and old age. It is by thrift that +CAPITAL is accumulated with which to carry on the world's work. +The citizen who saves and invests his savings in a home, in +business enterprises, in bonds or savings stamps, not only makes +his own future secure, but becomes identified with the community +and takes a greater interest in it. The thrifty citizen inspires +the confidence of the community, and acquires an influence in +community affairs that the unthrifty citizen does not enjoy. +Finnish farmers in a certain section of New England are said to be +able to obtain credit from neighboring bankers and businessmen +more easily than many of their neighbors, and to be considered as +especially desirable citizens, because of their reputation for +thrift and honesty. Thrift is often confused with stinginess and +selfish ness. On the contrary it alone makes generosity and +service possible. + +THRIFT, "THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY" + +"Thrift is the very essence of democracy." For democracy means +freedom, equality of opportunity, "self-determination." No man is +a greater slave than one who is bound and driven by financial +necessity. By thrift the mind is "unfettered by the petty +annoyances that result from improvident ways." Thrift means +providing for the future. There is nothing in the world that will +so establish one's faith in the future and that will, therefore, +give that freedom of spirit upon which democracy depends, as the +wise use of to-day and of to-day's resources. + +THRIFT A RIGHT AS WELL AS A DUTY + +"Every man must practice thrift and every man must have the CHANCE +of practicing it." It is a RIGHT as well as a duty. Before the war +it was said that four fifths of the wage earners of our country +received less than $750 a year for their labor. Studies in various +cities also showed that an average family of five could not +maintain health and efficiency on an income of less than from $750 +to $1000. Under such circumstances thrift is the strictest +necessity, but it is a thrift that means pinching economy and the +sacrifice of health and efficiency. It is not the thrift that +provides for the future and gives freedom to the individual, the +thrift that is "the essence of democracy itself." Every man should +have an opportunity to earn a "living wage," which includes an +opportunity to provide for the future. Democracy is not complete +until that opportunity is afforded. + +Thrift, or the good management of the business of living, is shown +(1) in earning, (2) in spending, (3) in saving, and (4) in +investing. + +THRIFT IN EARNING + +(1) Since the earning of a living was the subject of Chapter XI, +we need not dwell upon it now except to note that a thrifty person +is an industrious person--he makes wise use of his time; and also +to note that many of those who are now in want, or who, in +advanced years, are receiving small wages, owe their condition to +a failure at some time or other to make use of the opportunity for +thrift. Many people do not recognize the opportunity when it is +presented, or lack the wisdom or the courage to seize it. Thrift +involves MAKING A CHOICE, and in many cases a wise choice requires +courage as well as wisdom. It is a choice between the satisfaction +of present wants and the sacrifice of present enjoyment for the +sake of greater satisfaction and service in the future. + +When a boy in school has a chance to take a job that will pay him +wages, he has to make a choice between it and remaining in school. +It may seem to be the thrifty thing to go to work; but real thrift +is shown by careful choice of vocation, and by thorough +preparation for it, even though it requires sacrifices that seem +difficult (see pp. 137, 139). + +We may note here, also, that physical fitness is essential if +earning power, which means power to perform service, is to be +fully developed. The "conservation" of health and life is so +important that a chapter is devoted to it later (Chapter XX). + +THRIFT IN SPENDING + +(2) After money has been earned, thrift shows itself first of all +in the way the money is spent; and many of us have the spending of +the money that some one else has earned. Every time we spend a +nickel or a dollar we make a choice--we choose to spend or not to +spend, how much we shall spend, for what we shall spend. + +A lawyer in a small town reports that in one month he made out the +necessary papers to enable 75 men to mortgage their homes to buy +automobiles. + +Butchers say that during the war they more often sold expensive +cuts of meat to wage earners who were by no means well-to-do, but +who happened for the time to be getting good wages, than to people +of larger means. One reason, perhaps, for extravagance in food and +clothing on the part of unintelligent people who find themselves +unusually prosperous, is that they see no better way to spend +their money. Those who find pleasure in books, in education for +their children, in travel, in investing money in serviceable +enterprises, and in the higher things of life, have to make A +CHOICE in regard to what they shall enjoy, and as a rule prefer to +sacrifice the grosser pleasures. + +CHOOSING WHAT TO SPEND + +People, and especially young people, need a certain amount of +sweets in their diet. But when we know that the candy bill of the +people of the United States amounts to $400,000,000 a year, that +this is almost as much as the total amount spent for public +education, that it is about double the amount used to keep Belgium +supplied with food for a year during the war, or that it will buy +234 million bushels of corn at $1.70 a bushel, we may well think +twice before deciding to spend MUCH money for candy. + +TESTS FOR SPENDING + +The few cents difference in the price of two articles between +which we must choose, and the nickels we spend for immediate +enjoyment, may seem to amount to very little; but the New York +City street railways collected in a year $95,000,000 in five-cent +fares, and the Woolworth Building in New York, one of the largest +office buildings in the United States, was built from the profits +of "5 and 10 Cent Stores." One thrift stamp a week amounts in five +years to $65, and 14 cents a day at 4 per cent interest amounts in +twenty years to more than $1500. In one of the "Ten Lesson in +Thrift," the following "tests in buying" are given: + +Do I need it? + +Do I need it now? + +Do I need something else more? + +Will it pay for itself in the end? + +Do I help or injure the community in buying this? + +Do you have instruction in your school in home economics that +relates to wise spending or buying? + +If you do not have such instruction, apply to the home +demonstration agent in your county (if there is one), or write to +your state agricultural college, or to the States Relations +Service, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., for +circulars or bulletins relating to thrift in buying food, +clothing, etc. + +In writing for such material, why is it an example of thrift to +ask for ONE copy of EACH publication for your CLASS or for your +SCHOOL, rather than to ask for a copy for each pupil? + +In what ways is thrift shown by having a class committee write one +letter making the request for the class instead of having each +member of the class write? + +Has any home demonstration work relating to thrift been conducted +in your community? What methods were employed, and what results +achieved? + +Who in your family makes most of the expenditures for the family +living? + +For what items in the family living is most of the money spent? + +What are some of the things that have to be considered in buying +food? clothing? house furnishings? books? amusements? + +Discuss the topics mentioned in the following statement of "values +in buying" (from "Ten Lessons in Thrift"): + +Food: nutrition, healthfulness, cleanliness, attractiveness, +flavor, quality, price, economy in preparation (of time, strength, +fuel, utensils), buying from bulk or in package, buying in +quantity or small unit, buying for the day or laying in stores, +calculation of portions, calculation of meals, varied diet. + +Clothing: design related to material, color, and becomingness; +style, durability; adaptability to fine or rough wear, to repair +and remaking; suitability to season, health, occupation, comfort; +home-made VERSUS ready-made; conditions of manufacture, use of +child labor, the sweat shop, the living wage, health. + +Make a study at the grocery of the relative prices of articles +bought in small and large quantities: for example, laundry soap by +the bar, by the quarter's worth, by the box; canned goods by the +can, by the dozen, and by the case; flour by the pound, by the 25- +pound sack, 50-pound sack, by the barrel; etc. + +Make a study of the relative prices of articles in bulk and in +package; for example, vinegar by the bottle and by the gallon; +bacon in bulk and in jars, etc. + +Why may it be economy to buy some food articles in packages rather +than in bulk, even at a higher price? Give examples. + +Which is likely to be more economical, to buy groceries by +telephone or in person? To buy by mail order or at the store in +town? Why? + +At Christmas time the Park View community center in Washington, +D.C., ordered 140 turkeys from a rural neighborhood center in +Maryland. The turkeys were brought by the producers to the +schoolhouse of the rural neighborhood, taken by a postal service +motor-truck to the schoolhouse of the Park View center in +Washington, and from there distributed to the 140 families. The +city buyers paid an average of 15 cents a pound less than the +price prevailing in the Washington markets, and the producers +received 6 cents a pound more than the Washington markets were +paying. + +Why was there a saving to both producer and consumer in the above +case? What costs of marketing were cut out or reduced? + +What is the "middleman"? Does he perform a real service to the +community? Should he be paid for his service? Why? Is it just that +the middleman should be "eliminated" by cooperative marketing and +buying organizations? Why? + +Is there any cooperative buying organization in your community? If +so, how has it benefited the community? If not, why? (Consult your +parents, your county agent, and others.) + +Get publications from your state agricultural college relating to +cooperative buying and selling. + +THRIFT IN MANAGEMENT + +Wise expenditures depend not only upon knowledge of prices and +qualities, but also upon good management, as in planning ahead. +One plan that has been the means of lifting many individuals and +families out of financial difficulties and of enabling them to lay +by as savings a portion of their income, however small the latter +may be, is the BUDGET, which means the apportionment of +expenditures according to a plan laid out in advance. No budget +can apply to all families alike, but the following illustrates the +principle: + +House (rent, taxes, insurance, repairs)........................25% + +Food (all expenditures for the table, ice, etc.)...............30% + +Clothing (materials and making, repairing, cleaning, pressing, +millinery, shoes)..............................................13% + +Housekeeping (labor and materials for laundry, fuel and light, +telephone, supplies, and furnishings)..........................12% + +Educational (school and school books, club dues, church and charity +contributions, gifts, books, magazines, newspapers, amusements, +medical and dental treatment)...................................6% + +Luxuries (all items not necessaries and not coming under +"educational," such as candies, etc.)...........................4% + +Savings........................................................10% + +Total.........................................................100% + +Before a budget can be planned, and in order to know whether it is +being lived up to, it is necessary to keep accounts of receipts +and expenditures. With such accounts, it is possible to determine +where savings can be made under some heads and where, perhaps, it +is necessary or advisable to spend more. + +Is a budget used in your home? Find out from your parents their +reason for using, or not using it. + +Could you use a budget in your own personal affairs? + +Find out whether a budget system is used by your local government +and your state government in apportioning expenditures. + +How may we "budget" our time? Is the time you spend in school +"budgeted"? Make a daily time budget for yourself. + +When is clothing a necessity and when a luxury? [Footnote: This +and the following topics are adapted from "Ten Lessons in +Thrift."] + +When is food a necessity and when an amusement? + +When is amusement education and when a frivolity? + +When is fuel an item in rent and when current housekeeping +expense? + +When are club dues education and when amusement? + +When is vacation health and when amusement? + +When is the theater amusement and when indulgence? + +When is rent a necessity and when an extravagance? + +[Footnote: From "Suggestion for Home Demonstration Agents +regarding Methods of Teaching Thrift," States Relations Service +Circular, Dec. 27, 1918.] + +THRIFT IN SAVING + +(3) The object of thrift in spending is both to get the greatest +value for our money now and to insure savings that will provide +for the future. Every budget should make as definite provision for +savings as for rent or clothing. The purpose of a budget and of +accounts is to assure a surplus rather than a deficit. Successful +men and women make it a practice always to spend less than they +earn, no matter how little they earn, and they cannot be sure of +this without planning ahead and keeping accounts. Saving in this +way is largely a matter of habit; but it is astonishing how many +fail to form the habit. Court records show that out of every 100 +men who die, 82 leave no income-producing estates, or that about +85 per cent who reach the age of 65 are dependent upon relatives +or upon the community. "Out of every 100 widows, only 18 are left +in comfortable circumstances, while 47 are obliged to go to work +and 35 are left in absolute want." [Footnote: S.W. Strauss, "The +Greater Thrift," National Education Association PROCEEDINGS, 1916, +p. 278.] + +AMERICAN EXTRAVAGANCE + +Wise buying means saving money; and so does the wise use of what +we buy. It is said that an American ship can be distinguished from +the ships of other nations in harbor by the flocks of gulls that +hover around to feast on the food thrown overboard. Whether this +is true or not, Americans have a reputation for wastefulness. It +has been called our chief national sin. It is said that a family +in France can live in comfort on what an American family in the +same circumstances ordinarily throws away. An average load of +garbage in New York City has been shown to contain fifty dollars' +worth of good food materials. + +WHAT SMALL SAVINGS WILL DO + +Investigations by the Food Administration showed that there is +enough glycerine in a ton of garbage to make explosives for 14 +shells, enough fat and acid to make 75 bars of soap, and enough +fertilizer to grow 8 bushels of wheat. It is said that 24 cities +wasted enough garbage to make 4 million pounds of nitroglycerine, +40 million cakes of soap, and fertilizer for 3 million bushels of +wheat. On the other hand, 300 cities produced 52 million pounds of +pork by feeding their garbage to hogs. + +The Department of Agriculture has shown that the waste of a half- +cup of milk daily by each of the 20 million families in the United +States would equal in a year the total production of 400 thousand +cows; that one ounce of meat or fat saved daily would in a year +mean 875 thousand steers, or a million hogs; and that if 81 +percent of the whole wheat were used in bread instead of 75 +percent, the saving in a year would feed 12 million people. During +the war our government organized a campaign for the salvage of +"junk," and the total amount collected had a value of 1 1/2 +billion dollars. The school children of Des Moines, Iowa, are +reported to have gathered and sold two thousand dollars' worth of +waste paper in one week, and those of many other communities +obtained similar results. + +VALUE OF BY-PRODUCTS + +Every successful business man is constantly vigilant to discover +and remedy waste in his business--waste of materials, time, and +effort. Many of the most valuable products in certain industries +are "by-products,"--that is, products produced as an incident to +the main industry and from materials that otherwise would have +been wasted. In the manufacture of gas from coal, for example, +important by-products are coke, tar, and ammonia. There has been +great waste in the lumber industry, but now practically every +scrap from the tree may be used. In the Forestry Products +Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, a process has been +discovered of producing from 15 to 25 gallons of wood alcohol from +a ton of sawdust--and sawdust has many other uses. These are only +illustrations. Scientists and inventors, many of them employed by +the government, are constantly at work finding uses for waste +products. + +WASTEFULNESS IN FARMING + +Wastefulness is found in great variety in farming activities. For +example: + +Why plant seed only 60 or 70 per cent of which will germinate +when, for a few dollars extra and a little work, seed may be +procured that will average 90 to 95 per cent in the germination +test? Why purchase or cultivate a worthless crab apple tree or a +hybrid when Rome Beauty, Northern Spy, or Grimes Golden, and other +standard varieties of apples may be secured for a few additional +cents? Why feed and care for a "scrub" pig, calf, or colt when it +will bring at maturity only half or two thirds the price of a +thoroughbred? ... It is not thrift to invest money in second-rate +products. + +Some farmers are so careless ... that they do not husk their corn +in the fall but leave it standing in the field until late winter +or early spring. By this time the fodder is somewhat decayed and +unfit for feeding purposes. Possibly a third of the corn has been +eaten by the birds, a third of it has rotted, and a third of it +remains in a damp and moldy condition. ... Many boys could make +good wages by going over the corn field at cutting time and +collecting the ears lying on the ground. ... Often a farmer will +cut down his hay, paying no attention whatever to the reports of +the weather bureau ... Apples shaken from the trees by the wind +decay on the ground ... + +The bearings of mowing machines and reapers often suffer excessive +wear because the owner neglects to keep them properly oiled. Often +a wheat drill, a mowing machine, a threshing machine, or an engine +is left out of doors for a whole year, or for several months after +the farmer has ceased to use it. A good piece of machinery, if +judiciously used, properly lubricated, and put away in a dry +place, may last from ten to twenty years, while the life of such +machinery will only be about half as long without proper care. If +a wooden handle rots loose from its fastenings it is an indication +that the handle has not been thoroughly dried after it has been +used. Tools rust out very readily if they are not kept dry and +thoroughly oiled ... So careless are some farmers that hoes, +shovels, mattocks, wrenches, saws, and axes are thrown down in the +field or woods to lie there until it is again necessary to use +them. It often takes hours to find an article thus misplaced or +thrown aside. It is economy of time to know just where to find +everything on the farm. [Footnote: The Teaching of Thrift, by H. +R. Bonner, Assistant State Superintendent of Schools, West +Virginia, pp. 22, 23.] + +The topics on page 180 from publications of the States Relations +Service of the Department of Agriculture are suggestive: + +Preventing loss of food in the home: + Suitable food storage places and equipment. + Essentials of a good refrigerator. + The care of winter vegetables and fruit. + The care of perishable vegetables and fruit. + Prevention of spoilage of milk, meat, and fish. + Preservation of eggs. + Care of bread and other baked products. + What should not go into the garbage pail. + Good cooking and attractive serving. + Failure to use perishable food promptly. + Failure to use left-overs completely. + Failure to use all food materials (fats, meat and fish bones, etc.). + Leaving small portions of food in mixing and cooking dishes. + Lack of accurate measuring and mixing, so that food is not palatable. + Allowing food to be scorched or otherwise spoiled in preparation. + Providing over-generous portions in serving. + Failure to eat all food served. +Preventing loss of food in the market: + Sanitary display cases for food. + Prevention of "sampling" and handling of food. + Food protection in food carts and delivery wagons. + Proper care of milk. + Proper care of meat and fish. + Prevention of cereal products from deterioration. + Protection of fruits and vegetables. + The care of bread and bakery products. + Careful selection of food. +Following are special points which might be discussed: + The well-planned house. + Saving steps by better arrangement of equipment. + Lessening work by systematizing it. + Menu-planning for lessened work in preparation. + Household lighting. + Labor-saving equipment in the laundry, the kitchen, and the sewing room. + Labor-saving devices for house cleaning. + Leading a simple life. + +Apply to your home demonstration agent, or write to States +Relations Service, for publications relating to thrift in food, +clothing, fuel, etc. + +THRIFT IN INVESTMENT + +(4) Thrift involves a wise use of savings. They may be invested in +a home, a wise use because of the satisfaction that a home +produces. If the home is well located, well built, and well kept +up, it will probably also increase in money value. Savings may be +invested in machinery for farming, manufacturing, or mining; in a +stock of goods to be sold at a profit; in houses or office +buildings to be rented to others; or they may be lent to others +who pay interest for their use. In all these cases money +represents CAPITAL--capital being the machinery or tools and other +equipment with which wealth is produced. + +Capital is brought into existence in only one way--that is, by +consuming less than is produced. If one has a dollar one can spend +it either for an article of consumption, say confectionery, or for +an article of production, say a spade. He who buys a spade becomes +a capitalist to the amount of a dollar--that is, he becomes the +owner of tools. The process is precisely the same whether the +amount in question is a dollar or a million dollars. [Footnote: +T.N. Carver, "How to Use Farm Credit," FARMERS' BULLETIN 593, U.S. +Department of Agriculture, p. 2.] + +BORROWING + +Every business requires capital, some more than others. Farming +requires more capital to-day than formerly because of the +increased use of machinery. The necessary capital must either be +saved by the person who wants to use it, or borrowed from others +who have saved it. + +The advantage of borrowing is that one does not have to wait so +long to get possession of the tools and equipment. One can get +them at once and make them produce the means of paying for +themselves. Without them the farmer's production might be so low +as to make it difficult ever to accumulate enough with which to +buy them. With their help he may be able to pay for them--that is, +to pay off the debt--in a shorter time than it would take to +accumulate the purchase price without them. That is the only +advantage of credit in any business, but it is a great advantage +to those who know how to use it. [Footnote 2: T.N. Carver, "How to +Use Farm Credit," FARMERS' BULLETIN, 593, U.S. Department of +Agriculture, p. 2.] + +CREDIT + +Credit is simply a person's ability to borrow and depends upon the +confidence that others place in him. This confidence depends on +his reputation for honesty and his known ability to repay. A man, +as a rule, has to HAVE something--land or property of other kind-- +that he can offer as security before he can borrow much. It is for +this reason that thrift is essential to a man's credit--thrift and +honesty. + +There is no magic about credit. It is a powerful agency for good +in the hands of those who know how to use it. So is a buzz saw. +They are about equally dangerous in the hands of those who do not +understand them. ... Many a farmer would be better off to-day if +he had never had a chance to borrow money at all, or go into debt +for the things which he bought. However, there is no reason why +those farmers who do know how to use credit should not have it. + +Shortsighted people, however, who do not realize how inexorably +the time of payment arrives, who do not know how rapidly tools +wear out and have to be replaced, or do not keep accounts in order +that they may tell exactly where they stand financially, will do +well to avoid borrowing. Debts have to be paid with deadly +certainty, and they who do not have the wherewithal when the day +of reckoning arrives become bankrupt with equal certainty. + +On the other hand there is nothing disgraceful in borrowing for +productive purposes. The feeling that it is not quite respectable +to go into debt has grown out of the old habit of borrowing to pay +living expenses. That was regarded, perhaps rightly, as a sign of +incompetency. ... But to borrow for a genuinely productive +purpose, for a purpose that will bring you in more than enough to +pay off your debt, principal and interest, is a profitable +enterprise. It shows business sagacity and courage, and is not a +thing to be ashamed of. But it cannot be too much emphasized that +the would-be borrower must calculate very carefully and be sure +that it is a productive enterprise before he goes into debt. +[Footnote: T. N. Carver, "How to Use Farm Credit," p. 2.] + +COOPERATION FOR CREDIT + +Even though a farmer be thrifty, industrious, and honest, the +conditions of farm business are such that it has not always been +easy for him to borrow capital. Here again cooperation helps. In +some of our states the law permits the organization of CREDIT +UNIONS. The members are farmers of a neighborhood or district and, +therefore, are acquainted with one another. Each member must buy +shares of stock, which provides a certain amount of funds. The +union may also receive deposits of money, paying interest on them +as a savings bank would do. This increases the funds and also +encourages thrift on the part of the farmer. Idle money, or money +that might otherwise be spent unwisely, is thus made productive. +In some unions, as in Massachusetts, children are encouraged to +deposit their small savings, and in some cases half the capital of +the union is made up of such small savings deposits. From these +funds loans are made to members of the union on reasonable terms, +provided they are to be used for productive purposes. The union +may also borrow money from the bank in town on the COLLECTIVE +CREDIT of its members for the improvement of agricultural +conditions in the neighborhood. + +NATIONAL AID TO THE FARMERS' CREDIT + +Similar aid to the farmers' credit has been given by the national +government through the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916. This Act +created a Federal Farm Loan Board in the Treasury Department, and +twelve Federal Land Banks, one in each of twelve districts into +which the United States was divided for that purpose. Through the +organization provided by the board and the banks, a farmer may now +borrow money on more favorable terms, but only on condition that +he agrees to use the money for the purchase and improvement of +land or for equipment, and to engage in the actual cultivation of +the farm for the development of which he desired the money. + +The provisions of the Federal Farm Loan Act afford an excellent +illustration of how government promotes citizen cooperation. The +government does not lend the money to the farmers; it merely +provides the machinery by which the farmers may cooperate among +themselves, and also secure the cooperation of investors in all +parts of the country, to obtain capital necessary for the proper +development of the land. As a rule the farmer can borrow money +from the land bank only by being a member of a local "national +farm loan association." His dealings with the bank are through +this association. His membership in the association gives him +better standing and secures for him better terms than he could get +if acting separately. Moreover, the money that the bank lends to +the farmer comes from the farmers who belong to the association, +and from investors in all parts of the country, who buy shares of +stock in the bank and bonds issued by the bank on the security of +the farmers' land and equipment. The whole scheme is one of +cooperation which would be impossible but for the legislation, +financial support, and supervision of the government at +Washington. + +PARTNERSHIP IN THE NATION'S BUSINESS + +It will be seen then that much of the capital that a farmer uses +is borrowed, and is made up of small savings of other people--some +of them his neighbors, others in distant places. The same is true +with respect to the capital used in all other businesses. The +enormous capital of railroads is derived chiefly from the savings +of millions of people, some of whom buy shares of railroad stock +directly, but most of whom deposit their savings in banks or other +institutions which, in turn, lend it to the railroads or invest it +in their stock. The farmer or the school boy who has a savings +account in a neighboring bank thus may become a partner in various +business enterprises of the country. His dollars or dimes, added +to the dollars and dimes of many other people, are used to buy +machinery and tools and materials, and to pay labor. Because of +the service performed by his savings he receives interest on his +money. + +OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT + +There are many opportunities for young people to invest savings in +productive enterprises,--perhaps more in rural communities than +elsewhere. The different kinds of boys' and girls' clubs +illustrate the variety of channels through which money may be both +earned and invested. As soon as a boy invests a little money in a +pig, or a calf, or garden tools, he becomes a capitalist to that +extent. It is to be hoped that not many have the experience of the +boy described in the following lines: [Footnote: Read by R.H. +Wilson, in an address before the National Council of Education, +N.E.A. PROCEEDINGS, 1917, p. 133.] + + Johnnie bought a little pig with money he had earned, + He named her Nell and fed her well, and lots of tricks she learned. + But Nellie grew to be a sow, had piggies quite a few, + Then father up and sold them, and kept the money, too. + + Johnnie took a little calf as pay for hoeing corn, + He loved the calf and the calf loved him as sure as you are born. + The calfie grew to be a cow, as all good calfies do, + Then father up and sold her, and kept the money, too. + + Now, Johnnie loved his little pets, but father loved the pelf, + So Johnnie left his father's farm and struck out for himself. + Said Johnnie's pa, one summer day, "I often wonder why + Boys don't like life upon the farm, 'the city' is their cry." + + "It always will be strange to me," continued Johnnie's pa, + "It only goes to prove, though, how ungrateful children are." + When Johnnie heard what father said, he gave a bitter laugh, + And thought of his empty childhood and of his pig and calf. + +Savings may be deposited in savings banks, which accept small +deposits and pay compound interest, usually at a rate of 3 per +cent or 3 1/2 per cent. Such banks operate in accordance with +state or national laws to protect the depositor against loss. Many +schools conduct school savings banks. The pupils bring their small +amounts to the teacher or to some pupil acting as "teller," the +collected funds then being deposited in some bank in the +community. These school banks promote habits of thrift and afford +experience in business methods, besides bringing into use in the +world's work many small amounts of money that would otherwise be +lying idle or spent unwisely. + +POSTAL SAVINGS SYSTEM + +In 1910 Congress established the Postal Savings System under which +any post office may be a savings bank. Any person over ten years +of age may deposit money at the postal savings bank in amounts of +from $1.00 to $25.00, receiving from the postmaster POSTAL SAVINGS +CERTIFICATES as evidence of the deposit. Provision is made for +savings accounts of less than a dollar by selling POSTAL SAVINGS +STAMPS at ten cents each, ten of which may be exchanged for a +dollar certificate. Two per cent interest is paid on postal +savings, but savings certificates may be exchanged for POSTAL +SAVINGS BONDS, bearing interest at the rate of 2 1/2 per cent. + +LENDING TO THE GOVERNMENT + +The purchase of Liberty Bonds or Savings Stamps and Thrift Stamps +is a good investment and a patriotic act. The money raised in this +way is used for the national defense and for reconstruction after +the war. The Savings Division of the United States Treasury +Department carries on a campaign of thrift education. Among other +things, it promotes the organization of savings societies and +thrift clubs, because thrift is a habit which is encouraged by the +example and cooperation of others. In Randolph County, Indiana, +for example, each consolidated school has its thrift club, and +over 75 per cent of the pupils are members. One of these schools +sold over $11,000 worth of thrift stamps, and others sold from +$1500 to $3500 worth. Savings societies exist among the workmen of +many industries, and employers report that these have increased +the purchase of homes, and have resulted in a saving of materials +and tools because of the habits of thrift established. + +INSURANCE + +Among the many other agencies to promote thrift we shall only +mention BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS and INSURANCE. The purpose +of building and loan associations is to help people of small means +to purchase or build homes. Insurance affords a particularly good +illustration of organized cooperation. The PREMIUMS paid by +thousands of policy holders produce a large sum of money, part of +which goes to pay the expenses of the insurance company, but most +of which is invested in enterprises that cause the amount rapidly +to increase. Out of this fund the occasional losses of individuals +are paid. Life insurance is a good form of investment. It provides +for the future of the family of the insured in case of his death. +By the ENDOWMENT plan the insured may himself receive, at the end +of a specified number of years, all that he has paid in premiums +together with interest. + +During the war our national government itself insured the soldiers +against death or injury. This was known as WAR RISK INSURANCE. At +the end of the war the soldier had the privilege of converting the +war risk insurance into a regular form of insurance, still +provided, however, by the government itself. One of our states +also, Wisconsin, sells life insurance to its citizens. + +As we proceed with our study we shall encounter other aspects of +thrift in various chapters. As a nation we may be thrifty or +unthrifty in the use of our resources (see Chapters XIV and XV). +Thrift is as essential in our "community housekeeping," which is +carried on by government, as in our homes and business. But we can +hardly expect thrift to become a national characteristic unless it +first becomes a personal habit. + +Are you a capitalist? If so, explain in what way. + +What forms does the capital take with which your father does +business? + +What capital does an Eskimo have? the American Indians when the +country was first settled? + +Do you belong to a thrift club? Would it be desirable to organize +one in your school? Confer with your teacher and principal about +it. Write to the Savings Division, U.S. Treasury Department, +Washington, D.C., for literature regarding organization. + +Is there a credit union, or a savings association, or other +organization to promote thrift in your community? If so, find out +how it operates. + +Write a story on the subject, "What my five dollars may accomplish +after I put it in the savings bank, before it comes back to me +with interest." + +Why are people willing to accept a lower rate of interest from a +postal savings bank than from an ordinary savings bank? + +READINGS + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series A: Lesson 6, Capital. + Lesson 13, U.S. Food Administration. + Lesson 14, Substitute foods. + Lesson 15, Woman as the family purchaser. + Lesson 21, Borrowing capital for modern business. + Lesson 22, The commercial bank and modern business. + +Series B: Lesson 7, An intelligently selected diet. + Lesson 22, Financing the war. + Lesson 23, Thrift and war savings. + +Series C: Lesson 7, Preserving foods. + Lesson 8, Preventing waste of human beings. + Lesson 14, The U.S. Fuel Administration. + Lesson 16, The Commercial Economy Board of the Council + of National Defense. + +Write Savings Division, U.S. Treasury Department, for materials; +especially "Ten Lessons in Thrift," and "Teaching Thrift in +Elementary Schools." Both of these contain lists of readings. + +The Post-Office Department has publications descriptive of the +postal savings service. + +Farmers' Bulletins, U.S. Department of Agriculture, relating to +thrift. + +Federal Farm Loan Act, How It Benefits the Farmer, Farmers' +Bulletin 792. + +See references in footnotes in this chapter. + +Dunn, THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN, Chapter XIV, "Waste and +Saving." + +The local public library, the State Library, and the State +Agricultural College, will doubtless furnish lists of references +and perhaps provide materials. + +The United States Bureau of Education will send list of +references. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RELATION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND + + +"NATURE WAS MUCH BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN MAN. SHE WOULD SUFFER NO +SUDDEN HIGHWAYS TO BE THROWN ACROSS HER SPACES; SHE ABATED NOT AN +INCH OF HER MOUNTAINS, COMPROMISED NOT A FOOT OF HER FORESTS. ... +FOR THE CREATION OF THE NATION THE CONQUEST OF HER PROPER +TERRITORY FROM NATURE WAS FIRST NECESSARY ... A BOLD RACE HAS +DERIVED INSPIRATION FROM THE SIZE, THE DIFFICULTY, THE DANGER OF +THE TASK." + +If you wanted to buy a farm, what facts would you investigate in +regard to land and location? + +What farm in your neighborhood comes nearest to meeting your +requirements in these matters? Explain fully why. + +Make a sketch map of a farm in your neighborhood, preferably one +upon which you have lived, showing as nearly as you can the +boundaries, the position of highlands and lowlands, marshes, +timber, streams, etc. Also the position of house, barns, bridges, +roads, and other important features. + +Did the features of the land indicated on your map determine the +location of the buildings? of the roads and bridges? the kinds of +crops raised on different parts of the farm? + +Should the surface features of the land be taken into account in +determining the position of the house and barns in relation to +each other? Why? + +Has the character of the land influenced the life of the farmer's +family in any way? Explain. + +IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS + +Directly or indirectly, geographical conditions affect every +aspect of community life and help or hinder us in satisfying all +of our wants (see Chapter I). Their influence is chiefly felt, +however, in their relation to the economic interest of the people; +that is, in relation to earning a living and the production of +wealth. + +ESTABLISHING RELATIONS WITH THE LAND + +Every step that man has taken to make his relations with the land +permanent and definite has been a step of progress in +civilization, as when, for example, the savage hunter became a +herdsman, or the herdsman an agriculturist. We live to-day in an +age of machinery, which is a result of turning to our use the +metals from the depths of the earth and the power derived from the +forces of nature, as in the application of steam, electricity, and +the explosive force of gasoline. Many have had a part in this work +of establishing relations with the land: explorers; scientists who +have discovered the uses of our varied mineral and vegetable +resources and how to make the forces of nature serve us; engineers +who have built our railroads and bridges and tunneled our +mountains. A most important part has been taken by those who win +their living directly from nature's resources--the woodsman, the +miner, the farmer; and the service of the farmer has been +especially great in giving stability to our community life. + +AGRICULTURE MEANS A SETTLED LIFE + +Those American Indians were most civilized who had developed +agriculture to the highest point, because this meant a settled +life. If we recall the story of the colonization of America we +shall remember that it was not successfully accomplished by the +gold hunters and fur traders who came first, but only when those +came who, as farmers, began to cultivate the soil. Later, as the +population moved westward across the Alleghenies into the +Mississippi Valley and on to the Pacific Coast, the hunters and +trappers were the scouts who found the way, while the real army +that took possession of the land was an army of farmers. + +Did the American Indians who formerly lived in your locality lead +a settled life? Why? Were they agriculturists to any extent? If +so, what do you know of their method of agriculture? + +Of what pastoral peoples have you read? Why was their life more +settled than that of hunting peoples? Why less settled than that +of farmers? + +Why were settlements by gold hunters and fur traders likely not to +be permanent? + +Do you know of important mining towns that have had a brief life? + +PROTECTING OWNERSHIP OF LAND + +The story of how individuals acquired the right to own land is an +interesting one, but too long to be told here. The right has long +been recognized and protected by government. If your father owns a +piece of land he doubtless has a DEED for it, containing an +accurate description of the land and giving him title to +ownership. In each county there is an office of government where +all deeds are recorded--the office of the recorder or register of +deeds. + +The record of every piece of land is thus kept and is open to +examination by any one. If a man wishes to buy a piece of land he +will go to the office of the recorder and find out whether the +title to the land is clear. Only by so doing may he be protected +against error or fraud. + +TRANSFERS OF LAND + +Since lands are likely to change hands a number of times, and +since men frequently MORTGAGE their lands as security for loans or +other indebtedness, thus giving to others a claim to their land, +it is sometimes a tedious and difficult task for a buyer to trace +the record back and to be sure that the title to the land is +clear. It sometimes requires months. There are lawyers who make a +business of examining the records and making ABSTRACTS OF TITLES. +This involves expense. Besides, there is always the chance that a +mistake may be made somewhere. For this reason some states have +adopted a plan known as the TORRENS SYSTEM of land transfer, from +the name of the man who devised it in Australia. + +Under the Torrens System the government itself, through its proper +officer, may examine the title to any piece of land. The land is +then REGISTERED, and the owner is given a certificate as evidence. +If a mortgage is placed on the land or if it changes hands the +transaction is recorded on the certificate and in the office +records. A mere glance at the record of registry or at the +certificate is sufficient to ascertain the title to the land. Thus +time and expense are saved; and moreover the government gives its +absolute guarantee to the owner or buyer as to his rights in the +land. + +The Torrens System is in use in some form in fourteen states of +the Union, in the Philippines and Hawaii, and in various other +countries of the world. + +THE SURVEY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS + +When settlers began to occupy the lands west of the Alleghenies, +many of them laid claim to tracts without much regard for the +claims of others. Boundary lines were indefinite. Where surveys +were made they were often inaccurate. Much confusion resulted. +Disputes arose that frequently found their way into the courts and +dragged on for many years. The government sought to put an end to +this state of affairs, and in Thomas Jefferson's administration a +survey was begun to establish lines by which any piece of land +might be located and defined with exactness. + +The government survey was begun by establishing certain north and +south lines known as PRINCIPAL MERIDIANS. There are twenty-four of +these, the first being the meridian that separates Indiana from +Ohio, while the last runs through the state of Oregon. At +intervals of six miles east and west of the principal meridians +were established other meridians called RANGE LINES. A parallel of +latitude was then chosen as a BASE LINE, and at intervals of six +miles north and south of the base line were established TOWNSHIP +LINES. These township lines with the range lines divide the +country into areas six miles square called TOWNSHIPS. A township +may thus be located with reference to its nearest base line and +principal meridian (see diagram I). + +Since meridians converge as we go north (look at a globe), the +townships are not exactly square, and become slightly smaller +toward the north. To correct this, certain parallels north and +south of the base line were chosen as CORRECTION LINES, from which +the survey began again as from the original base line. + +Each township is divided into SECTIONS one mile square, and +therefore containing 640 acres each. These sections are numbered +in each township from 1 to 36 as indicated in diagram III. Each +section is further subdivided into halves and quarters, which are +designated as in diagram IV. + +This government survey has been made only in the "public lands" +(see below, p. 197). It is still being carried on by the General +Land Office of the Department of the Interior. In 1917 more than +10,000,000 acres, or nearly 16,000 square miles, were surveyed. In +that year there still remained unsurveyed more than 900,000 square +miles of public land, 590,000 of which were in Alaska and 320,000 +in the United States proper. In the original thirteen states along +the Atlantic seaboard a similar survey has been made, but either +by private enterprise or under the authority of the state or +county governments. Massachusetts has recently spent a large sum +of money in a new survey of the state for the purpose of verifying +and correcting doubtful boundaries. + +Has your father a deed to the land you live on? If so, ask him to +show it to you and explain it. How is the land described? + +At the first convenient time, make a visit to the office of the +recorder of deeds in your county, and ask to have some of the +records shown and explained to you, preferably the record of the +property you occupy. Where is the office of the recorder? (A visit +of this sort should be in company with the teacher or parent. A +class excursion for this and other purposes may well be arranged +for.) + +What is a MORTGAGE? An ABSTRACT OF TITLE? (Consult parents.) + +Is the Torrens System in use in your state? + +Is your state a "public land state"? + +From the deed to your father's land, or from the records in the +recorder's office, or from a map of your county showing the survey +lines, locate the land you live on, as indicated in the +accompanying diagrams. + +In what section and township is your schoolhouse? + +Are there still any "public lands" in your state? + +Are the boundary lines of farms in your neighborhood regular or +irregular? How does this happen? + +Do you know of any boundary disputes between farmers or other +citizens in your community? What machinery of government exists to +settle such disputes? + +THE PUBLIC LANDS + +At the close of the Revolutionary War, the territory of the United +States extended west as far as the Mississippi River. That part of +this territory which lay west of the Allegheny Mountains had been +claimed by seven of the thirteen states that formed the Union; but +soon after the war they ceded these western possessions to the +United States, having received a promise from Congress that these +lands, which were largely unoccupied at the time, should be +disposed of "FOR THE COMMON BENEFIT OF THE UNITED STATES." They +thus became PUBLIC LANDS; that is, they belonged to the people of +the nation as a whole. The common interest in these public lands +was one of the chief influences that kept the thirteen states +united under one government during the troubled times between the +close of the Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution in +1789. As time went on, the public lands of the nation were +increased by the acquisition of new territory, [Footnote: +Louisiana Territory was acquired in 1803, Oregon in 1805, Florida +in 1812 and 1819, Texas in 1845, California and New Mexico in +1846-48, the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, Alaska in 1867.] Of the +3,600,000 square miles comprising the United States and Alaska +more than three fourths has at some time been public land; but of +this there now remain, exclusive of Alaska, only about 360,000 +square miles, much of which is forest and mineral land, unsuitable +for agriculture. + +DISPOSAL OF THE PUBLIC LANDS + +To turn this great domain with all its resources to the fullest +service of the nation has been one of the greatest problems with +which our government has had to deal. In the early part of our +history various plans were tried by which to secure the occupancy +and development of the agricultural lands by farmers, until in +1862 the first Homestead Act was passed by Congress. + +About 10,000,000 acres of the public land were given to soldiers +who fought in the Revolution and in the War of 1812 in recognition +of then-service to their country. About 60,000,000 acres were +later given to veterans of the Mexican War. + +Until the year 1800 the plan in use for the disposition of the +public lands was to sell large areas to colonizing companies, with +the expectation that these companies would find settlers to whom +they would sell the land in small quantities at a profit. This was +not successful, as actual settlers found it difficult to get land +they wanted at prices they could afford. + +From 1800 to 1820 lands were sold in small areas ON CREDIT. Many +bought more than they were able to pay for, and much land so +disposed of had to be taken back by the government. + +In 1820 a third plan was adopted: That of selling land for cash in +any quantity to any purchaser. This led to speculation, +individuals and companies of individuals buying recklessly, +without intention of actual settlement, but with the purpose of +selling again at a profit. This brought on a financial panic in +1837. + +Then followed the "PREEMPTION" plan, by which actual settlers +could "preempt" land (get the first right to it) by merely taking +possession and paying a cash price of $1.25 an acre. + +The Homestead Act of 1862 was an extension of the preemption plan; +but instead of paying a cash price, the settler could acquire the +land merely by living on it for a period of five years (now three) +and paying fees of about $40.00. + +HOMESTEAD ACTS + +The Homestead Act, like earlier laws, made a direct appeal to +men's desire to earn a living, to acquire property, and especially +to own homes. It has been modified from time to time, but in all +essentials it still remains in force and provides that any citizen +of the United States who has reached the age of twenty-one, or who +is the head of a family, may acquire a farm on condition of living +upon it for a period of three years, cultivating the land and +erecting a dwelling, and paying to the government a small fee. The +size of the farm that he may so acquire varies according to the +nature of the land, but the usual homestead on good agricultural +land is limited to 160 acres. + +The purpose of the government has been to encourage ACTUAL +SETTLEMENT in order to secure the development of the nation's +resources, and for this purpose to allow each settler enough land +to enable him to support a family in comfort. It was decided that +160 acres of GOOD FARM LAND was enough. + +Some portions of the public land, however, are less productive +than others. Where the rainfall is slight and where irrigation is +impracticable, and yet where crops can be raised by the "dry +farming" process, the law allows a settler to take 320 acres. + +A settler may also obtain 320 acres in the "desert lands" of some +of the western states. These lands may be made productive by +irrigation, but the settler must construct his own irrigation +system. Originally 640 acres were allowed in such lands, but the +amount has been reduced to 320 acres, and the Commissioner of the +General Land Office now recommends (1916) that it be further +reduced to 160 acres. + +In those parts of the desert region which the government has +already reclaimed by irrigation, thus making the land extremely +fruitful, the amount usually allowed a settler is from 40 to 80 +acres. + +There are regions where the land is suitable only for stock +raising and for forage crops. Here Congress has decided that 640 +acres is a fair amount for the support of a family. + +Lands that are valuable for their timber and mineral resources are +disposed of on different terms, but on somewhat the same +principle. + +RECLAMATION OF LANDS BY SOLDIERS + +At the close of the war in 1918 a plan was proposed by the +Secretary of the Interior to secure the occupation of land by +returning soldiers. Since the lands suitable for farming in their +natural state have practically all been disposed of; the plan +contemplates the reclamation of arid and swamp lands, and of land +from which the forests have been cut but which are still covered +with stumps. It is proposed that returned soldiers shall be +employed by the government in the work of reclaiming the land, and +that those who desire to become farmers may buy their farms in the +reclaimed lands at a reasonable price, and with a period of thirty +or forty years in which to pay for them. The Secretary of the +Interior said: "This plan does not contemplate anything like +charity to the soldier ... He is not to be made to feel that he is +a dependent. On the contrary, he is to continue in a sense in the +service of the Government. Instead of destroying our enemies he is +to develop our resources." Much of the land whose reclamation by +and for returning soldiers is thus contemplated is not now public +land, but is lying idle in the hands of private owners. + +LAND SETTLEMENT IN CALIFORNIA + +The state of California has recently enacted a law known as the +Land Settlement Act, which provides for "a demonstration in +planned rural development." "Its first idea is educational, to +show what democracy in action can accomplish." Under the terms of +this act the state acting through a Land Settlement Board and with +the cooperation of experts from the University of California, has +purchased several thousand acres of land at Durham, in Butte +County, which it sells to settlers on easy terms. It also lends +money to settlers for improvement and equipment for the farmers. + +The California Land Settlement Act is significant, because it +eliminates speculation, it aims to create fixed communities by +anticipating and providing those things essential to early and +enduring success. + +Another feature is the use it makes of cooperation. The settlers +are at the outset brought into close business and social +relations. It reproduces the best feature of the New England town +meeting, as every member of the community has a share in the +discussions and planning for the general welfare. This influence +in rural life has been lacking in new communities in recent years. +In the great movement of people westward with its profligate +disposal of public land, settlement became migratory and +speculative. Every man was expected to look out for himself. Rural +neighborhoods became separated into social and economic strata. +There was the nonresident landowner; the influential resident +landowner; the tenant, aloof and indifferent to community +improvements; and, below that, the farm laborer who had no social +status and who in recent years, because of lack of opportunity and +social recognition, has migrated into the cities where he could +have independence and self-respect, or has degenerated into a +hobo. + + At Durham, for the first time in American land settlement, the +farm laborer who works for wages is recognized as having as useful +and valuable a part in rural economy as the farm owner. The +provisions made for his home are intended to give to his wife and +children comfort, independence, and self-respect; in other words, +the things that help create character and sustain patriotism. The +farm laborers' homes already built are one of the most attractive +features of the settlement; and when the community members gather +together, as they do, to discuss matters that affect the progress +of the settlement, or to arrange for cooperative buying and +selling, the farm laborer and his family are active and respected +members of the meetings. + +From maps in school histories study the claims of the seven states +to western lands. + +What is the Ordinance of 1787? + +Make reports on the circumstances connected with our various +territorial acquisitions. + +From whom did the colonists get the right to the land in the +original thirteen colonies? + +Do you know anyone who has ever taken up a "homestead claim"? If +so, learn how it was done. + +If possible, get a description of a "land lottery" and a "land +rush" in newly opened public lands. + +Get all the information you can about the plan to provide land for +the soldiers, referred to above. Do you think this is a better +plan than that of giving land to soldiers outright? Why? Is your +state likely to cooperate with the national government in carrying +out this plan? How? + +THE NATION'S INTERESTS ARE FIRST + +The policy of the government of disposing of the public lands to +individuals has of course been of great benefit to the latter; but +we should not lose sight of the fact that the national well-being +is the first consideration. As the Commissioner of the General +Land Office said in a recent report (1916), "Every acre of public +land disposed of under this line of legislation is AN INVESTMENT, +the profits to be found in the general development of the welfare +of the nation at large." + +SAFEGUARDING THE INTERESTS OF INDIVIDUALS + +It has been no simple matter to administer our public lands, and +mistakes have been made. Sometimes the interests of individuals +have not been sufficiently safeguarded. Many settlers have +suffered serious loss, and many promising communities have failed, +through the taking of homesteads in regions of little rainfall, as +in western Kansas and Nebraska. The government now seeks to +protect homesteaders against such errors by distinguishing +carefully between lands suitable for ordinary agriculture and +those suitable only for dry-farming and stock-raising, by +informing prospective settlers in regard to the facts, and by +allowing larger entries in lands of the latter classes. Another +mistake was made in allowing many of the first claimants to stock- +raising lands so to locate their claims as to acquire the +exclusive use of the only available water supply for miles around, +thus making useless other large tracts. This might have been +avoided by a little foresight. + +ABUSE OF LAND LAWS + +On the other hand, the land laws have sometimes been abused. Large +quantities of public land have fallen into the hands of +speculators whose purpose is not to develop its resources, but to +make a profit from the increased value of the land due to the +efforts of others. Immense areas of land have thus been withheld +from production, or have been made to produce to a limited extent +only, to the great loss of the nation. + +RAILROAD LANDS + +In the days of transcontinental railroad building, large tracts of +land were given to the railroad companies by the government, with +the expectation that they would dispose of it at reasonable prices +to settlers attracted by the new transportation facilities, and +would use the proceeds in railway development. In fact, however, +large quantities of this land have been held in an unproductive +state for speculative purposes. + +An illustration of this is the case of the Oregon and California +Railroad land grant, made by Congress in 1869 and 1870, and +comprising more than 4,200,000 acres, most of which bore a heavy +growth of valuable timber. "This railroad grant ... contained a +special provision to the effect that the railroad company should +sell the land it received to actual settlers only, in quantities +not greater than one-quarter section to one purchaser and at a +price not exceeding $2.50 an acre. By this precaution it was +intended that in aiding the construction of the railroad an +immediate impetus should also be given to the settlement and +development of the country through which the road was to be +constructed." + +After selling some of the lands according to the terms of the +agreement, the railroad company ceased to live up to these terms +and sold large bodies of the land to lumber interests, thus +putting a stop to the development of the region in the way +intended by the government. The government brought action against +the railroad company, the outcome of which is that the government +has bought back from the company at $2.50 an acre all of the lands +of the grant which remained unsold, amounting to about 2,300,000 +acres and valued at from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000. + +These lands are being classified "in accordance with their chief +value, either in power-site lands, timber lands, or agricultural +lands," and are to be disposed of accordingly. The timber will be +sold separately from the land, and the land will then be opened to +homestead entry. + +By this arrangement the railroad company gets for the land all +that it was entitled to under the terms of the original grant. In +addition, provision is made for the payment to the counties in +which the land lies of the taxes which the railroad company has +not paid. As the lands are sold, the proceeds are to be divided +between the state and the United States, the state receiving 50 +percent, 40 percent being paid into the general reclamation fund +of the United States (see Chapter XIV, p. 213), and 10 per cent +into the general funds of the United States Treasury. + +(From the Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, +1916, pp. 46-49). + +This is a striking illustration of how our government, acting +through Congress, the Courts, and the General Land Office of the +Department of the Interior, has sought to obtain justice for all +parties concerned, and to fulfill the original purpose of securing +the development of the land in the interest of the state and the +nation. + +LANDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS + +Something like 133,000,000 acres of our public lands have from +time to time been turned over to the states, the proceeds to be +used for the promotion of public education, for the construction +of roads, and for other purposes (see Chapters XVII and XIX). In +some cases these lands have not been used altogether for the +purposes for which they were granted. School lands have sometimes +been sold at a nominal price to individuals who have reaped the +profit, whereas the lands might have been so administered by the +states as to have brought large returns for educational purposes. +In some cases, state officials have made unwise investments of the +funds derived from the sale of the lands, thereby losing them for +the use of the state. + +LAND MONOPOLY AND TENANTRY + +The control, or "monopolizing," of the public land by large +holders is said to be one of the causes of increasing tenantry +(Chapter X, p. 116); for as the available supply of desirable +farming land is diminished, the actual home-seeker is driven to +take less productive lands, or to purchase from the large holders +at a higher price. The more recent land laws limit the amount of +public land that an individual may acquire to an area sufficient +to enable him to make a comfortable living for a family (see +above, p. 199). They also exact from the homesteader an agreement +that he will actually occupy and cultivate the land. + +RESPONSIBILITY FOR LAND FRAUDS + +The responsibility for the defects in our methods of administering +the public lands rests in part upon our governmental +representatives, who have not always dealt wisely with the +extremely difficult problem. But it rests also upon each +individual citizen. There are those, be it said to our shame, who +deliberately seek to defeat the purpose of the laws and to +appropriate to their own selfish uses the lands which belong to +the nation as a whole. There is one division of the General Land +Office in Washington known as the Contest Division. Before it +come, not only the ordinary disputes that are likely to arise +between rival claimants, but also cases of alleged fraud and +violation of the land laws. In the year 1916 MORE THAN 12,000 +CASES OF ALLEGED FRAUD WERE ACTED UPON, AND NEARLY 12,000 OTHER +CASES AWAITED ACTION AT THE END OF THE YEAR! But the +responsibility comes much closer home than this. Many of us who +would not think of violating the law have failed to appreciate the +value of the gifts that nature has given us, and have apparently +been "too busy" to inform ourselves as to whether or not our +public lands have been administered solely for the purpose to +which Congress devoted them just after the Revolution. This, like +every other matter of community interest, requires team work. + +The community has certain rights to a citizen's land that are +clearly recognized as superior to the citizen's rights. Acting +through its government, it may take a part of a citizen's property +by taxation (see Chapter XXIII). Taxes are paid in money; but if a +citizen does not pay the tax upon his land, the government may +sell the land for enough to cover the obligation. + +THE RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN + +Again, the government may take a citizen's land for public uses, +if the interests of the community demand it, by what is called the +RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN. For example, if the interests of the +community demand that a new road be built, the government will +seek to buy the necessary land from the farmers along the line of +the proposed highway. Some farmer may say that he does not want +the road to run through his farm, or he may try to get a price +beyond what his land is worth. The government may then CONDEMN the +required land and fix a price despite the farmer's objections. The +citizen whose land is taken must, however, be paid for it; the +Constitution of the United States protects him by the provision, +"nor shall private property be taken for public use without just +compensation" (Amendment V, last clause). + +The right of eminent domain may be exercised to secure a site for +a schoolhouse, a post-office, an army post, or courthouse, or for +any other public purpose. The government also authorizes +corporations that perform a public service to exercise the right, +as in the case of railroads which must obtain a right of way for +their tracks, and sites for their yards and stations. + +THE POLICE POWER OF THE GOVERNMENT + +Finally, by the exercise of what is known as the POLICE POWER, the +government may control the use to which a citizen may put his +land. Occasion for the exercise of the police power arises most +frequently in cities, where it is necessary to control the +construction of buildings for fire protection, and to regulate the +kinds of business that may be conducted. In country districts it +does not usually make so much difference what a man does on his +own land; but even there the police power may be exercised, as +when the state of Idaho passed a law forbidding the herding of +sheep within a certain distance of towns. + +POLITICAL RELATIONS WITH THE LAND + +There is another way in which government establishes relations +between the people and the land. Citizens of the United States +have certain political rights and duties, such as voting, holding +office, and paying taxes. These rights may be enjoyed and the +duties performed only within certain districts which the +government creates for this purpose. Thus, a citizen has a right +to vote within the state where he lives, but not in any other +state. He must cast his vote within his own county, township, and +precinct. The boundaries of the states are established by the +national government (except the original thirteen states of the +Union, whose boundaries were fixed before the national government +was organized); but they may not be changed afterward without the +consent of the states affected. The states organize their own +counties and townships [Footnote: In the public land states the +political township usually, but not always, corresponds with the +township surveyed by the national government. See pp. 194-196.] +and other districts. Villages and cities are granted definite +boundaries by the state, and organize themselves into wards and +precincts. There are legislative, congressional, judicial, and +revenue districts, the boundaries of which are fixed by state and +national governments. Locally, there are school districts. The +boundaries which separate one nation from another are determined +by agreement, or treaty, between the nations concerned. +Uncertainty or indefiniteness in regard to national boundary lines +has been the cause of much international strife, and was an +important factor in the European war begun by Germany in 1914. + +If you live in a "public land" state, for what uses have public +lands been given to the state? Have the school lands in your state +been wisely used? + +Is it easy for a young man to acquire a farm in your locality? to +keep up improvements on a farm that he owns? Has it been easy for +a farmer in your locality to borrow money? (Consult parents and +friends.) + +Have the farmers of your locality made much use of the Federal +Farm Loan Act? Do they think it is a good law? + +Have you heard of forced sales of land in your community to pay +taxes? + +Do you know of cases of the exercise of the right of eminent +domain in your community? For what purposes? Was it exercised by +local, state, or national government? + +In what ways does government control the use to which you may put +the land on which you live? + +In what township do you live? school district? congressional +district? state legislative district? revenue district? + +READINGS + +Annual reports of the Secretary of the Interior. + +Annual reports of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, +Department of the Interior, Washington. + +The General Land Office has published a large wall map showing the +land surveys, the national forests, and many other important +items. It may be secured from the Superintendent of Documents, +Government Printing Office, Washington, for $1. + +See the New International Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia +Americana on public lands, national forests, and other topics +referred to in this chapter. + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series A: Lesson 4, What nature has done for a typical city. + + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +CONSERVING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES + +RESOURCES OF THE SOIL + + +In the preceding chapter we learned that as a nation we have not +been altogether thrifty in the disposal and use of our public +lands. The same thing will have to be said regarding the use of +the resources of the land, of which the soil is by far the most +valuable. + +It is said that 1200 boys in Ohio, organized in clubs, increased +the average yield of corn from 35 bushels to 81 bushels per acre. +The average returns per acre from the soil of the United States +were lower before the war than in any European country, except +Russia. The following table gives the production per acre of four +cereals in the United States and five European countries in 1913. +The same relative position of the United States would be shown if +we took the average production of these countries for a series of +years. + +PRODUCTION IN BUSHELS PER ACRE UNDER CULTIVATION IN 1913 + +ABILITY OF THE AMERICAN FARMER + +The low position of the United States in agriculture is by no +means due to inferior ability on the part of the American farmer. +The Secretary of Agriculture says that + +Even now no farmer in the world can compare with the American +farmer in agricultural efficiency. His adaptability to new and +changing conditions, to the use of improved machinery and +processes, coupled with the great natural resources with which the +nation is endowed, make him far superior to any of his +competitors. It is true that he does not produce more per acre +than the farmers of some other nations. Production per acre, +however, is not the American standard. The standard is the amount +of production for each person engaged in agriculture, and by this +test the American farmer appears to be from two to six times as +efficient as most of his competitors. + +WASTEFULNESS OF EARLY FARMING + +As long as we had a great abundance of unoccupied land it would +perhaps have been uneconomic to increase the production of that +which was occupied by the costly methods of agriculture used in +Belgium, Germany, and other thickly settled countries. But the old +methods of farming not only failed to get from the soil all that +it was then capable of producing, they also robbed it of fertility +without restoring to it what was taken from it. Thus the loss +caused by wasteful methods was passed on to future generations. To +continue such methods in the light of our present knowledge and +with our growing population is thriftless in the extreme. Methods +of preserving and restoring the fertility of the soil and of +obtaining the largest returns from it are now receiving the most +careful attention from both state and national governments. + +IDLE LANDS + +A great deal of land lies idle that might be productive of food-- +not only arid, swamp, and cut-over lands, mentioned in later +paragraphs, and land held for speculation, but also vacant lots +and unused back yards in cities and villages, and waste or unused +portions of cultivated farms. It is largely from city and village +lots that the School Garden Army obtained its remarkable results. +It is astonishing how many farmers buy instead of raising their +vegetables for the table, as well as feed for their stock. + +Texas, for instance, has purchased $200,000,000 worth of food +products yearly from northern markets which might have been +produced more cheaply at home. It takes 15 to 20 acres of land in +Texas to grow cotton enough to buy 160 bushels of canned sweet +potatoes, while one acre of Texas soil would produce the same +quantity, and uncanned. [Footnote: THRIFT, a monograph published +by the National Education Association, 1918.] + +Such topics as the following should be studied, consulting +parents, farmers of the locality, and such printed sources of +information as are available. + +The important cereal crops of your state. The average yield per +acre of each. Increase or decrease in yield in recent years. + +The work of corn clubs and other boys' and girls' clubs to +increase the yield of crops in your state. + +The difference between "production per acre" and "production per +person engaged in agriculture." + +The difference between "intensive" and "extensive" agriculture. + +"Single crop" and "diversified crop" types of agriculture in your +locality. Advantages of each. + +Extent to which farmers of your locality raise their own table +vegetables and stock feed. + +Evidence furnished by your town, or neighboring towns, during the +war, of the wealth-producing power of vacant lots or unused +backyards. + +RECLAMATION OF ARID LANDS + +Much of our public land has been nonproductive solely because of +the lack of moisture. In 1902 a law known as the Reclamation Act +was passed by Congress, providing that the proceeds from the sale +of public lands in states containing arid regions,[Footnote: The +states to which this law applies are Arizona, California, +Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, +North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, +and Wyoming. See map.] except such as were already devoted to +educational and other public purposes, should be used for the +construction and maintenance of irrigation works. This reclamation +work is in charge of the Reclamation Service of the Department of +the Interior, whose engineers have built great dams and reservoirs +from which the water has been led by canals and ditches into the +desert. By 1916 more than 1,000,000 acres had been irrigated under +this act, the crop value in that year reaching $35,000,000. The +reclaimed land is disposed of to actual settlers in accordance +with the homestead laws, each homesteader repaying the government +in annual installments the cost of reclaiming the land he +occupies. The fund so created is used by the government for +further reclamation projects. The Department of Agriculture sends +its experts to advise with the farmers in regard to the problems +peculiar to the reclaimed regions. "Every effort should be and is, +therefore, being made to promote the success of the farmer, and on +the basis of his success to increase the prosperity of the +country." [Footnote 2: Report of the Reclamation Service, 1912- +1913, p. 4.] + +The Yuma project in Arizona opened a new Valley of the Nile where +four crops of alfalfa are now raised on what once were arid lands. +The streets of Yuma and Somerton are crowded with the automobiles +of farmers, enriched by thousands of acres of splendid long-staple +cotton, alfalfa, corn, and feterita. Another irrigated valley in +Arizona, that of the Salt River, has few superiors in the world +and has come in three years into great prosperity. Arizona planted +to cotton last year 92,000 acres. Its crop was 96 per cent +perfect, the best record in the United States. [Footnote: Arthur +D. Little, "Developing the Estate," ATLANTIC MONTHLY, March, +1919.] + +The principal irrigation projects of the Reclamation Service are +shown on the accompanying map. + +RECLAMATION BY STATES AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISE + +Five or six times as much arid land has been reclaimed by private +enterprise as by the Reclamation Service. The first extensive +irrigation project in the West was a cooperative enterprise by the +Mormon colonists in Utah. It is said that about two fifths of the +land irrigated in the United States is supplied with water by +works built and controlled by individual farmers or by a few +neighbors, while another one third is supplied by stock companies. +As early as 1877 Congress passed "a desert land law," by which +homesteads were granted in the arid lands on condition that the +settlers should irrigate the land. In 1894 the Carey Act was +passed by Congress under which the national government may give to +a state as much as a million acres of arid public land within its +borders, on condition that the state provides for its irrigation. +The work is done by private stock companies, with whom the state +makes a contract for the purpose. The most extensive irrigation +project undertaken by private enterprise is that of the Imperial +Valley in California, which derives its water from the Colorado +River. Under the laws of California the Imperial Valley region has +been organized as an "irrigation district," with power to levy +taxes for the development and support of the irrigation work. Each +state in which irrigation is practiced has its own laws regulating +the use of water by farmers and other consumers. + +The theory is that the state regulates the appropriation of the +water, exercising this power and holding the land in trust for the +public ... It is the duty of every state to which the Reclamation +Act is applicable to assist with every resource under its +control.[Footnote: Water Supply Paper, 234, U.S. Geological +Survey, Department of the Interior, p. 66.] + +Reference has been made in Chapter XIV to the proposed plan for +the reclamation and settlement of new areas of arid land by +returning soldiers. + +SWAMP LANDS + +There are probably 80,000,000 acres of swamp lands in the United +States which could be made productive by drainage. Farmers +themselves could reclaim much of this land at comparatively small +cost, greatly increasing their own profit and the wealth of the +country. + +One farm in Wisconsin has 40 acres of poorly drained land that in +its present condition is practically worthless. $25.00 per acre +spent in drainage will make this 40-acre tract the equal of any in +the district, and good land is selling there at $150.00 per acre. +[Footnote 2: "Unprofitable Acres," in YEAR BOOK, Department of +Agriculture, 1915, P. 147.] + +The national government has at various times granted to the states +swamp lands aggregating 60,000,000 acres, with the expectation +that the states would reclaim them. The states have, however, done +very little to fulfill the expectation. These swamp lands are +among those whose reclamation by returning soldiers is proposed by +the government. + +Investigate and report on the following topics: + +The work of the Reclamation Service of the national government. + +If you live in one of the states to which the Reclamation Act +applies, report on what has been accomplished by it in your state. + +The development of one of the irrigation projects shown on the +map. + +Irrigation by private or state enterprise in your state (if any), +and what it has accomplished. + +The reclamation of Utah by the Mormons. + +The development of the Imperial Valley of California. + +The laws regulating the use of water for irrigation in your state +(if an irrigated state). + +The swamp areas in your locality or state. Progress made in their +reclamation. + +The reclamation of swamp or marshy land on particular farms of +your locality. + +The extent of idle cut-over land in your locality, why it is idle, +the uses to which it could be put if reclaimed. + +CONSERVATION OF WATER POWER + +By the construction of dams, reservoirs, and canals the waters of +a few of our streams are turned to the work of reclaiming land. +Our unused water resources are very great. Niagara Falls have been +harnessed for industrial uses, and with only a small part of their +power in use they light the streets and houses, run the street +cars, and turn the wheels of industry in Buffalo and Toronto and +the neighboring region. But so far we are making use of less than +10 per cent of the power easily available from our streams. "The +water now flowing idly from our hills to the sea could turn every +factory wheel and every electric generator, operate our railroads, +and still leave much energy to spare for new developments." +[Footnote: Arthur D. Little, "Developing the Estate," ATLANTIC +MONTHLY, March, 1919, p. 388.] It is probably not too much to +expect that when our undeveloped water power is utilized it will +provide electric light and power for every farm in the land. Our +nation has allowed many of the best water power sites of the +country to fall into the hands of private speculators who hold +them undeveloped, as in the case of farmlands, forests, and other +resources. + +CONSERVATION OF FLOOD WATERS + +Floods are not only immensely destructive of property, causing a +loss of $100,000,000 along the Mississippi River alone in a single +year, but they carry to the sea water that might be used for +irrigation and for industry. Reservoirs, such as are built for +irrigating projects, regulate the flow of water in streams and +prevent floods. In New England and New York reservoirs have been +built for this very purpose, and probably 10 per cent of the flood +waters that originate in these states is saved in this way and +turned to industrial uses. Similar conservation of flood waters +occurs in Minnesota, but it is estimated that for the country as a +whole not more than one per cent of the flood waters is saved. +[Footnote: "Conservation of Water Resources," Water Supply Paper +234, U.S. Geological Survey, 1919.] There are areas in which the +reservoir system is impracticable, as in the lower Mississippi +Valley. Here all that can be done is to protect the adjacent land +by means of levees while controlling the floods farther up the +valley. + +FUEL RESOURCES + +Larger use of water power would conserve another valuable +resource--coal. Of this fuel we have vast resources--"in West +Virginia alone more than Great Britain and Germany combined." But +the supply is not inexhaustible and we are mining it and using it +in an extravagant manner. The loss here is not merely of heat and +power and light, but of many valuable products of coal, including +dyes, ammonia, vaseline, and many others. + +DESTRUCTION BY FLOODS + +Floods are increasing in the United States. This is due chiefly to +the destruction of our forests by wasteful lumbering and by fire. +In forested areas the ground absorbs the rainfall more easily, +while in areas barren of trees and other vegetation it runs off +the surface. The destruction of the forests, therefore, involves +not only the loss of the timber, but also the loss caused by the +floods, including the washing away of the soil. + +THE FOREST RESERVES + +In 1891 Congress authorized the President to establish "forest +reserves," the first to be created being the "Yellowstone Park +Timberland Reserve." From time to time new reserves were +established, and in 1907 the name was changed to the National +Forests. In 1917, more than 176 million acres were included within +the National Forest boundaries, 21 million acres of which, +however, belonged to private owners. They are administered by the +Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, at the head of +which is the Chief Forester. They are grouped in seven districts +with a district forester in charge of each. Over each of the 150 +forests in the seven districts there is a forest supervisor; and +each forest is further subdivided into ranger districts under +district rangers who not only look after timber sales and the use +of the forests generally, but also "help build roads, trails, +bridges, telephone lines, and other permanent improvements." + +A ranger must naturally be sound in body, for he is called upon to +work for long periods in all kinds of weather. He must also know +how to pack supplies and find food for himself and his horse in a +country where it is often scarce. Besides a written test, +prospective rangers are examined in compass surveying, timber +work, and the handling of horses. [Footnote: "Government Forest +Work," Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, p. 15.] + +There are also employed in the Forests great numbers of logging +engineers, lumbermen, scalers, planting assistants, guards, and +others. In the great war, the Forest Service raised two regiments +of men who went to France to assist in the various kinds of +forestry work necessitated by the war. + +WORK OF THE FOREST SERVICE + +The purpose of the Forest Service is to secure the use of the +forests "in such a way that they will yield all their resources to +the fullest extent without exhausting them, for the benefit +primarily of the home builder. The controlling policy is serving +the public while conserving the forests." [Footnote: "The Status +of Forestry in the United States," Forest Service Circular 167, +1909, p. 5.] Timber is cut and sold, but always with a view to +developing future growth. The forests are protected against fire. +Burned-over areas are reforested by planting. Water power sites +are protected. The freest possible use of forest pasture land is +permitted, but under such regulations as to prevent injury to the +forests and the denudation of the land by overgrazing. In 1915, +nine million cattle, horses, sheep, and goats were pastured in the +forests. In 1916 it was said that "more than 20 million dollars +will probably be spent in the next ten years in building good +roads in the National Forests." [Footnote 2: "Opening up the +National Forests by Road Building," YEAR BOOK of the Department of +Agriculture, 1916. Also reprinted in separate Leaflet No. 696.] + +WASTE OF TIMBER RESOURCES + +But our timber resources are not all in the National Forests, and +the waste continues to an appalling extent. + +With a total annual cut of 40,000,000,000 feet, board-measure, of +merchantable lumber, another 70,000,000,000 feet are wasted in the +field and at the mill. In the yellow-pine belt the values in +rosin, turpentine, ethyl alcohol, pine oil, tar, charcoal, and +paper stock lost in the waste are three or four times the value of +the lumber produced. Enough yellow-pine pulp-wood is consumed in +burners, or left to rot, to make double the total tonnage of paper +produced in the United States. + +But the wastes in lumbering, colossal though they are in absolute +amount, are trivial compared to the losses which our estate has +suffered, and still endures, from forest fires. The French +properly regard as a national calamity the destruction of perhaps +a thousand square miles of their fine forests by German shells. +And yet the photographs that they show of this wreck and utter +demolition may be reproduced indefinitely on 10,000,000 acres of +our forest lands swept each year by equally devastating fire for +which our own people are responsible. You have doubtless already +forgotten that forest fire which last autumn, in Minnesota, burned +over an area half as large again as Massachusetts, destroying more +than twenty-five towns, killing 400 people, and leaving 13,000 +homeless. [Footnote: "Developing the Estate," ATLANTIC MONTHLY, +March, 1919, pp. 384-385.] + +The nation has been defrauded of a great deal of wealth in timber +by speculators who have taken advantage of the homestead laws. + +Single tracts of 160 acres often have a value for the timber alone +of $20,000 ... Lands acquired ... under the guise of the homestead +law are to-day in the hands of lumber companies who promptly +purchased them from the settlers as soon as the title passed, and +are either reserving them for later cutting or are holding the +land itself after cutting for from $40 to $60 an acre, or even +more--a speculative process which effectively prevents the +possibility of men of small means acquiring and establishing homes +there. [Footnote 2: "The National Forests and the Farmer," in YEAR +BOOK, Department of Agriculture, 1914, p. 70.] + +To prevent this sort of thing, the government now sells the timber +and the land separately, withholding from agricultural entry +heavily timbered land until the timber is cut off. + +In the Kaniksy National Forest, in Idaho and Washington, timber +sales have been made to include much of the remaining agricultural +timberland. Within eight years fully 10,000 acres of land will be +made available for settlement. Permanent homes will be established +and there will be available for the use of the communities +approximately $225,000 for roads and schools, their share of the +proceeds from the sale of the timber. [Footnote 3: IBID., p. 71.] + +STATE FORESTS + +Besides the National Forests, there are more than 4,000,000 acres +of STATE FORESTS. + +Twenty-four states have forestry departments, sometimes under a +state board or a commission, sometimes under the control of a +single state forester, as in Massachusetts and Virginia. In New +York, New Jersey, and Wisconsin the state forestry is a part of +the work of a general "conservation commission." In Connecticut it +is centered in the state agricultural experiment station, and in +Texas in the agricultural college. In South Dakota the state +forester is under the "commissioner of schools and public lands." +So there is great variety in the organization of forestry work, +and great variation in the amount and kind of attention given to +it. + +PRIVATELY OWNED TIMBERLANDS + +The difference between the number of states having state forests +and the number having forestry departments is due to the fact that +the public forests embrace only a small part of the timbered land +of a state. It will be noted from the table on page 225 that only +one southern state (North Carolina; two if Maryland is counted) +has state forests. Six of them (eight with Maryland and Virginia) +have state forestry departments. More attention is now being given +to forest preservation and use in the South than these facts +indicate, because of cooperation between state and national +governments, chiefly through the county agents. Such cooperation +also exists in the northern states. The map on page 242 shows +cooperation for fire protection in New Hampshire. + +VOLUNTARY PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATIONS + +The conservation of our forest resources requires cooperation on +the part of citizens. In many states there are "timberland owners' +fire protective associations," in 1917 about fifty of them. There +is an American Forestry Association that publishes a magazine +devoted to forestry, AMERICAN FORESTRY; a Society of American +Foresters; The Camp Fire Club of America, with a committee on +conservation of forests and wild life. Besides, there is a +considerable number of local associations with similar purposes. + +EROSION + +It is not always realized how important to our welfare the forests +are, especially from the point of view of agricultural production. +A very large part of the timbered area of the United States is in +small woodlands on privately owned farms. Not only are the timber +resources themselves of great value, but the relation of woodland +to agriculture is very close, especially in its effect upon soil +erosion. + +Altogether it has been estimated that erosion is responsible for +an annual loss in this country of approximately $100,000,000. To +the farmer it means money out of pocket from start to finish. It +impairs the fertility and decreases the productivity of his land, +and may even ruin it altogether; it renders irrigation more +difficult and more costly; by reducing the possibilities of cheap +water power development it tends to keep up the price and check +the more extended use of electricity; and by interfering with +navigation it helps to prevent the development of a comprehensive +system of cheap inland water transportation. But the farmer is not +the only sufferer. The entire community is directly affected by +the loss and is justified in taking heroic measures to remedy the +evil. + +If the problem is to be solved we must cease to accelerate surface +run-off by burning the forests and brush fields, overgrazing the +range, clearing steep slopes for agriculture, and practicing +antiquated methods of cultivation. On the contrary, the farmer, +the forester, and the stockman must cooperate in seeing that the +land is so used that surface run-off, particularly at the higher +elevations, is reduced to a minimum. + +Children in particular should have their interest actively aroused +and their support enlisted. In one state, "gully clubs" have been +organized by the state forester. These are composed largely of +school children who take an active part in the work of gully +reclamation and particularly in finding and checking incipient +gullies before it is too late. Why could not such organizations as +boy scouts, girl scouts, and campfire girls be used in the same +way? [Footnote: "Farms, Forests, and Erosion," YEAR BOOK of the +Department of Agriculture, 1916, pp. 107-134.] + +MINERAL RESOURCES + +Soil, water, and forests are only a few of the rich natural +resources of our country, although they are among the most +important. Great as the mineral production of our country now is, +we have only begun to open the mineral storehouse. On the other +hand, we have been extremely wasteful of some of our minerals, as +in the case of natural gas, oil, and coal. The war has done more, +perhaps, than anything else to open our eyes to our mineral wealth +and to convict us of our wastefulness in the past. In the light of +what it has shown us we should redouble our efforts to conserve +our resources. Our government has been gradually developing a +program of conservation which we should help to make effective. At +the end of this chapter will be found references to interesting +accounts of our national wealth, and of what the government is +doing to conserve it in other directions than those described in +this chapter. Many of these references are to publications issued +by the government itself, which can be obtained for the asking. + +Investigate and report on. + +Losses in your state from periodic floods. Measures adopted or +proposed to control them. + +The by products of coal and of petroleum. + +The Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. + +A description of your state forests (if any). + +Forestry in your own state, public and private. + +Losses from forest fires in your state. + +The life of a forest ranger. + +The use of the farm woodlot in your locality. + +The extent and effects of soil erosion in your locality or state. +Measures taken to prevent it. + +The feasibility of "gully clubs" in your locality. + +The mineral resources of your state. Uses in war and peace. + +Game laws of your state. + +READINGS + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series A: Lesson 13, The United States Food Administration. + Lesson 14, Substitute Foods. + +Series B: Lesson 5, Saving the soil. + Lesson 6, Making dyes from coal tar. + Lesson 9, How men made heat to work. + Lesson 13, The Department of the Interior. + +Series C: Lesson 4, Petroleum and its uses. + Lesson 5, Conservation as exemplified by irrigation projects. + Lesson 6, Checking waste in the production and use of coal. + Lesson 10, Iron and steel. + Lesson 14, The United States Fuel Administration. + Lesson 16, The Commercial Economy Board of the Council + of National Defense. + +Reports of your State Agricultural College and Experiment Station, +and of your State Geologist and other officers having to do with +the natural resources of your state. + +Annual Reports of the Secretary of the Interior. That for 1915 +(pp. 1-30) contains an interesting review of our natural resources +and their use; also (pp. 151-209) a comprehensive and interesting +discussion of our mineral resources and their development. That +for 1918 contains an account of the plan for land reclamation by +and for soldiers. + +Publications of the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Mines, and +the Reclamation Service (all in the Department of the Interior), +and of the Bureau of Fisheries (Department of Commerce). + +Publications of the Forestry Service (Department of Agriculture). + +Among the numerous publications of the Department of Agriculture +may be mentioned: + +Farmers' Bulletin 340(Declaration of Governors for the +conservation of natural resources). + +The National Forests and the farmer, YEAR BOOK 1914, 65-88. + +Importance of developing our natural resources of potash, YEAR +BOOK 1916, pp. 301-310. + +Agriculture and Government reclamation projects, YEAR BOOK 1916, +177-198. + +Farms, forests, and erosion, YEAR BOOK 1916, 107-134. + +The farm woodlot problem, YEAR BOOK 1914, 439-456. + +Economy of farm drainage, YEAR BOOK 1914, 245-256. + +Economic waste from soil erosion, YEAR BOOK 1913, 207-220. + +Unprofitable acres, YEAR BOOK 1915, 147-154. + +Consult "Guide to United States Government Publications," U.S. +Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1918, No. 2; also, "The Federal +Executive Departments as Sources of Information," U.S. Bureau of +Education Bulletin, 1919, No. 74. + +Report of the National Conservation Commission (1909), Senate +Document 676, 60th Congress, 2nd Session. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND PROPERTY RIGHTS + +DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY + + +There is nothing more discouraging than to have the product of +one's labor swept away by disaster. The farmer who has every +prospect of a bumper crop after a hard season's work may have his +hope dashed by smut in his grain, or by a visitation of +grasshoppers, or by storm and flood. Cholera may carry off his +hogs, or hoof-and-mouth disease his cattle. Rats and other rodents +may eat his grain. Fire may destroy his barn or his home. The +thief may steal his pocketbook or his automobile. His investments +may prove unfortunate, or be swept away by somebody's bad +management or fraud. Some thoughtless boys or deliberate vandals +may ruin in a few minutes a beautiful lawn or trees that have +taken years to grow and have involved great expense and effort. + +THE NATIONAL LOSS FROM PROPERTY DESTRUCTION + +The individual's loss is also a loss to the community. It is +reported by the Department of Agriculture that nearly $800,000,000 +damage was done to crops by insects in a single year. Animal +diseases cause a direct loss to our country estimated at +$212,000,000 annually. Hog cholera alone costs $75,000,000 a year. +Smut destroys more than $50,000,000 a year in cereals. Food and +feed products to the value of $150,000,000 a year are destroyed by +prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and other rodents. It is said that +prairie dogs often take half the pasturage of western cattle +ranges. It is estimated that the killing of wolves, coyotes, +mountain lions, bobcats, and lynxes saved more than $2,000,000 +worth of livestock in 1918. Floods have destroyed $100,000,000 in +property in the Mississippi Valley alone. + +The loss from fire in the United States is said to equal the value +of our total product of gold, silver, copper, and petroleum. + +The buildings consumed by fire in 1914, if placed on lots of 65 +feet frontage, would line both sides of a street extending from +New York to Chicago. A person journeying along this street of +desolation would pass in every thousand feet a ruin from which an +injured person was taken. At every three fourths of a mile in this +journey he would encounter the charred remains of a human being +who has been burned to death. [Footnote: "The Fire Tax and Waste +of Structural Materials in the United States," Bulletin 814, U. S. +Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.] + +THE SERVICE OF GOVERMENT + +Protection against loss of property is one of the chief services +performed for us by our government. We have already noted in +Chapter XII what a great deal of work both the national and state +governments are doing to prevent loss of crops and of livestock +from disease, insects, and other causes. What this may mean to the +individual farmer and to the country is suggested by the case of a +farmer who had hundreds of acres of corn destroyed in some manner +unknown to him. A single visit from a representative of the +Department of Agriculture showed him the cause of the trouble, the +corn rootworm, and how it could be eradicated by a simple rotation +of crops. The farmer said that this knowledge would save him +$10,000 a year. + +LEADERSHIP AND COOPERATION + +The state and national governments spend a great deal of money in +equipping experimental laboratories and employing scientists to +seek out these enemies of the farmer and of the nation, to find +methods of destroying them or counteracting their effects, and to +advise the farmer how he may protect himself and his neighbors. +While the government provides leadership in these matters, it +depends upon the cooperation of the people to get results, as we +have seen in so many cases. A farmer may destroy all the rats, or +ground squirrels, or prairie dogs on his place, but the trouble +will be repeated unless there is community cooperation. The same +thing is true of animal and plant diseases, insect enemies, and so +on. + +Investigate and report on: + +Further facts regarding losses to farmers of the United States due +to insect and bird enemies, predatory animals, animal and plant +diseases. + +Similar losses in your own state. + +Estimated losses of individual farmers in your locality from any +of these causes. + +The value of insect-eating birds as property savers. + +Campaigns against rabbits and prairie dogs in the West. + +Bounties on wolves and other predatory animals in your state. + +The work of your state experiment station to prevent loss of +property. + +NATIONAL COOPERATION FOR FLOOD PREVENTION + +Some kinds of protection require effort beyond the powers of +individual citizens, or even of combined citizen action. This is +the case with flood protection. Millions of dollars in property +have been destroyed, thousands of lives lost, and untold suffering +caused by the periodic recurrence of floods in certain sections of +the country, as in the lower Mississippi Valley, or as in Ohio, a +few years ago. The individual farmer has some responsibility for +such floods, because by looking after his own drainage and +preserving his own timberland he may help decrease the amount of +water that flows into the streams and ultimately causes such havoc +farther down the valley. But such efforts are helpful only in +connection, with the larger efforts of the government. Even state +governments cannot alone control the floods, because the waters +that cause damage in Louisiana and Mississippi come from the +states along the entire course of the Mississippi River and its +tributaries. Moreover, the destruction caused in Louisiana or any +other state is a loss to the entire nation. The control of floods +requires the combined efforts of national and state governments, +as well as of local communities and individuals. + +Levees have been built along some of our rivers that are subject +to flood, notably the lower Mississippi, where the work has been +done by the joint action of the states affected, through their +local levee boards and their state boards of engineers, and the +United States Mississippi River Commission. The United States +government has spent large sums for river improvements, but there +is a general feeling that the money has not always been wisely +spent. At all events the work has been restricted to navigable +streams under the power of the national government to regulate +interstate commerce. Recently, however, the President has approved +a law passed by Congress appropriating $45,000,000 for the control +of the floods of the Mississippi by improvements from the +headwaters of the river to the mouth of the Ohio. The law also +includes the appropriation of $5,000,000 for the protection of the +Sacramento Valley in California. This law was passed under the +power given to Congress by the Constitution "to lay and collect +taxes...for the common defense and general welfare of the United +States" (Art. I, sec. 8, clause i). + +WORK OF THE UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU + +Great saving of property has been effected by the United States +Weather Bureau. The work of this Bureau is wonderful, but it is +not mysterious. Just as the movements of a ship or of a railroad +train may be reported day by day, and hour by hour, by telegraph, +so the appearance and movement of a storm center or of a cold wave +or of a flood are reported from a multitude of observing stations. +There are central weather-forecasting stations at Chicago, New +Orleans, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Washington, +D.C. Weather forecasts are made up at these points from +observations telegraphed in from observing stations, and within +two hours are telegraphed to about 1600 distributing stations, +from which they are further distributed to about 90,000 mail +addresses daily, to all newspapers, and are made available to +5,500,00 x3 telephone subscribers. A farmer may call central by +telephone and learn with remarkable certainty what the weather for +twenty-four hours will be, except in the case of local thunder +showers which may drench his fields while passing by those of his +neighbor. + +"It may be said without exaggeration that the San Francisco office +of the Weather Bureau has saved to the citrus fruit growers of +California more money within the last five years than the annual +appropriation for the entire Bureau during a period of twenty +years." "In the citrus fruit districts of California it is +reported that fruit to the value of $14,000,000 was saved... +during one cold wave." "The value of the orange bloom, vegetables, +and strawberries protected and saved on a single night in a +limited district in Florida...was reported at over $100,000." "The +warnings issued for a single cold wave... resulted in saving over +$3,500,000 through the protection of property." "Signals displayed +for a single hurricane are known to have detained in port on our +Atlantic coast vessels valued with their cargoes at over +$30,000,000." Flood warnings are sent in from about 60 centers +along our rivers, enabling farmers to remove their cattle from +bottom lands, to save their crops when they are ready for cutting, +and otherwise to determine their farming operations. They are also +of the greatest service to railroads, business men, and home +owners, in cities. These are but a few illustrations of the +services performed by the Weather Bureau. + +Investigate and report on: + +The building of levees in your state. Where, by whom, their value. + +The amount of money spent in your state for river improvement (or +harbor improvement). + +How the Weather Bureau forecasts the weather, storms, floods. + +How to read a weather map. + +Experiences of individual farmers of their locality with regard to +benefits derived from the Weather Bureau. + +How a merchant in your town may be benefited by the Weather +Bureau. + +The losses in your state and locale from frost. + +Preventable Losses + +A great deal of the property loss referred to is due to causes for +which we are not responsible, such as storms, the depredations of +insects, and epidemics of animal disease. But some of it is due to +our own carelessness. It was said on page 176 that wastefulness is +our chief national sin. Carelessness is the twin sister of +wastefulness; they go hand in hand. Enormous waste is caused by +fire, and most fires are due to carelessness--carelessness in +handling matches, in the use of oil stoves, in accumulations of +rubbish, in disposing of hot ashes, in smoking where there are +inflammable materials. + +Fire Protection in Cities + +In cities and towns the safety of our own property from fire is +largely dependent upon the care of others. If our neighbor is +careless, our property as well as his may be destroyed. Under such +circumstances it is necessary to have rules to regulate conduct +for the common safety. The materials with which we may build, the +thickness of our walls, the construction of our flues, the storage +of explosive or inflammable materials, the disposal of rubbish and +ashes, and many other things, are regulated by law. This is +cooperation for fire prevention. Much money is also spent by +cities for fire protection, including water supply and organized +fire departments. + +FIRE PROTECTION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES + +Where people live widely separated from one another, as in rural +communities, such regulations are less necessary and organized +fire protection is less easy to afford. A farmer's property may be +destroyed by fire from a spark from a passing locomotive, or from +the camp of a careless hunter in the adjoining woods. There may be +state laws to control such cases. But in the main, if his property +burns it is due to the carelessness of some one who lives on the +premises, and he is dependent upon his own efforts to control the +fire. Improved farm water supply with adequate pumping facilities, +the telephone by which neighbors may be summoned, and the +automobile by which help may quickly be brought, have increased +the farmer's safety; but his chief safeguard is the exercise of +care by all who live on the farm at every point where a fire might +possibly be started. + +FIRE INSURANCE + +Fire insurance is a means of reducing the fire loss of individual +property owners by a form of cooperation. Insurance companies, +operating under state laws, sell insurance to property owners. The +latter pay a small premium for the protection afforded. From the +funds produced by the premiums and the interest on their +investment, the occasional losses of individuals are paid. This +does not prevent the destruction of the property, but it +distributes the loss among thousands of people, perhaps in all +parts of the country. + +FARMERS' COOPERATIVE INSURANCE + +There are in the United States about 2000 FARMERS' COOPERATIVE +FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES, carrying insurance amounting to more +than 5 billion dollars. These companies are associations of +farmers who elect their own directors and manage their own +insurance business. They provide insurance at a much lower rate +than the ordinary commercial insurance companies. A usual +provision of the laws under which these cooperative companies +operate is that no member may insure his property for its full +value. His neighbors will help him bear his loss, but will not +bear it all. This has the effect of causing him to exercise +greater care to prevent fire on his premises. For this reason +insurance does reduce the actual fire loss to some extent. +Property may also be insured against loss from storm and flood. + +Investigate and report on: + +Fire losses in your community in a year. + +Causes of fires in your community last year. Number that were +preventable. + +Precautions against fire in your home and school. + +Fire preventive regulations in your community. + +Cost of fire prevention in your community. + +Improved means of fire prevention in country districts. + +How fire insurance works. + +Cooperative fire insurance companies in your state. + +Storm insurance in your locality. + +POLICE PROTECTION + +All states have laws to protect their citizens against the "ill- +mannered" who do not respect property rights--thieves, burglars, +highwaymen, vandals, sharpers, and others. The enforcement of +these laws is left largely in the hands of local community +officers. Cities have police departments, with large numbers of +patrolmen and detectives whose business it is not only to arrest +violators of the law after the violation has taken place, but also +by their vigilance to prevent the violation from occurring. + +RURAL POLICE PROTECTION + +The state laws against the violation of property rights apply to +rural communities as well as to cities, and rural communities have +officers for their enforcement--the constable in townships, the +sheriff and his deputies in counties. Where the population is +small and widely scattered, as in a rural township or county, +about all the officers can do is to arrest law violators after the +commission of the unlawful act, if they can be found. The officers +are too few to watch isolated and remote property, and in case of +serious disturbance, such as a riot, they are too few to handle +the situation effectively. Rural communities and many small +industrial or mining communities do not always have the protection +they need against lawlessness. In such cases the tendency is +sometimes for the people to "take the law in their own hands." In +times of labor trouble mining companies and other industrial +corporations have sometimes organized their own police. Such +practice is dangerous, for the enforcement of law should be in the +hands of the state, and not in the hands of an interested party. +In early days on the frontier, in mining and lumber camps, +"vigilance committees" were common; and even now, in various +localities, we hear too frequently of "lynching parties," which +are as lawless as the original offenders against the law, and tend +to create a disrespect for law. + +And yet disrespect for law may also result from failure on the +part of the community to enforce the law through regular agencies, +from failure of officers to apprehend offenders promptly, or of +courts to mete out justice promptly and impartially. + +STATE POLICE Canada has been more efficient than the United States +in affording protection to remote and rural communities, by means +of her national mounted police. "The isolated farmer and his wife +slept securely in their sod hovel beyond the frontier, because +they knew that a brave and swift corps of vigilant young athletes ... +kept sleepless vigil. Life and property were secure ... ." +[Footnote: C.R. Henderson, "Rural Police," ANNALS American Academy +of Political and Social Science, 1912, p. 228.] In our own country +Texas has her "rangers" who protect her borders against raids; but +the best example of rural policing in the United States is in +Pennsylvania, where there is a well-organized state police, or +"constabulary," which has many times proved its efficiency in +protecting remote rural communities and homes, in bringing +criminals to justice, and in quelling riots in mining centers. + +VANDALISM + +A great deal of property is destroyed or injured by VANDALS. The +original Vandals were a tribe of Germanic peoples who invaded +southern and western Europe in the Middle Ages, and who were noted +for their destructiveness of the beautiful buildings and other +evidences of Roman civilization. There seem to be vandals in +almost every community, and sometimes they seem to be especially +numerous in small communities, perhaps because of the lack of +police protection. Sometimes vandalism is wanton,--that is, it +results from an apparent love of being destructive. Most often it +is purely thoughtless. Few people would knowingly injure the +property of another if they would stop to think of their feelings +if another should injure THEIR property. It is a case of "bad +manners." Moreover, it is not a "square deal" to injure another's +property while expecting one's own property to be secure. When +vandalism occurs in a community it creates a general feeling of +insecurity and destroys the sense of freedom. + +PUBLIC PROPERTY is often more likely to suffer from vandalism than +private property. Some people will mar the walls of public +buildings, or make their floors filthy with expectoration, when +they would not think of doing so in private buildings. They will +break shrubbery in public parks, or despoil public flower beds, +when they would not think of entering private premises for such +purpose. There seems to be a feeling that public property belongs +to no one, or else that, since it is public, any one is at liberty +to do as he pleases with it. This, of course, is foolish. It is as +if a stockholder in a business corporation should injure or +destroy the corporation property, forgetting that he owned a share +in it and suffered a share of the loss. + +Investigate and report on: + +Organization of police protection in your community. + +Organization of a police department in a large city. + +The Mounted Police of Canada and their work. + +The Texas rangers. + +The state police of Pennsylvania. + +Vigilance committees in frontier towns of former times. + +Why lynching is wrong. + +The promptness with which justice is meted out in the courts of +your state. + +The extent and causes of vandalism in your community. + +Is vandalism justifiable on Halloween? + +Inspect the courthouse and other public buildings in your +community and report as to whether they are disfigured in any way. + +THE SACREDNESS OF PROPERTY RIGHTS + +When a thief or vandal takes or destroys another person's +property, the loss of the property is not the worst thing that +happens, but the attack upon PROPERTY RIGHTS. The right to +security in one's possessions is among the most sacred rights of a +free people, being classed with the right to life, the right of +free speech, the right of petition, the right to freedom of +religion. It is by securing these rights that the law makes us +free. The sacred right to property is as truly violated by one who +steals a nickel as by one who robs a bank of a thousand dollars, +by one who ruins our flower bed as well as by one who burns our +house. The amount has nothing to do with it. The tax which the +English government imposed on tea imported by the American +colonists was not a heavy tax, but the colonists objected because +it was imposed without their consent. + +CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES OF PROPERTY RIGHTS + +The citizens of a free country require protection of their +property rights against infringement by their government as well +as by one another. The Revolutionary War was fought in defense of +this and other rights against violation by the English government. +When the Constitution of the United States was framed, the people +refused to ratify it unless amendments were added guaranteeing +these rights. Thus it was provided that "no soldier shall, in time +of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the +owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by +law" (Amendment III); that "the right of the people to be secure +in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against +unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ..." +(Amendment IV); that "no persons shall be ... deprived of life, +liberty or property, without due process of law; nor shall private +property be taken for public use without just compensation" +(Amendment V. See also Chapter XIV, p. 207). The Constitution also +provides that "no state shall ... pass any ... law impairing the +obligation of contracts" (Art. I, sec. 10, clause I), and in +various other ways protects our property rights. Our state +constitutions contain many similar provisions. Our governments +have the power to take property in the form of taxes, but under +certain restrictions imposed by our constitutions to safeguard the +rights of the people (see Chapter XXIII). + +OUR NATIONAL ARMY + +It is to protect these RIGHTS, rather than property itself, that +communities have their police, that states have their militia, and +that the nation has its army and its navy. Among the chief causes +that led us into war with Germany was the fact that Germany was +violating the property rights of our citizens. While our +Constitution provides for state militia and a national army for +the defense of our rights, property rights included, it has always +been our national policy to maintain as small a standing army as +is consistent with the national safety; and this for the very +reason that a large standing army and a large navy are not only a +great burden of expense, but also, as the founders of our nation +believed, a menace to the liberties of the people and to the peace +of the world. + +THE SERVICE OF THE COURTS + +We have seen that no person may be deprived of property by the +government "without due process of law." This means that the +procedure provided by law must be followed, and that the citizen +whose property is taken may have his side of the case presented, +the value of the property in question appraised by impartial +judges, and so on. It is the business of THE COURTS to see that +justice is done. They inquire into the facts in the case, and +interpret the law bearing on it. The courts are the final +safeguard to our liberties. Our government comprises, therefore, +not only a law-making branch and a law-enforcing branch, but also +a LAW-INTERPRETING, OR JUDICIAL, branch--the courts. + +THE RIGHTS OF ACCUSED PERSONS + +The Constitution guarantees justice to persons accused of +violating the property rights, or other rights of citizens, by +theft, fraud, or otherwise, as well as to the citizen who has been +wronged. "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the +right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the +State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed ... +and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to +be confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsory +process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the +assistance of counsel for his defense" (Amendment VI). "Excessive +bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel +and unusual punishments inflicted" (Amendment VIII). + +Investigate and report on: + +How are property rights guaranteed in your state constitution? in +the national Constitution? + +Read the charges made in the Declaration of Independence against +the King of England with respect to the violation of property +rights. + +"Due process of law." + +The violation of property rights by Germany as a cause for war. + +Are property rights as sacred in time of war as in time of peace? + +What property rights has an American in Mexico? + +What property rights has a Mexican in the United States? + +What became of German property in the United States during the +war? + +The purpose of the courts. + +What courts exist in your community? + +The rights of a person accused of crime. + +READINGS + +In the Year Book of the Department of Agriculture: + +1910, pp. 413-424, Fire prevention and control on the national +forests. + +1913, pp. 75-92, Bringing applied entomology to the farmer. + +1915, pp. 159-172, Animal disease and our food supply. + +1915, pp. 263-272, Recent grasshopper outbreaks and methods of +control. + +1916, pp. 217-226, Suppression of gypsy and brown-tailed moths. + +1916, pp. 267-272, Cooperative work for eradicating citrus canker. + +1916, pp. 381-398, Destroying rodent pests on the farm. + +1918, pp. 303-316, Federal protection of migratory birds. + +Farmers' mutual fire insurance, U.S. Department of Agriculture +Bulletin No. 530; also, Year Book, 1916, pp. 421-434. + +The Weather Bureau (a pamphlet), Government Printing Office, +Washington. Send to the Weather Bureau for list of publications. + +How the Weather Bureau forecasts storms, frosts, and floods, +Office of Information, U.S. Department of Agriculture; reprinted +in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, March 14, 1914. + +Forecasting storms: the Weather Bureau's helpfulness, SUNSET +MAGAZINE, vol. 25, pp. 529-532 (Nov., 1910). + +The Farmer and the Weather Bureau, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, Feb. 18, +1911. + +Doing business by the weather map, WORLD'S WORK, June, 1914. + +Flood control: + +Water Supply Paper 234, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the +Interior, 1919. Write for other publications on this subject. +Also, the Office of the Chief of Engineers, War Department. + +There has been much magazine literature on this subject. + +War and Navy Departments, in the Federal Executive Departments, +Bulletin, 1919, No. 74, U.S. Bureau of Education. + +Dunn, THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN, chap. X. + +Hart, ACTUAL GOVERNMENT, pp. 573-582. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION + +STUDIES OF THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROADS + + +During the years 1910-1915 the Office of Public Roads of the +United States Department of Agriculture made a continuous study, +year by year, of the methods and results of road improvement in +eight selected counties of the United States. [Footnote: +Spotsylvania, Dinwiddie, Lee, and Wise counties in Virginia; +Franklyn County in New York; Dallas County in Alabama; Lauderdale +County in Mississippi; and Manatee County in Florida.] The results +of the investigation are described in Bulletin No. 393 (1916) of +the Department of Agriculture, which is worth sending for and +studying by any school that is interested in the improvement of +the community. + +SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VA + +One of these counties was Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a map of +which is shown on the opposite page. Since the Civil War the +farmland in this county had gradually declined from its prosperous +condition before the war until it was little better than a +wilderness of second-growth timber, valued at from $5 to $15 an +acre. For many months of the year the roads were well-nigh +impassable. There was much wealth in timber, but it could not be +marketed to advantage. The soil was very little cultivated. More +farm products were shipped into Fredericksburg, the only city in +the county, by rail from outside than were shipped out from the +farms of the county. + +MOVEMENT FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT + +Nearly one third of the population of the county lived in +Fredericksburg; but under the law of the state of Virginia the +people of the city could not be taxed for county purposes outside +of the city. Moreover, two of the four districts of the county at +first took little interest in the matter of road improvement, +although they had to use the roads in going to market at +Fredericksburg. Courtland and Chancellor districts, however, were +determined to have better roads, and voted to raise the necessary +money by selling bonds to the amount of $100,000. Three years +later the other two districts, inspired by the success of +Courtland and Chancellor districts, also voted bonds for road +improvement to the amount of $73,000. This debt would of course +have to be paid off by levying taxes upon the people of the +districts. With a tax rate of $1.70 on every hundred dollars' +worth of property, a farmer with a farm assessed at $3000 would +pay a total tax of $51, of which $19.48 would be for the roads. + +COST MUST BE JUSTIFIED + +It is not always easy to convince the people of a community that +it is worth while to spend so much money on their roads. They have +to be shown that the expenditure will in due time pay for itself, +as well as add to the convenience and pleasure of the community. +Too much money spent in costly improvements on roads that are +little used, or in construction that does not stand the traffic +and soon wears out, is of course a bad investment. But the results +in Spotsylvania County, as well as in the seven other counties +studied by the Office of Public Roads, justified the cost. + +STATE AND LOCAL COOPERATION + +The law of Virginia provided that all highway construction in the +state must be supervised by the STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER. He +accordingly appointed an engineer to supervise the work in +Spotsylvania County, the engineer's salary being paid by the +state. The work of construction, however, was under the direction +of a COUNTY BOARD OF PUBLIC ROADS. The board appointed a +superintendent who hired all labor and teams and purchased all +equipment and materials. Three main highways in Courtland and +Chancellor districts, and leading into Fredericksburg, were chosen +for improvement. Within two years more than forty miles of road +were completed, or about 10 per cent of all the roads in the +entire county. + +MONEY FOR REPAIRS + +Roads have to be kept in repair after they are constructed. By +1914 money was needed for this purpose. The farmers objected to +further increase of the tax rate, so it was decided to charge +TOLLS for the use of the improved highways--5 cents for a single +horse and vehicle, 10 cents for two horses and a buggy, 15 cents +for two horses and a wagon, 25 cents for four horses and a wagon, +and from 20 cents to 35 cents for automobiles. More money than was +needed was raised in this way in the first month, and the tolls +were therefore reduced one half. One advantage to the county of +the toll system was that automobilists and others from other +districts, counties, and states would contribute to the upkeep of +the roads. + +EFFECT OF IMPROVEMENTS ON LAND VALUES + +On the roads selected for improvement there were 35 farms +including 5518 acres. In 1910, the average value of these farms, +including buildings, was $14 per acre, and seldom did any one want +to buy land in the neighborhood. But within two years after the +road improvement seven of the 35 farms had been sold, and a large +part of another, as shown in the following: + +In the next two or three years a number of other farms were sold +at similar increased prices, and some farms that had been +abandoned were reoccupied. Large areas of land were cultivated for +the first time since the Civil War. The farmers were, however, +most interested for the time being in their timber wealth, and +between 1909 and 1913 the shipments of forest products from +Fredericksburg increased 78.2 per cent. + +THE AVERAGE HAUL + +Before the improvement of the roads, the average weight of load +for a two-horse team in the winter and spring, when the roads were +bad, was about 1200 pounds; when the roads were dry, about 2400 +pounds. The cost for hauling at this rate averaged, for the year +round, about 30 cents per ton per mile. After the roads were +improved, the average load the year round was 4000 pounds, and the +cost for hauling only 15 cents per ton per mile. + +Investigate and report on: + +Results of road improvement in others of the eight counties +referred to on page 248 (see Bulletin 393, 1916, Department of +Agriculture). + +Procure or make a map of your county showing road improvement. Is +your county well provided with improved roads? + +Do the cities and towns in your county contribute to the +improvement of the country roads? + +Do the people of the rural districts of your county contribute to +the improvement of the streets of the cities and towns? + +Bond issues in your county for road improvement. Meaning of "bond +issues." + +Tax rate in your county for road improvement. + +How is road improvement managed in your county? + +What help does your county get from your state for road +improvement? + +What supervision does your state exercise over road improvement? + +Are there toll roads in your county or state? + +Toll roads were once common in this country. Why have tolls been +generally abandoned? + +Who has charge of bridge construction in your county? + +From what sources does the money come for road repair in your +county? + +What is the cost of hauling on the roads of your county? How does +this cost compare with the cost in neighboring counties and +states? + +Relation of land values in your county to the character of the +roads. + +MONEY VALUE OF GOOD ROADS + +Good roads pay, in dollars and cents, provided they are made of +suitable materials and with due regard to the kind and amount of +traffic they are to carry. They permit of larger loads, and more +loads in a given time; they save wear and tear on horses, harness, +wagons, and automobiles; in the case of automobiles they save +gasoline; they save the time of the farmer; they make possible a +more varied agriculture by making marketing easier; they add to +the value of the land. + +GOOD ROADS AND COMMUNITY LIFE + +But good roads pay in many other ways than in dollars and cents. +In Spotsylvania County, as in other counties investigated at the +same time, the improvement of the roads was followed by a decided +improvement in school attendance. In more than one case it led to +the improvement of the quality of the schools by the consolidation +of a number of poor, one-room schoolhouses into a single larger +school with better equipment and better teachers (see Chapter +XIX). The relation between good roads and good schools is clearly +suggested in one of the illustrations in this chapter. So, also, +good roads increase the ease with which the people of the +community may associate with one another, attend church or +community meetings at the schoolhouse, and enjoy the social life +and entertainment of the neighboring city or village. When the +road is improved, the farmers along the way are more likely to +keep the weeds cut, to repair broken fences or build new ones, and +otherwise to beautify the adjoining premises, which adds both to +the money value of property and to the enjoyment of life. + +ROAD MAKING A COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE + +Road making is necessarily a cooperative enterprise. In the first +place, a public road serves the common interest of the entire +community. The community may, through its government, exercise the +RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN, taking land from adjacent farms for the +purpose of laying out a new road, provided, of course, that the +farmers are paid for it. In the second place, the making of a road +is far too costly and difficult for an individual farmer to +undertake for the benefit he himself would derive from it. It +requires a great deal of labor and a high degree of technical +skill. + +ROAD MAKING A JOB FOR EXPERTS + +It has been quite common for farmers themselves to work on the +roads of their locality--"working out" their road taxes. But roads +so made are seldom very good, unless the work is supervised by +someone trained in the business. Whether a farmer works on the +roads himself or merely pays for having it done, it is to his +advantage to know something about road making. The Department of +Agriculture and the state agricultural colleges now give extension +courses in road making for the benefit of the farmers. It is +reported that in one county of Oklahoma the pupils of forty +different school districts have built more than forty miles of +good roads, of course working under supervision. + +VALUE OF COUNTRY ROADS TO CITIES + +Good country roads are of the greatest importance, not only to the +farmers and rural communities, but also to the people of cities. +The road improvement in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, was of as +much benefit to the people and the business of Fredericksburg as +to the farmers. An excellent illustration of the recognition of +the common interest of city and country in the public roads, and +of effective cooperation in improving them, was given in Chapter +III, page 32, in the case of Christian County, Kentucky. The wide +use of the automobile has done a great deal to awaken the people +of cities to their interest in country roads, and associations and +journals devoted to the interests of automobilists have been +active in advocating the improvement of the public highways. + +GOOD ROADS NOT MERELY OF LOCAL CONCERN + +In Spotsylvania County we saw, also, that the improvement of roads +in two districts was a direct advantage to the farmers of the +other two districts. Carrying this idea further, we shall see that +the roads of one county may be of the greatest importance to other +counties in the state; and those of one state of importance to +other states. The crossties produced from the timber of +Spotsylvania County may be wanted for railroad building in a +distant state. The cotton from the plantations of Tennessee or +Texas is needed at the mills in New England. The wheat of the +great farms of the northwest supplies the whole nation. Most of +the freight carried on the railroads and steamships has at some +time and in some form been hauled in wagons and trucks over +country roads. It is clear, then, that the character of the +highways in any locality is a matter of national interest, and +even of world-wide interest. + +EARLY NATIONAL INTEREST IN ROAD BUILDING + +When our nation was created, the question of highways at once +became very important. The states needed to be bound together, and +the public lands must be settled. The Constitution gave Congress +the power "to establish post offices and post roads," and "to +regulate commerce ... among the several states"; but it was not +clear how far these powers could be exercised for "internal +improvements." Roads and canals were proposed in great numbers. In +1806 Congress authorized the building of the Cumberland Road, +which began at Cumberland, Md., and was finally completed as far +west as Illinois. Road building was, however, left chiefly to the +states and to private enterprise. The Cumberland Road finally +passed under the control of the states through which it ran, and +by them was given into the management of the counties. Many +"turnpikes" were built by private companies, which charged tolls +for their use. + +POOR ROADS IN THE UNITED STATES + +The building of many canals and, later, the coming of railroads +caused interest in public highways to decline, and their building +was left almost wholly to local initiative, where it remained +until very recently. The result is that the United States has had +the poorest roads in the civilized world. Under local management +the cost of public roads fell chiefly upon the farmers, cities +escaping taxation for this purpose, except for their own streets. +A road running across a state might be well kept in some +localities while allowed to run down in others. A community was +reluctant to spend money on a highway only to have the +improvements destroyed by through traffic from neighboring +communities who had no responsibility for maintaining the road. +Local communities could not afford to employ expert officials to +plan and supervise road construction. + +STATE CONTROL OF HIGHWAYS + +Under these conditions the road situation became so bad that +public sentiment was gradually aroused on the subject, and it was +seen that a road was of more than merely local importance. State +control was agitated. New Jersey was the first state to pass a law +placing the highways within the state under state regulation. This +was in 1891. Other states followed New Jersey's example, until by +1914 forty-two states had state highway departments. These differ +greatly from one another in organization, powers, and efficiency. +Unfortunately, "political influence" has entered into road +building and management in many states in such a way as to +interfere with efficiency;--that is, those in charge of roads have +often been chosen for political reasons rather than for their +fitness for the work, and large sums of money have been spent +unwisely, if not dishonestly in some cases. + +RECENT PROGRESS UNDER STATE CONTROL + +In a number of states, STATE HIGHWAYS have been built. These are +wholly state enterprises, paid for and managed by the state. +California has two trunk lines running the entire length of the +state, with branch lines connecting them with the county seats. To +January 1, 1914, Massachusetts had completed more than 1000 miles +of state highways. New York has an extensive system, and Maryland +is another example. But the plan most commonly in use is state aid +and supervision in the construction of roads by counties. This was +the New Jersey plan of 1891. By it, plans for road improvement +with state aid in any county must be approved by the state highway +department, and construction is supervised by state engineers. The +cost is divided between the state and the local community. + +In New Jersey the property owners along the highway, who of course +are most directly benefited, were to pay one-tenth of the cost, +the state one-third, and the county the remainder. In Wisconsin, +the board of county commissioners in each county is required to +plan a "county system" of highways to be a part of the state +system. The cost of each county system is divided equally among +township, county, and state. The work is directed by a county +highway commissioner, but in accordance with plans and +specifications of the state highway commission. In Ohio, a system +of "intercounty highways" is being built, connecting all the +county seats of the state. Counties, towns, and property owners +along the highway must provide an amount equal to that provided by +the state, and the work is under the direction of the state +highway department. + +In Virginia the cost of highway construction is divided equally +between state and local communities; but the counties often accept +from the state the labor of prison convicts instead of money. +Convict labor on the roads is quite common in southern states. + +The money for state aid in highway building is commonly raised by +the sale of bonds by the state. For the maintenance of the roads +after they are built, the proceeds from automobile licenses are +applied. + +Our roads, even in remote rural districts, are of national +importance for the reasons stated on page 259. Moreover, they are +becoming more and more used for the transportation of freight and +passengers over long distances, for which the introduction of the +automobile and the motor truck is responsible. Therefore, national +cooperation is necessary for adequate road improvement. + +WORK OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT + +The work of the national government on behalf of good roads has +heretofore been largely educational and advisory. In 1893 the +Office of Road Inquiry (now the Office of Public Roads) was +created in the United States Department of Agriculture to +investigate methods of road making and management. The results of +its investigations have been published for the benefit of the +country. Advice was given when asked for. Instruction was given +through extension courses (p. 257). Here and there model or +experimental roads were constructed to test new methods or to +serve as object lessons to the localities where they were built. +Good road building has also been greatly stimulated by the +extension of the rural free mail delivery, routes not being +established unless the roads are in reasonably good condition. The +national government has also given to many states public lands +within their borders, the proceeds from which were to be used for +road construction; and a part of the proceeds from the sale of +timber in the national forests is devoted to road building in the +locality. + +FEDERAL AID ROAD ACT + +In 1916, however, Congress passed the law known as the Federal Aid +Road Act. This law places the national government in the same +relation to the states, in the matter of road building, that the +state governments have borne to the counties in granting state +aid. + +The Federal Aid Road Act appropriated 75 million dollars to aid +states in improving their "rural post roads," and 10 million +dollars for the construction and maintenance of roads in the +national forests. Of the 75 million dollars for state aid in +building post roads, 5 million dollars were to be available the +first year, 10 million the second, 15 million the third, and so on +for five years, when the total amount will have been used. The +money is given to the states only on their request, and on +condition that each state shall provide an amount equal to that +received from the national treasury. The money is apportioned +among the states on the basis of area, population, and the extent +of post roads in the state. + +RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATE + +The administration of the law is in the hands of the Office of +Public Roads. The entire country is divided into ten districts, +over each of which is a district engineer. When a state desires +aid from the national government, its highway department must draw +up plans for the improvements proposed and submit them to the +district engineer, who in turn submits them with recommendations +to the Secretary of Agriculture, whose approval they must have. +Having obtained this approval, the work is carried on by the state +as in the case of other roads entirely under state control. + +RESULTS OF FEDERAL AID + +It is too soon yet to tell what the results of this new +cooperative enterprise of the national government will be. But the +first important effect has been to cause the organization of state +highway departments in the few states that did not already have +them, and the reorganization of such departments in the states +where they were weak; for the Federal Aid Road Act provides that +aid may be given to the states only on condition that they have +effective highway departments. The result is that every state in +the Union now has an active highway department, and road +improvement is going on at a rate never before known. + +Investigate and report on: + +The amount of time saved in a year by a farmer in your locality +because of good roads; or lost because of unimproved roads. + +The wear and tear on vehicles and equipment because of unimproved +roads. + +Effect of improved or unimproved roads in your county on school +and church attendance, social life, etc. + +Instances of the exercise of the right of eminent domain in your +county for road improvement. + +Materials used in road making in your county. Relative merits of +different materials as shown by experience in your county. + +Methods of road construction in your county. + +Extension courses in road making by your state agricultural +college. + +The amount of traffic on the roads of your community by non- +residents. + +The sentiment of farmers of your locality with regard to road +improvement. + +Organization of the state highway commission of your state. + +The state highway system of your state. + +History and use of canals in your state (if any). + +Influence of rural mail delivery upon road improvement in your +county. + +The extent to which federal aid for road improvement has been +taken advantage of by your state. + +THE NATION'S INTEREST IN TRANSPORTATION + +Those who live in the most remote rural communities have a vital +interest in the nation's transportation system, including railways +and steamship lines. As we have seen (p. 203), there was the +closest relation between the building of railroads and the opening +of the public lands. The market of the farmer and the source of +his supplies are not merely the neighboring trading center, but in +far distant parts of the country and of the world. Without +railroads, the farmer, the manufacturer, and the city merchant +would alike be helpless. + +GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF RAILROADS + +While our government has at times given direct aid to encourage +the building of railroads, as by the gift of public lands, they +have been developed chiefly by private enterprise. They are owned +by private corporations which do business under charters granted +by the state governments (rarely by the national government) and +regulated by law. Control over them has been exercised chiefly by +the state governments, except in matters affecting interstate +commerce, which falls under the control of Congress. As the parts +of our country have become more closely bound together and +interdependent, largely by the influence of the railroads +themselves, an increasingly large part of commerce has become +"interstate" in character, and railway transportation has become +more and more a national concern. The result is an increasing +control by the national government + +INTERSTATE COMMERCE + +In 1887, Congress created an Interstate Commerce Commission with +power to inquire into the management of the business of "common +carriers," such as railroads, steamship lines, and express +companies. It was later given power to fix rates which such +carriers could charge. Other laws were passed, such as the Sherman +Act, or "Anti-Trust Law," of 1890, which made unlawful any +"contract, combination ... or conspiracy in restraint of trade." +These and other laws checked abuses that characterized railroad +management at that time, but, on the other hand, they are said in +some respects to have hampered the economic and efficient +development of the country's transportation system. The Sherman +Law, for example, absolutely forbade the consolidation of +competing railroad lines under one management, although such +consolidation often makes for efficiency and economy. + +GOVERNMENT RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION IN WAR + +When the United States entered the recent war, the weakness of our +transportation system quickly became apparent, and the need for +the most effective transportation service led the government to +take unusual steps to secure it. The President issued a +proclamation by which, in the exercise of his WAR POWERS, he "took +possession and assumed control of each and every system of +transportation in the United States and the appurtenances +thereof." This meant assuming control over 397,000 miles of +railways owned by 2905 corporations and employing more than +1,700,000 persons. The management of this great transportation +system was intrusted to a Railroad Administration with a Director +General of Railroads at its head. The ownership of these +railroads, however, remained with the private companies, which +were to receive compensation for the use of their property, and +were to receive back the railroads after the war was over. + +ADVANTAGES OF GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT + +The whole purpose of the government in its management of the +railroads was to win the war, the convenience of the public being +a minor consideration. The people cheerfully put up with +inconveniences of travel and with rates that they had not +experienced while the roads were under private management. On the +other hand, there were certain decided advantages in the +management of all railroads as one great system. It meant the +consolidation of competing lines that the law itself prevented the +railway companies from effecting, it meant shortening routes in +many cases, the use of common freight terminals by different +lines, the increase of track facilities and storage areas at +seaport terminals, the selling of passenger tickets good over any +one of several roads running between two points. + +There are those who believe that the railroads should be managed, +or even owned, by the government in time of peace as well as +during war. There are others who believe as strongly in private +ownership and direction. Many of the latter believe, however, that +a more perfect control should be exercised over the privately +owned roads by the government under laws that protect the +interests of the public and that at the same time permit, or even +require, greater cooperation among the roads than has heretofore +existed. Since the war, bills have been introduced in Congress +looking to these ends, and doubtless the experience of the war +will result in an appreciable improvement in our country's railway +transportation system. + +WATER TRANSPORTATION + +In the early days of our nation, rivers were used for +transportation to a large extent, and canals were proposed in +great numbers, some of them being built and carrying a large +amount of traffic. The coming of the railroads caused water +transportation to decline, to the nation's great loss. The war +stimulated the use of our waterways to a considerable extent, and +any scheme for transportation control in the future should provide +for their fullest development as a means of marketing the products +of our farms, forests, mines, and factories. + +There was also a time, in the early part of our history, when our +seaports swarmed with American ships that sailed every sea. Our +shipping afterward declined because other nations built and manned +ships more cheaply than we could do. We allowed these other +nations to carry our commerce. We deplored the fact that our +merchant marine had disappeared and discussed ways and means to +restore it. But all to no purpose, until the great war came; then +we HAD to have ships. + +EFFECT OF WAR UPON OUR MERCHANT MARINE + +When we entered the war we had almost no ships. Congress created +the United States Shipping Board and its Emergency Fleet +Corporation. As a result, and within a year's time, the United +States took rank as the leading shipbuilding nation in the world. +It has more shipyards, more shipways, more ship workers, more +ships under construction, and is building more ships every month +during the war than any other country. Prior to the war the United +States stood a poor third among the shipbuilding nations. Since +August, 1917, more seagoing tonnage has been launched from +American shipyards than was ever launched before in a similar +period anywhere. [Footnote: "Shipping Facts," issued by the U.S. +Shipping Board, September, 1918.] + +Moreover, under the stress of necessity methods of shipbuilding +and operation were developed that ought to make it possible for +the United States to compete successfully in the future with other +nations, even though our workmen and sailors are paid more than +those of other nations. + +The chairman of the shipping board said, "The American community +must think of ships as a local improvement." This means that the +business and welfare of every American community, whether a +seaport or a remote farming community, are dependent upon ships. +By our merchant marine the American farmer and the American +businessman are brought into touch with the remotest parts of the +earth. + +Investigate and report on: + +The service of the railroads to the farmers of your county. To the +merchants of your town. + +The story of the building of the first transcontinental railway. + +State control of railroads in your state. + +Experiences of your community with respect to railroad rate +discrimination. + +The work of the Interstate Commerce Commission. + +The work of the United States Railway Administration during the +war. + +Advantages and disadvantages of government control of railroads +during the war. + +The war powers of the President. + +Arguments for and against government ownership of railroads. + +Electric interurban railways in your county and state. What they +mean to the farmer and to the city resident. + +The work of the United States Coast Survey. + +The history of the American merchant marine. + +The development of the American merchant marine during the recent +war. + +The building of "fabricated ships." + +The life of a sailor to-day, as compared with that of 100 years +ago. + +The dependence of the American farmer upon the merchant marine. + +READINGS + +County reports relating to road construction and improvement. + +Reports of State Highway Commission. + +State management of public roads, YEAR BOOK, U.S. Department of +Agriculture, 1914, pp. 211-226. + +Publications of Office of Public Roads, U.S. Department of +Agriculture. Write also to Superintendent of Documents, Government +Printing Office, Washington, for price list of documents relating +to the subject of roads. + +Farmers' Bulletins relating to marketing and transportation +facilities, U.S. Department of Agriculture. + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series A: Lesson 26, Concentration of control in the railroad +industry. + +Series B: Lesson 27, Good roads. + +Series C: Lesson 25, A seaport as a center of concentration of +population and wealth. + +Lesson 27, Early transportation in the Far West. + +Lesson 28, The first railway across the continent. + +Consult the public library for magazine literature on the subject +of roads, railroads, river transportation, etc. For example, in +the REVIEW OF REVIEWS, February, 1918, there are the following +articles: + +"Uncle Sam Takes the Railroads." + +"The World's Greatest Port" (New York). + +"New York Canals a Transportation Resource." + +"River Navigation--a War Measure." + +Hart, ACTUAL GOVERNMENT, chap. XXVII. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +COMMUNICATION + + +Roads and other means of transportation are important not only as +a means of transporting products, but also as a means of +communication among the members of the community. Team work is +impossible without prompt and effective means of communication. + +Tell what you know about the value of signals in getting team work +in a football or baseball team. + +Discuss the importance of means of communication in conducting +military operations. What means were used for this purpose in our +Army in France? + +How were military movements reported and directed in the +Revolutionary War? + +Andrew Jackson's victory at New Orleans was won a month after the +War of 1812 was officially ended. How did this happen? + +What were some of the methods used by the American Indians to +convey information between distant points? + +LANGUAGE AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION + +One of the most interesting chapters in history is that relating +to the development of means of communication. Language itself is +the most important of these means. It is not altogether clear what +the first steps were in the development of spoken language; but we +know that among uncivilized peoples conversation is aided, and +often largely carried on, by signs made with the hands. Written +language certainly developed from the use of pictures, which were +gradually curtailed into HIEROGLYPHICS, such as were used by the +ancient Egyptians, and finally developed into the ALPHABET, each +letter of which was originally a picture. + +A story is told of a group of American Indians who some years ago +visited an eastern city. They could not make themselves +understood, nor could they understand others, and became very +lonely. They were taken to visit a deaf-and-dumb institution, +where they were quite delighted to find that they could converse +freely by the use of a natural sign language. + +Uncivilized peoples are in the habit of conveying ideas in the +most astonishing ways. For example, among a certain African tribe +the gift of a tooth brush carries a message of affection. These +Africans take great pride in their white teeth, and the tooth +brush carries the message, "As I think of my teeth morning, noon, +and night, so I think often of you." + +To illustrate the development of the alphabet from pictures, our +letter M represents the ears of an owl, which in Egypt was called +MU, and the picture of which, later reduced to the ears, came to +represent the sound of M.. + +EFFECTS OF ILLITERACY AND INABILITY TO USE ENGLISH + +The fascinating story of the development of language cannot be +told here. It is referred to because we are likely to forget what +an important factor it is in making community life possible. +Inability to use a common language prevents intercourse and team +work. Large numbers of men drafted in the American Army were +unable to understand the English language. Between 30,000 and +40,000 illiterates were taken in the first draft and it is said +that there were nearly 700,000 men of draft age in the United +States who could neither read nor write. They could not sign their +names, nor read orders or instructions. They had to be separated +and taught, thus greatly delaying the complete organization of our +available fighting forces. Inability to use a common language is +equally an obstacle in industrial life, for non-English speaking +workmen are unable to understand instructions, or to read signs +and warnings. Many accidents are due to this cause. It is said +that approximately 5 1/2 million of our population above ten years +of age cannot read or write in any language, and that 5 million of +our foreign population cannot use English. An active campaign is +now being conducted to teach English to foreigners and to +eradicate illiteracy. A bill has recently been introduced in +Congress to provide Federal aid for this purpose. + +If the productive labor value of an illiterate is less by only 50 +cents a day than that of an educated man or woman, the country is +losing $825,000,000 a year through illiteracy ... The Federal +Government and the States spend millions of dollars in trying to +give information to the people in rural districts about farming +and home making. Yet 3,700,000, or 10 per cent, of our country +folk can not read or write a word. They can not read a bulletin on +agriculture, a farm paper, a food-pledge card, a liberty-loan +appeal, a newspaper, the Constitution of the United States, or +their Bibles, nor can they keep personal or business accounts. An +uninformed democracy is not a democracy. A people who cannot have +means of access to the mediums of public opinion and to the +messages of the President and the acts of Congress can hardly be +expected to understand the full meaning of this war, to which they +all must contribute in life or property or labor.--SECRETARY +LANE, Annual Report, 1918, p. 30. From letter to the President. + +Ask at home: What is "illiteracy"? What is the difference between +an "illiterate" and a non-English speaking person? + +Debate (or discuss): + +RESOLVED, That ALL persons of sound mind in the United States +should be required by law to attend school until they are able to +speak, read, and write English fluently. + +RESOLVED, That the elimination of illiteracy and the teaching of +English to foreigners should be left wholly to the states without +interference or aid from the national government. + +Why are foreigners required to read sections from the Constitution +of the United States before they receive their "naturalization" +papers? + +What does "knowing how to read" mean? + +Debate: + +RESOLVED, That no native-born American should be permitted to vote +who cannot read intelligently. + +What is being done in your community and in your state to +eradicate illiteracy and to teach English to foreigners? + +THE PRINTING PRESS AND NEWSPAPERS + +Next to language itself, the most important invention for the +communication of ideas is the art of printing. It made possible +the book, the magazine, the newspaper. The writer of this book is +enabled to communicate with boys and girls whom he will never see +by means of the printed page and the pictures which the book +contains. By the same means the ideas of people who lived long ago +have been handed down to us, and the ideas of to-day will be +passed on to later generations. Most wonderful is the modern +newspaper, which daily carries into almost every home of the land +the important happenings in the world during the preceding twenty- +four hours. In cities several editions are printed during the day. +The newspaper enables the merchant to communicate, through +advertisements, with possible buyers, and the farmer and business +man to keep posted regarding crop conditions and market prices. +Most newspapers have special departments for different classes of +readers--a woman's page, a children's column, a page devoted to +sports, another to market conditions. Most of them also have a +department in which individuals may ask questions or express their +own opinions regarding questions of the day. The "local +newspaper," with a circulation that seldom extends far beyond the +county in which it is published, is of the greatest value in +stimulating a community spirit. + +THE RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH + +The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States +provides that: + +Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech or +of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble... + +The right of free speech and of a free press is a very sacred one, +and its maintenance is one of the chief safeguards of democracy. +It is the means by which PUBLIC OPINION is formed and made known; +and public opinion is one of the chief means of control in a +democracy. It controls the conduct of individuals, and it controls +the actions of government. The representatives and leaders of the +people in the government seek constantly to know what public +opinion is, and the public press is one of the chief channels +through which they may find out. On the other hand, leaders and +parties seek to FORM public opinion, to lead the people to think +in certain ways and to support certain ideas. The press affords an +effective means for doing this. + +PROPAGANDA + +It is easy to see that both good leaders and bad leaders may thus +create public opinion, that both good and bad ideas may be spread +through the press. During the war we heard much about German +PROPAGANDA. This means that ideas were systematically spread to +create a public opinion favorable to the German cause. It was done +largely by rumors, springing from no one knows where, and +spreading by word of mouth. But it was also accomplished through +the newspapers, by news items and stories that appeared to be true +and that were published innocently enough in most cases, but that +afterward were found to be false. + +THE DEVELOMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION + +It is not to be supposed that all propaganda is harmful or +dangerous. There is propaganda in good causes, or on both sides of +a disputed question. By this means public opinion is educated. +When the peace conference at Paris proposed a plan for a League of +Nations, it was at once taken up for discussion through the +newspapers and magazines. People who believed in the idea +organized a campaign of PUBLICITY to support the plan and to +create a public opinion for it, while those opposed to it were +equally active in their attempt to create a public opinion against +it. In this way the people became informed regarding the question, +provided they read both sides of the discussion and not one only. +Leaders in the community may conduct propaganda through the +newspapers in behalf of better schools, better roads, woman +suffrage, prohibition, or any other cause. + +The good citizen cannot well get along without the newspaper and +magazine. But he needs to keep in mind the fact that news items +may be in error, and that the opinions expressed by editors and +other writers usually represent the opinions of but a single group +of people, which may be large or small, right or wrong. In most +cases these writers are sincere, but there is always the chance +for error. The intelligent citizen will not base his own opinions +and actions solely on what he reads in ONE paper or magazine or +book, but will seek to understand ALL sides of a question. He is +helped to do this by the great variety of publications available +representing every shade of belief, and by the freedom of speech +and of the press under our system of government. + +THE CONTROL OF FREE SPEECH AND A FREE PRESS + +Freedom of speech and of the press does not mean that a citizen +may always say anything he pleases in public. At no time has one +the right to attack the character of another by false or malicious +statements. This constitutes slander, or libel, and may be +punished by the courts. In time of war freedom of speech and of +the press may be restricted to an extent that would not be +tolerated in time of peace, because if absolute freedom were +permitted information might be made public that would be helpful +to the enemy, and propaganda started that would be dangerous to +the public safety. But even in war time, the people of a democracy +chafe under restrictions upon free speech and a free press, and it +is often a delicate question to determine how far such restriction +is justifiable or wise. + +Make a report on the invention of the printing press. + +Is there more than one "local paper" in your town or county? Do +these local papers take the same position in regard to public +questions? Do you read more than one? + +What is the most influential newspaper in your state (ask at +home)? Why is it so influential? + +What is the difference between a news story and an editorial? + +Ask at home what newspaper editor it was who said, "Go West, young +man." Also find out what you can about his influence as an editor. + +Examine with care the newspapers you take at home and make a list +of their different "departments" or "sections." + +What do you first look for in the newspaper when you read it? Ask +your father and mother and other members of the family what they +first look for. + +What is the value of CARTOONS in the newspaper? Do you study them? +Do they convey a story to you? Make a collection of cartoons that +you think are particularly good, and explain what each means. + +Is any propaganda being conducted now in the newspapers you read? +If so, explain what it is. + +To what extent are newspaper and magazine advertisements useful in +your home? + +POST-OFFICES AND POST-ROADS + +Congress was given power by the Constitution "to establish post- +offices and post-roads." There had been a postal service in the +colonies before the Revolution. During the Revolution Benjamin +Franklin was made Postmaster General, and he made the service as +effective as it could well be made under the conditions that +existed in those times. The plan that he devised was continued +after the Constitution was adopted. In those days mails were sent +from New York to Boston and to Philadelphia two or three times a +week. They were carried on horseback or by stage and by boat. +Sometimes a month was consumed by a trip that can now be made in a +half-day. Postage cost from six cents to twenty-five cents for +each letter, according to the distance it was carried, and had to +be paid in cash in advance. Postage stamps were not introduced +until 1847. Often mail was allowed to accumulate until there was +enough to pay for the trip. The isolation of a remote rural +community can well be imagined where the difficulties of +communication were so great, and where the scarcity of money made +postage an important item. + +RURAL MAIL ROUTES + +In 1918 there were 54,345 post-offices in the United States +managed by the Post-Office Department at Washington, besides +nearly 600 in the Philippines managed by the war Department, and a +few in the Panama Canal Zone. Of the 3030 counties in the United +States, 3008 had rural mail routes aggregating more than a million +miles in extent, serving more than 6 million families, and costing +for operation more than 53 million dollars. This cost, however +amounts to only about $1.90 for each person served, or a little +more than one cent for each piece of mail handled. The aim is to +make the postal service pay for itself, and in 1918 the receipts +exceeded the expenditures by more than 60 million dollars. + +SPECIAL SERVICES OF THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT + +The Post-Office Department not only provides for the +transportation of ordinary mail, but through its post-offices it +sells money orders for the transmission of money safely through +the mails; it operates the parcel post by which merchandise may be +transported, including farm produce of many kinds; it administers +the postal savings system. One of the interesting divisions of the +Post-Office Department is the Division of Dead Letters, to which +is returned all mail that fails to reach its destination. In 1918 +there were returned to the Dead-Letter Division 14,451,953 pieces +of mail. In these "dead letters" there were drafts, checks, money +orders, and loose money, amounting to $4,194,839.68. The failure +of this mail to reach its proper destination is due in very large +measure to carelessness in addressing and to failure to place on +the envelope or package a return address. A great deal of loss and +inconvenience could be avoided, and much labor and expense saved +for the postal service, if every one would see that every piece of +mail sent out is properly addressed and stamped, and has a return +address in the upper left-hand corner. + +TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS + +The efficiency of the postal service depends very largely upon the +means of transportation, from steamship and railway lines down to +the country roads. Nothing else, perhaps, has stimulated the +improvement of roads so much as the rural mail service. It is the +power granted by the Constitution to Congress to establish POST- +roads that enables the Federal government to aid the states in +road improvement. The development of fast mail trains and the +introduction of motor-truck service have been important steps in +the improvement of the postal service in city and country. The +latest development is the transportation of mail by airplane. An +aerial mail route between Washington, D. C., and New York City was +established May 15, 1918, and a round trip daily is now made over +this route, regardless of weather conditions. The flying time from +Washington to New York, with a stop at Philadelphia, averages two +hours and thirty minutes, or one half the time of the fastest +trains. The Post-Office Department is planning an extensive +airplane mail service from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with +various side lines; also to the West Indies, Panama, and South +America. The routes are partially worked out, and trial trips have +been made in some cases, as between New York and Chicago. + +THE TELEGRAPH + +We need only mention the important part played by the telegraph, +the submarine cable, and RADIO-COMMUNICATION, in binding together +our nation and the world as a whole. Without them the modern +newspaper, with its daily news from every corner of the globe, +would be impossible, our cooperation in the great World War would +have been extremely difficult, and the President probably would +not have left the United States to participate in the peace +negotiations at Paris. Although the first telegraph line in the +United States was owned and operated by the government as a part +of the postal service, the telegraph service of the country has +since been in the hands of private corporations; except that +during the war the Post-Office Department took over the management +of the telegraph and the telephone, as the Railroad Administration +took over the transportation lines. + +THE TELEPHONE + +As this chapter is being written, word has come that the Secretary +of the Navy has talked by WIRELESS TELEPHONE with the President of +the United States while the latter was 800 miles out at sea on his +return from France. At the close of the war American aviators were +talking with one another from airplane to airplane, and receiving +orders from the ground, by wireless telephone. These instances +suggest new possibilities of communication in the near future. +Already the ordinary telephone has practically made over our +community life in many particulars. We can hardly estimate its +value in business and home life, in the city or on the farm. There +are about 8000 rural telephone systems in the United States +serving the homes of two million farmers. In 1912, out of seven +hundred and eighteen telephone systems in North Carolina, about +six hundred and fifty were country telephone systems owned and +operated privately by groups of farmers. These included about +20,000 telephones and used approximately 35,000 miles of wire. + +SERVICE OF THE RURAL TELEPHONE To call a neighbor and ask for the +exchange of labor on certain work, as threshing, haying, etc., is +only the work of a moment. To have a definite answer immediately +is often worth much. To be able to 'phone the village storekeeper, +who runs a country delivery, and ask that supplies be sent out is +a great convenience to the housewife. To 'phone the implement +dealer and learn whether he has needed repairs in stock and, if +so, to have them sent out on the next trolley car, if not to ask +him to telegraph the factory to forward them immediately by +express, is a saving of time that often amounts to a large saving +when the planting or harvesting of crops is delayed because of +needed repairs. + +... farm homes have been saved from destruction by fire because of +prompt help secured by word over the telephone; ... valuable +animals have been saved through the early arrival of the +veterinarian who was summoned by 'phone. ... Many an itinerant +sharper's plans have been frustrated. ... The sharper in disgust +turns to other fields where there are no telephones over which to +notify his prospective victims of his game. + +Business appointments, social appointments, discussions of social +and church plans, to say nothing of the mere friendly exchange of +greeting over the telephone have probably compensated every owner +of a rural telephone many times over for the expense of it, if all +business advantages were ignored. + +... At some seasons of the year the general summons to the 'phone +gives notice that central is ready to report the weather bureau's +prognostication for the following day. ... + +[Footnote: "Rural Conveniences," by H. E. Van Norman, in the +ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, +March, 1912] + + The cost of this important aid to community life has been reduced +to a small amount in many rural districts by the organization of +local cooperative telephone companies. + +Ask at home, or have committee interview postmaster: + +How is the postmaster in your post-office chosen? Are all +postmasters chosen in the same way? + +What are first-class, second-class, third-class, and fourth-class +post-offices? + +How are rural mail-carriers chosen? + +What is a "star mail route," and how does it differ from an +ordinary rural route? Are there any "star routes" in your county? + +What constitute first-class, second-class, third-class, and +fourth-class mail? What is the rate of postage on each? + +Has rural mail delivery had the effect of causing road improvement +in your county? If so, give instances. + +From the office of a local newspaper find out about the work of +the Associated Press or similar news agency. + +Why does the work of a newspaper reporter carry with it great +responsibility? + +Who was Samuel F. B. Morse? Who is Alexander Graham Bell? Marconi? + +What particular advantages has the telephone brought to your +community? to your home? + +Is there a cooperative telephone company in your community? If so, +how is it organized? + +If possible, visit a telephone exchange and report on what you +see. + +Write a theme on "Modern means of communication and the growth of +a world community." + +READINGS + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series B: Lesson 10, Telephone and telegraph. + +Series C: Lesson 1, The war and aeroplanes. + Lesson 9, Inventions. + +The development of writing: + +Picture Writing of the American Indians, 10th Annual Report of the +U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1888-1889. This is profusely +illustrated and very interesting. + +The volume may be in the public library. It may be difficult to +obtain, otherwise, unless through a representative in Congress. + +Tylor, E. B., ANTHROPOLOGY, chaps. IV-VII (D. Appleton & Co.), and +EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND, chaps. II-V (Henry Holt & Co.). + +Given, J. L., THE MAKING OF A NEWSPAPER (Henry Holt & Co.). + +Annual Reports of the Postmaster General of the United States. + +Report of the Secretary of the Interior, 1918, pp. 13-24, 29-31, +for a discussion of the necessity of eliminating illiteracy and +teaching English to foreigners. + +There is much magazine literature on this subject. +AMERICANIZATION, a publication issued regularly by the United +States Bureau of Education, is useful in this connection. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +EDUCATION + +DEMOCRACY DEPENDS UPON EDUCATION + + +Both the efficiency and the democracy of a community depend upon +the extent and the kind of education it affords to its people. +Autocratic Germany had a most thorough-going system of education, +but a system that made autocracy possible. The common people were +trained to be efficient workers, and thus to contribute to the +national strength; but they were trained TO SUBMIT to authority, +and not to exercise control over it. The kind of education that +develops leaders was given only to the few. The leaders of the +German people were imposed upon them from above; in the United +States we are supposed to CHOOSE our leaders. In a nation whose +aim is to afford to every citizen an equal opportunity to make the +most of himself and whose people are self-governing, education +must be widespread, it must develop the power of self-direction, +it must train leaders, and it must enable the people to choose +their leaders intelligently. When Governor Berkeley of Virginia +reported to the king of England in 1671, "I thank God there are no +free schools nor printing; and I hope we shall not have these +hundred years," he spoke for the autocratic form of government +which a hundred years later led the colonies to revolt, and which +in 1917 forced the United Stares into a world war. + +GOVERNMENT BY MEANS OF EDUCATION + +In a democracy government must be carried on largely BY MEANS OF +education. There must be trained leadership. And since the aim of +democratic government is to secure team work in public affairs, +the people must have the tools of team work, such as a common +language and other knowledge that makes living and working +together possible; they must have training that will enable them +to contribute effectively to the community's work, and an +intelligent understanding of the community's aims and ideals. And +since government is controlled largely by public opinion, the +people must have an intelligent understanding of the community's +problems. We had abundant illustration during the recent war of +the extent to which our government not only depended upon highly +educated men and women for leadership, but also used educational +methods to secure its ends. + +THE COST OF EDUCATION + +These facts explain why public education is the largest single +item of expense in our government (except in time of war). In 1914 +nearly 600 million dollars were spent for public elementary and +high schools. Some 200 million dollars more were spent for private +elementary and high schools, and for universities, colleges, and +normal schools, some of which are public and some private. + +INEQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL REQIUIREMENTS + +If democracy is to be safe and efficient, every member must have a +reasonable education. Every state now has a compulsory education +law, though these laws vary greatly. In some states every child +must attend school for seven years (7 to 14, or 8 to 15), and in +one state (Maryland) for eight years. In other states the period +is less, sometimes as little as four years. In most of the states +there is an additional period, usually of two years (14 to 16), +during which children must remain in school unless they go to +work. As a rule there are laws that forbid the employment of +children in industry before the age of 14. In some states they may +go to work as soon as they reach the age limit regardless of what +their educational qualifications are; in others they must have +completed the eight grades of the elementary school; in others + +[Editor's Note: Missing text.] + +laws are not well enforced in some states. The facing table shows +the number of children of school age in and out of school in the +several states in 1915-1916. For the country as a whole, 17.4 per +cent of the children of school age were not in school. + +"School terms are so short in many states and compulsory +attendance is so badly enforced that THE SCHOOL LIFE OF THE +AVERAGE PERSON GROWING UP IN RURAL SECTIONS IS ONLY 4.5 SCHOOL +YEARS OF 140 DAYS EACH. In urban communities conditions are +better, but far from satisfactory." [Footnote: Bulletin, 1919, No. +4, U. S. Bureau of Education, "A Manual of Educational +Legislation," p. 6.] + +[PM Note: Leave this page blank. Please do not delete this note] + +The facing table shows the number of days the public schools were +open, the average number of days of attendance by each pupil +enrolled, and the rank of the state in each case, for each state +in the school year 1915-1916. + +Why would it not be more democratic to permit children to attend +school or not as they or their parents wish? + +Discuss the statement that "education makes people free." Compare +this statement with a somewhat similar statement made on page 136, +Chapter XI. + +What is the compulsory school age in your state? + +Is wide variation in the compulsory school age among the different +states a good thing? Why? + +Is the compulsory school law rigidly enforced in your state? How +is it enforced? + +How much of each year must a child spend in school during the +compulsory period in your state? + +Investigate the reasons given by pupils in your community for +leaving school before completing the course, and report. + +What rank does your state hold with respect to length of term? to +average daily attendance of pupils? (See table.) + +What rank does your state hold with respect to number of children +of school age in and out of school? (See table.) + +What is the length of your own school year? Do you think it should +be lengthened? Why? + +Get from your teacher or principal the average daily attendance +for each pupil enrolled in your school; in your county. Do you +think this record could be improved? + +Is there any good reason why the school year should be shorter in +rural communities than in cities? + +It is advocated by many that schools should be open the year +round. What advantages can you see in the plan? Debate the +question. + +THE DISTRICT SCHOOL + +The pioneer family was dependent at first upon its own efforts for +the education of its children. When other families came, a +schoolhouse was built, a teacher employed and the work of teaching +the elements of knowledge was handed over to the school. This was +the origin of the "district school," which is characteristic of +pioneer conditions. As the population grew and local government +was organized, the unit of local government tended to become the +unit for school administration. In New England this was the "town" +or township; in the South it was the county; in the West it was +sometimes the township and sometimes the county, or else a +combination of the two. In a large number of the western states, +however, and in a few of the eastern states, the district school +persists in many rural communities, a relic of pioneer conditions. +It is often felt that it is more democratic for each district to +administer its own school, subject only to the laws of the state. + +Under the district system there is an annual school meeting of the +voters of the district, who vote the school taxes, determine the +length of the school year, and elect a board of education or +school trustees. The trustees look after the school property, +choose the teacher and fix his salary, and in a general way manage +the school business. Each school is independent of all other +schools. + +TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION + +Under the township system all of the schools of the township are +administered by a township board or committee (or by a single +trustee in Indiana) elected by the people of the township. The +chief advantages over the district system are that all the schools +of the township are administered by a single plan, the taxes are +apportioned to the schools according to needs, and pupils may be +transferred from one school to another at convenience. In New +England two or three townships are sometimes united into a "union +district" supervised by a single superintendent. + +COUNTY ORGANIZATION + +Under the county system all the schools of the county are under +the management of a county board and, usually, a county +superintendent. In 29 of the 39 states that have county +superintendents they are elected by the people, in 8 states they +are appointed by the county board, in Delaware they are appointed +by the governor, and in New Jersey by the state commissioner of +education. Election of the county superintendent is losing favor +on the ground that there is less assurance of securing a highly +trained man. The chart on page 293 shows a plan of organization +for county schools proposed to the legislature of South Dakota by +the United States Bureau of Education. + +ADVANTAGES OF SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION + +Among the advantages of the county system are greater economy, +more nearly equal educational opportunity for all children of the +county, and better supervision because of the larger funds +available for this purpose. It is under the county system of +organization that the movement for SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION is +progressing most rapidly. By this is meant the union of a number +of small, poorly equipped schools into a larger, well-graded, and +well equipped school. Its advantages may best be suggested by an +example. + +In Randolph County, Indiana, there were, in 1908, 128 one-room +schools in the open country, with an attendance of from 12 to 60 +pupils doing grade work only, 6 two-room schools in hamlets, with +grade work only; 2 three room schools in villages, with grade work +and two years of high school work with a six months' term; 3 four- +room village schools, with grade work and three years of high +school work with a six months' term; 1 six-room school in a town, +with grade work and four years of high school work with an eight +months' term. + +By consolidation, 113 one-room schools and 4 two-room schools were +supplanted by 20 consolidated schools with two grade teachers; 6 +with four grade teachers, 6 with five grade teachers; 2 with six +grade teachers; and 1 with eight grade teachers--a total of 86 +grade teachers doing the work formerly done by 148 teachers, and +doing it better. Fifteen of the schools have a four-year high +school course with an eight months' term. For the five-year period +preceding consolidation not more than half of the eighth-grade +pupils attended high school; after consolidation, an average of 96 +per cent of the eighth-grade pupils went to high school. + +The pupils are transported to and from school in hacks or motor- +busses heated in winter. The school buildings are equipped with +running water, modern heating and sanitation, telephone, restrooms +for pupils and teachers, gymnasiums and outdoor physical +apparatus, physical training and athletic competition being +carried on under supervision. The courses of study have been +enriched, increased attention is given to vocational work, and +music and art receive attention impossible in the district +schools. Eleven of the schools have orchestras, and concerts are +held which the community as well as the schools attend. There are +auditoriums used for community lectures and concerts, Sunday- +school conventions, community sings, parent-teachers' meetings, +and exhibits of various kinds. + +Report on the following: + +School life in colonial New England; in colonial Virginia. + +The first schools in your own community--length of school term, +attendance, whether private or public, qualifications of teachers, +methods of teaching. + +What the family does for the education of the children that the +school cannot do. What the school does that the family cannot do. + +Organization of the schools in your district, township, county, or +city. + +Advantages of graded schools over ungraded schools. + +Consolidation of schools in your county or state. + +Debate the question: The district school is more democratic than +the county organization. + +Method of selection of the superintendent of your county and town. +Length of term of office. + +Organization, powers, mode of election, etc., of your local board +of education. + +Authority, or lack of authority, of your county superintendent +over the schools of cities and large towns in the county. + +Qualifications prescribed for teachers in your county or town. How +selected. + +How are school books selected? Are they free to pupils? Advantages +and disadvantages of free textbooks. + +Evidence that public education is or is not a matter of common +interest to the people of your community. + +Examples of team work, or lack of it, in your community in the +interest of the schools. + +Are the methods by which school authorities are chosen in your +community calculated to secure the best leadership? + +How the duties relating to the schools are divided between your +school board and the superintendent. Does your board perform any +duties that should be performed by the superintendent, or VICE +VERSA? Explain. + +Parent-teacher organizations in your community and their service. + +DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL + +Public education was long restricted to the elementary school. +High schools were at first private academies designed to prepare +for college the few who wished to continue their education. While +they still continue to give preparation for college, their +development in recent years has been largely for the benefit of +the greater number of boys and girls who do not expect to go to +college. The high school naturally made its first appearance in +cities. It requires more elaborate equipment and more highly +trained teachers, and its cost is at least twice that of +elementary schools. These facts, together with the small and +scattered population of rural communities, have been obstacles to +the development of rural high schools. The consolidated school has +in large measure removed these obstacles, and a high school +education is rapidly becoming as available for rural boys and +girls as for those who live in cities. + +Report on: + +The history of high school development in your community. + +The percentage of pupils in your community who go to high school +after completing the elementary school. + +"What the high school does for my community." + +"My reasons for going (or not going) to high school." + +The cost per pupil in the high school in your community as +compared with that in the elementary school. + +Education must not only be within the reach of every citizen of a +democracy, but it must be of a kind that will fit him to play well +his part as a member of the community. + +EDUCATION FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS + +The public schools now give more attention than formerly to the +physical education and welfare of the pupils (see Chapter XX, pp. +314, 315). The wide prevalence of physical defects disclosed in +the effort to raise an army during the recent war will doubtless +cause still greater emphasis to be placed on this aspect of +education. Physical fitness is the foundation of good citizenship. +Provision for physical education and welfare has found its way +into rural schools more slowly than in city schools, as the +following table shows. But our nation can be neither efficient nor +fully democratic until the physical well-being of all its citizens +is provided for, and the responsibility rests largely with the +public school. + +HEALTH WORK IN CITY AND RURAL SCHOOLS OF THE UNITED STATES + +[Footnote: Adapted from Dr. Thomas D. Wood, in New York TIMES +Magazine, April 2, 1916.] + +EDUCATION FOR VOCATIONAL FITNESS + +It is a part of the business of education to fit every citizen to +earn a living, for every efficient citizen must be self-supporting +and able to contribute effectively to the productive work of the +community. The interdependence of all occupations in modern +industry and the necessity for every worker to be a specialist +make training essential for every worker who is to attain success +for himself and contribute his full share to the community's work. +The war emphasized strongly the nation's dependence upon trained +workers in every field of industry. + +NATIONAL AID FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION + +One of the direct results of war needs was the passage by +Congress, in 1917, of the Smith-Hughes Act, providing for national +aid for vocational instruction for persons over 14 years of age +who have already entered upon, or are preparing to enter, some +trade. The instruction given under the terms of this act must be +of less than college grade. Every state in the Union has met the +conditions imposed by this law. + +The Smith-Hughes Act created a Federal Board for Vocational +Education to consist of the Secretaries of the Departments of +Agriculture, Commerce and Labor, the United States Commissioner of +Education, and three citizens appointed by the President, one to +represent labor interests, one commercial and manufacturing +interests, and the third agricultural interests. The law +appropriates national funds to be given to the state for the +establishment of vocational schools and for the training of +teachers for these schools; but each state must appropriate an +amount equal to that received from the national government. Each +state must also have a board for vocational education, through +which the national board has its dealings with the state. + +BREADTH OF PREPARATION FOR VOCATIONAL LIFE + +The duty of the regular elementary and high schools is not to +cultivate special vocational skills; not to turn out trained +farmers, or mechanics, and so on. But the work of these schools +should be such that their graduates will be better farmers, or +mechanics, or lawyers, or doctors, or engineers, or teachers, than +they would be without it. First of all these schools should +produce workers who are physically fit for the work they enter. +They should educate the hand and the eye along with the brain. +They should cultivate habits of working together, give instruction +regarding the significance of all work in community and national +life, and by every means possible prepare the pupil to make a wise +choice of vocation. Moreover, the schools should provide a breadth +of education that will "transmute days of dreary work into happier +lives." + +MAKING LIFE EDUCATIONAL + +Mr. Herbert Quick in his story of "The Brown Mouse," which is a +plea for better rural schools, says: + +Let us cease thinking so much of agricultural education, and +devote ourselves to educational agriculture. So will the nation be +made strong. + +The life we live, even on the farm, is full of science and +history, civics and economics, arithmetic and geography, poetry +and art. The modern school helps the pupil to find these things in +his daily life and, having found them, to apply them to living for +his profit and enjoyment. For this reason it works largely through +the "home project," boys' and girls' clubs, gardening, and many +other activities. + +A recent writer has said, + +What is the true end of American education? Is it life or a +living? ... Education finds itself face to face with a bigger +thing than life or the getting of a living. It is face to face +with a big enough thing to die for in France, a big enough thing +to go to school for in America ... Neither life nor the getting of +a living, but LIVING TOGETHER, this must be the single PUBLIC end +of a common public education hereafter. [Footnote: D. R. Sharp, +"Patrons of Democracy," in ATLANTIC MONTHLY, November, 1919, p. +650.] + +EDUCATION FOR LIVING TOGETHER + +The more nearly the conditions of living in the school community +correspond to the conditions of living in the community outside of +school, the better the training afforded for living together. In +many schools the spirit and methods of community life prevail, +even to the extent of school government in which the pupils +participate. + +Of this community pupils and teachers are members with certain +common interests. Cooperation is the keynote of the community +life. The realization of this cooperation is seen in the +classrooms, in study halls, in the assembly room, in the +corridors, on the playground. It manifests itself in the method of +preparing and conducting recitations; in the care of school +property; in protecting the rights of younger children; in +maintaining the sanitary conditions of the building and grounds; +in the elimination of cases of "discipline" and of irregularity of +attendance; in the preparation and conduct of opening exercises, +school entertainments, and graduating exercises; in beautifying +the school grounds; in the making of repairs and equipment for +"our school"; in fact, in every aspect of the school life. + +[Footnote: "Civic Education in Elementary Schools," p. 31, United +States Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1915, No. 17.] + +THE SCHOOL AS A COMMUNITY CENTER + +The schoolhouse is becoming more and more the center of community +life. We have noticed how, in Randolph County, Indiana, the +consolidated school building affords a meeting place for all sorts +of community activities. The school law of California provides +that: + +There is hereby established a civic center at each and every +public schoolhouse within the State of California, where the +citizens of the respective public school districts ... may engage +in supervised recreational activities, and where they may meet and +discuss ... any and all subjects and questions which in their +judgment may appertain to the educational, political, economic, +artistic, and moral interests of the respective communities in +which they may reside; Provided, that such use of said public +schoolhouse and grounds for said meetings shall in no wise +interfere with such use and occupancy of said public schoolhouse +and grounds as is now, or hereafter may be, required for the +purpose of said public schools of the State of California. +Investigate and report on the following: + +Provision in your school and in the schools of your state for +health work suggested in the table on page 299. + +Other provisions in your school for the physical well-being of +pupils. + +The work of your school that relates directly to preparation for +earning a living. + +The extent to which a high school can make a farmer. + +The operation of the Smith-Hughes Act in your state and in your +county or town. + +The meaning of the quotation from "The Brown Mouse" on page 301. + +The use of "home projects" by your school. + +The meaning of the statement that the end of public education is +"neither life nor the getting of a living, but living together." + +Differences and similarities between the government of your school +and that of the community in which you live. The wisdom of making +them more alike. + +Different plans of "pupil self-government." (See references.) + +Uses to which the schoolhouses of your community are, or might be, +put. + +Hours per week and weeks per year during which your schoolhouse is +used. + +Economy (or lack of it) in allowing schoolhouses to stand idle +most of the time. + +The community center idea. (See references.) + +Educational work for adults in your community. + +Educational agencies in your community besides schools. + +STATE ORGANIZATION FOR EDUCATION + +The schools of the local community are a part of the state school +system. Education is considered a duty of the state, though it is +performed largely by local agencies. The constitutions of all +states make provision for it. State control and support of +education are necessary if there is to be equality of educational +opportunity for all children of the state. Every state has a +department of education, and in most states each local community +receives a portion of a general state tax for school purposes. The +state departments of education differ widely from one another both +in organization and in the effectiveness of their work. In most +states there is a state board of education, composed sometimes of +certain state officials, including the governor and the state +superintendent of education, sometimes of citizens appointed for +this purpose alone by the governor or (in four states) by the +legislature. In only one state is it elected by popular vote. In +all states there is also a chief educational officer, usually +called state superintendent or commissioner of education or of +public instruction. In several states women hold this position. +The state superintendent is sometimes elected by popular vote, +sometimes appointed by the state board of education or by the +governor. Under the state superintendent there are deputy +superintendents, heads of departments, and supervisors of the +various branches of educational work. The diagram on page 293 +shows a plan of organization proposed for one state by the United +States Bureau of Education. + +RELATION OF STATE TO LOCAL ORGANIZATION + +The extent of the supervision and control exercised by the state +department of education over the schools of the state varies +within wide limits. In some cases it is very little. In many +states there are state courses of study that are followed more or +less closely by local communities. In a number of states the +textbooks used by all schools are selected either by the state +board of education or by a special state textbook commission. In +New York State the examination questions used in all schools are +prepared by the state educational authorities. Some states furnish +text books free, and in a very few the state even prints all +textbooks. It has not been easy to work out a well-balanced plan +of state administration of schools that would ensure a +thoroughgoing education for the entire state, and that would at +the same time leave sufficient freedom to local school authorities +to adjust the work to local needs. + +HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS + +Many of the states support higher educational institutions, such +as state universities and state agricultural colleges, at which +attendance is free for citizens of the state. There are also +special state schools for defectives, such as the blind and the +deaf. + +POLICY OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT TOWARD EDUCATION + +The national government gave its first support to public education +by the Ordinance of 1787 under which the Northwest Territory was +organized. It provided that "religion, morality, and knowledge +being necessary government to good government and the happiness of +mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever +encouraged." As new states were organized, sections of the public +lands were to be reserved for school purposes. Grants of public +land were also made for the establishment of agricultural colleges +and experiment stations. + +THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION + +We have also noted the national cooperation with the states for +agricultural extension work and for vocational education. The +United States Bureau of Education is under the direction of the +United States Commissioner of Education. It has exerted its chief +influence through its investigations of educational methods and +its numerous reports and other publications. It serves as a sort +of educational "clearing house" for local and state school +authorities. One of its chief endeavors has been to increase the +educational opportunities in rural communities. + +Report on the following: + +Provisions of your state constitution with regard to education. + +Cost of public schools per year to your community; your county; +your state. + +How this cost is met in your town or county. Portion paid by the +state. + +Organization of your state department of education. Compare with +the organization of state departments in neighboring states. + +Arguments for and against the method of choosing your state board +of education and your state superintendent. + +Do the rural schools and city schools of your state operate under +the same state supervision? Why? + +Use of state course of study in your school and community. + +Selection of textbooks for your school. + +Advantages and disadvantages of uniform textbooks and course of +study. Of uniform examinations throughout the state. + +Management and support of your state university. + +Qualifications for admission to the state university and state +agricultural college. + +Why you are (or not) going to college. + +The value of the state university or agricultural college to your +state. + +State educational institutions for the blind, the deaf, etc. + +Arguments for and against national control of education. + +Chief provisions of any bill now before Congress for a national +Department of Education. + +READINGS + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series A: Lesson 11, Education as encouraged by industry. + +Series C: Lesson 8, Preventing waste of human beings. + +In Long's AMERICAN PATRIOTIC PROSE: + +Educated men in politics (Grover Cleveland), pp. 255-257. + +The educated man and democratic ideals (Charles E. Hughes), pp. +286-288. + +In Foerster and Pierson's AMERICAN IDEALS: + +The American scholar (R. W. Emerson), pp. 133-155. + +Democracy in education (P. P. Claxton), pp. 156-157. + +Reports of local and state departments of education. + +Publications of the United States Bureau of Education. + +Latest annual report of the U. S. Commissioner of Education. These +annual reports contain excellent summaries of every phase of +education in the United States and in many foreign countries. + +Bulletins. Send to the Bureau for List of Available Publications. +These bulletins relate to every important aspect of education, +school organization and administration, etc. Many of them are of +special application to rural education. + +Teachers of civics will find the following helpful: + +1915, No. 17, Civic education in elementary schools as illustrated +in Indianapolis (Government Printing Office, 5 cents). + +1915, No. 23, The teaching of community civics (Government +Printing Office, 10 cents). + +1916, No. 28, The social studies in secondary education +(Government Printing Office, 10 cents). + +1917, No. 46, The public school system of San Francisco, chapter +on civic education. + +1917, No. 51, Moral values in secondary education. + +1918, No. 15, Educational survey of Elyria, Ohio, chapter on civic +education (Government Printing Office, 30 cents). + +1919, No. 50, Part 3, Civic education in the public school system +of Memphis. Write to the U.S. Bureau of Education for list of +references on pupil self-government. Also write to the School +Citizens' Committee, 2 Wall St., New York City, for material on +the same subject. + +Earle, Alice Morse, CHILD LIFE IN COLONIAL DAYS (Macmillan). + +Dewey, John, THE SCHOOL AND SOCIETY and SCHOOLS OF TO-MORROW. + +Quick, Herbert, THE BROWN MOUSE (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis). + +Foght, H. W., THE RURAL TEACHER AND HIS WORK. + +Jackson, Henry E., A COMMUNITY CENTER--WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO +ORGANIZE IT. Bulletin, 1918, No. 11, U. S. Bureau of Education. + + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE COMMUNITY'S HEALTH + +PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND THE NATIONAL DEFENSE + + +There is nothing else that concerns the community or the nation so +much as the health of its citizens. Of more than three million men +between the ages of 21 and 31 examined for military service in +1918, only about 65 per cent were passed as physically fit to +fight for their country. [Footnote: Public Health Reports, U. S. +Public Health Service, vol. 34, No. 13, p. 633 (March 28, 1919).] + +The remaining 35 per cent were either totally unfit for any kind +of service, or were capable only of the less strenuous activities +connected with warfare. Most of the defects found could have been +remedied, or prevented altogether, if proper care had been taken +in earlier years. + +PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND THE NATION'S INDUSTRY + +The nation loses by this physical unfitness in other ways than in +fighting power. Investigations have shown that wage earners lose +from their work an average of from six to nine days each year on +account of sickness. + +[Footnote 2: Public Health Reports, U. S. Public Health Service, +vol. 34, No. 16, pp. 777-782 (April 18, 1919).] + +The cost to the individual in loss of wages, doctors' bills, and +otherwise, is a serious matter, to say nothing of the absolute +want to which it reduces many families and the suffering entailed. +In addition to this, the country loses the wage earner's +production. Sometimes death brings to the family permanent loss of +income, and to the nation complete loss of the product of the wage +earner's work. The nation spends large sums of money every year in +providing for dependent families and individuals. + +If each of the 38 million wage earners in the United States in +1910 lost 6 days from work in a year, how many days' work would +the nation lose? How many years of work would this amount to? + +At $2.50 a day (is this a high wage?) how much would be lost in +wages in a year? + +Get information regarding the cost of a long case of sickness, +such as typhoid fever, in some family of your acquaintance +(perhaps your own), including doctor's bills, medicines, time lost +from work, etc. + +What would such expense mean to a family living on as low wages as +those mentioned on page 167? + +EDUCATION AND PHYSICAL DEFECTS + +Moreover, the nation loses a great deal (how much cannot be +calculated) from the physical unfitness of many who keep on +working, but who are not fully efficient because of bodily defects +or ailments. We see the results of this even in school. Pupils who +lag behind their mates in their studies are often suffering from +physical defects of which their teachers, and even they +themselves, may be unaware. It may be that they are ill-nourished, +or that they have defective vision, or hearing, or teeth, or that +they sleep in poorly ventilated rooms. The community does not get +its money's worth from its schools if its children are not in +physical condition to profit by them. In a similar manner earning +and productive power are reduced. + +PHYSICAL UNFITNESS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES + +It has usually been assumed that the people in rural districts are +more healthy than those who live in cities; but it has been found +that there is as much physical unfitness there as elsewhere. It is +true that the records of the war department seem to show fewer men +rejected in rural districts as totally unfit for any kind of +military service; but evidence of other kinds has been collected +that indicates that some kinds of disease, at least, and many +physical defects are more prevalent in the country than in the +city. In THE LURE OF THE LAND, Dr. Harvey Wiley makes a comparison +of the death rate from certain diseases in a few states where the +figures are available for both city and country. + +[Footnote: Dr. Harvey Wiley, THE LURE OF THE LAND, Chapter VIII, +"Health on the Farm," pp. 53-60.] + +RURAL AND CITY SCHOOL CHILDREN COMPARED + +Studies have been made of the comparative health of city and rural +school children, which show results in favor of the former. Of +330,179 children examined in New York City 70 percent were found +defective, while of 294,427 examined in 1831 rural districts of +Pennsylvania 75 per cent were defective. The preceding chart shows +the comparative prevalence of health defects among city and +country children. + +Investigate the following: + +Meaning of "vital statistics." Importance of vital statistics to +your community. Where recorded for your county or town. What the +vital statistics of your community for the last year show. + +Causes of deaths in your community for the last year. The +percentage of these deaths that were "preventable." Increase or +decrease of death rate in your community during recent years, in +your state. + +The nature of the prevailing sicknesses in your community during +the last year. Per cent of these that were contagious. List of +contagious diseases in the order of their prevalence. + +Quarantine regulations in your community against contagious +diseases. Extent to which they are observed. Who is responsible +for their observance? For their enforcement? + +Observe condition of sidewalks and other public places with +respect to expectoration. Is there a law on the subject in your +community'? Is it observed or enforced? Who is responsible? +Dangers from expectoration. + +Medical inspection in the schools of your county, town, and state. +If any, its results. Kinds of defects most commonly found. How is +it conducted? Who sends the inspectors? To what extent the homes +of the community cooperate with the schools in getting results +from medical inspection. + +BETTER CONDITIONS IN CITIES DUE TO ORGANIZED TEAM WORK + +We may well ask why ill health and physical defects seem to be +more prevalent in rural communities than in cities. The answer +probably is, simply, that in cities they are PREVENTED more +effectively. The chart on page 313 shows that while the death rate +in New York City was 20.6 per thousand in 1900, it had declined to +14 per thousand in 1914; while that in the rural districts of New +York State remained practically the same during these years (15.5 +per thousand in 1900, 15.3 in 1914). + +This indicates that health conditions in the city were originally +much worse than in the country. They were rapidly improved by +organization for health protection. There is not the occasion, in +rural communities, for the elaborate health-protecting +organization that is now found in all large cities, because the +people in rural communities are not so completely dependent upon +one another nor at the mercy of conditions over which, as +individuals, they have no control. And yet even in rural +communities physical well-being depends largely upon organized +team work. + +SCHOOLS AS AN AGENCY FOR HEALTH CONSERVATION + +Cities have used their school organization to combat physical +defects and weaknesses of pupils, and that is why they make a +better showing than rural communities in such matters as those +shown in the table on page 312. Removing such defects from young +people means a stronger and more efficient adult population ten or +twenty years from now; for these defects are often the causes of +more serious illness in later years. The table on page 299, +Chapter XIX, shows how much behind cities rural communities have +been in the use of their school organization for this purpose. The +encouraging thing is, however, that rural communities are +beginning to find the means to use their schools in this way. The +way has been opened by school consolidation (p. 295), by the +grouping of all the small and isolated schools of a county under a +central county administration (p. 294), by aid from the state, +both in money and in supervision, and by cooperation from the +national government. + +HEALTH EDUCATION FOR ADULTS IN CITIES + +Cities have extended their health-educational work to the adult +population. This takes place in part through the schools also. +Instruction given to children is of course taken home by them. +Visiting nurses employed by the schools visit the homes. Classes +for mothers are conducted at the school in the afternoon or +evening. But more than this, city boards of health, often in +cooperation with the school authorities, conduct educational +campaigns by means of literature distributed to the homes through +school children, by means of evening lectures and moving pictures, +and through the newspapers. + +AGENCIES FOR HEALTH EDUCATION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES + +Means are not wanting for similar work in rural communities. The +homes may be reached by the right kind of instruction in the +schools. The classes or clubs for women conducted by women county +agents may be, and often are, used as means of health instruction. +Public meetings at the "community center" at the schoolhouse may +be devoted at times to public health problems, with lectures, +moving pictures, and discussions. The local newspapers always +afford a channel through which to get matters of this kind before +the people. Local and state boards of health, the United States +Department of Agriculture, and the Public Health Service may and +do use these and other agencies to reach the people. + +RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HOME + +No matter how much machinery for cooperation we may have in our +community, like that described above, it cannot help much unless +every family and every citizen cooperates intelligently. + +In a large city, a small group of men, constituting the city +council, may inaugurate measures which will accomplish sanitary +improvements at thousands of homes; but for the accomplishment of +sanitary improvements at 1000 farm homes at least 1000 persons ... +must be convinced that the sanitary measures are needed, become +informed how to apply them, and be willing to put them into +operation. + +[Footnote: RURAL SANITATION, by L. L. Lumsden, Public Health +Bulletin No. 94, United States Public Health Service, p. 10.] + +THE IMPORTANCE OF PURE AIR + +Pure air is essential to good health. It is not always easy to get +in the crowded living and working conditions of cities. There it +is necessary to regulate these conditions by law, and factories +and tenements are inspected to see that they are properly +ventilated and not overcrowded. In rural communities there is less +excuse for bad air, and the responsibility for it rests more +directly upon the individual, as illustrated on page 112, Chapter +X. + +BAD AIR AND THE SPREAD OF DISEASE + +It might seem that it is nobody's business but our own how we live +in our homes or at our work. But bad air lessens vitality and +nurtures disease. This reduces productive power. Moreover, colds, +influenza, and tuberculosis (of which more than a million people +are constantly sick in the United States), all of which are +nourished in bad air, may be spread by contact, or by food handled +by those who are sick. People who live in bad air at home mingle +with others at church, in moving picture theaters, at school, in +the courtroom, and in other public meeting places, which are +themselves often poorly ventilated. It is strange that court +rooms, where justice is administered, schools where children are +prepared for life, and churches where people worship, are so often +badly ventilated. + +Report on the following: + +Is your schoolroom well ventilated? How do you know? What effect +does poor ventilation have upon your feelings and your work? + +If the law requires school attendance, why should it also require +good ventilation of the school? + +If the ventilation of your school is not good, what may you do +about it? Who is responsible for it? + +Observe and report upon the ventilation of the court rooms, moving +picture theaters, churches, and other meeting places in your +community. + +PURE WATER AND HEALTH + +Cities go to great expense to get an abundant pure-water supply. +It is of the greatest importance in community sanitation Impure +water is one of the chief sources of typhoid fever and other +diseases of the intestines. About 400,000 persons have typhoid +fever every year in the United States, and 30,000 are killed by +it; and it is unnecessary. We have from three to five times as +much typhoid as many European countries have, and for no other +reason than that we are negligent. + +PURE FOOD AND HEALTH + +Pure, clean, wholesome food is equally essential. We need not +dwell upon the importance of the right kinds of food and well- +cooked food. Much illness is caused by "spoiled" foods. Disease +germs may be carried by food as well as by water. Tuberculosis may +be carried by milk, either from diseased cattle, or from victims +of the disease who handle the milk at some point in its progress +from the dairy farm to the home. The death rate among babies is +appalling, especially in cities, because of the use of milk +containing germs of intestinal diseases. Typhoid fever may be +contracted from milk, green vegetables, and oysters from beds +contaminated with sewage. + +The food supply of cities passes through many hands before it +reaches the consumer. At almost every point it is protected by +regulations and inspection. Most of it, however, comes originally +from the farm which is beyond the control of the city authorities. +The producers and handlers of food products in rural districts +therefore owe it not only to themselves but also to their city +neighbors to exercise every possible precaution against the spread +of disease. Such precautions consist in cleanliness in handling +and storing milk, butter, and meats; in the cleansing of milk +receptacles with pure water; in the proper location and +construction of wells; in protecting springs from surface +drainage; in sanitary disposal of sewage and other wastes from the +household; in protection of food against flies. + +SANITATION IN CITIES + +In cities a great deal of attention is given to sanitation. Sewage +is carried off by public sewers. Householders are required to +place garbage in sanitary cans, whence it is collected and +disposed of in such a way as not to pollute the soil. Ashes and +refuse are carried away from homes and shops, and the streets are +cleaned daily. In rural communities such matters are left almost +entirely to the householder. + +FLIES AS DISEASE CARRIERS + +Exposed garbage, improperly built outdoor toilets, and stable +manure are breeding places of flies; and flies are notorious +carriers of disease. Yet, out of more than 3000 homes in one +county in Indiana only 31 made provision to prevent stable manure +from breeding flies, and the same was true of only 1 out of more +than 2000 homes in a county in North Carolina, and only 86 out of +nearly 5000 homes in an Alabama county. + +DANGER FROM MOSQUITOES + +Malaria is widespread in the United States and imposes a heavy +toll upon the nation's health. It is carried from one victim to +another by a certain kind of mosquito, of which it is +comparatively easy to get rid by proper drainage of breeding +places, by treating the surface of pools with kerosene, by +screening, and by seeing to it that rain barrels are covered and +that tin cans and other receptacles of water are not left lying +around. But flies and mosquitoes do not stop with fences, nor do +they recognize city or county boundaries. Hence, individual effort +without community cooperation is likely to be useless. + +POLLUTED SOIL AND HOOKWORM DISEASE + +The terrible hookworm disease so prevalent in our southern states +is caused by a minute worm that infests soil polluted with sewage. +It penetrates the soles of the feet of those who go barefoot and +the palms of the hands of those who work in the soils, finds its +way through the blood to the intestines, and thence to the soil +again. An investigation in 770 counties in 11 states where +hookworm disease is prevalent showed that out of 287,606 farm +homes only six tenths of one per cent disposed of their sewage in +such a way as to prevent soil pollution. + +Out of 305 homes in a little community in Mississippi, only 4 +properly disposed of sewage. When the first investigations were +made, there were 407 cases of hookworm disease out of 1002 +residents. Besides, there had been recently 12 cases of +tuberculosis, 47 of typhoid fever, 184 of malaria, and 384 of +dysentery. + +Safe methods of disposing of sewage were introduced, houses were +screened, an artesian well was bored for a public water supply, +and the community cleaned up generally. After these improvements +the various diseases almost entirely disappeared. Similar results +were obtained in 99 other communities in the southern states. + +[Footnote: Report of the Rockefeller Foundation, 1917, pp. 136- +138.] + +Topics for investigation: + +The water supply of farms in your locality. Any recent +improvements. + +The public water supply (if any) of your community. Its sources. +Method of purification. Quality of water. How the people know it +is pure or impure. Public or private ownership of the supply. Cost +to the householder. + +Extent to which the families represented in your class depend upon +private wells. How many have had their well water examined to test +its purity. How to proceed to have water tested. Who tests it? Who +pays for the test? (If possible, visit the laboratory where the +tests are made.) + +Number of cases of typhoid fever in your community, now or during +last year. How the information can be obtained. Is the information +likely to be accurate? Whose business is it to keep a record? Why +should a record be kept? Why should it be made public? + +Causes of typhoid in your community. Are they preventable? How? +Observance of quarantine against typhoid. + +How may wells become polluted? Give cases of which you may know. +Study diagram on page 314. + +Methods of sewage disposal in your community. Laws on the subject. +Can you suggest improvements? + +Regulation of milk production and handling in your community: on +the farms where it is produced; in the hands of dealers and +distributors; in the home. Who make these regulations? + +Outline on a map the area from which your community is supplied +with milk. Show on a map cities that are supplied by your county +with dairy products, garden vegetables, meats, etc. + +Clean-up campaigns in your community. + +Progress and methods of fly and mosquito extermination in your +community. + +The work of the Rockefeller Foundation for the extermination of +hookworm disease (see references). + +Hospitals that serve your community. Where located. By whom +supported (private, city or town, county, state). + +NATIONAL CONTROL OF HEALTH CONSERVATION + +Health protection, like education, has been considered primarily +the duty of the state. But many conditions affecting health have +arisen that the state cannot completely control. Chiefly under the +power given to it by the Constitution to regulate foreign and +interstate commerce (p. 451), Congress has passed many laws that +protect health, placing their enforcement in the hands of the +several departments of the national government. + +HEALTH WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE + +The Department of Agriculture conducts much public health work, +through its home demonstration agents, its Office of Rural +Engineering, which deals with problems of farm water supply and +rural sanitation, its Bureau of Entomology which wages war against +flies and other disease-carrying insects, and its Bureau of Animal +Industry which inspects cattle, meats, and dairy products. The +Department of Agriculture also administers the Food and Drugs Act, +the purpose of which is to secure purity of food products and to +require that they and medicinal drugs shall be labeled in such a +way as to show what they contain. Fraudulent and harmful "cures" +and "patent medicines" may thus be exposed. + +THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE + +The United States Public Health Service investigates diseases and +health conditions and the means of controlling them. It has given +considerable attention to rural sanitation. It issues reports and +other publications of great value to the citizen, some of them +being listed at the end of this chapter. It has representatives in +all important foreign ports, inspects all ships that enter +American harbors, and holds them in quarantine until they and +their passengers are given a clean bill of health. Cholera and +other dangerous diseases have thus been prevented from gaining a +foothold on American soil. + +HEALTH WORK OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS + +The War Department has also waged a relentless warfare against +disease, not only in the army itself, but also in the Panama Canal +Zone, Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines, and other regions +occupied by the army. The Department of Labor seeks to improve the +physical conditions of labor for both men and women, and its +Children's Bureau is charged with a study of all matters +pertaining to the welfare of children. In the Department of the +Interior the Census Bureau collects national vital statistics; the +Bureau of Mines has done valuable work for the prevention of +accidents in mines and mining industries; and the Bureau of +Education seeks to promote physical education, instruction in home +economics, and education in the home relating to the care of +children. + +STATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR HEALTH PROTECTION + +A very large part of the duty of health protection must, however, +remain with the states. Every state has its department of health, +headed by a state board of health, or a commissioner of health, or +both. These departments differ greatly in their organization and +in the extent and effectiveness of their work. + +NEW YORK STATE ORGANIZATION + +One of the best organized state departments of health is that of +New York. Among its most important features are (1) a PUBLIC +HEALTH COUNCIL which has power to establish a state-wide SANITARY +CODE; (2) the concentration of all administrative power in the +hands of a single state COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH, who has a staff of +experts to direct special lines of health work; and (3) a well- +organized scheme of cooperation between the state department and +local health authorities. + +LOCAL ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH PROTECTION + +The absence or weakness of local organization for health +protection has been one of the obstacles to progress in physical +well-being in the United States. Driven by an appalling death rate +and frequent epidemics, our large cities have developed health +departments which in many cases have proved very effective. But in +smaller communities, while health departments or health officers +usually exist, the organization has for the most part been very +ineffective. The people themselves have not been sufficiently +aroused to their needs and to methods of meeting them. New York +and Massachusetts are among the most progressive states in this +matter. Each local community in these states (town, village, or +small city) has its board of health and health officer; but these +communities are grouped into HEALTH DISTRICTS (8 in Massachusetts, +20 in New York), each district being in charge of a health officer +appointed by the state commissioner or board of health. In New +York the district health officer, who is there called the SANITARY +SUPERVISOR, has the following duties: + +To keep informed regarding the work of each local health officer +within his sanitary district. + +To aid the local health officers in making health surveys of the +community under their control. + +To aid each local health officer in the performance of his duties, +particularly on the appearance of contagious diseases. + +To hold conferences of local health officers. + +To study the causes of excessive death rates. + +To promote efficient registration of births and deaths. + +To inspect all labor camps and to enforce in them all public +health regulations. + +To inspect Indian reservations and to enforce all provisions of +the sanitary code in them. + +To secure the cooperation of medical organizations for the +improvement of the public health. + +To promote the information of the public in matters pertaining to +the public health. + +EXAMPLE OF NORTH CAROLINA + +Another type of local health organization and of cooperation +between local and state authorities for health protection and +promotion has been developed in North Carolina, where 85 per cent +of the population is rural. Here the county has been taken as the +unit of local organization. Health conditions had been very bad in +this state, hookworm disease, tuberculosis, malaria, and other +diseases being prevalent. The state board of health, assisted by +the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission (see above, page 320, and +references below), began an investigation and an educational +campaign among the people, with the result that many of the +counties of the state now have an organization for health +cooperation unsurpassed, perhaps, in any other state. Each county +has a health department, which is controlled jointly by the state +board of health and a county board of health. The county board of +health consists of the mayor of the county seat, the chairman of +the board of county commissioners, the county superintendent of +schools, and two physicians of the county elected by the other +three members. The work of the health department is directed by a +county health officer, who is appointed by the state board of +health of which he is also a member. He has a staff of trained +assistants. + +In this plan note the cooperation between state and local +communities, between town and county officials, and between the +school authorities and the health organization. Note, also, the +leadership of specialists in health matters. + +Topics for investigation: + +Organization of the department of health in your community (both +county and town): the board of health; the executive health +officer or officers; the kinds of work done. + +Amount of money spent by your local health department for all +purposes and for each purpose separately. Compare with the amounts +spent for roads, for schools, and for other work of the local +government. + +The interest shown by the people in your community in public +health matters. + +Some of the more important health problems of your community. + +The leadership in your community in health matters. + +Cooperation between the state government and your local government +in health matters. + +The more important local and state laws relating to health in your +community. + +Organization of your state department of health. + +Local health problems that need state control. + +State health problems that need local cooperation. + +The operation of the Food and Drugs Act in your community. + +The work of the Public Health Service. + +The extermination of yellow fever in the United States. + +The fight against the bubonic plague in California. + +The work of the War Department to maintain the health of the +soldiers during the recent war. Volunteer agencies that cooperated +in this work. + +Work done in your community for the promotion of health by the +Department of Agriculture and the United States Public Health +Service. + +The work of the Children's Bureau of the Department of Labor. + +The inspection of immigrants. + +READINGS + +Reports of local and state boards of health. + +Publications of state agricultural college relating to public +health. + +Publications of the United States Public Health Service, +Washington. The following are illustrative: + +Federal Public Health Administration: Its Development and Present +Status. Reprint No. 112, U. S. Pub. Health Reports, 1913. + +Public Health Reports. Issued weekly. + +Rural Sanitation, Pub. Health Bulletin No. 94, 1918. + +Health Insurance, Pub. Health Reports, vol, 34, No. 16, 1919. + +The Nation's Physical Fitness, Pub. Health Reports, vol. 34, No. +13, 1919. + +Good Water for Farm Homes, Pub. Health Bulletin No. 70, 1915. + +Typhoid Fever: Its Causation and Prevention, Pub. Health Bulletin +No. 69, 1915. + +Public Health Almanac (for current year). + +What the Farmer Can Do to Prevent Malaria, Pub. Health Reports, +No. 11, Supplement, 1914. + +Fighting Trim: The Importance of Right Living. Supplement No. 5, +Pub. Health Reports, 1913. + +The Transmission of Disease by Flies, Supplement No. 29, Pub. +Health Reports, 1916. + +The Citizen and Public Health, Supplement No. 4, Pub. Health +Reports, 1913. + +The Department of Agriculture publications contain material +relating to public health. For example: + +Health Laws, Year Book, 1913, pp. 125-134. + +Animal Disease and Our Food Supply, Year Book, 1915, pp. 159-172. + +Public Abattoirs in New Zealand and Australia, Year Book, 1914, +pp. 433-436. + +Meat Inspection Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, +Year Book 1916, pp. 77-98. + +Sewage Disposal on the Farm, Year Book, 1916, pp. 347-374. + +Clean Water and How to Get It on the Farm, Year Book, 1914, pp. +139-156. + +Dunn, THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN, Chapter IX. + +Beard, C. A., AMERICAN CITY GOVERNMENT, pp. 261-282. + +Among the Bulletins of the United States Bureau of Education +treating of health matters are the following: + +1910, No. 5, American schoolhouses. + +1913. No. 44, Organized health work in schools. No. 48, School +hygiene. No. 52, Sanitary schoolhouses. + +1914, No. 10, Physical growth and school progress. No. 17, +Sanitary survey of the schools of Orange County, Va. No. 20, The +rural school and hookworm disease. + +1915, No. 4, The health of school children. No. 21, Schoolhouse +sanitation. No. 50, Health of school children. + +1917, No. 50, Physical education in secondary schools. + +1919, No. 2, Standardization of medical inspection facilities. No. +65, The eyesight of school children. + +Publications of the Children's Bureau, Department of Labor. + +See, for example, Rural Children in Selected Counties of North +Carolina, Rural Child Welfare Series No. 2, and Baby-Saving +Campaigns. A Preliminary Report on What American Cities are Doing +to Prevent Infant Mortality, Bureau Publication No. 3. See list of +publications issued by the Bureau. + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series B: Lesson 14, The United States Public Health Service. + +Series C: Lesson 19, How the city cares for health. + +Reports of the Rockefeller Foundation, 61 Broadway, New York City. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +SOCIAL, AESTHETIC, AND SPIRITUAL WANTS + +HAPPINESS THROUGH SERVICE + + +Several times in the preceding chapters reference has been made to +our national purpose "to transmute days of dreary work into +happier lives." This does not mean to get rid of work; for +happiness can be attained only IN work and THROUGH work. Happiness +IN work depends largely upon our freedom and ability to choose the +kind of service for which we are best fitted, and upon the extent +to which we prepare ourselves for it. It also depends to a large +extent upon good health (p. 309). + +SATISFACTION OF HIGHER WANTS + +But there never was a truer statement than that "all work and no +play makes Jack a dull boy." In return for his work every citizen +is entitled to enough compensation to enable him to provide not +only for the bare necessities of life, such as food and shelter, +but also for the pleasure that he derives from the satisfaction of +his higher wants, such as social life and recreation, an education +that will give him a richer enjoyment of life, pleasant +surroundings, religious advantages. + +EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY LIFE + +All these things have much to do with our national well-being and +our citizenship. Our nation is democratic only in proportion to +the equality of opportunity enjoyed by all citizens to satisfy +these wants. Moreover, the efficiency of each citizen in +productive work and as a participator in self-government depends +more than we sometimes think upon his opportunity to "enjoy life" +in pleasant surroundings and in wholesome social relations. In the +past the citizen has been left largely to his own resources and to +purely voluntary cooperation to provide for these wants. +Government has not even adequately PROTECTED his rights of this +kind, to say nothing of positively PROMOTING them. At present, +however, community team work through government is being organized +as never before both to promote and to protect the interests of +all citizens in the fullest possible enjoyment of life. + +RECREATION AND SOCIAL LIFE + +THE VALUE OF PLAY + +Children enjoy play because it satisfies physical, mental, and +social wants. But it is also the principal means by which they +prepare for the more serious duties of later life. It builds up +health, trains the muscles and the senses, and sharpens the wits. +It gives practice in team work, develops leadership, and teaches +the value of "rules of the game." Every child is entitled to an +abundant opportunity to play, both because of the happiness it +affords him and because by it he is trained for membership in the +community. It is to the interest of the community to afford him +the opportunity. It is largely for this reason that most of the +states protect children by law from being put to work for a living +at too early an age. + +OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAY IN CITIES + +In large cities thousands of children live in crowded districts +where there is no place to play except in the public streets. So +little appreciative have we been of the importance of play in the +development of young citizens that great numbers of city schools +have been built with no provision whatever for playgrounds. This +mistake is slowly being corrected, often at great expense. No city +school is now considered first-class if it does not have an ample +and well-equipped playground, with competent directors to teach +children how to get the most out of their play. Most cities are +also establishing public playgrounds apart from the schools, +sometimes under the management of the school board, but often +under that of a special playground or recreation commission. + +PLAY IN RURAL COMMUNITIES + +Play for the children of rural communities is as important as for +those of cities, but even less attention has been given to it. +Many a country school has no playground, and if it has one it is +likely to be small and not equipped with play apparatus. Why +should there be playgrounds when there is all outdoors in which to +play? Why should there be expensive play apparatus and play +directors when boys and girls can get all the "exercise" they need +at home or on the farm? "Play" means more than mere physical +exercise, and must be pleasurable if it is to have value. +Organized play is as truly a means of education as any school +instruction, and must have competent leadership or direction. In +rural districts, where the children live far apart, there is +particular need for a common meeting place for organized group +play, and the school is the most appropriate place for it. + +ARGUMENT FOR SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION + +The need for organized play in rural communities is one of the +best arguments for school consolidation, for it brings together +larger numbers and makes possible the employment of a competent +play director and the proper equipment of the playground. Teacher- +training schools now make a point of training play leaders as well +as teachers of arithmetic and geography. + +MEANING OF RECREATION + +As children grow older, an increasing part of their time must be +given to work--school work, tasks at home, remunerative employment +outside of the home. After leaving school and throughout adult +life, work absorbs the major part of one's time and attention. But +even then, "all work and no play" will continue to "make Jack a +dull boy." We now call play "recreation," for by it body and mind +and spirit are refreshed, renewed, RE-CREATED, after close +application to work. That is why school work is broken by +"recesses." Recreation is necessary as a means of providing for +physical, mental, and social wants; for the pleasure that it +affords. But it is also important in its relation to work, for +without it body and mind become "fagged," people grow "stale" at +their work, producing power and power of service are reduced. + +THE HABIT OF PLAY + +It is very easy to get out of the habit of play, and especially +difficult to form the habit in adult life if it has not been done +in youth. People often become so absorbed in work that there seems +to be no time for recreation. In such cases not only is the +enjoyment of life narrowed, but there is a risk of damaging the +quality of one's work and even of shortening one's life of +productive activity, or of service. + +LEISURE A REQUIREMENT + +Every worker is entitled to opportunity for recreation, both for +his own sake and for the well-being of the community. This means, +first of all, that he must have LEISURE for it. When people have +to work hard for ten or twelve or more hours a day, year in and +year out, as was once customary in industry, there is neither time +nor energy for wholesome recreation. That such conditions existed, +and still exist to a considerable extent, is due to gross +imperfections in the industrial organization of the community. One +of the evidences of progress toward "transmuting days of dreary +work into happier lives" is the reduction in the hours of toil in +many industries, and the consequent increase of leisure for the +enjoyment of life and for self-improvement. + +One of the things for which labor unions have struggled is the +shortening of the working day. Through their efforts, and through +the awakening of public interest and knowledge in regard to the +matter, the working day is now fixed by law at eight hours in most +industries, often with a half holiday on Saturdays. Experience has +shown that this change has in no way reduced the product of +industry. There are still some industries, however, in which men +toil at the hardest kind of labor for twelve or more hours a day, +sometimes even including Sundays. + +A LIVING WAGE A NECESSITY + +A second thing necessary to afford opportunity for recreation is +an income from one's work sufficient to provide more than the bare +necessities of life. Before the war, it is said, more than five +million families, or about one fourth of the families in the +United States, were trying to live on a wage of $50 a month, or +less. During the war, wages of skilled and unskilled labor shot +upward; but so, also, did the cost of living. It is not easy to +determine just what share of the proceeds of industry should, in +justice, go to the laborer in wages. But it should be enough to +provide not only for food and clothing and shelter, but also for +decent family life, for healthful surroundings, for education for +the children, and for wholesome recreation. + +Labor unions and others interested in a fairer distribution of the +proceeds of industry have long been working for the enactment of +"minimum wage laws," that is, laws fixing the least wage that may +be paid for each class of labor, this to be enough to provide a +reasonable satisfaction of all the wants of life. Some states have +already enacted such laws, and during the recent war the federal +government in some cases fixed rates of wages, and appointed labor +boards to adjust wages to the rising cost of living. + +THE WISE USE OF LEISURE + +Neither leisure nor income, however, suffice for recreation unless +they are wisely used. Mere idleness is not recreation; and many +people use their leisure in DISSIPATION instead of in recreation. +"Dissipation" is the opposite of thrift. It means to "throw away," +or to be wasteful. A person may "dissipate" his income. We have +come to understand the word "dissipation," however, to mean +excessive indulgence in pleasures or amusements that are wasteful +of time, energy, or health, or all three, and we call the person +"dissipated" who is addicted to such indulgence. Any amusement, +even though harmless in itself, may become dissipation if indulged +in to excess, or at the sacrifice of other things that are better. + +RURAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECREATION + +One of the principal disadvantages often put forward against life +in rural communities is the lack of opportunity for recreation. It +partly explains the difficulty of obtaining an abundance of farm +labor, and is one of the obstacles to inducing young people to +remain on the farm. Unfortunately, too, the women on the farm have +often been the chief sufferers from close confinement to the +drudgery of housework, with little opportunity for recreation and +less chance than the men have to enjoy the companionship of other +people. + +The very nature of farming entails hard work and long hours, +especially at certain seasons. Under existing conditions it is +hard to see how the farmer's working day could be limited to eight +hours as in most other occupations. + +The citizen farmer who lives in the same community with the miner ... +must invest in land and buildings, tools and livestock. He +must pay taxes and insurance and repairs and veterinary fees. He +must work often sixteen hours, seldom less than ten, and he must +be on duty day and night, ready always to care for his independent +plant--all this, and yet in order to receive a labor income equal +to that of the soft coal miner ... the farmer must not only work +himself as no professional laborer ever works, but he must also +work his children without pay. + +[Footnote: E. Davenport, Dean of the College of Agriculture, +University of Illinois, in "Proceedings of the First National +Country Life Conference," Baltimore, 1919. p. 183.] + +IMPROVED CONDITIONS ON THE FARM + +Although this only too faithfully describes living conditions on +the farm as they have been in the past and still are in many +cases, much improvement has taken place. Improvement of +agricultural machinery and methods has brought a greater measure +of leisure to the farmer, while better means of transportation and +communication have both saved him time and made easier for him and +his family association with other people and the enjoyment of +entertainment in the neighboring village or city. The farm woman +has benefited by the introduction of labor-saving devices and +better management in the household, and by the development of +community cooperation in such matters as dairying and laundry work +(see pp. 106, 107). In fact, better team work in every phase of +the business of agriculture means greater opportunity for the +enjoyment of living, and the efforts of the national and state +governments to encourage such team work and to improve the methods +of agriculture have for their purpose not merely the increase of +the agricultural product, but also the greater happiness of the +rural citizen. + +FACILITIES FOR DISSIPATION + +When leisure may be found for recreation, the facilities for it +are often inadequate. The city, and even the village, affords +facilities for amusement and social enjoyment that good roads, +automobiles, and trolley lines have made more accessible than +formerly to the country round about. While the urban community +naturally affords greater opportunity than the rural community for +social recreation, its opportunities for dissipation are equally +great. "Going to the movies" may be a real recreation, or it may +become a dissipation when indulged in to excess without +discrimination as to the merit of the performance. Almost every +village has its well-known "loafing places," and the saloon used +to be a favorite meeting place for certain classes of people. +Amusements that are especially harmful are more or less regulated +by law. Even moving pictures are "censored." Saloons have now been +totally abolished. + +FACILITIES FOR RECREATION + +The most effective preventive of dissipation is ample provision +for wholesome recreation. Various agencies in urban communities +seek to supply this need, both for their own residents and for +visitors from outside. Men's clubs, such as chambers of commerce, +afford social and amusement advantages for the business men of the +town, and for visiting farmers who formerly met only at the store +or courthouse, in the saloon or on the street corner. Public +libraries, often with the cooperation of women's clubs, provide +"rest rooms," arranged for the comfort and entertainment of +visiting women, and afford means of profitable and enjoyable +recreation for young people. Town churches sometimes maintain +social rooms, open during the week for similar purposes. The Young +Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations have performed a +great service by providing entertainment and social life for young +people. One of the more recent developments is the "community +center," usually at the schoolhouse, where there are offered +lectures and concerts, social entertainments, dances, games, and +sports. In some large cities such "recreation centers" are of the +greatest value in the crowded districts. + +OPPORTUNITIES AFFORDED BY THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL + +Rural communities have suffered from a dearth of recreational +facilities of their own, especially of a SOCIAL type. One of the +most promising influences to supply this deficiency is the +CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL, which makes provision for assembly halls, +social gatherings, and recreation grounds for young and old alike. +An illustration of this is given in Chapter XIX (p. 296). +Development of community recreation centers at consolidated rural +schools is going on rapidly in many parts of the country. + +Iowa affords a striking example of this. In that state more than +2000 one-room country schools have been consolidated into +something more than 300, and consolidation is still going on. Some +of these consolidated schools have five acres of land, where +provision is made, not only for gardening and farming activities, +but also for picnic grounds and for fields for athletic sports and +contests. The buildings contain assembly halls, gymnasiums, and +kitchens where food is prepared for social entertainments as well +as for school lunches and for the teaching of cooking. + +NEED FOR LEADERSHIP + +One of the chief obstacles to the development of rural community +recreation has been the absence of leadership. The consolidated +school helps to remedy this. Other agencies, however, are doing +something to provide such leadership, among the most active of +which is the county work department of the Young Men's Christian +Association, which has organized county-wide athletic associations +and rural play festivals and field days in many localities. + +KNOWING HOW TO USE OPPORTUNITIES + +There are agencies, or organizations, in almost every community +that could and should serve recreational ends. The trouble with +many of us is not so much the lack of time or of the means for +recreation, but a lack of knowledge of how to get the most out of +our recreational opportunities. Hence the need for leadership. +Hence, also, the need for an education that will open up to us new +avenues of enjoyment. Recreation may be obtained not only from +athletic sports and social entertainments, but from the fields and +woods, from books and music and pictures, even from VARIETY IN OUR +WORK, if we only knew how to find it. The school is under as great +obligation to provide us with an education that will teach us this +as it is to equip us to earn a living. + +Investigate and report on: + +The opportunities for play in your community. + +The forms of play most prevalent in your community. + +The extent to which play in your community develops team work and +leadership. + +How your school playground could be improved. + +Play as a means of education in your school. + +Agencies besides the school that afford opportunity for play in +your community. + +Leisure on the farms of your locality: for men; for women; for +children. + +Could an eight-hour day be applied to farming in your locality? +Why? + +Length of the working day for different employments in your town +or neighboring city. + +Minimum wage laws in your state. + +Recreational facilities and agencies in your community. + +Community centers in your community and their activities. + +The value of a county field day in your community. + +Meaning of the statement that "the boy without a playground is +father to the man without a job." + +ATTRACTIVE SURROUNDINGS + +APPRECIATION OF THAT WHICH IS BEAUTIFUL + +Beauty in one's surroundings adds much to the enjoyment of life, +and therefore, also, to one's efficiency in work and as a citizen. + +People are often apparently blind to the beauty that is around +them. "Having eyes, they see not; and ears, they hear not." Those +who live in the open country are surrounded by natural beauties of +which city dwellers are largely deprived. Too often, however, they +are unconscious of them or indifferent to them. To the hard- +working farmer a gorgeous sunset may be little more than a sign of +the weather on the morrow, and the beauty of a field of wheat or +corn may be lost in the thought of the toil that has gone into it, +or of the dollars that may come out of it. Fortunate is the rural +dweller whose toil and isolation are tempered by an appreciation +of the beauties of the natural world about him! + +ITS CULTIVATION + +Love for and appreciation of that which is beautiful may be +cultivated. It is a part of one's education. The schools now give +more attention to it than formerly; but many of them do not yet +give enough. Appreciation of beauty is cultivated not merely by +instruction in "art," but also by those studies that increase +one's knowledge of the common things about us. The teaching of +agriculture and of science has a very practical purpose; but its +purpose is only partly accomplished if it teaches us how to raise +corn or cotton without opening our eyes to the wonders of nature +involved in the process. + +An appreciation of beauty may be cultivated, also, by association +with it, as it may be destroyed by constant association with that +which is ugly. People who live in unkempt and slovenly +surroundings are likely to become indifferent to them. It is the +duty of every one to have a care for the appearance of his +surroundings both because of its effect upon himself and its +influence upon others. + +IMPORTANCE OF APPEARANCES + +A stranger who visits our school is likely to judge it, first of +all, by its appearance. He will note whether or not the building +is in good repair, the condition of the grounds and fences, the +presence or absence of flower beds, shrubs, and trees. Inside, he +will observe the cleanliness and orderliness of the room, the +decorations on the walls, the presence or absence of pictures and +flowers and plants; yes, and also the care the pupils and teacher +take of their personal appearance. These things are signs to the +visitor of the interest taken by pupils, school authorities, and +the community in their school. They are also signs of the +character of the work done in the school, and of the happiness of +the pupils. + +A COMMUNITY JUDGED BY APPEARANCES + +In a similar manner, the visitor to your community will form his +first opinion of it by its appearance. He will note, first of all +the appearance of the homes, and then, probably, the cleanliness +and state of repair of the streets or roads. He will observe the +condition of the fences, and whether or not the weeds are cut +along the roads. He will notice, also, the extent to which the +people love flowers, and care for trees and vacant lots. All of +these things will be signs to him of the prosperity, the +happiness, the "community spirit," of the citizens. They will +doubtless enter into his decision as to whether or not he cares to +live, or establish a business, or educate his children, in that +community. + +COMMUNITY INTEREST IN BEAUTY + +In cities a good deal of attention is usually given to such +matters, and laws exist, with government officers to administer +them, for the protection and promotion of community beauty. In +rural communities these matters are left more largely to +individual initiative and voluntary cooperation. It becomes a +matter of public interest and spirit on the part of the individual +and the family. It is true that some things are done through +government authorities, as in the improvement of the roads and the +building of bridges and culverts that are of pleasing design as +well as serviceable. In some New England "towns" there are "town +planning" boards, which carefully plan for the laying out of +streets and their improvement, the proper location of public +buildings and the style of architecture to be used, the location +and development of parks and playgrounds, the enactment of +suitable housing laws, and other matters pertaining to the beauty +of the community as well as to the well-being of its citizens. + +COMMUNITY PLANNING + +Systematic planning of rural communities with a view to making +them beautiful has not been carried very far in this country. In +fact, as one travels over a large part of the United States one is +impressed by the monotonous and unattractive character of the +towns and villages. This is not true everywhere, for in some parts +of the country, usually those that have been settled longest, one +sees beautiful villages that fit harmoniously into the landscape. +But over large areas of the country it seems that wherever man has +gone he has marred the beauty of nature. + +INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE + +There is nothing in which the influence of example is so quickly +seen as in matters relating to appearance. People are prone to +copy their neighbors in matters of style, whether it be in dress +or in architecture. + +In one rather wretched community a few boys who were studying +civics sought permission to lay sod in the dooryard of a tenement +house. Having obtained permission and laid the sod, it was not +long before some one else in the neighborhood did likewise, and +soon people all around were sodding their yards or sowing grass +seed. Then they began to repair and paint their fences and +otherwise "tidy up" their places, until the whole neighborhood was +transformed in appearance. It is interesting to note, also, that +as the community improved in appearance, it also became less +lawless than it had been. + +This is one phase of community life in which it is easy to +establish leadership, and in which young people can perform +valuable civic service and contribute materially toward +"transmuting days of dreary work into happier lives." + +Investigate and report on: + +The natural beauty of your community. + +How natural beauty has been destroyed in your community. + +How natural beauty has been preserved in your community. + +Our national parks. + +How your school promotes the love for beauty. + +How your school could be made more beautiful. + +How you and your schoolmates could make your school more +beautiful. + +What impression a stranger would get of your community from its +appearance. + +The features in the appearance of your community of which you are +proud. Those of which you are ashamed. + +Agencies that exist in your community to promote its beauty + +Ways in which you can participate in making your community more +beautiful. + +RELIGIOUS LIFE AND AGENCIES + +GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION + +In some countries church and state are inseparably bound together. +Before the recent war the Russian Czar was also the head of the +Russian church. In our own country in colonial times, no citizen +was permitted to vote in the New England town meeting who did not +belong to the Puritan church of the community. This religious +qualification for participation in government was in the course of +time dispensed with, and one of the fundamental principles of our +democracy is that every citizen shall have complete liberty of +religious belief. Our government exercises no control over the +religious life of the people other than to guarantee this liberty. +"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of +religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" (United States +Constitution, Amendment I). State constitutions contain similar +guarantees. To prevent government interference with religion, +religious institutions are exempt from taxation. + +RELIGION A MEANS OF CONTROL + +On the other hand, the church and other religious institutions are +an important means of community control. They do not exercise this +control through government, but through the influence of their own +beliefs and organization upon the conduct of their members. If +everybody should live in accordance with the Golden Rule, there +would be no need for government as a means of repression, but only +as a means of performing service. + +RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES AN OBSTACLE TO TEAM WORK + +One of the unfortunate things about the church has been the fact +that more or less important differences in religious belief have +tended to break up the community into numerous religious groups, +or churches. This may be necessary in purely religious matters, +but it has too often happened that the people have allowed their +religious differences to prevent united action in other matters of +common interest to the entire community. In some cases communities +have been broken up into rival, or even hostile, factions because +of this. There is, however, a growing tolerance of one religious +sect or denomination by others, which is in accord with the +Christian spirit, and is necessary if community life is to be well +developed. It often happens that there are more churches of the +same denomination in a community than it can support. In such +cases, at least, there is need for church consolidation similar to +the consolidation of schools, and for the same reason. + +SOCIAL SERVICE OF THE CHURCH + +The church may be, and often is, an important agency in the +community for the performance of services other than that of +ministering to the religious wants of the people. Or, to speak +more correctly, it has realized more or less fully that the +religious wants of the people are closely bound up with their +other wants, and seeks to minister to these other wants as a part +of its religious duty. Thus, we find the church growing more +active in looking after the health interests, educational +interests, and social and recreational interests of its members +and others. + +Investigate and report on: + +The number of religious denominations having churches in your +community. + +The number of churches in each denomination. + +Membership and attendance in the churches of your community. + +Arguments for and against church consolidation in your community. + +Activities of churches in your community, other than religious. + +Religious organizations other than churches in your community. + +READINGS + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series A: Lesson 27, Concentration of social institutions (including the + school and the church). + +Series B: Lesson 12, Impersonality of modern life. + Lesson 20, The church as a social institution. + Lesson 29, Labor organizations. + +Series C: Lesson 11, The effects of machinery on rural life. + Lesson 29, Child labor. + Lesson 32, Housing for workers. + +"Sources of Information on Play and Recreation," by Lee F. Hanmer +and Howard W. Knight; Department of Recreation, Russell Sage +Foundation, New York (1915). + +THE PLAYGROUND. A monthly publication of the Playground and +Recreation Association of America, 1 Madison Ave., New York ($2 a +year). + +NEIGHBORHOOD PLAY. A manual of rural recreation (The Youth's +Companion, Boston). + +McCready, S. B., Rural Science Reader. In "Rural Education +Series," H. W. Foght, general editor (Heath). + +Write the County Work Department, International Committee of the +Y. M. C. A. for material. + +Foght, H. W., THE RURAL TEACHER AND HIS WORK, Chapter VI (The +rural school and community recreation). + +Jackson, Henry E., A COMMUNITY Center--WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO +ORGANIZE IT, U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1918, No. 11. + +Quick, Herbert, "The rural awakening in its relation to civic and +social center development." Bulletin No. 474, University of +Wisconsin. + +"Beautifying the Farmstead," Farmers' Bulletin No. 1087, U. S. +Department of Agriculture. + +Proceedings First National Country Life Conference (address Dwight +Sanderson, Secretary, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.); "Play +and recreation in rural life," p. 95; "Religious forces for +country life," p. 83. + +Jackson, Henry E., THE COMMUNITY CHURCH (Macmillan). + +Numerous "surveys" of rural communities have been made by various +agencies. Among them are those made by the Department of Church +and Country Life of the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian +Church, 156 Fifth Ave., New York. Extensive surveys are being made +by the Inter-Church World Movement, 45 West 18th St., New York. + +Bulletin No. 184 of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Iowa +State Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa, contains a social survey +of Orange Township, Blackhawk County, Iowa. + +Write your State Agricultural College or State University for +possible materials of a local character. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +DEPENDENT, DEFECTIVE, AND DELINQUENT MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY + + +In every community there are some members who are not self- +supporting and who do not contribute materially to the community's +progress (see Chapter V and Chapter XI). + +WHO CONSTITUTE DEPENDENTS, DEFECTIVES, AND DELINQUENTS + +The very young and the very aged come within this group. Both are +peculiarly dependent upon others, though the aged may, by thrift +in earlier years, have acquired a competence with which to meet +the needs of old age; and the young are expected, in later years, +to compensate the community for the care they have received from +others during childhood. + +There are those, also, of all ages, who are incapacitated for +self-support and for service by disease, or by physical or mental +defects such as bodily deformities, blindness, or feeble- +mindedness. In addition, there are some who, though physically +able to perform service, deliberately prey upon the community in +one manner or another without giving anything in return. The +latter constitute the DELINQUENT class, and include criminals. + +RELATION OF THE FAMILY TO THE PROBLEM + +Normally, the needs of those who are unable to support themselves, +whether because of extreme youth or old age or because of physical +or mental defects, are provided for by the family. It frequently +happens, however, that the family is unable to perform this +service. It may be entirely broken up. Children may be left +without parents, and the aged without children. The natural +supporters of the family may be stricken by disease, or by +accident, or by financial misfortune. Moreover, the proper care +and treatment of many defectives require better facilities and +greater skill than can be provided even by well-to-do families. +Thus a class of DEPENDENTS is produced--dependents upon the +community as a whole. They may or may not be DEFECTIVES, physical +or mental. Dissipation and thriftlessness are two of the chief +causes of dependency. + +TREATMENT IN EARLY TIMES + +In the lower stages of civilization it was not uncommon for the +feeble and the helpless to be put to death, even sickly children +and persons infirm from old age. This was done in the name of +community interest. The struggle for existence was so severe that +the presence of non-producing or non-fighting members endangered +the entire group. Besides, it was the belief in most cases that +the sacrifice of the helpless simply hastened their passage into a +happier life. + +REDUCING THE WASTAGE OF HUMAN LIFE + +Humane considerations now prevent such treatment of the helpless. +Moreover, with our increased skill in medicine and surgery and +education, the diseased and defective may often be restored to +health or fitted for some form of self-support that makes them +happier and of use to the community. The wastage of human life has +been greatly reduced in recent years. Many of the soldiers who +returned from the war in Europe so broken in body or mind that in +former times they would have dragged out the remainder of their +lives a burden to themselves and to others have, by surgical skill +and special forms of education, been restored wholly or partially +to the ranks of the self-supporting and useful members of the +community. This REHABILITATION of the dependent and defective +members of the community, whether their misfortune is due to war +or other causes, is the chief aim of the treatment given them by +the community at the present time. + +RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH COMMUNITY + +It is an accepted principle that each community should, so far as +possible, care for its own unfortunates, and the effectiveness +with which it is done varies. But everywhere it has taken a long +time to change from the old policy of mere RELIEF to the new +policy of REHABILITATION (see above). + +THE LOCAL ALMSHOUSE AND ITS DEFECTS + +In New England and in a few other states the town, or township, is +the unit for administering "poor relief," but elsewhere it is the +county. The "almshouse," or "poor farm," or "county infirmary" is +the usual local institution for this purpose. Unfortunately it has +been, as a rule, badly managed. Men and women, old people and +children, healthy and diseased, blind and crippled, moral and +immoral, even the insane, have been housed together, often +mingling with one another with little restriction. The evils of +such a system are apparent. + +SHORT-SIGHTED POLICY + +Moreover, the policy of the typical almshouse has been merely to +give shelter and food and clothing to those who appeal for it, +rather than to remedy the causes of dependency or to restore the +unfortunate to a basis of self-support and usefulness. Medical +treatment is of course given, but the means do not exist to give +special expert treatment to particular classes of defectives. +Little educational opportunity worthy of the name is afforded. +While able-bodied inmates usually have some work to do, it is +seldom of a character to train for self-support or to create +habits of industry. + +REMEDIES PROPOSED + +To provide this special treatment requires elaborate equipment and +expert service, which cost a great deal of money, more than most +counties or towns feel that they can afford. Communities must come +to realize that they cannot afford to neglect their unfortunate +members, no matter what it costs to care for them. But the cost +need not be so great as it seems. A great deal of money is now +WASTED on almshouses without adequate results. This can largely be +remedied by insisting upon more expert supervision in such +institutions, and by a system of regular inspection by expert +state officers. Greater care should be exercised with respect to +those who are admitted to the institutions. Only the deserving +should be allowed to live on the public funds. It is not uncommon +for some classes of shiftless people to make a practice of seeking +shelter in the almshouse during the winter, where they live in +comparative comfort and idleness at the public expense, only to +leave in the spring for a life of aimless indolence, imposing as +beggars upon kind-hearted people. + +PURPOSE OF STATE INSTITUTIONS + +Moreover, the county almshouse should be only a temporary place of +detention for many of the people who now are kept there +permanently. Those who need special treatment or training should +be passed on as quickly as possible to special institutions that +are equipped to care for them. Since most local communities could +not well afford to maintain such special institutions for the +comparatively few who would need them, the state should maintain +enough of them at central points to provide for the needs of all +local communities. + +The states do maintain such institutions--hospitals and +sanitariums for various types of mental disease, homes for orphans +and for the aged, and for persons with incurable diseases, asylums +and schools for the blind and the deaf-and-dumb, industrial +schools for boys and girls. The problem of the state is, first, to +develop such institutions to the highest possible degree of +efficiency for the REHABILITATION of their patients or inmates, +and, second, to secure effective cooperation on the part of local +authorities and institutions in transferring those, and only +those, who are entitled to state assistance. + +COOPERATION FOR "OUTDOOR" RELIEF + +When dependents are cared for in institutions, it is called INDOOR +RELIEF; when they are cared for outside of institutions, in their +homes, it is called OUTDOOR RELIEF. Outdoor relief requires +community organization and cooperation and expert leadership quite +as much as indoor relief. The lack of these has often resulted in +great harm both to the community and to the needy person. +Promiscuous giving of charity by well-intentioned persons often +results in giving to the undeserving as well as to the deserving. +There are lazy and shiftless individuals who find it easier to +live on charity than by honest work, and whose lack of self- +respect permits them to do so. Sometimes they do so by fraudulent +methods. Giving to such persons encourages pauperism and fraud +instead of curing it. Kind-hearted people often say that they +would rather be cheated occasionally by dishonest applicants for +charity than to fail to help the really needy by too great +caution. The answer to this is that by proper community +organization and cooperation the needy will be found with much +greater certainty, the fraudulent will be detected, and the aid +given to those who should have it will be much more effective. The +citizen who turns an applicant for aid over to an effective +organization in a great majority of cases performs a much greater +service both to the applicant and to the community than by +attempting to give aid directly. A few pennies or a few dollars +given even to a worthy applicant may not reach the root of the +trouble at all, and may be the innocent cause of perpetuating the +trouble. + +VOLUNTARY AGENCIES + +Many voluntary organizations exist for charitable and +philanthropic purposes. The church has always been one of the +chief agencies to care for the poor and unfortunate; but there are +many others, especially in our large cities. Sometimes they +maintain hospitals and other institutions for the treatment of +those who need indoor relief. They have done a great deal of good. +But they are subject to the same difficulties that individuals +encounter in dealing wisely with particular cases. They have often +devoted themselves too exclusively to giving temporary relief +instead of seeking to cure causes and to rehabilitate the +unfortunate. They are frequently deceived by impostors. Seldom do +they have expert investigators to follow up individual cases and +to prescribe the most effective remedy. They frequently duplicate +one another's work in a wasteful manner. + +CHARITY ORGANIZATION + +This lack of team work has been in large measure remedied, +especially in city communities, by the establishment of CHARITY +ORGANIZATION SOCIETIES. Such societies do not as a rule give +direct relief, but act as a "clearing house" for existing +charitable agencies in the community. That is, they organize the +effort of the various existing agencies. They have a corps of +trained investigators who look into each case reported by any +individual or charitable agency in the community, make a careful +record of it, and prescribe the proper treatment. The case is +usually turned over to one of the existing agencies that is +properly equipped to handle it. Philanthropic persons may turn to +the charity organization society for advice as to purposes for +which money is most needed. The aim of charity organization is to +remedy causes of dependency and to restore dependents to a self- +sustaining basis so far as that is possible. + +GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION FOR POOR RELIEF + +Charity organization societies are wholly voluntary organizations; +and there is need for such voluntary cooperation to care for the +community's unfortunate and to root out the causes of dependency. +Such organizations should, however, work in cooperation with +governmental agencies. There are state boards of charities which +usually have supervision over the various state institutions for +dependents and defectives. Every large city government has its +department of charities, sometimes combined with the department of +health. The "overseer of the poor" is one of the oldest of town +officers. The care of dependents and defectives in small, or +rural, communities has, however, been very poorly organized. + +RELATION BETWEEN STATE AND LOCAL ORGANIZATION + +An effective attack upon the public welfare problems of a state is +twofold: (1) by a state welfare board and state welfare +institutions, and (2) by town and county welfare boards and +institutions... . + +Public welfare work calls for a state board of public welfare, +statewide in authority ... and for state institutions that are +large enough to care for the delinquents, the dependents, the +defectives, and the neglected who cannot be better cared for by +local authority and institutions. ... + +But, on the other hand, it calls for county boards of public +welfare with county-wide authority and trained executive +secretaries. ... Many of our ills bulk up so big that they can be +successfully attacked only in detail by local interest, local +effort, and local institutions. Tuberculosis and poverty are +capital instances of social problems that are beyond the +possibilities of state institutions, and that necessarily wait +upon organized county efforts of effective sort. ... We do not +know the deaf, the blind, the feeble-minded, the epileptic, the +crippled, and the neglected or wayward boys and girls--their +number, their names, and their residences in any county of the +state ... because there is at present no local organization +charged with the responsibility of accounting for such +unfortunates. ... + +[Footnote: E. C. Branson, "County responsibility for public +welfare," in the North Carolina Club YEAR BOOK, 1917-1918, pp. +161, 162 (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C.).] + +CAUSES OF DEPENDENCY MUST BE REMOVED + +There will doubtless always be some dependent and defective +members of the community for whom the community must care. Their +number, however, may be greatly reduced by creating conditions +that will remove their causes. It has been reported from many +localities, for example, that the prohibition of the sale of +intoxicating liquors has resulted in the emptying of the "work +houses" which communities have sustained for the confinement of +vagrants and persons convicted of petty misdemeanors. Much +dependency has resulted from the crippling of wage earners by +industrial accidents and from "industrial diseases" arising from +work in unwholesome conditions. These causes may be removed by the +maintenance of wholesome working conditions, by the installation +of safety devices, and by the exercise of greater care by workers +and employers. The "safety first" movement strikes at the root of +much dependency. Inability to read signs and to understand +instructions on the part of illiterate and foreign workers is the +cause of many accidents. + +SOCIAL INSURANCE + +Some states have passed "employers' liability laws," designed to +hold employers responsible for accidents resulting from failure to +provide safe working conditions. Others have "workmen's +compensation laws" which provide that an injured workman shall +receive a portion of his wages during incapacity from accident or +illness. In some countries various forms of COMPULSORY STATE +INSURANCE have been adopted. Germany, for example, has long had +laws requiring employees to take out accident insurance and +insurance against sickness, both employees and employers +contributing to the insurance fund. Pensions for the aged and for +widows are also provided for, the government itself contributing +to the fund for this purpose. At the close of the year 1919, 39 of +our 48 states had laws providing for aid by the state to mothers +who were unable to provide properly for their children. + +The aim in our community life should be as far as possible to +PREVENT dependency and not merely to relieve suffering after it +occurs. We shall find that the problem will tend to disappear in +proportion as we develop in our communities adequate provision for +health protection and physical development (Chapter XX), for +vocational and general education (Chapter XIX), for wholesome +recreation (Chapter XXI), for the cultivation of habits of thrift +(Chapter XIII); and as we are successful in producing a right +attitude toward the problem of earning a living and wholesome +relations between employer and employee (Chapter XI). + +Investigate and report on: + +The rehabilitation of crippled soldiers after the war. + +Your county or town almshouse or poor farm: The kinds of cases +sheltered there; its cost to the community; the methods of +treatment employed. + +Other local institutions for indoor relief in your community. + +State institutions for the care of dependents and defectives in +your state. Their kinds and location. + +The difference between "poverty" and "pauperism." + +The extent and kind of "charity work" done by the church which you +attend (get accurate information). + +The voluntary organizations of your community that give "poor +relief." The kind of charitable work done by each. + +Charity organization in your community. Its results and the need +for it. + +The causes of dependence in your community. + +The extent to which voluntary charitable work in your community is +directed to removing the causes of dependency. + +The organization of your county or town government for the care of +dependents and defectives. + +Employers' liability laws, workmen's compensation laws, mothers' +pension laws, in your state. + +THE CRIMINAL CLASS + +It is said that there are at least 250,000 people in the United +States who make their living by crime, and there are many more who +commit crime on occasion. It is said, also, that to support and +control this criminal class costs the people of the United States +not less than $600,000,000 per annum, or as much as is expended +for the entire educational system of the country. + +WHAT CRIME IS + +Crime is the violation of law. The criminal is a member of the +community who refuses to cooperate with others in accordance with +the law. The conduct of an individual may be wrong and harmful to +the community without being criminal; it becomes criminal only +when the law actually forbids it. A given act may be a crime in +one state and not in another state, because the laws of the states +differ in their definition of crimes. They also differ in the +penalties imposed for the same crime. + +EARLY METHODS OF TREATING CRIMINALS + +The methods of dealing with criminals have changed greatly with +the progress of civilization, and especially in recent years since +the causes of crime have become better understood. In the earlier +methods two ideas were prominent: the infliction of punishment, +and the deterrence of others from committing the same offense. The +penalties inflicted were therefore very severe. The death penalty +was inflicted not only for taking human life but also for minor +offenses, such as stealing. Even in our own country in colonial +times bodily mutilation was not uncommon, such as branding with a +hot iron, or cutting off the ears. Prisons were vile and loathsome +places. + +REHABILITATION OF CRIMINALS + +Humane feelings have caused the abandonment of such treatment. The +death penalty still remains for the worst of crimes; but even it +has become more humane in its methods. Many believe that it should +be entirely abandoned. The eighth amendment to the Constitution of +the United States says that "excessive bail shall not be required, +nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments +inflicted." Moreover, a new idea has entered into the matter. It +is the same idea that controls the modern treatment of dependents, +namely, that of REHABILITATING the criminal. It is now recognized +that crime results in most cases from diseased conditions either +in the individual or in the community. Some individuals commit +crime merely because it seems to them the easiest way to make a +living or to gain some other end; but even such individuals are +MORALLY diseased. Much crime is due to temporary mental +disturbance, as from the use of intoxicants or other drugs. +Sometimes it is the act of persons who are actually insane or +feeble-minded. Very often it is committed under pressure of +poverty. + +In view of these facts, while the deliberate violator of law +should doubtless be punished, it is even more important that the +causes of crime should be removed, and that the criminal should, +in as many cases as possible, be restored to a useful and an +honest manner of life. The proper treatment of dependents and +defectives, and the removal of causes of dependency and +defectiveness, are essential steps toward the lessening of crime. + +THE LOCAL JAIL + +The county jail and the town "lock-up" are the usual local +institutions where persons suspected of having violated the law +are detained while awaiting trial in the courts, and also where +those convicted of petty misdemeanors are imprisoned for +punishment. The jail and the "lock-up" are as notorious as the +almshouse for unwholesome conditions and mismanagement, though +conditions have greatly improved under the influence of an +awakened public opinion. They have often, been unsanitary in the +extreme. Prisoners have often been treated more like cattle than +like human beings. Young and old are thrown together, the hardened +criminal with the youthful "first offender," and with those merely +suspected of crime, many of whom will be proved to be innocent. +The result is demoralizing. Our jails have sometimes been said to +be "schools of vice and crime." + +NEEDED REFORM OF THE JAIL + +Two reforms, at least, are needed in local jails. First, they +should be made as wholesome as possible, both physically and +morally. They should be perfectly sanitary, and the food should at +least be clean and nourishing. Arrangements should be made to keep +the different classes of inmates separate, especially the hardened +and vicious criminals from youthful transgressors and suspects. In +the second place, the local jail should be merely a place of +detention for those awaiting trial or, after trial, transfer to +other institutions. Those found guilty by the courts should be +transferred as quickly as possible to institutions where they may +receive treatment fitted to their needs. + +FITTING THE TREATMENT TO THE OFFENDER + +Of three persons who steal ten dollars, one may be a deliberate +thief who prefers to make his living this way; another may be +driven by hunger; and the third may be mentally unbalanced. It is +obvious that the treatment accorded to each should be determined +by these facts rather than by the mere amount of the theft. The +first doubtless needs punishment; but he should also have +treatment designed to change his attitude toward the community and +to fit him to make an honest living. The second needs to be +relieved of his want and to be given an opportunity for self- +support. The third needs hospital treatment. We are only beginning +to see that punishment is only a part of the treatment necessary, +and that the treatment should be made to fit the criminal fully as +much as to fit the crime. + +STATE INSTITUTIONS FOR DELINQUENTS + +Proper treatment for all the various classes of cases cannot well +be given in the county jail; nor can the local community as a rule +afford to maintain separate institutions for them, as the number +in each class is very small in a given community. Hence the +necessity for state institutions to which those convicted in the +local courts may be sent. Such institutions exist, although not +always adequate to the needs of the state. They include state +penitentiaries, reform and industrial schools, hospitals for the +insane, special schools for the feeble-minded, and others. These +institutions have been steadily improving in their efficiency. The +greater difficulty seems to be in the local communities, in +securing the assignment of offenders to the proper institutions. + +ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PRISONS + +Great changes have occurred in recent years in the methods of +administering state penitentiaries, especially in some states. +Under old conditions convicts were either confined in isolation +and idleness or condemned to hard labor, punishment being the sole +idea in both cases. The most rigid and arbitrary discipline was +enforced. Modern penitentiaries keep prisoners employed in +occupations that are of use to the state, that are designed to +train the prisoner for useful service, and that yield him some +compensation that will help to make him self-supporting when he +leaves. They also maintain schools for the instruction of +prisoners in at least the common branches of knowledge and in +vocational subjects. Great care is taken of the health. In some +cases the prisoners are graded according to their conduct and +their ability to assume responsibility, certain privileges and +freedom and participation in the administration of the prison +being bestowed upon them so long as they show a sense of their +responsibility. The period of imprisonment may be shortened as a +reward for good conduct. + +JUVENILE OFFENDERS + +One of the most important reforms that have been made is that in +the treatment of juvenile offenders. The main feature of this is +the establishment of a JUVENILE COURT, where the usual procedure +and publicity of a criminal court are avoided, and where the judge +takes a fatherly attitude toward the accused. Each case is +carefully investigated to discover the cause of trouble and to +arrive at a wise conclusion as to the treatment to be given. In +the case of first offenders, or where other conditions justify it, +the prisoner is released ON PROBATION. That is, he is given his +freedom on his honor, but under the supervision of a PROBATION +OFFICER to whom he must report at regular intervals. In the case +of more serious offenses, or of repeated wrong-doing, or of +violation of parole, offenders are sent to reform schools or +industrial schools. The entire effort is to set the young offender +on the right road to honest self-support and good citizenship. +Unfortunately, however, this machinery for the treatment of +juvenile delinquency is so far found almost exclusively in cities. +The problem of juvenile delinquency in rural communities is one +that requires more attention than has been given to it. It is a +problem that the young citizen himself can greatly help to solve +by the cultivation, in himself and in his friends, of right +conceptions of citizenship. + +Investigate and report on the following: + +The organization of your county and town governments to protect +persons and property against criminals, to apprehend law +violators, and to bring them to justice. + +The cost to your county or town of this organization. + +The desirability or undesirability of differing definitions of +crime in different states, and of different punishments for the +same crime. + +The efficacy of severe punishments in preventing crime. + +Should capital punishment be abolished? + +The meaning of "bail," and why it is provided for. + +The effect of prohibition upon the amount of crime in your +community. + +The number of prisoners confined in your county jail during the +past year, why they were there, and what it cost to keep them. + +The meaning of "fitting punishment to the criminal rather than to +the crime." + +The treatment of prisoners in your state penitentiary. + +The method of dealing with juvenile offenders in your community. + +The meaning of "probation"; of "parole"; of an "indeterminate +sentence." + +The extent of juvenile delinquency in your community; its causes. + +The use of convict labor outside of prisons. + +READINGS + +Reports of county and town authorities. + +Reports of state board of charities and of administrative boards +of state institutions. + +Publications of the Children's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor. +Send for list from which to select. Two valuable publications of +this Bureau are: + +Bureau Publication No. 32, "Juvenile Delinquency in Rural New +York." + +Bureau Publication. No. 60, "Standards of Child Welfare." This +contains among other valuable material, discussions of child labor +and legislation relating to it, of the care of dependent and +defective children, and of juvenile delinquency. + +In Lessons in Community and National Life: + +Series A: Lesson 5, The human resources of a community. + Lesson 28, The worker in our society. + +Series C: Lesson 8, Preventing waste of human beings. + Lesson 20, The family and social control. + Lesson 30, Social insurance. + +The following are a few good books relating to the topics of this +chapter: + +Burch, H. R, and Patterson, S. H., American Social Problems, +chaps, xvi-xx (Macmillan). + +Henderson, C. R., Dependents, Defectives, and Delinquents. + +Warner, A. G., American Charities. + +Devine, E. T., Principles of Relief. + +Addams, Jane, Twenty Years at Hull House, and The House on Henry +Street. + +Ellwood, C. A., Sociology and Modern Social Problems. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +TEAM WORK IN TAXATION + +THE DISLIKE OF THE PEOPLE FOR TAXATION + + +People have never liked to pay taxes. Their repugnance to it is +largely a survival of the times when an autocratic ruling class +imposed taxes upon the people for its own selfish purposes. +Struggling for the bare necessities of life, the people had to pay +the bills of the ruling class who lived in luxury. The long +struggle for liberty in England and in the English colonies was a +struggle against the power of rulers to impose taxes without the +consent of the people. The habit of mind with respect to taxation +formed under such conditions has to a considerable extent +persisted into the present, when conditions are very different. + +WHAT TAXATION MEANS IN A DEMOCRACY + +The change to government "of the people, by the people, for the +people" should put the paying of taxes in a very different light. +We decide upon a service we want performed for us, we provide the +governing machinery to perform the service, and the service must +be paid for. We do not object to paying for having our house +built, our food provided, our clothes made, and our goods hauled. +Why should we object to paying for the service of schools, roads, +protection of health and property, the defense of our liberties? + +THE RETURNS FROM TAXATION + +Such objection seems especially unreasonable when we consider that +the value of the service rendered by government is, as a rule, far +in excess of what it costs the individual citizen. In Chapter XVII +we saw that a Virginia farmer, the value of whose farm was +assessed at $3000, was taxed $19.48 for road improvements. In +return for this he acquired the use of a system of roads +throughout the county that cost at least $173,000. This local +system connected him with the transportation system of the entire +country, gave him a market for his produce, greatly increased the +value of his land, brought better school facilities, and enriched +his life in many ways. + +The recent war imposed an unusually heavy burden of taxation upon +us. But when we think of the millions of people who paid for the +war with their LIVES, and of the fact that the war was fought for +the most precious of all things,--human liberty,--the money tax +that each citizen had to pay in some form or other seems very +insignificant. + +BENEFITS OF TEAM WORK IN TAXATION + +In Chapter IV we read how Benjamin Franklin secured the services +of a man to keep the pavements of the neighborhood clean "for the +sum of sixpence per month to be paid by each house." By this bit +of cooperation, each householder was relieved of a burden, and had +the benefit not only of having his own pavement cleaned, but also +of knowing that those of all his neighbors would be equally clean, +and thus of having a pleasanter neighborhood, and the cost was +insignificant. This incident illustrates the underlying principle +of taxation in a self-governing community. The poorest citizen is +made rich in the benefits that he may enjoy, while the cost is +made proportional to his ability to pay. + +MISUSE OF TAXES + +Like the rest of our governing machinery, however, our system of +levying, collecting, and paying taxes does not always work +perfectly, and there is more or less ground for dissatisfaction +with it. In the first place, the people do not always get full +value for their taxes. While it is true that the farmer receives, +in return for his road tax, vastly more than he could purchase +privately with the same amount of money, yet, if the road +improvements are poorly made, he gets less than he should. It +usually costs as much to employ an inefficient road supervisor, or +school teacher or superintendent, or sheriff, as to employ an +efficient one--in fact, in the long run it costs more. Sometimes +more persons are employed in government offices than there is any +need for, or some of those employed are shirkers, or otherwise +inefficient. There is wastefulness in the methods by which +appropriations are made for the expenses of government. Sometimes +there is "graft," by which public money is diverted to the private +uses of officials, contractors, or others. + +A CAUSE OF DISSATISFACTION + +Such abuses as these are, of course, not faults of the TAXING +system, but they naturally make citizens reluctant to pay taxes. +People want to know that their money is spent for the purposes for +which it was paid, and that it is used economically and +effectively for these purposes. Nothing else will do so much to +remove the dislike of taxation as assurance on these points. As +Franklin said with reference to his successful experiment in +street cleaning, it "raised a general desire to have all the +streets paved, and made the people more willing to submit to a tax +for that purpose." + +TAXATION MUST BE JUST + +A system of taxation must be JUST if it is to meet with popular +approval. It is not easy, nor indeed possible, to devise a system +that works with absolute justice in every case; for the assessment +of taxes is a complicated process, and reliance must be placed to +a considerable extent upon the honesty and conscientiousness of +individual citizens. The people are satisfied, however, if they +see that every reasonable effort is made to secure justice. + +The first essential in a just system is that EVERY CITIZEN SHALL +BEAR HIS SHARE of the burden. Therefore the paying of taxes is +compulsory by law. It is also just that each citizen shall pay +only IN PROPORTION TO HIS ABILITY. These two principles of +taxation are similar to those applied in the selective draft for +war service. It is in assessing taxes according to ability to pay +that one of the principal difficulties appears. But an effort has +been made to do this by the following procedure. + +HOW THE AMOUNT TO BE RAISED IS DETERMINED + +It is first necessary to know how much money will be needed by the +government. Each year, therefore, the heads of the various +branches and departments of government make an estimate for the +coming year, based on their knowledge of past expenditures and +present and future needs. Such estimate can be made intelligently +only when there is an accurate and businesslike system of keeping +accounts and records, and a well-planned BUDGET SYSTEM. +Unbusinesslike methods of keeping accounts and the lack of a +budget system have been among the chief weaknesses of our +governments, equally characteristic of local, state, and national +governments. Efforts are being made to remedy these defects and +are described in Chapters XXV, XXVI, and XXVII. + +TAXES ON PERSONS, PROPERTY, AND PRIVILEGES + +The second thing to be ascertained is the ability of each citizen +to pay. In some states a uniform POLL TAX is assessed upon every +adult citizen. This is a tax upon the PERSON and usually amounts +to about two dollars. Only those are exempt who are incapable of +self-support. But the chief reliance is upon a property tax. State +and local governments depend principally upon a GENERAL PROPERTY +TAX, for which purpose property is divided into two kinds: REAL +ESTATE, which includes land and buildings, and PERSONAL PROPERTY, +which includes furniture, tools, livestock, money, and valuables +of various kinds. In addition to the general property tax there +may be taxes upon INCOMES and upon INHERITANCES. There are also +LICENSE TAXES, such as dog and automobile licenses. Finally there +are taxes upon certain PRIVILEGES which are bestowed upon the +individual by the community and have a money value. Of such a +nature is the license tax imposed upon a peddler or upon a person +who maintains a market stand on the public street. Such, also, are +the taxes placed upon corporations for the privilege of using the +public highways for car tracks, water mains, or telephone poles. + +It is necessary, therefore, for the government to ASSESS THE VALUE +of the property (or privilege) of each citizen, and it has its +organization for this purpose. Each local community The assessment +of (township, county, or city) has one or more TAX ASESSORS, who +endeavor to ascertain by inquiry values or inspection the value of +each citizen's property. The sum of the individual assessments +constitutes the assessment valuation for the town, or county, or +city; and the sum of the valuations of these local communities +constitutes the valuation for the entire state. + +THE RATE OF TAXATION + +The third step is to ascertain the RATE of taxation. This is found +by dividing the total amount to be raised by taxation The rate of +by the total property valuation of the county or taxation state, +as the case may be. If the amount to be raised is $500,000, and +the property valuation is $10,000,000, the rate would be 5 per +cent, and the tax is levied against each citizen at this rate. A +citizen who owns twice as much property as another should pay +twice as much tax. Each should pay according to his ability. + +DIFFICULTY OF JUST ASSESSMENT + +This seems like a simple procedure; but it is very difficult to +get a just result. The difficulty lies chiefly in the assessment +It requires a good deal of intelligence to assess property fairly, +even with the best of intentions. Assessors are not always +competent. Two assessors may differ in their judgment, so that +assessments in one part of the community may run at a lower level +than in another part. Thus assessments vary in their fairness in +different townships of the same county, and in different counties +of the same state. An attempt is made to avoid this by means of +county and state TAX EQUALIZATION BOARDS, which seek to adjust +differences of this sort. But their efforts are only partially +successful. + +RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPERTY OWNERS + +Property owners are themselves, however, more responsible than +anyone else for the inequities of taxation in our country. It is a +common practice of tax assessors to accept the property owner's +own statement of the valuation of his property. In an +astonishingly large proportion of cases he gives a valuation far +below the real one. Even when the assessor inspects the property, +it is easy to conceal from his eyes certain forms of personal +property, such as money, stocks and bonds, and jewelry. Land and +livestock cannot be concealed; and for this reason farmers are +likely to pay a heavier share of taxes than others whose property +is in less conspicuous forms. But they may make false valuations. + +ILLUSTRATIONS OF UNJUST ASSESSMENTS + +In one state, where the law requires the assessment of real estate +"at its true value in money when sold in the ordinary manner of +sale," a study in one township showed that "the average TAX value +of farm land in the open country ... is $7.89, while the average +MARKET value runs around $20. The 73 largest taxpayers give in +their farm holdings at values ranging from $6 to $20 an acre. Thus +the burden of state and county support falls three or four times +as heavily on one acre of farm land as on another--on farms lying +side by side. + +"When we look at suburban farm land the tax values range from $17 +to $2220 an acre. + +"But the most amazing 'jokes' appear in the values put by their +owners on improved town lots. In the same end of the town we found +three handsome town properties worth around $15,000 each, the tax +values were $550, $4400, $4950. In another neighborhood, two +adjoining homes about equal in value were listed at $500 and +$3400; one at about 50 per cent and the other at about 8 per cent +of the actual value." + +With regard to personal property in the same township, the +wealthiest private taxpayer in the township lists household goods +and utensils, work-stock, vehicles, money, jewelry ... at $216. +The next wealthiest private taxpayer covers all these properties +with $105. He's a farmer and well-to-do, but his household +furniture, farm animals, vehicles, implements, and the like, are +worth only $105--on the tax list. + +"Another large landowner covers his household goods, farm animals, +vehicles, and the like, with $82; another with $457, and another +with $2272. The differences lie not so much in the properties as +in the consciences of these big landlords."[Footnote: 1 E. C. +Branson, A Township Tax-List Study; in North Carolina Club Year +Book, 1917-1918, pp. 66, 67 (The University of North Carolina +Extension Series No. 30).] + +PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HONESTY + +Such inequalities as these may be found in almost every tax list +in any community. One of the strange things about it is that +citizens evade taxation who would not think of being dishonest or +unfair in a private business transaction. The reason is not easy +to understand. Doubtless it is partly due to the feeling that as +long as "everybody does it" it is justifiable. Of course this is +not true. One taxpayer is reported as saying, "I feel dog-mean +whenever I give in my taxes; but I'm doing as well as the rest and +a little better than most." + +GOOD SENSE AND GOOD BUSINESS + +Dishonest returns by one taxpayer defraud the citizen who is +honest, because they place a heavier burden of taxation upon the +latter. Moreover, the dishonest taxpayer and good cheats himself +along with others, for the lower the business valuation of +property, the higher the rate of taxation, or the poorer the +service received from the government. "It is good sense and good +business for a state to show up with large tax values and low tax +rates. It shows a brisk and lively prosperity that is attractive +to outside capital and enterprise." [Footnote: E. C. Branson, A +Township Tax-List Study] + +INTELLIGENCE AND PUBLICITY NEEDED + +To secure fairer taxation and better returns from taxation there +is need of improvement in the organization for tax assessment and +tax equalization. It is especially important to make it more +difficult for the "tax dodger" to evade his responsibility. It +would seem, however, that there would be fewer "tax dodgers" if +the people once got "the right idea" of what taxation really means +in a democracy. Great improvement would doubtless result, even +under present conditions, if honest citizens would take more +interest in the results of assessments as shown in the tax lists. +The writer quoted in the paragraphs above asserts that, next to +the Bible, "the most important book in any county is the Tax List, +and it is the one book that the people in general know least +about." + +Everybody knows in a vague, general way that something is wrong +with our tax system ... but what everybody does not know is what +the facts are in concrete, accurate detail. There is no cure like +publicity for wrongs in a democracy. Give the folks the facts, +whatever they are, and the folks will do the rest. ... But at +present nobody knows the facts. That is to say, nobody but the tax +listers, the registers, and the sheriffs. And they are dumb +because their official lives depend on silence. [Footnote:. C. +Branson, A Township Tax-List Study.] + +Investigate and report on the following: + +Do people of your acquaintance like to pay taxes? What reasons do +they give? + +The cost of your town government, your county government, and your +state government per year. + +The purposes for which most money is spent by your town +government, your county government, and your state government. + +The assessed valuation of property in your town, county, state. + +Does the law in your state require that property shall be assessed +at its full market value? If not, at what part of its market +value? + +The tax rate in your county. Is it high or low? Reasons why it is +high or low. + +The tax list of your town. + +The sources of revenue in your county and state, and the amount +raised from each source. + +The work of a tax assessor in your town. + +Where taxes are paid in your community. + +Who has charge of tax collections in your community? + +What happens to a citizen in your community who fails to pay his +taxes? + +The difference between "assessing" and "levying" taxes. + +Who levies the taxes in your town? county? state? + +Explain the statement that "large tax values and low tax rates +attract outside capital and enterprise". + +TAXATION BY THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT + +We have been speaking so far of taxation, for the purposes of +state and local governments. But Congress also has power by "to +lay and collect taxes ... to pay the debts and provide for the +common defense and general welfare of the United States" +(Constitution, Art. I, sec. 8, clause i). State and local +governments raise most of their revenues by DIRECT taxation upon +the property of citizens. The national government, on the other +hand, has always relied chiefly upon INDIRECT taxation. Congress +levies DUTIES ON IMPORTS. These duties are paid in the first +instance by the importer. The latter, however, adds the tax to the +price of the goods, so that it is paid finally by the consumers +and not by the importer. In a similar manner Congress levies +EXCISE TAXES, which are taxes upon products manufactured in this +country. The principal excise taxes have been those levied on +alcoholic liquors and tobacco. But here again the tax is paid by +the consumer in the price which he pays for the liquor or tobacco. + +ADVANTAGES OF INDIRECT TAXATION + +The chief advantage of indirect taxes is the ease and certainty +with which they may be collected by the government. the citizen +pays them whenever he buys the articles on which the tax is +levied. The retail dealer passes them on to the wholesaler, and so +finally the importer is reimbursed. The government collects the +taxes at customs houses at ports of entry, or at the tobacco +factories and, formerly, at distilleries. Prohibition has deprived +the government of one of its chief sources of revenue. Indirect +taxes are also less objectionable to the people, for they are +seldom conscious of paying them when they buy goods upon which +they are levied. + +FEDERAL INCOME TAX + +Congress has the power to levy direct as well as indirect taxes, +but it has usually avoided direct taxation, partly for the reasons +stated above, and partly because the Constitution provides that +"no capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in +proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to +be taken"; that is, in proportion to population. It has been found +difficult in practice to make such apportionment. Various attempts +by Congress to levy a direct tax on incomes have been declared +unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because it was not so +apportioned. The Constitution has now been amended, however, to +give Congress the power "to lay and collect taxes on incomes from +whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several +states, and without regard to any census or enumeration" +(Amendment XVI). + +A large revenue is now derived from the national income tax. The +law at first exempted from it single persons whose income was less +than $3000, and married persons whose income was less than $4000. +As a result of the war, only those are now exempt whose incomes +are less than $1000, if single, and $2000 if married, with an +additional exemption for each dependent child. The tax is +PROGRESSIVE: that is, the larger one's income, the higher RATE one +pays. + +WAR TAXES + +In ordinary times of peace, state and local governments together +spend much more money than the national government. In war time +the reverse is true. Enormous sums of money were required for the +conduct of the recent war. As a result the rates of import, +excise, and income taxes were greatly increased, and unusual forms +of taxation were adopted. A war tax was placed upon many articles +of common use, an inheritance tax was imposed similar to that in +some of the states, and the EXCESS PROFITS of businesses which the +war made unusually prosperous were taxed heavily. The effort in +every case was to distribute the tax so that every one should do +his share, while the burden should rest most heavily upon those +who could best bear it. + +GOVERNMENT LOANS + +A large part of the money necessary for war purposes, and for +permanent improvements in time of peace, is raised by borrowing. +Governments, whether national, state, or local, borrow money by +the sale of BONDS, the purchase price with interest being returned +to the purchaser after a stated period of years. The national +government borrowed more than 22 billion dollars during the war by +the sale of "liberty bonds," and an additional large sum by the +sale of "war savings stamps". These loans made by the people are +ultimately paid off with funds raised by taxation. The people to- +day advance money to the government, which the people of to-morrow +pay back by taxation. This is justifiable because the war was +fought for the benefit of future generations as well as of the +people to-day. For the same reason, the cost of permanent +improvements, such as roads and public buildings, is distributed +over a period of years. + +Investigate and report on: + +The full meaning of Article I, section 8, clause i, and section 7, +clause I, of the Constitution. + +The loss to the nation of revenue as a result of the prohibition +of the liquor traffic. + +Compensating financial gains to the nation through prohibition of +the liquor traffic. + +Why an income tax is a good form of taxation. Why it should be +"progressive". + +The justice of an inheritance tax. Of a tax on excess profits. + +Articles upon which you pay an import duty. + +Why government is justified in using force to compel the payment +of taxes. + +READINGS + +County and state reports. Local tax lists. + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series B: Lesson 22, Financing the war. + Lesson 23, Thrift and war savings. + +The United States Treasury Department; in Federal Executive +Departments, + +Bulletin, 1919, No. 74, U.S. Bureau of Education. + +In Long's AMERICAN PATRIOTIC PROSE: + +Taxation and Government (John Fiske), pp. 249-254. + +North Carolina Club YEAR BOOK, 1917-1918, pp. 49-68 (University of +North Carolina Record, Extension Series No. 30, Chapel Hill, +N.C.). + +Tufts, Jas. H., THE REAL BUSINESS OF LIVING, pp. 52-54; 242-246 +(Henry Holt Co.). + +Hart, A.B., ACTUAL GOVERNMENT, pp. 381-429 (Longmans, Green & +Co.). + +Reed, T.H., FORM AND FUNCTIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, pp. 468-481 +(World Book Co.). + +ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, under "Tax" and "Taxation." + +Plehn, C.C., INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC FINANCE (Macmillan). + + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +HOW WE GOVERN OURSELVES + + +Early in our study we considered the question WHY we have +government (Chapter IV). We saw then that it is the people's +organization for teamwork in protecting and promoting their common +interests. Succeeding chapters contain evidence that this is so, +although they also show that the results achieved by government +are by no means perfect. Now we are to consider HOW we have +organized to get teamwork and how well our organization is suited +to its purpose. + +GOVERNMENT AS A PROTECTOR OF INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE + +"American experience indicates that what men do for themselves, on +their own initiative, is better done than what paternalistic +government attempts to do for them." [Footnote: Editorial, +SATURDAY EVENING POST, February 12, 1921.] Americans have always +disliked PATERNALISM in government, which means an attempt on the +part of government to control the personal affairs of the people +as a father (Latin, PATER) controls the affairs of a small child. +Democracy is founded on faith in the ability of the people to +manage their own affairs with due regard for the equal rights of +other people. We look upon our government chiefly as an instrument +to ensure an equal opportunity to all to exercise initiative and +to manage their own affairs; or, to use the terms we have used +before, not so much to do things for us, as to secure teamwork in +doing things for ourselves. We have had numerous examples of this +principle in preceding chapters, one of which was the extent to +which private initiative and enterprise were depended upon for the +development of our public lands. + +GOVERNMENT AS A PERFORMER OF SERVICE + +As our community life has become more complex, and as our +dependence upon one another has become greater, we have gradually +come to expect government to do many things for us, and to control +our individual conduct in many ways, that were not thought of at +an earlier time. We have had illustrations of this, also, in +foregoing chapters. For example, whereas roads were at first built +and controlled almost entirely by private enterprise, now they are +mostly PUBLIC highways, maintained by state and local governments +with the cooperation of the national government. Proposals to +place railroads under government management have always met, and +still meet, with opposition; but government exercises a much +greater control over them than formerly. Even education has only +gradually become compulsory by law, and the "public" high school +is of recent origin. Until quite recently the people have been +left largely to their own resources for the protection of health, +and for recreation and social life. + +VIEWS OF THE SOCIALISTS + +There are those who take the extreme position that government +should manage practically everything for us. Such are the +Socialists, who believe that the unequal distribution of wealth +and the resulting inequalities in opportunity to satisfy wants are +due to the control of industry by a small and essentially selfish +capitalistic class. They believe that all natural resources and +all capital should belong to the people jointly, and that the +people's government should control both the production and the +distribution of wealth. + +It has been objected to the socialist scheme that, since +government would still be in the hands of imperfect human beings, +it would not be wise enough to accomplish the desired result; that +political motives would enter into government management, as they +do in government enterprises to-day, and would prevent the +achievement of the desired results; and that, the opportunity for +private initiative and enterprise having been removed, there would +be lacking one of the chief inducements to human progress. + +Socialism has made considerable progress in some nations of the +world, but it is by no means popular in the United States, +although it has many advocates. We adhere in the main to the +principle that government should do things for us only when they +could not be so well done by private enterprise, and should +control our conduct only so far as to secure equality of personal +freedom. The fact remains, however, that an increasing amount of +service is being performed for us by government, and an increasing +control exercised by it over private enterprise. + +ORGANIZATION FOR SERVICE AND FOR CONTROL + +Insofar as government performs service for us, it must have an +organization for that purpose, with competent leadership. And if +it is not to interfere unduly with freedom of action or personal +liberty, the people must have an organization by which to maintain +control over it. Thus there must be an organization to ensure +efficient SERVICE, and there must be an organization to ensure +democracy, or POPULAR CONTROL. If both organizations are +effective, we have an EFFICIENT DEMOCRACY, toward which we have +been striving through all our history, but which we have not yet +completely attained. + +A government may be efficient in performing service for the people +without being democratic. In fact, it may be easier to get +efficient service under an autocratic government. Germany before +the war illustrated this. But we believe that a government may be +both efficient and democratic. This depends upon competent +leadership and popular control; and both of these depend upon +education (Chapter XIX). + +In the remaining pages of this book we shall consider both the +organization of our government for service and that for popular +control. In this chapter we shall examine some of the methods by +which we seek to control government, or to be SELF-governing. + +DIRECT SELF-GOVERNMENT + +The people of a community may govern themselves by direct action +or indirectly through representatives, just as a group of farmers +may build their own schoolhouse or church, or employ someone to do +it for them. When English colonists settled New England, +geographical conditions and other reasons led them to form small, +compact communities, in which it was easy to assemble frequently +at the meetinghouse to discuss matters of community concern and to +agree upon, rules, or laws, to regulate them. This local +government by "town meeting" has persisted in many New England +"towns," or "townships," to the present day. + +REPRESENTATIVE SELF-GOVERNMENT + +This direct action of the people in the New England town is for +the purpose of MAKING the laws only. When it comes to the +enforcement of these laws, it is necessary to delegate the +authority to someone. The town meeting could make a law against +permitting hogs to run at large, but it chose someone, a "hog +reeve," to see that the law was observed. When the community is +large it is found more convenient to choose representatives also +to make the laws. Thus each Massachusetts town had its +representative in the lawmaking assembly of the colony as a whole. +This representative system of government now prevails in our +cities, counties, states, and nation. + +DIRECT SELF-GOVERNMENT THROUGH CONSTITUTIONS + +Even in the larger communities, however, such as cities, states, +and the nation itself, the people have sought to retain more or +less direct control over lawmaking. In the first place, the +"fundamental law" of the states and nation found in their +constitutions, which determine what the form and powers of +government shall be, has been adopted by more direct action of the +people than most other laws. The Preamble to the federal +Constitution asserts that "We, the people of the United +States...do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United +States of America." Neither state nor national constitutions can +be altered except by special action by the people themselves, +either by direct vote at the polls or by conventions of +representatives chosen especially for the purpose. + +DIRECT LAWMAKING: INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM + +It has long been the practice in many communities to submit +important local questions to popular vote for decision, such as +the question of issuing bonds for public improvements, or of +licensing saloons. Within recent years in a number of states the +people have gained direct control over lawmaking in regard to any +subject whatever, both in local and state affairs, by means of the +"initiative and referendum." The "initiative" is the right of the +voters themselves to "initiate," or propose, legislation. This is +done by means of a petition signed by a specified number of +voters. The legislature may then act upon the proposed law; but if +it does not do so, the law is submitted to the people for their +vote at the next election. On the other hand, if the legislature +passes a law that is objectionable to some of the voters a +petition signed by a specified number of voters requires the law +to be REFERRED to the people for their approval or rejection. This +is the "referendum." + +DEMOCRACY OF THE WEST + +Of the 21 states that had adopted the initiative and referendum +(to 1917) only four were east of the Mississippi River (Maine, +Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio). [Footnote: "The Initiative and +Referendum," Bulletin No. 6, submitted to the Constitutional +Convention of Massachusetts (1917) by the Commission to Compile +Information and Data, p. 10.] The movement to increase popular +control over government has always been stronger in the West, as +we shall see in other connections. + +For the most part, however, our laws are made by our +representatives, over whom we exercise more or less control. Some +of the more important means by which this control is exercised are +described in following chapters; but first of all we exercise +control by CHOOSING our representatives at frequent intervals. Let +us inquire to what extent the people have a voice in this choice. + +THE SUFFRAGE + +It is not true that all citizens have a voice in choosing their +representatives, though it is more nearly true today than ever +before. The right to a voice in this choice is called the +SUFFRAGE. It is bestowed only on those citizens who possess +certain qualifications. The constitution of each state fixes the +qualifications for those who live within the boundaries of the +state, the national government having exercised no control over +the matter except in two cases. After the Civil War, the Fifteenth +Amendment to the Federal Constitution was adopted, providing that +"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be +denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on +account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude"; and +recently Congress has enacted another amendment to the federal +Constitution which, when approved by a sufficient number of +states, will bestow the suffrage upon all women of the nation who +possess the other necessary qualifications. + +EARLY DISTRUST OF THE PEOPLE + +The founders of our nation were far from democratic as we now +understand the term. They believed that the government should be +controlled by the educated and propertied class, which was small. +The lack of confidence in the people was shown in various ways, +but among others by the restriction of the suffrage. This was true +even in the New England town meeting, which we are in the habit of +considering as the most democratic of institutions. For instance, +no one could vote in colonial times who did not belong to the +church. Religious qualifications were soon abolished however, and +property qualifications have almost completely disappeared, though +in some states voters must be taxpayers. + +QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE SUFFRAGE + +Today no citizen may vote in any state who has not reached the age +of 21. The reason for this is clear and just, but it excludes from +the suffrage about 30 million young citizens. Persons of unsound +mind are denied the suffrage, and citizens may be disqualified by +crime. In some states illiterates are denied the right to vote. In +most states foreigners must have completed the process of +naturalization, which requires five years before they may vote. +All states require residence in the state and in their local +districts for specified periods prior to voting. But with these +exceptions, the suffrage is now possessed by practically all male +citizens who are 21 years of age or over, and is rapidly being +extended to women on equal terms with the men. + +WOMAN SUFFRAGE + +There are instances in our early history where women were +permitted to vote--in New Jersey, for example, prior to 1807. In +1869, Wyoming, while still a territory, extended full suffrage to +women, and has been an equal suffrage state since her admission to +the Union in 1890. Woman suffrage has rapidly gained ground in +recent years, most rapidly in the West, and at the present writing +(1919) 15 states have granted women equal suffrage with men, all +but two of these states being west of the Mississippi River. The +women of Alaska also have this right. In many other states they +have the suffrage at certain elections. Moreover, nearly all of +the 36 required states have ratified the suffrage amendment to the +federal Constitution. + +Why may an autocratic government perform more efficient service +than a democratic government? + +What is a "benevolent despotism"? What is a "paternalistic +government"? + +Why do we consider an imperfect democracy better than an efficient +autocracy? + +Do you have direct or representative self-government in your +community? Explain. + +What voluntary organizations are there in your community (such as +farmers' cooperative organizations, business corporations, +churches, clubs, etc.) that have direct self-government? +Representative self-government? + +Does your county or town have representatives in state and +national governments? What are their names? How long will they be +your representatives? + +Does your state have the initiative and referendum? If so, explain +in detail how they are used. Give instances of the use of either. + +Give instances (if any) of the use of the referendum in your +community to settle a local question. + +From your state constitution ascertain the exact qualifications +for the suffrage in your state. + +Report on the history of woman suffrage in your state. + +Do you think any of the restrictions now existing on the suffrage +in your state should be removed? Why? + +Do you think any further restrictions should be placed on the +suffrage in your state? Why? + +MAJORITY AND MINORITY RULE + +One of the important principles upon which democratic government +rests is that the will of the majority should control. It is the +only arrangement that can be made with justice. It often happens, +however, that a minority, and sometimes a very small minority, +gains control. It also sometimes happens that the party in power +in government, whether it is a majority or a minority, governs +without full consideration for the interests of other parties or +of the community as a whole. We shall try to get some idea of how +this happens, and also of methods proposed to prevent it; for as +long as it happens we cannot lay claim to a full measure of +democracy in our government. + +If the pupils of your class or school are voting on the kind of +entertainment to be given, and a difference of opinion arises, can +you think of a fairer way to decide than by a vote of the +majority? How else might the matter be decided? + +If the majority decides the question, should the minority yield +gracefully to the decision? Why? + +After the majority plan has been adopted, have the minority any +rights in the matter? + +Is the majority always right in its decisions? Give illustrations +to prove your answer. + +If your community takes a vote on the question of road +improvement, or of school consolidation, is it right that the +majority should decide? + +If the majority rules in such a case, is it right that the +citizens of the minority party should be taxed for the improvement +as well as those of the majority? Why? + +If your class president is elected by a majority of the class, or +a county supervisor by a majority of the voters of the county, to +what extent is it the duty of this officer to consider the +interests of the minority which voted against him? + +POLITICAL PARTIES + +Our government is a government by political parties. That is, +political parties control the government. Voters acting +independently of one another cannot exercise much influence. There +must be teamwork in political matters as in everything else. A +political party consists of those voters who think alike and act +together on questions of government policy, or in electing their +representatives in government. It is a voluntary organization, +entirely outside of the government and not recognized in our +constitutions, but exercising very great influence upon +government. + +In his Farewell Address to the people, Washington 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 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. + +MISCHIEFS OF THE PARTY SPIRIT + +As long as people differ on questions of public policy there are +bound to be political parties, as Washington knew, and they have +always played an important part in our government. But necessary +and useful as parties have been, the events of our history have +shown that Washington's warning was exceedingly wise, the "party +spirit" having often proved the "worst enemy" of our democratic +government. + +VALUE OF MINORITY OPPOSITION + +When some great question is before the country, like that of the +adoption of the Constitution, or that of slavery, the people are +usually divided into two great parties. The party that marshals +the greater number of votes constitutes a majority and gains +control of the government. The defeated minority usually accepts +its defeat in a sportsmanlike manner and loyally supports the +government. Nevertheless it does not cease its opposition to the +principles of the party in power. One of the chief values of the +party system is that it keeps important questions in constant +discussion. The opposition of the minority serves as a check upon +the acts of the party in power, which is anxious to avoid arousing +too much opposition. This is one means of control over the +government enjoyed by the minority party. A defeated minority at +one election may become a victorious majority at the next. The +fact that a party is in the minority does not necessarily mean +that it is in the wrong. + +HOW MINORITIES MAY GAIN CONTROL + +Minorities, however, sometimes win elections. If more than two +parties are contesting the election, which often happens, that one +wins which has the greatest number of votes, though this number +may be less than the combined votes of the opposing parties. No +other arrangement seems possible. President Wilson won his first +election by a minority vote, the opposition being divided between +Taft and Roosevelt. + +A minority may win through better teamwork. There are always some +voters who, through indifference or other causes, do not cast +their vote. This is especially likely to happen in local +elections, in which there is almost never as large a vote cast as +in the same district at a general election. It is one of the chief +objects of a party organization to keep its members informed and +interested and to see that they cast their votes. The party that +is best organized for these purposes is very likely to win over +its opponents even though the latter are more numerous. + +ORGANIZATION OF PARTIES AND ITS CONTROL + +The organization of the national political parties is very +thorough. Each party has a managing committee in every local +district, the local organizations are united in a state +organization, and the several state organizations in a national +organization. The shrewdest men the party affords are made +chairmen of committees and chosen for other positions of +leadership. Such organization is necessary and proper; it is only +commonsense teamwork. But unfortunately it has frequently fallen +into the hands of designing men who have used it to promote +private interests rather than those of the public. A political +"boss," who is at the head of an inner "ring" of politicians, +often decides who shall be nominated for the various offices of +government, leaving no choice to the voters themselves. This makes +of our government a real autocracy, and the worst kind of +autocracy, because the autocrat (the "boss") acts in secret, and +is in no way responsible to the people. It is the "frightful +despotism" of which Washington warned his countrymen (p. 385). + +CAUSES OF SOCIAL UNREST + +Political "bosses" are often allied with powerful business +interests which seek legislation and governmental administration +favorable to themselves. This has given rise to the charge +sometimes made that our government is a "plutocracy," a government +of the people by a small wealthy class. It is the feeling that +this is so that has caused much of the social unrest at the +present time, and that explains in part the growth of the +socialists, and of other groups that would go much further than +the socialists in their proposed changes, such as the I.W.W. +(Independent Workers of the World) in our country, the Bolshevists +in Russia, and anarchists everywhere. + +GOVERNMENT IN THE INTEREST OF ALL CLASSES + +Unquestionably selfish groups representing great wealth have often +exerted undue influence in governmental affairs without regard for +the public welfare. We have seen how the public lands and the +nation's natural resources have in some cases fallen into the +hands of wealthy individuals and corporations to the injury of the +nation and of those who want to use them for productive purposes. +On the other hand, it is natural that men who have been successful +in managing their private business affairs should also be +influential in managing public affairs without necessarily having +unworthy motives. Nevertheless, when government falls under the +control of ANY particular class or group, whether it represents +wealth, or labor, or any other interest, if it has not due regard +for all classes, and if it denies to the members of other groups +the voice in government to which they are entitled, it establishes +a despotism and overthrows democracy. + +WHY THE PEOPLE SUBMIT TO "BOSS RULE" + +Why do the people submit to "boss rule"? In the first place, they +do not always submit to it. Occasionally, when the "bosses" go to +unusual extremes, the people give way to "fits of public rage," to +use the words of former Senator Elihu Root, "in which the people +rouse up and tear down the political leader, first of one party +and then of the other party." It is thus possible for the people +to escape the despotism of "boss rule." But two things seem to be +necessary to bring it about: first, the people must be +sufficiently INTERESTED in the management of their public affairs; +and, second, they require LEADERSHIP. It takes close attention to +public affairs to enable a citizen to make wise decisions for +himself; and the average citizen looks around for guidance. The +absence of RESPONSIBLE leadership gives the irresponsible "boss" +his chance. + +THE SHORT BALLOT + +One difficulty encountered by the citizen who wishes to vote +intelligently is the large number of persons to be chosen. There +have been cases where the names of several hundred candidates +appeared on the same ticket. In a small community a voter may know +personally all the candidates, but in larger communities this is +not so. It was once thought that to make as many of the government +offices as possible elective was a step in the direction of +democracy, and that it gave the people direct control over them. +But it has not worked out this way. It is impossible for the +average voter to choose wisely among so many candidates, and he +therefore falls an easy prey to "boss rule." The SHORT BALLOT is +now quite generally advocated to meet this situation. By this plan +the number of officers to be elected is reduced, and includes only +those who are responsible for determining the policies of +government, such as members of legislatures and the chief +executive officers. These few important officers and +representatives are then made responsible for the appointment of +all other subordinate officers whose business is to carry policies +into effect. This really gives the people better control over +their government by fixing responsibility in a few places, and is +therefore no less democratic than the older plan. + +Do you have a long ballot or a short ballot in your county or +town? In your state? + +How many offices in your county government are elective? How many +of the men holding these offices do you know? Consult your parents +as to the number of these officers they know personally. How many +does your teacher know? + +At the next election, get a copy of the ballot used in your +community and ascertain the number of candidates for all offices, +including local, state, and national. + +What national political parties exist at present? + +Are the voters of your local community divided into parties on +local questions? If so, what are some of these questions? + +Investigate the organization in your county (or town) of the +political party of which your father is a member. Who is chairman +of its local committee? + +Investigate the work that a party organization does in your +community during an election campaign; on election day; in the +time between elections. + +Why is secret control over government dangerous? + +What is meant by "social unrest"? + +Are all men of your acquaintance equally capable of directing the +affairs Of government in office? Why? + +What is meant by "responsible" and "irresponsible" leadership? + +What does it mean to say that a leader must be "responsive as well +as responsible" to the people? + +THE SECRET BALLOT + +Various schemes have been adopted to ensure to every voter a free +expression of his choice for representatives, and to the majority +their right to govern. One of these is the SECRET BALLOT. At the +polls each voter enters a booth by himself to mark his ballot, or +to operate the voting machine, and need have no fear that a +possible "watcher" may cause him to lose his job or otherwise +suffer for voting as he thinks best. The secret ballot also +reduces the likelihood that votes will be bought, for there is no +way of telling whether the man who sells his vote will vote as he +has agreed; and the man who sells his vote is not to be trusted. +The only voters who are embarrassed by the secret ballot are those +who cannot read their ballots. These have to seek help, and are +thus open to influence by agents of the "boss." + +THE DIRECT PRIMARY + +Another device to ensure to the voter a voice in his government is +the DIRECT PRIMARY for the nomination of candidates for office. By +the older method candidates were nominated by party conventions; +but under "boss rule" they were in reality determined upon in +advance by the "boss," the nomination by the convention being +largely a matter of form, the delegates voting according to +instructions. The ordinary voter had nothing to say about it. +Under the direct primary plan any voter possessing the necessary +qualifications for holding office may become a candidate by merely +securing the signatures of a specified number of voters to a +petition. Then a PRIMARY ELECTION is held at which the voters of +each party go to the polls to express their choice for one among +the several candidates who have been announced for each office to +be filled. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes +become the nominees of their party. The direct primary is now used +quite widely throughout the United States and is believed to be a +great improvement over the old method, though it does not always +work as well as was expected of it. The truth is that ANY +organization is open to abuse by clever people who wish to abuse +it, and NO political organization will work effectively unless the +voters are intelligent and eternally vigilant. + +PREFERENTIAL PRIMARIES + +The President and Vice President of the United States are still +nominated by national party conventions. But in some states there +are PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENTIAL PRIMARIES. These are direct +primaries at which the voters ex press their PREFERENCE for the +presidential candidates. This is intended to be a guide to the +nominating convention, but there is nothing to compel the +convention to follow the guidance. + +THE RIGHTS OF MINORITIES + +Democratic government demands certain rights for minorities. We +have seen how a minority party may exercise a wholesome check upon +the party in power by constant opposition. We never have a +Congress or a state legislature in which the members are all of +one party. This is a good thing, for it results in discussion and +debate in the legislative body by which the people are kept +informed. + +The initiative and referendum (p. 380) are also weapons in the +hands of a minority; for, as we have seen, a small number of +voters may compel the legislature to consider, or reconsider, any +piece of legislation, or to submit it to the people for their +decision. Minority parties may thus keep prominently before the +people measures that have been adversely acted upon by the +majority. + +THE RECALL + +Another device that has been introduced in some states and local +communities is the RECALL of officials. By means of this a +specified number of voters may demand that an officer of +government who is displeasing to them be brought before the people +for their vote as to whether he shall be removed from office or +not. A small minority may thus call an elected officer to account. + +PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION OF PARTIES + +One plan strongly advocated by some students of government to +insure to minorities an actual voice in government is that of +PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION of parties in legislative bodies. By +this plan each party would be represented in proportion to its +strength. If two parties were of about equal strength they would +be represented equally; if one were twice as strong as another, it +would have twice the representation. The plan is actually in use +in very few localities. In Illinois, however, the CUMULATIVE-VOTE +plan is in use, by which each voter is permitted as many votes as +there are places to be filled, and to distribute these votes among +the several candidates or to cast them all for one candidate. +Thus, if there are three representatives to be elected from his +district, he may give one vote to each of the three, or he may +give three votes to one of them. A minority may thus, by +concentrating all of their votes upon a single candidate, be +reasonably sure of representation. But it requires good team work +to get this result. + +DIFFERENT BASES OF REPRESENTATION + +Representation in our government is on a TERRITORIAL, OR +GEOGRAPHICAL, BASIS. That is, each representative represents the +people in a given territory or district. Thus, in many counties +the board of supervisors is composed of representatives from each +township, the members of state legislatures represent districts of +the state, members of the United States House of Representatives +represent congressional districts in each state, and United States +Senators represent states. + +In each district under our present system, however, the +representatives are ELECTED BY A MAJORITY, though they are +supposed to REPRESENT ALL the people when elected. If proportional +representation were adopted, it would be necessary to increase the +number of representatives from each district, in order that each +party should have at least one. Then we should have REPRESENTATION +BY PARTIES, as well as by districts. + +We now hear a good deal about SOVIET GOVERNMENT in Russia. The +"soviet" is a representative body with a different basis of +representation than either of the above. Soviet government is +government by "workers" and each representative represents a TRADE +OR OCCUPATION. It is as if, in our country, all the farmers in a +county, as a group, should elect their representatives to the +board of county supervisors, all the carpenters their +representatives, all the merchants theirs, and so on. It would be, +as it is in Russia, REPRESENTATION BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS, instead +of by geographical districts as now. It would differ from +proportional representation by parties, as described above, +because each political party is made up of representatives of all +occupations. Only in a few cases have political parties in our +country tended to become identified with occupational interests, +as in the case of "labor parties," and the old "greenback party," +which was largely made up of farmers. + +At election time visit the nearest polling place, observe the +procedure of voting, and report. Get sample copies of the ballot +used. + +Who are the different persons on duty at the polling place, and +what are their duties? + +Why and how do voters "register" before an election? + +Describe a primary election in your community. + +How do discussion and debate protect the rights of minorities? + +Is the "recall" used in your state? If so, what instances of its +exercise do you know, and what were the circumstances? + +What advantages and disadvantages can you see in representation by +occupational groups as compared with representation by +geographical districts? + +READINGS + +In Foerster and Pierson's AMERICAN IDEALS: + +Contributions of the west to democracy (F.J. Turner), pp. 72-97. A +charter of democracy (Theodore Roosevelt), pp. 114-132. Can +democracy be organized? (E.A. Alderman), pp. 158-174. The +sovereignty of the people (A. de Tocqueville), pp. 257-260. +General tendency of the laws (A. de Tocqueville), pp. 261-266. The +activity of the body politic (A. de Tocqueville), pp. 267-272. The +German and the American temper (Kuno Francke), pp. 273-281. The +"Divine Average" (G. Lowes Dickinson), pp 282-284. + +In Long's AMERICAN PATRIOTIC PROSE: + +Farewell Address (Washington), pp. 105-123. The independent in +politics (James Russell Lowell), pp. 241-243. Liberty is +responsibility, not license (McKinley), pp. 254-255. The right of +the people to rule (Roosevelt), pp. 272-273. + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series A: Lesson 16, Caste in India. + Lesson 19, Active citizenship. + +Series C: Lesson 17, Custom as a basis for law. + Lesson 18, Cooperation through law. + +Hart, A.B., ACTUAL GOVERNMENT, Chapters IV, V. + +Ashley, R.L., THE NEW CIVICS (Macmillan), Chapters, VI, VII. + +Reed, T.H., FORM AND FUNCTIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, Chapters V- +VIII, (World Book Co.). + +Bryce, James, THE AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH, Vol. II, Part III, The +party system; and Part V, Chapters, XCVII-XCIX, The faults and +strength of democracy. + +ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, under the several topics +referred to in this chapter. + +Teachable Facts about Bolshevism and Sovietism, Institute for +Public Service, 51 Chambers St., New York City. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS + +UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT + + +When the first colonists of America undertook to organize +governments for their local settlements, they naturally adopted +forms with which they had been familiar in England. There were two +such forms which met their needs, the TOWN, OR TOWNSHIP, AND THE +COUNTY. These have remained to this day the chief units of our +local government. + +THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN + +Geographical conditions were such in New England that the +colonists settled in compact communities. There the township, or +town, was adopted as the more convenient unit. It included a +central village and the neighboring farming region with irregular +boundaries. It is still the unit of local government throughout +rural New England, and in many communities that have grown to the +proportion of cities. It has been said of the New England town +government that it is "the fullest and most perfect example of +local self-government either then or now in existence ... . The +state might fall to pieces, and the town would still supply all +the wants of everyday government." [Footnote: Henry Cabot Lodge, A +SHORT HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES IN AMERICA, p. 414.] + +THE TOWN MEETING + +The chief feature of the New England town government is the TOWN +MEETING, which is an assemblage of the voters of the town at the +town hall (formerly often at the church), the regular annual town +meeting being held in the spring or autumn, and special meetings +as necessary. These meetings are called by the SELECTMEN (see +below) by means of a WARRANT which contains a statement of the +business to be transacted. At the annual meeting, reports are +heard from the officers of the preceding year, officers for the +new year are elected, by-laws (town laws) are enacted, taxes are +levied and appropriations made for the various purposes of +government. It is direct self-government. + +NEW ENGLAND TOWN OFFICERS + +Among the officers elected by the town meeting are the selectmen, +varying in number from three to nine, who have charge of the town +property and are responsible to the town meeting for the conduct +of the town's business; a town clerk, who keeps the town records, +issues marriage licenses, registers births and deaths, and +performs other clerical services; an assessor of taxes; a +treasurer; several constables, who have police duties, execute +warrants issued by the selectmen and by the justices of the peace, +and sometimes act as tax collectors; school committeemen; +overseers of the poor; members of the board of health and of other +boards for public service. In some of the New England states the +justices of the peace, who are not strictly town officers, are +elected by the town meeting. + +THE TOWN WARRANT + +There is here given a copy of portions of a warrant for a special +town meeting. This warrant is very brief as compared with those +issued for a regular annual meeting; but it gives an idea of the +variety of business transacted. + +Town Warrant + +MIDDLESEX, SS. + +To Henry Atchison, one of the constables of the Town of Framingham +or to either of them, + +GREETING: + +In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby +required to notify and warn the inhabitants of the Town of +Framingham, qualified to vote in elections, and Town affairs, to +meet at the Casino in said Framingham, on WEDNESDAY, JULY 16TH, +A.D. 1919 at eight o'clock P.M. Then and there to act on the +following articles, viz.: Article I. To hear and act upon such +reports of any of the officers of the Town or Committees of the +Town as may be then and there presented, appropriate money to +carry out the recommendations thereof, or any of them, pass any +vote or take any action relative to any of said reports, or any +part thereof. + +Art. 2. To hear and act on the report of the Committee directed to +investigate school needs in the Apple Street District. ... + +Art. 3. To see if the Town will vote to instruct the Town +Treasurer to place to the credit of the Park Department ... for +the care and maintenance of parks and playgrounds, any and all +sums of money which may be received by him ... on account of said +Department, and authorize the use of the same by said Department. ... + +Art. 4. To see if the Town will grant or appropriate a sum not +exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars ($2500) for the purchase by +the tree warden of a new tree spraying machine. ... + +Art. 5. To see if the Town will authorize its Board of Park +Commissioners to sell and dispose of two of the unused +schoolhouses placed in charge of the Park Commission some years +ago. ... + +Art. 6. To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of fifty-five +hundred dollars ... to be expended under the direction of the +following committee ... for the purpose of selecting a site, +location and erection of a temporary memorial tablet, and cause to +be inscribed thereon the names of the Framingham soldiers, +sailors, marines ... and nurses, who gave their lives in the late +war. ... + +Art. 8. To see if the Town will vote to install and maintain +incandescent electric lights on following named streets ... . + +Art. 9. To see if the Town will vote to raise the pay of its +Police Officers fifty cents a day. ... + +Art. 10. To see if the Town will vote to appoint and instruct a +committee to petition the County Commissioners to relocate Marble +Street. ... + +Art. 12. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum ... to +reimburse Wellington H. Pratt for expenses incurred in the +construction of a sewer and laying of water pipes. ... + +And you are directed to serve this warrant by posting an attested +copy of the same at each of the Meeting Houses and Post-Offices in +said Town, eight days at least, including two Sundays, before the +time of holding said meeting. + +Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, with your +doing thereon, to the Town Clerk at the time and place of said +meeting. + +Given under our hands this first day of July in the year of our +Lord one thousand nine hundred and nineteen. + +(Signed by the Selectmen) + +It has been said that + +THE VALUE OF THE TOWN MEETING + +The thing most characteristic of a town meeting is the lively and +educating debate; for attendants on town meeting from year to year +become skilled in parliamentary law, and effective in sharp, quick +argument on their feet. Children and others than voters are +allowed to be present as spectators. In every such assembly, four +or five men ordinarily do half the talking; but anybody has a +right to make suggestions or propose amendments, and occasionally +even a non-voter is allowed to make a statement; and the debate is +often very effective. [Footnote: Albert Bushnell Hart, ACTUAL +GOVERNMENT, p. 171.] + +Another writer says, + +The retiring officers present their reports, which in the larger +towns have been previously printed and distributed. Any citizen +present is free to express any criticism or ask any question. No +better method of checking the conduct of public officers has ever +been discovered than this system of report in open meeting. Keen +questions and sharp comment rip open and expose to view the true +inwardness of the officers' behavior. + +At its best, the New England town meeting has never been equaled +as a mechanism for local government. No mere representative system +can give the opportunity for real participation in government +which a town meeting affords. Even the small boys who come to +enjoy the fun from the gallery are taught that government is a +living reality. By grappling first-hand with their own small +local problems, men are trained to take part wisely in the bigger +affairs of state and nation. [Footnote: Thomas H. Reed, FORM AND +FUNCTIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, pp. 218, 220.] + +WEAKENING OF GOVERNMENT BY TOWN MEETING + +Changing conditions, however, have tended to bring about changes +in town government. In the early days the town meeting was a +matter of great interest, and everybody attended, including the +women and children. Many of the towns have now acquired large +populations, the people are no longer acquainted with one another, +and interest has declined. A few years ago it was reported that + +In Brookline, Mass., with about 2500 votes cast, there are from +300 to 500 at the business sessions. In Hyde Park, Mass., with +2500 voters... from 500 to 600 attended the annual appropriation +meeting. In Leominster, Mass., with 1400 voting, the normal +attendance is about 800. + +The same writer says that: + +In many places the town meeting is being undermined by the caucus, +held beforehand, to nominate candidates for office. Here a small +group of persons not only narrow the choice for officers, but +often arrange the other business to be determined at the town +meeting. Sometimes every thing is "cut and dried" before it comes +up for popular discussion; and that discussion thus becomes a mere +formality. [J.A. Fairlie, LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN COUNTIES, TOWNS AND +VILLAGES, p. 148.] + +INFLUENCES LEADING TO DECLINE + +This illustrates what was said in the preceding chapter (p. 388) +about the necessity for leadership and the tendency of the people, +under certain conditions, to accept self-appointed leaders, +sometimes not of the best, outside of the government. Conditions +in large towns are likely to favor this. The questions that have +to be acted upon are more complicated than formerly, and often +involve the expenditure of large sums of money. The candidates for +office are not known to many of the voters. There may be a +considerable number of uneducated people in the town, and perhaps +a foreign population that is unfamiliar with the English language +and with American methods. These things make intelligent self- +government by direct methods difficult. + +THE FINANCE COMMITTEE: A MEANS OF BETTER SERVICE + +Various means have been adopted to meet these changing conditions. +One of these is the creation of a FINANCE COMMITTEE, before which +are brought for consideration questions involving the expenditure +of money. This committee holds hearings, at which citizens may +present arguments for and against proposed measures. Thus +important matters are sifted out by the committee which then +reports to the town meeting. The town meeting usually votes in +accordance with the recommendations of the committee. While this +arrangement tends to secure careful consideration of financial +measures, and to result in wise decisions, provided the committee +is composed of reliable men, it tends, on the other hand, to +prevent discussion in open town meeting, to make the vote in the +latter a mere matter of form, and to destroy interest in it. In +other words, while it tends to better SERVICE, it reduces the +value of the town meeting as a means of EDUCATION FOR DEMOCRACY. + +TOWN PLANNING + +Another arrangement that has been adopted in a good many towns is +the TOWN PLANNING BOARD. This is a committee which, after careful +study of existing conditions and tendencies of community growth, +formulates a definite PLAN for the promotion of the community's +interests during a period of years. It considers such matters as +the laying out of new roads and streets and the improvement of old +ones, the location of parks, playgrounds, and public buildings, +the construction of sewers, water works, and lighting systems, the +style of architecture for public buildings, the enactment of +housing laws. While town planning boards usually deal primarily +with matters pertaining to the physical development of the town, +they may also plan with reference to the improvement of the +educational system, the promotion of public health, and of social +needs generally. + +The town planning board is usually composed of trained men, such +as engineers, architects, and physicians, and it may call in +expert advisers from other communities or from the state +government. The advantage of having such a board is that it +provides the town with a program of action carefully worked out +from the point of view both of continuous community needs and of +economy. It affords expert leadership. + +NEED FOR CITIZEN COOPERATION + +As has been said many times in these pages, government is the +community's official organization to secure cooperation; but it is +effective only to the extent that the people COOPERATE. It is a +machine that is valuable as the people USE it. The weakening of +town, government, or of any other government, is due largely to a +lack of interest and of actual participation by the people. Many +people think they have done their share toward good government +when they have helped elect their officers and have paid their +taxes. But when they take this view they are likely to lose both +interest in their government and control over it. + +VOLUNTARY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION + +In many New England towns the decline in popular control of town +government has been largely counterbalanced by COMMUNITY +ORGANIZATION FOR VOLUNTARY COOPERATION. Much community service is, +and probably always will be, performed by private enterprise and +initiative rather than by government; and the efficiency of +government depends to a considerable extent upon the efficiency of +voluntary enterprise. Government must have the cooperation of the +latter, and to some extent work through it. In practically every +community there are groups of people organized to cooperate for +one purpose or another; but they are often self-centered and act +independently of one another, if not actually at cross purposes. +The situation that exists in many communities is illustrated by +the chart on page 402. [Footnote: This chart and the one on page +403 are taken from Extension Bulletin No. 23, Massachusetts +Agricultural College, by E.L. Morgan.] + +COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN MASSACHUSETTS + +In a good many Massachusetts towns this situation has been very +largely remedied by means of community organization for which the +leadership has been provided in many cases by the Community +Organization Department of the Extension Service of the State +Agricultural College. The organization varies in detail in +different communities to meet local needs, but the main features +are the following: + +First: a COMMUNITY COUNCIL, consisting of representatives of the +various community interests and organizations including the town +officials. This council serves at first as a sort of "steering +committee" to bring the various interests together and to plan the +organization and the work to be done. + +Second: a COMMUNITY MEETING, the first one of which is called by +the community council to consider the questions: Is it possible +for a community to plan for its future development? Do we care to +do it? Is it worthwhile? How can it be done? The community meeting +becomes a sort of UNOFFICIAL TOWN MEETING, and is often more +largely attended than the official town meeting, partly because it +is attended by the women of the community. + +Third: a number of WORKING COMMITTEES, appointed as a result of +the first community meeting. They may include: + +A committee on farm production. + +A committee on conservation. + +A committee on boys' and girls' interests. + +A committee on farm business. + +A committee on community life (education, health, recreation, +etc.) + +These committees make a study of the conditions and needs of the +community in their respective fields, and prepare plans and +projects, which are submitted to the community meeting in due +time. + +Fourth: a COMMUNITY PROGRAM, which has been agreed upon by the +community meeting, is supervised by the community council, and is +carried out by the various community organizations represented, +including the public officials. + +OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL TEAMWORK + +This organization is entirely outside of the official govern +mental organization. It may be asked why it is necessary to have a +"community meeting" when the official town meeting already exists. +The answer is that the official town meeting has its work pretty +definitely cut out for it. It meets for a half-day or a day at a +time, and its time is occupied BY THE VOTERS in passing laws, +electing officials, levying taxes, making appropriations, and +doing other official business. The "community meeting," on the +other hand, is attended by non-voters as well as voters, the women +taking an active part, and the young people being represented. +Many matters are discussed that could not properly be taken up in +town meeting. + +A large part of the program of the community organization is +carried out by the voluntary agencies of the community. But a +great many of its proposals must have the approval of the official +town meeting, require appropriations which can only be made by the +town meeting, and are finally executed by the public officials of +the town. The organization naturally stimulates interest in the +official government, and brings to its support all the organized +agencies of the community working together. + +TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT OUTSIDE OF NEW ENGLAND + +The township is found as a unit of local government in many states +outside of New England, but in most of these cases its government +is entirely representative in form. While the town meeting is +found in a few of these states, [Footnote: As in New York and New +Jersey; and farther west in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the +Dakotas, Illinois, and Nebraska.] it nowhere holds the important +place that it does in New England. One reason for this is the +larger size and more scattered population of the township. In the +public land states the congressional township, six miles square, +is also the political township. At the head of the township +government in its representative form are TRUSTEES (sometimes +three, sometimes only one) who, with the town clerk, the +constables, the tax assessor, the treasurer, the justices of the +peace, and such other officers as may be required, are elected by +the people. The powers of the township government outside of New +England vary in different states, but are always quite limited, +relating most commonly to the maintenance of roads, school +administration, and the care of the poor. In these circumstances +there is at least as great need for community organization to +support and supplement the work of government as in the New +England towns. + +Investigate and report on the following: + +The services performed by your township government. + +A complete list of your township officers, and the duties of each. +(Committees of pupils may interview some of the more important +officers to get a description of their daily routine, kinds of +service performed, etc. Also discuss with parents.) + +Officers of the colonial New England town that do not exist now, +and their duties. + +What is parliamentary law? (Valuable training may be secured by +conducting school meetings, club meetings, or occasional regular +class exercises, in accordance with parliamentary procedure.) + +Why public discussion is a check upon the conduct of persons +holding responsible positions. + +The popular interest in public questions in your township. + +If there is a finance committee in your township (p. 399), how +does it serve the community? Does it hold hearings? (Attend and +report upon some such hearing.) + +Town planning in your community (what has been, or what might be, +done). + +The value of having a plan. + +Is your community more like that represented by the chart on page +402, or by that on page 403? + +The extent to which voluntary organizations in your community co +operate with and through the local government. + +The extent to which your state agricultural college promotes +community organization. + +The feasibility of organizing your town (or community) by some +such plan as that outlined on page 402. + +The value of a community "forum" as a means to good government. + +Why the official town meeting should (or should not) be encouraged +in your state. + +Procure and examine recently published official reports of your +township government. What do these reports tell you? What is the +value of such reports? Are the reports of your township generally +read by the people of the township? Why? Discuss ways in which +your township reports could be made more useful. + +THE COUNTY + +The other unit of local government with which the colonists were +familiar was the county, which in England embraced a number of +townships. In the colonies of New York and Pennsylvania the county +and the town ship were developed together as in England; in the +southern colonies the county was organized without the township. +Today the county exists in every state of the Union, including the +New England states. In Louisiana it is called the PARISH. + +TYPES OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT + +There are two main types of county government. According to one +plan, as in New York, each township elects a representative to a +county BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, which is sometimes quite large. +According to the other plan, as in Pennsylvania, the people of the +county as a whole elect a small BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, the +townships not being represented as such even when they exist. The +board of supervisors or commissioners levies taxes and makes +appropriations for various county purposes, such as constructing +and maintaining roads, bridges, and county buildings, paying the +salaries of county officers, caring for the county poor, and +conducting the county schools. It is sometimes spoken of as the +county legislative body, but it is rather an administrative body, +its lawmaking powers being very slight. + +COUNTY OFFICERS + +Among the important county officers are the sheriff, who is chief +guardian of the peace in the county, has charge of the jail, is +the chief executive officer of the county court (see p. 439), and +sometimes acts as tax collector; the county prosecutor (also +called the prosecuting attorney, the district attorney, or the +state's attorney), who prosecutes all criminal cases in the county +and represents the public authorities in civil suits; the county +clerk, who keeps the county records; the register of deeds, who +records all transfers of property; the coroner, who investigates +the cause of violent and mysterious deaths; the tax assessor; the +treasurer; the auditor, who examines the accounts of county +officers; the surveyor; the school superintendent; the health +officer. Some times there are others. + +LACK OF INTEREST IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT + +Although practically every citizen of the United States is also a +citizen of a county, the people have as a rule shown surprisingly +little interest in county government. As generally found it +affords a striking example of poor service resulting from a lack +of teamwork. County government has the reputation of being one of +the weakest spots in our whole system of government. + +WILL COUNTY GOVERNMENT SURVIVE? + +We seem to have gotten into the habit of not expecting much +service from the county government. Where the township government +is strong, as in New England, it takes the place of county +government. Where people live in cities, they look to the city +government to serve them rather than to the county government. In +rural districts the people have come more and more to look to the +state and national governments for such service as they expect +government to give. These facts might suggest the question whether +or not we really need county government. + +One recent writer says, + +There are some parts of the country where I can see that the +county will pass out of existence entirely in a very short time, +unless it does adjust itself to the new conditions. [Footnote: +H.S. Gilbertson, in the University of North Carolina RECORD, No. +159, October, 1918, p. 37.] + +The same writer says, + +Unless the county does measure up in this way, the powers of +government and the services which it renders will have to drift +away from local control and be placed in the hands of some +government more fit and which will probably be further away from +home. + +EFFECTS OF THE LONG BALLOT + +Students of county government attribute many of its defects to the +"long ballot." In one county in North Carolina, at a recent +election, there were twenty-five different candidates for county +offices on each of three party tickets, making seventy-five +candidates among whom each voter had to choose. Township and state +officers were also elected at the same election, bringing the +number of persons to be voted for up to about fifty out of 150 +candidates. It is apparent that the average voter would have +difficulty in voting intelligently. + +GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A HEAD + +The long ballot has other results than the mere difficulty of +intelligent voting. One of these is a GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A HEAD. +While the board of supervisors or commissioners is nominally at +the head of the county government, it has to work through the +various administrative officers. These are also elected by the +people, and may be of the opposite political party. At all events, +they are independent of the board, not responsible to it, and may +or may not work in harmony with it. A former member of a county +board in North Carolina says, + +Most persons are under the impression that the board of +commissioners, with its chairman, is at the head of the county +government. ... The board does have authority to say how about 19 +cents of the entire tax levy may be spent, but its authority over +the balance of the levy, over any county official, such as the +sheriff, clerk of the court, coroner, constable, county judge, or +recorder, is nil. The chairman of the board does have the honor ... +of smiling and trying to look pleasant when complaints are +made about bad roads, excessive tax assessments, or the +delinquency of some county subordinate, over whom neither he nor +the board has any control.[Footnote: M. S. Willard, North Carolina +Club Year Book, 1918, p. 87.] + +THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE "BOSS" + +Another result of the long ballot is the opportunity it gives the +political "boss" to control the selection of officers. It is not +uncommon to hear rural citizens ask such questions as, "What's the +use of farmers taking off time for politics when the whole thing +is run by political bosses anyway?"[Footnote: Graham Taylor, in +Rural Manhood, October, 1914, p. 328.] "In such counties office- +seeking has become not the means to the end of performing service, +but exists for the immediate reward, and whatever service is +rendered to the people is incidental to that other object. +"[Footnote: H. S. Gilbertson, Forms of County Government, in the +University of North Carolina Record, No. 159, October, 1918, p. +37.] + +BAD BUSINESS METHODS + +Along with these defects, and largely because of them, bad +business methods have characterized county government, resulting +in poor service and wastefulness of the people's money. A faulty +system of keeping accounts is as unbusinesslike and disastrous in +public business as in private business. + +OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS + +When I was first connected with the government of my own county, I +became very much interested to know whether we were doing better +or worse in the management of our road finances; in the cost of +maintaining our county prisoners; in the maintenance of our county +home and numerous other county institutions, than were other +counties. I was anxious to find out what was being done in other +counties in the way of appropriations for hospitals and I selected +twelve or fifteen counties and wrote letters to the county +officials asking for information. In answer to probably two of my +letters I received intelligent and satisfactory replies. Probably +half a dozen more gave me some figures which were of very little +use for purposes of comparison, and to my other letters I received +no replies, although the first request was followed up by a second +and a third letter. I then began an effort to secure copies of the +newspapers in which had been printed the financial statements of +the counties. I succeeded in securing probably ten statements and, +after a fruitless attempt to coordinate these statements so that I +might secure information which would enable me to know whether we +were doing better or worse than our neighbors, I became hopelessly +lost in a jungle of statistics and reluctantly gave it up as +useless, and turned my attention to doing what I could to place +our own county affairs in such condition that they could be +understood by those of our taxpayers who might be inquisitive +enough to want to know how the money was handled which they paid +for taxes. [Footnote: M. S. Willard, County Finances in North +Carolina, in the University of North Carolina RECORD, No. 159, +October, 1918, p. 80.] + +THE FEE SYSTEM + +The practice of compensating county officers from FEES received +for special services and of allowing them to retain the interest +on public money is one illustration of extravagant business +methods. + +For many of the services performed by county officers fees are +charged, on the principle that the person served should pay for +the service. It did not occur to the people to inquire how much +their officers were getting in this way. In one county, in which +there was a large city, investigation showed that the sheriff had +a net income from fees and commissions of $15,000, the county +treasurer $23,000, and the county auditor over $50,000. + +From the point of view of economy and efficiency it is better to +pay all officers an adequate salary and to require that all fees, +commissions, and interest on public money be returned to the +county treasury. It keeps the tax rate down and makes possible an +increase of service. + +The county office fees and commissions in North Carolina amount to +something like one and a quarter million dollars a year, if they +are collected according to law. The total is large enough to pay +all salaries in at least 58 counties of the state, and leave large +balances to apply to schools, roads, jail expenses, interest, and +sinking funds. These large surpluses are being wasted in most of +the salary counties. [Footnote: E.C. Branson, The Fee System in +North Carolina, in the University of North Carolina Record, No. +159, October, 1918, p. 69.] + +Such faulty business methods are gradually being corrected by the +introduction of the short ballot, as in California and elsewhere, +by businesslike methods of keeping accounts, by the appointment of +county and state auditors, and by giving full publicity to reports +of county business. + +THE FAULT WITH THE CITIZEN + +"But after all," says the county official quoted above, "a great +part of the shortcomings of county officials and a great deal of +the looseness which prevails in the management of county affairs +can be charged to the citizen people themselves." Another student +of the situation says, + +Among the country people themselves there is no demand for better +local government or almost none; they are satisfied or content +themselves with grumbling about taxes and in fierce partisan +politics. ... The country people of America lack an adequate sense +of civic and social responsibility, and the deficiency is rising +into critical, national importance. [Footnote 2: E.C. Branson, +Report of subcommittee on local government, National Country Life +Conference, Baltimore Proceedings, 1919, pp. 68, 69.] + +Another says, + +The first thing to be reformed in county government is not the +officers down at the courthouse, but our own attitude toward the +county, and particularly toward public office. For, after all, +public officers in this country are just what the people make them ... +[Footnote 3: H.S. Gilbertson, Forms of County Government, in +the University of North Carolina Record, No. 159, October, 1918, +p. 38.] + +There are those who advocate breaking up the county into smaller +units for purposes of local self-government, as in New England. +Thomas Jefferson, living in Virginia where the county was the sole +unit of local government, was a great admirer of the New England +town meeting, and said that "public education and the subdivision +of the counties into wards," or townships, were the "two hooks" +upon which republican government must hang. On the other hand, we +have observed an opposite tendency to concentrate the +administration of schools, roads, health, and other matters, in +the county government (see pp. 294,325). The fact is that both the +organization for centralized, county-wide government, and that for +the government of local communities within the county, have their +uses. Neither can do its best work without the other. The problem +is to deter mine what the business of each should be and to +establish a proper balance between them. One thing is sure, +namely, that the government of the county cannot be effective +unless the people of the various communities within the county are +organized to cooperate both for their local interests and for the +interests of the county as a whole. This may be provided for in +part through township governments, where they exist, and in part +through such unofficial organization as that described for the New +England town (p. 402), or as that furnished by the farm bureau +with its local community committees (p. 30). + +One of the most progressive states in the matter of county +government is North Carolina. One of the chief instruments by +which this progress has been made is the NORTH CAROLINA CLUB, +organized by the University of North Carolina for the study and +promotion of the interests of the state. The North Carolina Club +has affiliated with it COUNTY CLUBS, each of which studies its own +county and promotes its interests. In North Carolina they are +working in both directions suggested above: in the direction of an +effective central county government, and in the direction of +organization of all local communities for the study of needs and +for teamwork in providing for them. See references. + +THE COUNTY AS A SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE + +Another important factor in county government is the control +exercised over it by the state. The county is not only a local +self-governing unit, but it is also a division of the state for +the administration of state laws. Its powers of self-government +are given to it by the state, and along with these powers it has +imposed upon it certain duties for the state. First of all, the +county is a STATE JUDICIAL DISTRICT. The most important building +at the county seat is the courthouse. The COUNTY COURT is one of +the state courts described in the next chapter. The county judge +is sometimes chosen by the people of the county, but he is really +a state officer. In New England the county is almost solely a +judicial district, and in all states its judicial purposes are of +supreme importance. + +But more than this, the county schools are a part of the state +school system and must be administered in accordance with state +laws, though by county and township officers. County officers must +enforce the health laws of the state. County authorities not only +levy and collect county taxes, but also collect state taxes from +residents of the county. + +THE NECESSITY FOR STATE CONTROL + +Here again we have an illustration of the necessity for a careful +balance between matters properly subject to local self-government +and those properly subject to state control. Counties have +suffered both from too much state control in some respects, and +from too little in others. + +The whole state is injured ... if one township lets its +citizenship deteriorate through ignorance or drunkenness, and so +the state has a right to say that at least six months school term +must be given in every township and that no whiskey-selling shall +be permitted. Or if one township is infested with cattle ticks, +other townships are injured, and so the state may set a minimum +standard here ... + +It often happens that the citizens of one county pay more than +their share of the state taxes because it has better methods of +assessing and collecting taxes and of keeping accounts than other +counties in the state. One of the greatest needs of counties, and +one least provided for, is uniformity among the counties of a +state in methods of keeping accounts (see example on page 410). +Some states have established state systems of auditing county +finances. + +"HOME RULE" FOR COUNTIES + +On the other hand, state governments often interfere in matters +that might better be left to local determination. Usually all the +counties of a state have exactly the same form of government, with +exactly the same officers who exercise exactly the same duties. +Yet some counties within a state are almost wholly rural, some are +almost wholly urban, others are mixed in character. A form of +government adapted to one may not be suited to another. So there +has arisen a demand for a larger degree of "home rule" in +counties. In Illinois, counties have had the right to determine +for themselves whether the township should or should not be given +prominence in local government, and whether the "supervisor" or +the "commissioner" plan of government should be used. California +now has a law which provides that counties may apply for +"charters" in the same way that cities do in all states. The +"charter," like a constitution, determines the form and powers of +the government, and is framed by the people of the county +themselves, though it must then have the approval of the state +legislature. + +THE GROWTH OF URBAN COMMUNITIES + +We have noted how the growth of cities with their elaborate +organization for service tends to divert attention from the less +conspicuous county government. While probably half the counties of +the United States contain no city, or "town," or village of 2500 +people, there is in almost every township at least one compact +settlement that has grown up around the trading center. Sometimes +there are several of them in a township and many in a county. In +such compact communities cooperation becomes necessary to provide +for needs that are not felt in more rural districts, such as paved +streets, sewers, public water supply, fire and police protection, +and so on. A separate government becomes necessary. The people of +such communities may appeal to the authorities of township, +county, or state, for incorporation as a village, borough, town, +or city. "Village" and "borough" are simply two names used in +different localities for the same thing. The difference between +them and an incorporated town or city is principally one of size +and corresponding complexity of organization. + +GOVERNMENT OF VILLAGES AND INCORPORATED TOWNS + +The chief governing body of a village, or borough, or incorporated +town, is a small council, or board, elected by the people. It has +legislative powers in a small way, enacting ORDINANCES for the +regulation of local officers and in the public interest. + +In Michigan ... they may prescribe the terms and conditions for +licensing taverns, peddlers, and public vehicles. They have +control of streets, bridges and public grounds; and have authority +to construct bridges and pavements, and to regulate the use and +prevent the obstruction of the highways. They may establish and +maintain sewers and drains. They may construct and control public +wharves, and regulate and license ferries. They may establish and +regulate markets. They may provide a police force and a fire +department. They may construct or purchase and operate water works +and lighting plants. They may own cemeteries, public pounds, +public buildings and parks.[Footnote: John A. Fairlie, Local +Government in Counties, Towns, and Villages, pp. 207, 208.] + +The council also has limited power to levy taxes and to borrow +money for public purposes. + +There is a chief executive officer, sometimes called MAYOR, +sometimes president, or by other names. Subordinate to him are +various other officers, such as the police marshal, the street +commissioner, fire marshal, tax assessor, treasurer, clerk, and so +on. In larger villages boards of health and other boards and +commissions exist to administer various forms of public service. +The village may also have its minor court presided over by a +justice of the peace. + +CITY GOVERNMENT + +When villages or towns reach a certain population usually fixed by +state law, they may be incorporated as cities. The change that +takes place is simply one of elaborating the governing machinery +and giving to it larger powers to correspond with the larger needs +of city life. The complex problems of city government we shall not +attempt to study in this book. + +CHANGES IN URBAN GOVERNMENT FOR BETTER SERVICE AND BETTER CONTROL + +Great improvement in the government of towns and cities has been +made in recent years. The latest plan of government to be adopted, +and it has spread to a considerable number of towns and cities in +the United States, is the CITY MANAGER, or TOWN MANAGER, form of +government. By this plan the voters elect a small council, or +board of directors, who in turn appoint a MANAGER who serves as a +superintendent over the affairs of the city or town. He is a +trained specialist, often an engineer, and cities and towns +sometimes search the country over for the best man available for +the place. The manager appoints the heads of the various +departments of government, such as health, police, public works, +etc., and is responsible to the council for their work. It is the +application to town government of methods long used by successful +business corporations. + +Investigate and report upon: + +How the county in Louisiana came to be called a "parish." + +Organization and powers of your county board. + +A list of your county officers and their duties. + +The sentiment in your county with regard to the efficiency of your +county government. Is the sentiment justified? + +Recognized defects in your county government. + +The long (or short) ballot in your county. + +Extent to which the people of your county study the reports of +your county government (consult at home and with older friends). + +What do you find of interest in your county reports? + +Are reports of your county published in the newspapers? Do you +understand them? Ask your father to explain them to you. + +Extent to which your county board exercises control over other +county officers. + +Extent to which the farmers of your county interest themselves in +politics. + +Whether or not the experience of the officer quoted on page 410 +could be duplicated in your state. + +The fee system in your county. + +How and why public officers "are just what the people make them." + +The meaning of Jefferson's remark that "public education and the +subdivision of counties into wards are the two hooks upon which +republican government must hang". + +The feasibility of a "county club" in your county similar to those +in North Carolina. + +The balance between county government and township government in +your county. + +State control of your county government--too much, or too little? +Explain. + +Difference between a charter and a constitution. + +Number of incorporated towns and cities in your county. + +Cooperation (or friction) between urban and rural districts in +your county. + +Organization of village, borough, or town government in your +county. + +Difference between the "town" as referred to in the last part of +this chapter and the "town" as described in the first part. + +Services in incorporated towns and villages in your county that +are not performed by the county or township governments for rural +residents. + +How a village or town is incorporated in your state. + +Town manager form of government in your state. Its advantages. + +READINGS + +State Constitution. + +County Government and County Affairs in North Carolina, North +Carolina Club Year Book 1917-1918 (The University of North +Carolina Record, Extension Series No 30, Chapel Hill, N.C. ). + +County Government, ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and +Social Science, Vol XLVII, May, 1913. (36th and Woodland Ave, +Philadelphia.) + +Publications of the New York Short Ballot Association, 381 Fourth +Ave, New York City. + +Fairlie, J.A., Local Government in Counties, Towns, and Villages +(The Century Co.). + +Mobilizing the Rural Community, by E.L. Morgan, Extension Bulletin +No. 23, Massachusetts Agricultural College, Amherst, Mass. + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: + +Series B: Lesson 19, The commission form of government and the +city manager. + +Hart, A.B., Actual Government, Part IV, Local government in +action. + +Reed, T.H., Form and Functions of American Government, Part iv, +Local government. + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +OUR STATE GOVERNMENTS + +SOURCE OF GOVERNING POWER + + +When the thirteen original states were colonies, they derived +their governing powers from CHARTERS granted to them by the king, +as cities and some counties are granted charters by the state. +When they won their independence the people of each state +substituted a CONSTITUTION for the charter; the difference between +a charter and a constitution being that the former is given TO the +people by some higher authority, while the latter is adopted BY +the people themselves. All of our states alike, whether created +before or after the Union was formed, are self-governing under +constitutions of their own making. + +Counties and towns, cities and villages, have no powers of self- +government except those granted to them BY THE STATE. The national +government, also, may exercise only such powers as are given to it +by the people VOTING AS STATES. Each state, on the other hand, is +self-governing in its own right, and may exercise through its +government any power whatever, excepting only those which it +voluntarily surrendered upon entering the Union. (See pp. 94, 449; +also Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 10 and Art. IV.) + +THE STATE CONSTITUTION + +The state constitution is the supreme law of the state and is +supposed to represent the direct voice of the people. Since the +Union was formed, state constitutions have been framed by +conventions of delegates elected especially for the purpose, and +in most cases have been submitted to the people for their +ratification. Amendments may be proposed either by such +conventions or by the state legislatures, but they must also be +ratified by the people. Some of the states have completely revised +their constitutions several times, and amendments have been very +numerous. + +CAUSE OF LENGTH OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS + +State constitutions are long documents, containing a great deal of +detail regarding the organization and powers of government. In +this respect they differ from the national Constitution, which is +brief and speaks in broad, general terms. Recent constitutions are +longer than earlier ones, partly because there is a greater +variety of problems to be dealt with, but also because of a +growing tendency to limit the powers of legislatures and +administrative officers. + +A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT + +After a DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, which all state constitutions +contain, the constitution is concerned chiefly with the +organization, powers and duties of the government. Each state may +organize its government as it sees fit, provided only that it is +"republican" in form as required by the federal Constitution (Art. +IV, sec. 4). This means that it must be a form of representative +self-government. + +SEPARATION OF POWERS + +While the state governments differ from one another in matters of +detail, the general plan is the same in all. Each consists of +three branches: the legislative branch for lawmaking; the +executive branch for law enforcement and administration; and the +judicial branch for the interpretation of the laws and for the +administration of justice in accordance with the law. These three +branches are organized on the principle of a SEPARATION OF POWERS, +to prevent encroachment by one upon the powers of the others, and +to make each a check upon the powers of the others. + +In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative department +shall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or either +of them; the executive shall never exercise the legislative and +judicial powers, or either of them; the judicial shall never +exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them; +to the end it may be a government of laws, and not of men. +[Footnote: Constitution of Massachusetts, Part I, Art. XXX.] + +Investigate and report on: + +The meaning of "a government of laws, and not of men." + +The entrance of your state into the Union. + +The history of your present state constitution. + +The powers surrendered by your state when it entered the Union. + +Compare the length of your state constitution with that of the +federal Constitution. + +The principal parts of which your constitution is composed. + +Number of amendments to your state constitution. When the latest +amendments were adopted and why. + +The declaration of rights in your state constitution. + +Checks exercised by the legislature upon the executive and +judicial branches; by the executive upon the legislative and +judicial branches; by the judicial upon the legislative and +executive branches. + +THE GOVERNOR + +The chief executive officer of the state is the governor, who is +elected by the people for a term which varies, in the different +states, from one to four years. It is his duty to see that the +laws of the state are faithfully executed. The constitution makes +him the commander-in-chief of the state militia, which he may call +upon to enforce the laws or to quell disorders. It also gives him +the power to pardon persons convicted of crime, in the exercise of +which power he is sometimes assisted by a special board of pardons +and sometimes by the legislature; but the consideration of the +pleas of such persons and their friends for pardon often consumes +much of his time. + +THE GOVERNOR'S VARIED DUTIES + +A great deal of the governor's time is also taken up with duties +devolving upon him as the official representative of the state on +ceremonial occasions, as in the laying of corner-stones of public +buildings, attending state fairs, and making speeches at public +meetings of all kinds. By virtue of his office he is also a member +of many boards and commissions whose meetings he must attend. + +THE GOVERNOR'S PART IN LAWMAKING + +The governor also has some part in lawmaking. In all states except +North Carolina he has the power to VETO bills passed by the +legislature. This check upon the legislature is not absolute, for +the legislature may overcome the governor's veto by again passing +the bill, usually by a two-thirds vote. The governor may also +influence legislation by means of his messages to the legislature +in which he recommends measures which he believes should be +enacted into law. In case of opposition by the legislature, the +governor often carries his proposals directly to the people, who +quickly make known whether or not they support him. The governor +may call special sessions of the legislature to consider measures +of especial importance. + +GROWING INFLUENCE OF THE GOVERNOR + +The governor is a more influential officer today than he was in +the early part of our history. In colonial times he was the direct +representative of the king, or of the colonial proprietor, and the +people sought in every way to limit his powers. After the colonies +became states this habitual fear of the governor continued, and he +was placed under the control of the legislature. As time went on, +however, the legislature fell under the suspicion of the people, +while the governor was more and more looked to as their leader. +Thus, for example, the veto power was given to him, increasing his +influence while it curbed that of the legislature. + +WEAKNESS OF THE STATE EXECUTIVE + +But the power and influence of the governor are by no means as +great in relation to state government as are the powers of the +President in relation to the national government. In fact, the +executive branch of our state governments has been notoriously +weak, and its weakness is of the same kind as that noted in county +government: the lack of an effective, responsible head. + +COMPARISON OF STATE WITH NATIONAL EXECUTIVE + +In our national government the executive power is concentrated in +the hands of one man. State constitutions seem to confer the same +powers upon the governor. The constitution of Indiana says, "The +executive powers of the State shall be vested in a Governor"; and +that of Pennsylvania says, "The supreme executive power shall be +vested in the Governor." But the Pennsylvania constitution also +says, "The executive department shall consist of a Governor, +Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Attorney +General, Auditor General, State Treasurer, Secretary of Internal +Affairs and a Superintendent of Public Instruction" (Art. IV, Sec. +I). Four of these officers besides the governor are elected by the +people. + +BEWILDERING COMPLEXITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES + +In all states the governor "shall take care that the laws be +faithfully executed" (Pennsylvania constitution). For the +execution of the laws, however, he is dependent not only upon a +number of principal executive officers such as those named above, +but also upon a large number of less important administrative +officers. Governor Lowden, of Illinois, a few years ago said: + +Administrative agencies have been multiplied in bewildering +confusion. They have been created without reference to their +ability economically and effectively to administer the laws. +Separate boards govern the penitentiaries, the reformatories, and +the educational institutions. Several boards and commissions have +charge of matters affecting the agricultural interests. +Administration of laws affecting labor is parceled out among +numerous agencies, including several boards having jurisdiction of +mining problems and several free employment agencies, each +independent of the other. Our finance administration is chaotic, +illogical and confused. + +The administration of the health laws is divided between boards +and commissions, with no effective means of coordination. Our +educational agencies are not harmonious. Over one hundred +officers, boards, agencies, commissions, institutions and +departments are charged with the administration of our laws. No +systematic organization exists, and no adequate control can be +exercised ... Under the present system the governor cannot +exercise the supervision and control which the people have a right +to demand. [Footnote: Charles E. Woodward, "The Illinois Civil +Administrative Code," reprinted from Proceedings, Academy of +Political Science, July, 1918.] + +GOVERNOR LACKS POWER TO MEET HIS RESPONSIBILITY + +This condition of affairs is characteristic of state governments +generally. Some of the numerous officers are appointed by the +governor, but many of them are elected by the people or appointed +by the legislature. Their terms of office do not coincide with +that of the governor, so that he finds in office many persons whom +he did not appoint, and whom he cannot remove. Often they may be +of an opposite political party. Thus the very organization of the +state executive department is such as to make it impossible for +the governor to perform the duty, imposed upon him by the +constitution, of seeing to it that the laws are faithfully +executed. It must be remembered, moreover, that the execution of +the laws is also dependent largely upon a multitude of local +officers over whom the state exercises little control. It is +apparent how imperfect must be the teamwork of the people through +this organization. + +UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS AT POPULAR CONTROL + +Why have the people put up with this sort of thing? For one thing, +they have not understood where the trouble lies. There is also +seen the influence of the political "boss," who thrives under this +confusion. But among the causes is the desire of the people to +maintain control over government. They have attempted, in their +constitutions, not only to say just what services should be +performed for them, but also to specify just what machinery should +be used for their performance. For every new service, they have +created a new and independent piece of machinery. Then, to make +their control complete, as they thought, they have made most of +their new officers elective. Experience has shown that control of +this kind has been gained only at the sacrifice of efficient +service, through failure to provide trained leadership and +effective organization. Moreover, experience has also shown that +control of this kind is largely a delusion; for the people cannot +keep in touch with their multitude of officers, and in many cases +yield their control, often unknowingly, to the political "boss." + +EXPERIMENT NECESSARY TO PROGRESS + +In noting these defects, it is not to be concluded that our state +governments have been a failure in all respects. Far from it. +Notable progress has been made toward the ideals toward which we +have been striving. We have tried one experiment after another, +some of which have been highly successful, but others of which +have not met the test of new conditions. It is important, however, +that we should face our failures squarely and profit by them. + +REORGANIZATION OF EXECUTIVE + +At the present time there is a marked effort to overcome the +defects that we have just noted, and a good deal of progress +toward it has been made in some states. One of the most +progressive states in this particular is Illinois, which has +recently enacted a law for the reorganization of its executive +branch of government. + +Under the new "Civil Administrative Code" of Illinois, the +executive branch of government is organized in nine departments: +the departments of finance, of agriculture, of labor, of mines and +minerals, of public works and buildings, of public welfare, of +public health, of trade and commerce, and of registration and +education. + +At the head of each department is a director, who is appointed by +the governor, is responsible to him, and whose term of office is +the same as that of the governor. + +Each department is organized into various bureaus, or other +subdivisions, with officers in charge who are directly responsible +to the director of the department. Thus, in the department of +agriculture there is an assistant director, a general manager of +the state fair, a superintendent of foods and dairies, a +superintendent of animal industry, a superintendent of plant +industry, a chief veterinarian, a chief game and fish warden, and +a food standard commission of three members. + +All subordinate employees in all departments are appointed under a +civil service law which requires competitive examinations. + +Associated with most of the departments are "advisory boards" +consisting of citizens who serve without pay. Thus, the department +of agriculture has a board of agricultural advisers composed of +fifteen persons, and a board of state fair advisers of nine +persons, not more than three of whom shall be appointed from any +one county. + +The things aimed at in this reorganization are: (I) fixing +responsibility for the entire service-organization in one place-- +with the governor; (2) responsible, trained leadership in each +department of service; (3) responsiveness of leadership to the +people's wants, as provided for by the advisory boards; (4) a +system of accounting and records that will make for efficiency and +economy, and that will inform the people as well as the officers +of government. + +Investigate and report on: + +The name of the governor of your state, his political party, when +elected, for how long a term. + +Advantages and disadvantages of a long term for the governor. + +The constitutional powers of the governor of your state. + +The influence of the governor of your state with the people. + +The principal executive and administrative officers of your state. +Those that are elective and those that are appointive. + +A complete list of the administrative bureaus, boards, +commissions, and other state agencies, with their duties. + +The application of Governor Lowden's statement regarding Illinois +to your state. + +Any proposed reorganization of the executive branch of your state +government. + +THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH + +The legislative branch of government consists, in all states, of a +legislature ("general assembly," "legislative assembly," or +"general court") composed of two "houses" or "chambers," the house +of representatives and the senate. The senate is the "upper +house," and is usually from one-third to one-half the size of the +"lower house"; in Massachusetts only one-sixth the size. + +THE TWO HOUSES + +A bill to become a law must pass both houses separately, each +house acting as a check upon the other, thus securing greater +deliberation in lawmaking. The senate is supposed to be, and +usually is, a more conservative, or cautious, body than the house +of representatives, partly because of its smaller size which makes +possible a more careful consideration of business. Its members are +elected from larger districts, thus increasing the opportunity to +select able men. A higher age qualification is required for +membership in the senate than in the house of representatives; and +only a part of the senate is elected at each election, so that it +is a continuing body, always containing members of experience, +while the lower house may be almost entirely changed at each +election. + +DEFECTS IN DISTRIBUTION OF REPRESENTATION + +It is a theory of our representative government that +representation should be proportional to population. To secure +this result, each state is divided into election districts +presumably of as nearly equal population as possible, the +senatorial districts being the larger. In practice, however, these +districts do not always have representation proportional to their +population. The county is often the unit of representation, or in +New England the town, and these districts vary greatly in +population. An attempt is made to equalize the difference by +providing that no district shall have less than one +representative, and often that none shall have more than a certain +number. Inequalities nevertheless exist. In Connecticut, thirty- +four of the most populous towns and cities have sixty-eight +members in the lower house, whereas if the distribution were made +on the basis of population they would be entitled to 186 members. +Again, four of the smallest Connecticut towns, with a total +population of 1567, have five members; four of the most populous +cities, containing 309,982 inhabitants, have only eight members, +whereas on the basis of population they would be entitled to +eighty-seven. [Footnote: C.A., Beard, America Government and +Politics, p. 521.] + +Partisan influences often enter into the districting of states for +representation, the party in power trying to fix boundaries so as +to ensure keeping their majority in the legislature. + +Investigate and report on the following: + +Number of members in the lower and upper houses of your +legislature. + +Qualifications for membership and term of office in each house. + +Names of your own representative and senator. + +Secure a map showing legislative districts of your state. Locate +your own. + +Whether representation in your legislature is proportional to +population. + +The "gerrymander": what is it, and has it been used in your state? + +The legislature controls our lives at almost every turn. + +It has control over the whole domain of civil law; [Footnote 2: +See below, p. 437.] that is, it lays down the rules governing +contracts, real and personal property, inheritance, corporations, +mortgages, marriage and divorce, and other civil matters. It +defines crime; that is, it prescribes those actions of the citizen +which are to be punished by fine or imprisonment or death. It +touches the property of the citizen not only by regulating its +use, but also by imposing upon it a burden of taxation. Finally, +it has control over the vast domain known as the police power, +under which it makes regulations concerning public health, morals, +and welfare, devises rules for the conduct of business and +professions, and in other ways restrains the liberty of the +citizen to do as he pleases. [Footnote 3: C.A. Beard, America +Government and Politics,, p. 516.] + +ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE TOWARD THEIR LEGISLATURES + +In view of this importance, it would seem that the people would +have the keenest interest in their state legislatures and the +greatest respect for them. This has not always been the case. As +one writer says, "it has become almost fashionable" to speak +slightingly of legislatures and their members, and to talk of them +as if they were wholly corrupt and dishonorable. If the very best +men the community affords are not always chosen for the difficult +and responsible work of lawmaking, the people have no one to blame +but themselves. Moreover, the members of our legislatures average +up very much like their neighbors, and most of them are sincerely +desirous of serving their state and do so to the fullest extent +possible under the conditions that exist. + +It is indeed time that a different attitude should be assumed +toward these bodies. ... Acquaintance with actual legislatures +will immediately reveal the fact that they are fairly +representative of the American people, and that there is in them, +a great deal of honest effort to grapple with the difficult +problems of legislation. ... Before all, there ought to be a +sustained effort to support the men who are with honest purpose +struggling for equitable and effective legislation. ...[Footnote: +Paul S. Reinsch, American Legislatures and Legislative Methods, p. +126.] + + DIFFICULTIES OF WISE LEGISLATION + +Most of the unwise and harmful legislation has been due, not to +wrong intentions on the part of legislators, but to the difficulty +encountered by a body of men of average intelligence and of little +experience in dealing with public questions, in getting +information necessary to enable them to decide wisely with respect +to the multitude of complicated problems that come before them +during the brief session of the legislature. + +In the lower house of one typical legislature only 19 out of the +252 members had ever been members of a legislature before, 123 +were farmers, 6 lawyers, 10 physicians, 48 merchants and +manufacturers, 3 bankers, 5 preachers, 6 insurance men, 2 hotel +proprietors, 3 liverymen, 14 laborers or artisans, 6 "apparently +with no occupation except that of general politician and office- +seeker." + +Of the thirty members of the senate of the same legislature, 9 +were farmers, 4 lawyers, 4 physicians, and 13 merchants. Seven of +these had completed their education in "academies," while 13 had +never got beyond the public schools. + +These men had to decide, in the course of a few weeks, upon an +astonishing variety of problems, some of them of the greatest +complexity, and all of them affecting the lives of the citizens of +the state in a multitude of ways. It is not surprising that +serious mistakes are sometimes made. [Footnote: C. A. Beard, +American Government and Politics, p. 525 (from S. P. Orth, "Our +State Legislatures," Atlantic Monthly, vol. xciv, pp. 728 ff.)] + +The mere writing of a bill in language that will convey the exact +meaning intended, and that will not involve undesirable and +unexpected results, is a difficult matter that requires the skill +of men trained for it. + +LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAUS + +In a number of states an attempt has been made to meet these +natural difficulties by the establishment of legislative reference +libraries, or bureaus, in charge of highly trained students who +collect all available information relating to every possible +subject of legislation, keep records of legislation in other +states, and place the material in convenient form at the disposal +of the legislators. Sometimes they provide expert service in the +writing of bills in the proper form. It is said that such +legislative reference bureaus have already greatly improved the +quality of legislation in some of the states. + +It would be impossible for a legislature, acting as a body, to +give consideration to more than a small fraction of the bills that +come before it. + +It is said that it is not unusual for more than 2500 bills to be +introduced at a single session. Legislatures are in session from +40 to 90 days. If the session were 60 days, and the working day 10 +hours, there would be but 15 minutes for each of 2500 bills. This +time would be divided between the two houses. Besides, a great +deal of business must be transacted other than the consideration +and passage of bills. + +THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM OF LEGISLATION + +To make possible the handling of all this work, each house is +organized in standing committees. As bills are introduced, they +are referred to their appropriate committees, in which most of the +work of lawmaking is done. Most of the bills so referred are never +reported back to the legislature at all, and those that are +reported are in most cases acted upon by the legislature in +accordance with the committees' reports, with little general +discussion. The procedure followed in referring bills to +committees and in considering them when they are reported back is +determined by a complexity of rules that are confusing to the +outsider and that cannot be explained in detail here. But their +declared purpose is to save time and to enable the legislative +business to move smoothly. The small committees can work to better +advantage than the large body of men in either chamber. The work +is divided up so that the few members of each committee can +concentrate their attention upon a few subjects and gain +experience in handling special kinds of problems. + +INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT + +On the other hand, it is to this organization that we owe some of +the bad lawmaking for which our legislatures are blamed. It tends +to remove legislation from the control of the people, and results +in what is often called "invisible government," government that is +carried on out of sight of the people. It opens a door to partisan +influences and to control by political "bosses" and self-seeking +"interests." In the lower house the committees are appointed by +the speaker, who is the presiding officer, and who is always +chosen by the members of the majority party in the house from +their own number. The senate committees are sometimes appointed by +the presiding officer of the senate, who is often the lieutenant- +governor, and sometimes elected by the senate itself. But the +chairmen and the majority of the members of all committees in both +houses belong to the majority party, which is thus enabled to +control legislation for partisan ends if it so desires, and it +often does so. + +EVILS OF THE SYSTEM + +Bills may be "killed" in committee, or reported unfavorably, or so +amended as to change their meaning entirely, merely at the will of +the party leaders, or of "bosses" and interests outside of the +legislature. A large part of the work of the committees is carried +on in secret. Although "hearings" may be held at which citizens +may present arguments for and against proposed measures, these may +be mere matters of form. Influential interests may maintain a +lobby at the legislature, which means that they are represented +there by agents who seek to influence the members of the +legislature, and especially of the committees, sometimes by +corrupt methods. The lobby often works by secret methods, whereas +the "hearings" are public. + +The party leaders in control, of whom the most important are the +speaker of the house, the rules committee, the chairmen of +committees, and the "floor manager," by dictating the procedure to +be followed, may at times make it practically impossible for a +member of the minority party, or one who has incurred the +displeasure of the leaders, to gain a hearing. The following +description gives an idea of what may happen: [Footnote: From a +pamphlet issued by the Illinois Legislative Voters' League in +1903, and quoted by C. A. Beard, American Government and Politics, +pp 539, 540.] + +Consider the petty annoyances to which a decent member outside the +"organization" may be subjected, and the methods by which +legitimate legislation, backed by him, may be blocked. The bill +goes to an unfriendly committee. The chairman refuses to call the +committee together, or when forced to call it, a quorum does not +attend. ... Action may be postponed on various pretexts, or the +bill may be referred to a sub-committee. The committee may kill +the bill by laying it on the table. On the other hand, the +committee may decide that the bill be reported to the house to +pass. Then a common practice is for the chairman to pocket the +bill, delaying to report it to the house till too late to pass it. +When finally reported to the house, it goes on the calendar to be +read a first time in its order. Then begins the advancing of bills +by unanimous consent, without waiting to reach them in order. Here +is where the organization has absolute control. Unanimous consent +is subject to the speaker's acuteness of hearing. His hearing is +sharpened or dulled according to the good standing of the objector +or of the member pushing the bill. If one not friendly to the +house "organization" wants to have his bill considered over an +objection, he must move to suspend the rules. The speaker may +refuse to recognize him, or may put his motion and declare it +carried or not carried as suits his and the organization's +desires. So the pet bills are jumped over others ahead of them on +the calendar, while + +[Footnote: From a pamphlet issued by the Illinois Legislative +Voters' League in 1903, and quoted by C. A. Beard, American +Government and Politics, pp 539, 540.] the ones not having the +backing of the house "organization" are retired farther and +farther down until their ultimate passage becomes hopeless. If the +bill of the independent member reaches a second reading, it may be +killed by striking out the enacting clause or by tacking on an +obnoxious amendment that makes it repulsive to its former friends. ... +To carry out the will of the organization, the speaker +declares amendments carried or the contrary by a viva voce vote. +Demands for roll-calls are ignored by him in violation of the +members' constitutional rights. ... + +EFFORTS TO CURB POWER OF LEGISLATURES + +It is such practices as these that have brought state legislatures +into bad repute, and that have resulted in measures to curb their +power. Instead of leaving it entirely to them to make their own +rules of procedure, many of these rules are now prescribed by the +state constitutions. It was in order to restrain the legislatures +that the veto power has been given to the governors of all states +but one, and that sessions of legislatures have been limited to +brief periods of from forty to ninety days, and then only once in +two years. For the same reason state constitutions have taken away +powers that legislatures once commonly abused, as in running the +state deeply into debt, or in legislating in the interest of +particular localities or particular groups; and have provided in +great detail for many things that were formerly left to the +discretion of the legislatures. For the same reason some states +have adopted the initiative and referendum. + +Investigate and report on: + +Powers possessed by either house of your legislature not possessed +by the other. + +Powers denied your legislature by the federal Constitution. + +Powers denied your legislature by your state constitution. +Reasons. + +Attitude of the people of your community toward your legislature. + +Why service in the legislature does not attract more of the most +capable men of the state. + +The vocations of the members of your legislature. + +Number of bills introduced, and the number passed, at the last +session of your legislature. + +The purpose of some of the most important laws enacted by your +legislature at its last session. + +Why it is difficult to write a bill correctly. + +The legislative reference library, or bureau, of your state (if +any). + +The committees in each house of your legislature. + +Procedure by which a bill becomes a law in your state. + +The speaker of the House of Representatives in your state. + +"Invisible government" in your state. + +Laws regulating the "lobby" in your state. Frequency and length of +legislative sessions in your state. + +INEFFICIENT BUSINESS METHODS OF STATE GOVERNMENTS + +Some of the greatest abuses of governing power have been in +connection with the appropriation of money. They have been due not +so much to dishonesty as to bad organization and loose business +methods, both in the executive and legislative branches of +government. When the executive branch consists of a large number +of more or less independent parts, each trying to make the best +showing possible, it is quite to be expected that each will seek +to get from the public treasury all the money possible without +reference to the needs of other parts or to the resources of the +state. When, in addition, there is no central executive authority +with power to hold the heads of the various parts responsible for +their acts, and no uniform or businesslike system of keeping +accounts, either of money expended or of work accomplished, it is +easy to see the opportunity for wastefulness and inefficiency. + +WASTEFUL METHODS OF MAKING APPROPRIATIONS + +On the other hand, the methods of making appropriations in the +legislature have been equally conducive to wastefulness. +Appropriation bills pass through the same legislative machinery as +all other bills and are subject to the same dangers. Moreover, +they are handled by different committees that act as independently +of one another as do the various executive departments. In +Illinois, for example, until recently "requests for appropriations +were submitted informally by each office, department, or board; +and separate bills were prepared by the several departments and +institutions, and introduced by individual members of the General +Assembly," l[Footnote: John A. Fairlie, Budget Methods in +Illinois, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social +Science, November, 1915; quoted by W. F. Willoughby, in The +Movement for Budgetary Reform in the States, p. 45.] then being +referred to different committees according to the subjects to +which they related. At the session of 1913, 94 separate +appropriation acts were passed. + +THE BUDGET SYSTEM + +A number of the states have sought to remedy this defect in +government by the adoption of a budget system (see Chapter XIII). +Illinois has perhaps made the complete reform in this matter. We +have already seen how that state has reorganized its executive +branch of government, which is the first necessary step. In this +reorganization there was created a finance department, to which +all the administrative departments submit a careful estimate of +the money needed for their various lines of work, together with a +detailed statement of work done and money spent during the two +preceding years. The finance department considers all these +statements and estimates in their relation to one another and to +the financial resources available for the next two years, and +submits to the governor a comprehensive and detailed budget. On +the basis of this, a single appropriation bill is prepared by a +single committee of the legislature. Public hearings are held, the +people are given opportunity to know just what the government has +done and intends to do, and the governor and his finance +department may be held responsible. + +No single change would add so largely to both democracy and +efficiency as the introduction of proper budget methods. +[Footnote: Foreword to Public Budgets, Annals of the American +Academy of Political and Social Science, November, 1915; quoted by +W. F. Willoughby, The Movement for Budgetary Reform in the States, +p. 2.] + +Investigate and report on: + +Method of making appropriations in your state. + +Movement for a budget system in your state. + +Why a budget system tends toward (1) economy, (2) efficiency, (3) +democracy. + +THE JUDICIAL BRANCH + +Questions are continually arising as to the meaning of laws, or as +to how they apply in particular cases. To answer these questions +the judicial branch of government exists, comprising a system of +courts. The courts are sometimes called upon to decide whether a +law passed by the legislature, or an act of an administrative +officer, is in harmony with the constitution, and if not, to +declare such law or act invalid. The judicial branch of government +is therefore the people's organization to keep the other branches +of government within their constitutional powers. + +CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES + +In most cases that come before the courts, however, the law is +perfectly clear when once the facts in the case are known. It is +therefore the business of the courts also to ascertain the facts. +There are two classes of cases that come before the courts, civil +cases and criminal cases; and the law that applies to the two +classes is known as civil law and criminal law. A civil case is +one that involves a dispute between individuals, or an injury done +by one individual to another. Such would be a dispute over a +boundary line between the properties of two individuals, or over +the payment of a debt; or a personal injury due to the +carelessness of some one, or an injury to property or to health +through maintaining a nuisance of some kind. In such cases the +court, after ascertaining the facts, merely sees that justice is +done, as by the payment of damages to the injured party by the one +doing the injury. A criminal case is one in which a person is +charged with having violated a law of the community. The injury is +one against the community as a whole, and not merely against an +individual. It is the community that appears in court against the +accused person, and not merely one of his neighbors. In such cases +the court first ascertains the guilt or innocence of the accused +person; and if he is guilty, imposes a PUNISHMENT upon him, such +as a fine, or imprisonment, or even death, according to the nature +of the crime. + +The judicial branch of government, then, is that part of the +governmental organization that seeks to adjust, by peaceful and +just means, the inevitable conflicts that arise in community life. + +JUSTICES' COURTS + +The lowest in the series of state courts are the JUSTICES' COURTS, +of which there is at least one in every township. They are +presided over by justices of the peace. Only cases of small moment +come before justices' courts: civil cases involving very small +amounts, and cases of minor infractions of the law punishable by +small fines or by short terms in jail. Persons accused of more +serious crimes may have a preliminary examination in a justice's +court and, if the evidence warrants it, be committed to jail to +await the action of the grand jury (see below). Most cases in a +justice's court are disposed of by the justice of the peace alone; +but a jury trial may be demanded in all criminal cases, and in +civil suits "where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty +dollars" (Const., Amendments VI, VII). + +COUNTY COURTS + +More serious cases, civil or criminal, are tried in the COUNTY, or +DISTRICT, courts before a judge and a JURY. Cases that have been +tried in a justice's court may be APPEALED to the county or +district court, where there is sure to be a jury trial, and where +the judge is more learned in the law than is a justice of the +peace. It is the business of the jury to decide on the facts in +the case on the evidence furnished in the trial, and in civil +cases to award the amount of damages, if any, to be paid; while +the judge sees that the procedure is in accordance with the law, +instructs the jury as to the law in the case, and in criminal +cases fixes the penalty within the limits permitted by the law. + +THE COMMUNITY IN COURT + +It was stated above that in criminal cases it is the COMMUNITY +that appears against the accused. The community appears in the +person of the district attorney, otherwise called the prosecuting +attorney, state's attorney, or county solicitor. It is the +business of this officer to gather evidence of crimes committed in +the community and, in most cases, to submit it to the GRAND JURY, +which is a body of citizens carefully chosen to consider such +evidence. If the grand jury considers the evidence against the +accused sufficient to warrant bringing him to trial, it brings in +an INDICTMENT against him. The prosecuting attorney then +prosecutes the case for the community against the accused. It is +of course his duty to secure exact justice; sometimes, however, he +seems interested only in securing the CONVICTION of the accused. + +RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED + +Our state and national constitutions seek to protect carefully the +rights of a person accused of crime. He is assumed to be innocent +until he has been proved otherwise. He is guaranteed a "speedy and +public trial, by an impartial jury." He must be "confronted with +witnesses against him," and have "compulsory process for obtaining +witnesses in his favor," and "assistance of counsel for his +defense" (Const., Amendment VI). He cannot be compelled to be a +witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or +property, without "due process of law" (Amendment V). "Excessive +bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel +and unusual punishments inflicted." (Amendment VIII). + +CIRCUIT OR SUPERIOR COURTS + +In some states there is another set of courts immediately above +the county courts, known as CIRCUIT, DISTRICT, or SUPERIOR, +courts. The districts in which these courts have jurisdiction +include several counties. The cases courts handled by them are +either cases of appeal from the lower courts, or cases of greater +importance than those over which the lower courts have +jurisdiction. + +THE STATE SUPREME COURT + +The highest court in the state is the SUPREME COURT, sometimes +called the COURT OF APPEALS, or the COURT OF ERRORS. In the +supreme court several judges sit together, and there is no jury. +The cases that come before it are for the most part cases of +appeal from the lower courts, although there are certain classes +of cases that come before it in the first instance. The supreme +court is the final judge as to whether acts of the legislature are +in conformity with the state constitution. + +OTHER COURTS + +In addition to the courts named above there are sometimes others +to deal with special classes of cases. In cities there are +MUNICIPAL COURTS and POLICE COURTS, both in the same class with +justices' courts. There are JUVENILE COURTS to deal with juvenile +offenders; PROBATE, or SURROGATE, COURTS to settle the estates of +persons who have died; COURTS OF CLAIMS to settle claims against +the state; and CHANCERY COURTS, or courts of EQUITY, which +administer justice in cases that the ordinary law will not reach. + +For example, the LAW will permit a man's property to be taken to +satisfy a mortgage; EQUITY requires that the property be sold and +the surplus over the amount of the mortgage returned to the owner. +The LAW will grant damages for any injury inflicted; EQUITY will, +by an injunction, forbid a repetition of the injury. + +SELECTION OF JUDGES + +The judges of the state courts were originally appointed by the +governors, or by the legislatures. With the movement toward more +democratic forms of government, the states began to introduce +provisions in their constitutions for the election of judges by +the people, and they are now so chosen in most states, though in a +number they are appointed by the governor, and in a few by the +legislature. It is highly important that judges should be +controlled in their decisions solely by the desire to render +justice, and that they should be removed as far as possible from +partisan influences. Popular election of judges is most prevalent +because it seems to give to the people the most direct control +over their courts. On the other hand, it is opposed by many +because it makes possible the election of incompetent judges, and +because it does not necessarily remove the matter from partisan +influences. In three states (California, Oregon and Arizona) the +judges are subject to recall by the people. + +The terms during which judges hold office also vary greatly among +the states. In three states they hold office for life +(Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire). In the other +states their terms vary from two to twenty-one years. + +It seems to be the opinion of most students that the state courts +would be improved if their judges were appointed by the chief +executive and should hold office for life, or during good +behavior, as is the case in the federal courts. + +Investigate and report on: + +Civil law and criminal law. + +What makes an act a "crime." + +Difference between a "crime" and a "misdemeanor." + +Justices' courts in your community. + +Procedure in a justice's court. + +The organization of your county court. + +Who is your county (or district) judge. + +Procedure in your county court, and how it differs from that in +the justice's court. + +Organization and work of the grand jury. + +How a trial jury is selected. + +The citizen's duty to serve on the jury. + +Rights of an accused person. + +Meaning of "bail," "indictment," "due process of law," "counsel +for defense," "subpoena," "true bill." + +Circumstances under which an appeal may be made. + +The supreme court of your state. + +The work of a juvenile court. + +READINGS + +State Constitution. + +Reports of the several departments of the state government. + +In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE: Series B: Lesson 18, +How state laws are made and enforced. + +The Civil Administrative Code of the State of Illinois, compiled +by Louis L. Emmerson. Secretary of State, Springfield, Ill. + +The Illinois Civil Administrative Code, by Charles E. Woodward, +The Academy of Political Science, Columbia University, New York +City. + +Beard, Chas. A., AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS, Part iii, State +government. + +Hart, A. B., ACTUAL GOVERNMENT, Part iii, State governments in +action. + +Reed, T. H., FORM AND FUNCTIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, Part iii, +State government. + +Bryce, James, THE AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH, vol. i, Part ii, The +State governments. + +In Long's AMERICAN PATRIOTIC PROSE: Invisible government (Elihu +Root), pp. 261-264. + +In Foerster and Pierson's AMERICAN IDEALS: How to Preserve the +Local Self-Government of the States (Elihu Root), pp. 48-55 + + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +OUR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT + +THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT + + +It was the necessity for team work in carrying on the War for +Independence that led the thirteen American colonies for the first +time to unite under a common government. They had revolted to +escape from an autocratic government, and they sought to avoid +setting up another in its place. Since it had been the king whom +they distrusted most, they endeavored to get along without any +executive head at all. Their new government consisted solely of a +Congress of delegates from the thirteen states. + +THE CRITICAL PERIOD + +This form of government was continued for several years after the +Revolution under a constitution known as the Articles of +Confederation. It was, however, unsuccessful in securing anything +like real national cooperation. The Congress had no power to levy +and collect taxes, it had little power to make laws, and it was +without means to execute the laws that it did make. The real +governing power during this period was with the several states. +The result was a period of unutterable confusion which has been +called "the critical period of American history." The question at +stake was whether a number of self-governing state communities +with a multitude of apparently conflicting interests could really +become a nation. + +THE NEW CONSTITUTION + +During the war Benjamin Franklin had said, "We must all hang +together or we shall all hang separately." The states had "hung +together" sufficiently to win the war; but the wise men of the +time now saw the need for a government so organized and with such +powers as to secure effective cooperation among all the states and +all the people at all times for the welfare of the entire Union, +while leaving each state free to manage its own local affairs. +Therefore a convention of delegates from all the states was called +together at Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of +Confederation. The result was our present Constitution under which +our present national government went into effect in 1789. + +Investigate and report: + +The nature and causes of the confusion during "the critical +period" of American history. + +The leading men of the Constitutional Convention. + +How the states ratified the Constitution. + +Which of the original thirteen states did not ratify the +Constitution until after it had gone into effect. + +The number of states required to ratify before the Constitution +went into effect (Constitution, Art. VII). + +POPULAR CONTROL THROUGH THE CONSTITUTION + +"We, the people of the United States" "ordained and established" +the Constitution (see the Preamble). It was also "ordained" in the +Constitution (Art. V) that it could be amended only by methods +designed to give the people control over the matter--greater +control than they have over ordinary lawmaking. A great many +amendments have been proposed in the course of time, but only +eighteen have so far been adopted,[Footnote: A nineteenth +amendment is at this writing before the states for ratification-- +the woman suffrage amendment.] ten of these having been adopted in +the very beginning as a condition on which the states would accept +the Constitution at all. None of these amendments changed the form +of our government except with respect to the methods of electing +the President and United States senators (Amendments XII and +XVII). + +Explain the two methods of proposing, and the two methods of +ratifying, amendments (Constitution, Art. VII). + +Has there ever been a national constitutional convention called by +the states? + +Which of the two methods of ratifying was used in the case of the +last amendment adopted? [Footnote: Ohio by a referendum in 1919 +submitted the eighteenth amendment to the people of the state for +their vote, after it had been ratified by the legislature. This +was the first time in our history that an amendment to the +Constitution was submitted to popular vote for ratification.] + +Did your state vote to ratify or to reject the last amendment? + +If any amendment is now before the states for ratification, watch +the newspapers for the action of the various states. + +OUR GOVERNMENT A GROWING THING + +The Constitution adopted in 1787 has met the needs of our growing +nation in a most remarkable way. It would be a mistake, however, +to think that it has always met new conditions perfectly, or that +we are governed to-day exactly as was intended by the framers of +the Constitution. Although few amendments have been made, +INTERPRETATIONS have been placed on the Constitution that were +probably unthought of by the framers or by the people who ratified +it; and PRACTICES have grown up in our government that have made +it quite a different government from that which was anticipated. +Our government is a GROWING thing, and one of the chief merits of +our Constitution is the fact that it speaks in such general terms +that it has been possible, under it, to adapt our government to +new and unexpected conditions. In this respect it differs from the +detailed state constitutions. + +DEFECTS INEVITABLE + +On the other hand, conditions have arisen with the growth of our +nation that our Constitution has not enabled us to meet with the +greatest success, and that we have not yet met by amendment. In +some cases we have tried to get around the difficulties by devices +not provided for in the Constitution, sometimes with unfortunate +results. But a recognition of defects in our government should not +cause us to lose respect for the Constitution. They are due not to +positive blunders on the part of the framers, but to the mere +absence of provision for conditions that did not exist when the +Constitution was framed and that could not be foreseen by the +wisest men of that time. The wise course for all good citizens is +to seek to understand clearly wherein our government fails to meet +our needs, if it does fail, and then to seek to correct the +difficulty, under the existing terms of the Constitution if +possible, or by amendment of the Constitution if that becomes +clearly necessary. Amendment of the Constitution was purposely +made difficult, and this was doubtless wise, for it tends to +prevent changes without full consideration of their needs and +probable effects. Radical changes in our form of government and in +our established laws are always fraught with danger. Because of +the extreme complexity of community life a change effected at one +point to meet a particular evil may have consequences of the most +far-reaching kind and in the most unexpected directions. A change +that corrects one evil may produce conditions resulting in evils +even worse than the first. Changes are necessary at times, but +they should be made only after the most careful consideration by +men of the widest possible experience. + +THE BILL OF RIGHTS + +One thing that stood out clearly after the Revolution was the fear +of a strong national government. Some of the states refused to +ratify the Constitution unless amendments were added at once +guaranteeing the liberties of the people. The first ten +amendments, known as the "bill of rights," were the result. To +make sure that no important rights were left unguarded, the ninth +amendment provides that "the enumeration in the Constitution of +certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others +retained by the people." + +Read the first ten amendments and discuss the meaning of each. + +A GOVERNMENT OF DELEGATED POWERS + +It was clearly expected that most of the governing powers to which +the people were subject should be exercised by the states, and not +by the national government. The national government was to +exercise no powers except such as were DELEGATED to it in the +Constitution. These powers are important ones, but few in number, +and are listed in section 8 of Article I. In order to make this +limitation of powers perfectly clear, the tenth amendment declares +that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the +Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to +the states respectively or to the people." Certain powers were +also expressly denied to the national government in section 9 of +Article I. + +Discuss the meaning of each clause in Article I, section 8. + +Discuss the meaning of each clause in Article I, section 9. + +THE SCOPE OF NATIONAL POWERS + +The powers of the national government relate to interstate and +foreign affairs, or to matters that the several states could not +well regulate without confusion or injustice. For example, it was +chiefly the confusion in matters pertaining to trade in the period +following the Revolution that made the new government necessary. +Therefore power was given to it "to regulate commerce with foreign +nations and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes." +So, also, it was given power "to coin money, regulate the value +thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and +measures," for varying systems of coinage and of weights and +measures would be inconvenient. For similar reasons it was +empowered "to establish post-offices and post-roads," "to +establish an uniform rule of naturalization" for immigrants, and +"to promote the progress of science and useful arts" by giving +copyrights and patents to authors and inventors. The states, on +the other hand, were expressly forbidden to exercise any control +over some such matters of national and international concern in +section 10 of Article I. + +Read section 10, Art I, and discuss the reasons why the powers +there mentioned should have been denied to the states. + +THE SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES + +Not only did the framers of the Constitution carefully limit the +powers that the national government might exercise, but they also +introduced into the organization of the government various devices +to control it and to prevent any of its parts from assuming too +much power. The most important of these is the system of CHECKS +AND BALANCES. In our national government, as in the state +governments, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers are +SEPARATED. In early times in England, the king could make any laws +he wished, he could enforce them as he pleased, and he controlled +the courts of justice. In our government the legislature, composed +of representatives of the people, makes the laws; the executive +branch of government sees to their enforcement; and the courts, +which are responsible neither to the legislature nor to the +executive, interpret the laws and administer justice in accordance +with the laws. This separation of powers is to prevent any one +person or group of persons from exercising too much power, as the +king did, and is a safeguard to the liberty of the people. But the +separation of powers IS NOT COMPLETE. Each branch of government +has A LIMITED CONTROL over the others. This constitutes THE SYSTEM +OF CHECKS AND BALANCES, which still further protects the people's +liberties. + +While the President cannot make the laws, he is given a check upon +the lawmaking power of Congress by his veto power. On the other +hand, he cannot, by an excessive use of his veto power, destroy +the lawmaking power of Congress, because Congress may pass laws +over the President's veto by means of a two-thirds vote. + +The President cannot make a treaty, nor appoint men to office, +without the consent of the senate; neither can he exercise his +executive powers until Congress votes him the necessary money. + +If Congress passes a law that is contrary to the Constitution the +courts may declare the law void, and the executive cannot enforce +it. The courts, on the other hand, are in a measure under the +control of both Congress and the President, for Congress may +create and destroy courts (except those created by the +Constitution), and the President, with the consent of the senate, +appoints the judges. + +ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CHECKS AND BALANCES + +The "checks and balances" in the organization of our government +have been very effective in accomplishing the purpose for which +they were intended, namely, to protect the liberties of the people +against despotic government. But they have also, at times, been an +obstacle to team work and to effective service. It sometimes +happens, for example, that the President represents one political +party, while the majority of one or both houses of Congress are of +the opposing party. The two branches of government may then enter +into a struggle on partisan grounds, each trying to defeat the +program of the other. Such a situation was probably unforeseen by +the framers of the Constitution, although it again reminds us of +Washington's warning with regard to the dangers of the party +spirit. + +THE IMPLIED POWERS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT + +With the growth of our nation, the national government has come to +perform a vast amount of service, as we have seen in earlier +chapters, and to regulate the lives of the people in a multitude +of ways little dreamed of by the makers of the Constitution. This +has been possible because of the principle of IMPLIED POWERS in +the Constitution. This means that some of the powers expressly +granted in the Constitution have been broadly interpreted to IMPLY +powers not expressly stated. There are certain clauses in the +Constitution that especially lend themselves to such broad +interpretation. For example, after the enumeration of the powers +which Congress may exercise, in section 8 of Article I, clause 18 +of that section gives Congress power "to make all laws which shall +be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing +powers ..." Another clause whose liberal interpretation has been +responsible for much of the service performed by the national +government is that giving it the power to regulate interstate +commerce (Art. I, sec. 8, clause 3). + +In the early days of our government the Federalist party, under +the leadership of Alexander Hamilton, proposed the creation of a +NATIONAL BANK. The Republican party under Jefferson opposed this +because the Constitution did not expressly provide for it, and +because it was feared that it would give the national government +too much power. But the "broad constructionists" argued that a +national bank was a "necessary and proper" means to enable the +national government "to borrow money on the credit of the United +States" and to exercise other financial powers expressly granted +in the Constitution. The supreme court of the United States +supported the latter view, and the national bank became a fact. + +The building of roads and other internal improvements by the +national government have always been opposed by the "strict +constructionists," except where roads were clearly "post-roads" +(Article 1, section.8, clause 7). But the "broad constructionists" +argued that roads were "necessary and proper" to provide "for the +common defense," and also as a means "to regulate commerce among +the several states." + +Most of the work that the national government has done for the +promotion of the public health, such as the passage and +enforcement of the "pure food and drugs act," the inspection of +livestock and of slaughterhouses, and the attempt to regulate +child labor, has been done under the authority of the clause +giving Congress power to regulate interstate commerce. + +EXPANSION OF POWERS BY JUDICIAL DECISION + +It has been the duty of the Supreme Court of the United States to +decide finally whether much of the new service undertaken by the +national government is in accordance with the Constitution or not, +and this court has been responsible for most of the expansion of +the service rendered, because of its liberal interpretation of the +Constitution. + +Why should the power to regulate interstate commerce also give +Congress the power to require the inspection of cattle in your +neighborhood? or to forbid the use of harmful substances in patent +medicines? or to forbid the employment in factories of children? + +Find out what you can about the influence of John Marshall, Chief +Justice of the Supreme Court, in extending the powers of the +national government. + +THE EXECUTIVE CENTRALIZED AND CONTROLLED + +The Constitution vests the executive power in the President of the +United States (Art. II, sec. I), and he alone is responsible to +the people for the execution of the laws. The people are protected +against abuse of this power in the hands of one man by various +constitutional provisions. The President's term of office is +limited to four years, though he may be reelected. In case of +improper conduct in office, he may be removed by IMPEACHMENT. The +impeachment charges must be brought against him by the House of +Representatives, and the Senate, presided over by the Chief +Justice of the Supreme Court, must act as a court to try the case. +Moreover, even the President must act according to law, and in so +far as his duties are not prescribed by the Constitution they are +prescribed by Congress. Congress must also create the machinery by +which the President executes the laws, and it must appropriate the +necessary money. The Senate exercises a further control over the +President in that it must approve all appointments and all +treaties made by him. + +METHOD OF ELECTING THE PRESIDENT + +The method of electing the President provided in the Constitution +was intended to insure a wise choice, and also shows a lack of +complete confidence in the people on the part of the framers of +the Constitution. He was to be elected by a body of ELECTORS, +chosen by the several states "in such manner as the legislatures +thereof may direct," the number of electors from each state to +equal the whole number of senators and representatives from that +state (Art. II, sec. 2). These electors were originally chosen by +the legislatures of the states, but are now elected by the people. +When voters "vote for the President" every four years, they in +reality only vote for these electors who, in turn, cast their +votes for the President. + +DEPARTURE FROM THE INTENTION OF THE CONSTITUTION + +In the method of electing the President we find one of the points +where the intention of the framers of the Constitution has clearly +been thwarted. It was obviously the intention that the electors +chosen by the states should use their own discretion in the choice +of the President. But in practice to-day, the entire body of +electors from each state always represents the victorious +political party, and casts its vote invariably for the +presidential candidate already nominated by the party machinery. +We still elect the electors, and the electors go through the form +of electing the President; but their part in the procedure is now +entirely useless. + +THE VICE-PRESIDENT + +The Vice-President of the United States is elected at the same +time and by the same method as the President. But he has no +executive duties whatever so long as the President is capable of +performing his duties. In order that he might have something to +do, he was made presiding officer of the Senate, but even there he +has no vote. + +Investigate and report: + +The qualifications necessary to hold the office of President +(Const., Art. II, sec. I, cl. 5). + +How the electors elect the President (Const., Amend. XII). + +Who would become President if both the President and the Vice- +President should die. + +The salary of the President. + +The oath taken by the President on assuming office. The difference +between an oath and an affirmation (Art. II, sec. i, cl. 8). + +The powers of the President (Art. II, sec. 2). + +A President who was impeached. + +Why no President has been elected for a third term. + +Advantages and disadvantages of a longer term for the President. + +GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION + +The President is at the head of a stupendous service organization +which was not ready-made by the Constitution, but which has been +gradually created by acts of Congress under its express and +implied powers. The Constitution did not even create the great +administrative departments through which the President works, +although it implied that such departments should be created: "The +President ... may require the opinion, in writing, of the +principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any +subject relating to the duties of their respective offices" (Art. +II, sec. 2, cl. i). The heads of these departments are appointed +by the President, are responsible to him, and may be removed by +him. Together they constitute the President's CABINET, meeting +with him frequently to discuss the affairs of their departments +and matters of public policy. + +THE ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS + +Five of these administrative departments were created during +Washington's administration. These five have grown to cover a +multitude of activities that were not at first contemplated, and +five other great departments have since been created. + +The DEPARTMENT OF STATE maintains relations between the United +States and foreign powers. The Secretary of State, acting for the +President, negotiates treaties with foreign governments, and is in +constant communication with the ambassadors, ministers, consuls, +and other representatives of our government in foreign countries, +and with similar representatives of foreign governments in this +country. This department is the medium of communication between +the President and the governors of the several states. The +Secretary of State has in his keeping the treaties and laws of the +United States, and also the Great Seal of the United States, which +he affixes to proclamations, commissions, and other official +papers. Through him the rights of American citizens in foreign +countries are looked after. He is first in rank among the members +of the cabinet, and by law would succeed to the Presidency in case +of the death or disability of both the President and the Vice- +President. + +The DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY has at its head the Secretary of +the Treasury, who is the financial manager of the national +government. He prepares plans for, and superintends the collection +of, the public revenues; determines the manner of keeping the +public accounts; directs the coinage and printing of money. He +also controls the construction and maintenance of public +buildings, and administers the public health service and the life- +saving service. + +The DEPARTMENT OF WAR is directed by the Secretary of War, who, +under the President, controls the military establishment and +superintends the national defense. He also administers river and +harbor improvements, the prevention of obstruction to navigation, +and the building of bridges over navigable rivers when authorized +by Congress. He also has direction of the Bureau of Insular +Affairs, which supervises the government of Porto Rico and the +Philippines. + +The DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE has at its head the Attorney General, +who is the chief law officer of the government, and represents it +in all matters of a legal nature. He is the legal adviser of the +President and of the several executive departments, and supervises +all United States attorneys and marshals in the judicial districts +into which the country is divided. + +The POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT is administered by the Postmaster +General. + +The DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, under the Secretary of the Navy, has +charge of the "construction, manning, equipment, and employment of +vessels of war." + +The DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR was created to relieve the +Department of State of work relating to internal affairs, and now +embraces a wide variety of duties. At its head is the Secretary of +the Interior. Through many bureaus and divisions it administers +the public lands, the national parks, the giving of patents for +inventions, the pensioning of soldiers, Indian affairs, education, +the reclamation service, the geological survey, the improvement of +mining methods for the safety of miners, certain matters +pertaining to the territories of the United States, and certain +institutions in the District of Columbia. + +The DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE is directed by the Secretary of +Agriculture. Its work is described in Chapter XII. + +The DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, under the Secretary of Commerce, +promotes the commercial interests of the country in many ways. It +includes in its organization the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic +Commerce, the Bureau of Corporations, the Census Bureau, the +Bureau of Lighthouses, the Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau of +Fisheries, and the Bureau of Standards. + +The DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, under the Secretary of Labor, has for its +purpose "fostering, promoting, and developing the welfare of the +wage earners of the United States, improving their working +conditions, and advancing their opportunities for profitable +employment." Among its important bureaus are those of Immigration +and of Naturalization, and the Children's Bureau, which +investigates and reports upon "all matters pertaining to the +welfare of children and child life among all classes of our +people." + +OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES + +In addition to these great administrative departments with their +numerous bureaus and subdivisions, there are various boards, +commissions and establishments that are independent of the +departments. + +Some of the most important of these are the Interstate Commerce +Commission, the Civil Service Commission (see below), the Federal +Reserve Board, the Federal Trade Commission, the United States +Tariff Commission, the Board of Mediation and Conciliation, the +United States Bureau of Efficiency, the Federal Board of +Vocational Education, the Panama Canal. + +Of another kind are the Library of Congress which includes the +Copyright Office; the Government Printing Office; the Smithsonian +Institution, including the National Museum and the National +Zoological Park. + +There are many others. During the recent war a great variety of +new administrative commissions and boards were created for the +emergency. Most of these have been, or are to be, discontinued, +though some of them may survive. Such were the Council of National +Defense, the Committee on Public Information, the Food +Administration, the Fuel Administration, the United States +Shipping Board, the War Trade Board, the Director General of +Railroads. + +THE CIVIL SERVICE + +The detailed work of this vast service organization is carried on +by about 400,000 employees (not counting the army and the navy). +These constitute the CIVIL SERVICE. The quality of service depends +largely upon the efficiency of these employees. The task of +filling all these places is a large one. In Andrew Jackson's +administration (1829-1837) the "spoils system" was introduced, +which means that government positions were treated by the +victorious party as "the spoils of victory," to be given to +members of the victorious party as rewards for party service +without much regard to fitness for the work to be done. Whenever +the administration passed from one party to another, the army of +civil service employees was displaced by another of new employees. +Not only did this result in inefficient service, but the time of +the President and the heads of the departments was largely +consumed in considering the claims of those seeking appointment. + +Moreover, since appointments could be made only "with the advice +and consent" of the Senate, senators were besieged by applicants +for positions and their friends. The President, overwhelmed by the +multitude of appointments to be made, came to rely almost wholly +upon the advice of the senators, and even of members of the House +of Representatives, for appointments in their states and +districts. Thus, in effect, appointments were made by members of +Congress rather than by the President who was really responsible. +No system could have been devised more wasteful of the time of the +executive and legislative branches of the government, or more +conducive to inefficiency. + +REFORM OF THE CIVIL SERVICE + +The spoils system became a great offense to the nation, but it was +not until President Garfield was murdered by a disappointed office +seeker that Congress, in 1883, passed a law for the reform of the +civil service. Candidates for many positions in the civil service +were required to pass an examination designed to prove their +fitness for the work to be done, and a CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION +was created to administer the law and to conduct the examinations, +which are held at stated intervals in different parts of the +country. Those appointed under this system cannot be removed +except for cause. Even at the present time, however, only about +half of the civil service is subject to this MERIT SYSTEM. From +the above description of the work of the several executive +departments select topics for special investigation and report; +such as: + +The work of United States Consuls. Coining money; the United +States Bureau of Engraving. + +The life-saving service of the United States. + +The United States Army in war and peace. + +The United States Army as an organization to save life, especially +in its work of sanitation in territories occupied. + +Representatives of the United States Department of Justice in your +community, and examples of their work. + +Building a battleship. Training for the navy. + +Exploits of the navy in war. The work of the navy in time of +peace. + +The work of the patent office; of the bureau of Indian affairs; of +the geological survey; of the bureau of mines. + +Taking the United States census. + +The work of the bureau of fisheries. + +Marvels of the bureau of standards. + +The immigration bureau. + +Work of the children's bureau. + +How an immigrant is naturalized. + +The Government Printing Office. + +The Congressional Library. + +The spoils system in Andrew Jackson's administration. + +How would you go about it to take an examination for the civil +service? + +Is there any reason why a mail carrier or a clerk in a government +office should be a Republican or a Democrat? + +What employees of the United States civil service are there in +your community? + +RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP + +Efficient government requires strong, clearly recognized +leadership. Democratic government requires that its leadership +shall be responsive to the needs of the people and under their +control. The problem of how to secure strong leadership and +controlled leadership at one and the same time is a difficult one. +So far as the executive branch of government alone is concerned, +the framers of the Constitution secured strength by concentrating +full responsibility in the President. But did they expect him to +be their leader in the government as a whole; that is, in +formulating the policies of government that should serve as the +basis for legislation? We are in the habit of thinking of him as +our national leader, but was he made so in fact? + +LEADERSHIP OF THE PRESIDENT + +In fact, the framers of the Constitution were apparently more +concerned about maintaining control over the President than about +clearly making him the nation's leader. About the only indication +the Constitution contains that he was to be such a leader is the +statement that he "shall from time to time give to the Congress +information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their +consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and +expedient" (Art. II, sec.3). He does submit recommendations to +Congress at the opening of each of its terms and often at other +times. If the President and the majority in Congress are of the +same political party, Congress is pretty likely to follow the +President's lead; or, if the President has a commanding +personality and is clearly popular with the people, he may force +measures through even an unwilling Congress. But if differences +arise between the President and Congress, especially when one or +both houses of Congress are of the opposite party from the +President, his recommendations may be entirely ignored. By our +system of "checks and balances" the President is "controlled," but +he ceases to be a leader when he does not have the "following" of +Congress, or of the majority of the people. + +President Wilson began his second administration with a majority +in both houses of Congress of his political party, and apparently +in popular favor. He was clearly accepted as leader and +practically all of his proposed measures were favorably acted upon +by Congress. In the middle of this administration a congressional +election occurred which resulted in a majority in both houses of +the opposing party. This result might be considered as a popular +vote against the leadership of the President, and his opponents +did consider it so. It cannot be absolutely certain that this was +intended, for the people were not voting directly on this +question. Whether this was true or not, Congress refused to follow +his leadership in many important questions, including the treaty +of peace with Germany. + +CONTROL OF LEADERSHIP IN ENGLAND + +It will be helpful to compare this situation with the method by +which England has worked out the problem of leadership and control +of leadership. + +The real executive head in the English government is the prime +minister. The king appoints the prime minister, but he always +chooses for the position THE RECOGNIZED LEADER OF THE POLITICAL +PARTY THAT IS IN THE MAJORITY in the House of Commons (which +corresponds to our House of Representatives). + +The prime minister having been appointed, he then selects the +other members of his cabinet, who are to be the heads of the +executive departments, and WHO ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. + +The prime minister and the other members of the cabinet have seats +in the House of Commons, contrary to the practice in our country. +THEY ALSO TAKE THE LEAD IN LEGISLATION, for most of the important +bills considered in the House of Commons are planned and +introduced by the cabinet. So the executive and legislative +branches of the English government are not separated as in our +country. The same group of men manage the service organization and +lead in planning the legislation that makes the service possible. + +It sometimes happens, however, that the cabinet introduces a +measure which, after discussion, a majority of the House of +Commons rejects. This means that on this question the cabinet no +longer represents the majority in the House. Then one of two +things happens. EITHER THE CABINET RESIGNS in a body to make way +for a new cabinet that does represent the majority; OR THE PRIME +MINISTER ASKS FOR A GENERAL ELECTION FOR MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF +COMMONS. If at this election a majority is again returned that is +opposed to the cabinet, it means that the cabinet no longer leads +the people, and it resigns. If a majority is returned in support +of the cabinet, it means that the old House was no longer +representative of the people, and the old cabinet retains its +leadership. + +This system gives the English people MORE DIRECT CONTROL over +their government than we have in our country; it is very much like +the method of RECALL that is used in some of our states. At the +same time, it assures a real executive leadership WITHIN THE +GOVERNMENT, a leadership that is both responsive and responsible +to the people. + +GROWTH OF IRRESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP + +Not only does our Constitution fail to provide clearly for +responsible leadership within the government, but our system of +"checks and balances," our party system of government, and the +organization and rules of Congress, all taken together, have +tended to confuse our leadership, and to impose upon us an +irresponsible leadership, OUTSIDE of the government as outlined by +the Constitution. To understand this it will first be necessary to +examine the organization of Congress. + +THE CONGRESS + +Congress, like the state legislatures, consists of two chambers, +the House of Representatives and the Senate; this being another +instance of "checks and balances." + +The creation of two chambers in the Congress made possible a +satisfactory settlement of a dispute in the Constitutional +Convention with regard to the basis of representation. The larger +states wanted representation proportional to their population, +while the smaller states, insisted upon EQUAL representation for +all the states. It was settled that there should be equal +representation in the Senate, and proportional representation in +the House of Representatives. This is one of a series of +compromises that had to be made between the two parties in the +convention. In fact, the Constitution is a series of compromises +from beginning to end. Only thirty-nine of the fifty-five +delegates in the convention signed the Constitution, and it is +probable that no one even of the thirty-nine was wholly pleased +with it. + +THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES + +The number of representatives in the first Congress from each +state was fixed in the Constitution, and provision made for a +census in 1790 and every ten years thereafter, on the basis of +which a reapportionment should be made. At present there are 435 +members of the House, one for about every 212,000 of the +population. They are elected by direct vote of the people, one +from each of the CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS into which each state is +divided, and for a term of two years. + +THE SENATE + +There are two senators from each state. The Constitution provided +that they were to be elected by the state legislatures, another +evidence of distrust of the people. In 1913, the seventeenth +amendment to the Constitution was enacted, providing for the +election of senators by popular vote, showing the growing spirit +of democracy and the distrust of the state legislatures. Senators +are elected for six years, but the term of only one third of them +expires at the same time, so that at least two thirds of the +Senate have always had at least two years' experience. No citizen +may become a senator until he is thirty years of age, while one +may become a member of the lower house at twenty-five. + +EXCLUSIVE POWERS OF EACH HOUSE + +The House of Representatives has one important power not possessed +by the Senate: it alone can originate bills for raising revenue. +This is because the representatives were supposed to be more +directly representative of the people than the senators. However, +the Senate may amend such bills, and often succeeds in forcing the +House to accept such radical amendments as practically to destroy +the advantage possessed by the latter in its power to originate +the bills. + +In addition to its lawmaking powers, the Senate was intended to be +an advisory council to the President. Only with its "advice and +consent" may the President make appointments and treaties. + +Investigate and report on the following: + +The compromises of the Constitution. + +The census of 1920. + +The number of congressional districts in your state, and the +number of the one you live in. + +The names of your representative and senators. + +The qualifications for election to the House of Representatives +and to the Senate (Art. I, secs. 2 and 3). Compare with the +qualifications for election to the two houses of your legislature. + +The characteristics of the Senate that make it more conservative +than the House of Representatives. The meaning of "conservatism." + +Why the Senate should be more conservative than the House. + +The "long" and "short" sessions of Congress. + +How vacancies in Congress are filled between elections. + +Legislation in which the representative from your district has +been especially interested during the last session of Congress. + +In England a member of the House of Commons is not required to be +a resident of the district which he represents. Arguments for and +against this plan. + +Debate the question: RESOLVED, that our Constitution should be +amended to provide for a "responsible cabinet government" as in +England. + +ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS + +The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice-President of the +United States, while that of the House of Representatives is a +SPEAKER elected by the House. The Vice-President has no vote in +the Senate except in case of a tie, when he may cast the deciding +vote. The Speaker, on the other hand, has all the rights of any +other member and has large powers by virtue of his position. He is +always elected by a strictly party vote, and therefore represents +the majority party in the House. + +THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM + +As in the state legislatures, and for the same reason, most of the +work of legislation in Congress is done by standing committees, of +which there are about sixty in the House and about seventy-five in +the Senate. As in the state legislatures, these committees are +chosen on party lines, the chairmen and the majority of the +members always being of the majority party. The procedure by which +legislation is carried on in Congress is very much the same as +that in the state legislatures, and has the same advantages and +disadvantages. There is even greater necessity for the committee +organization and for rules because of the vastly greater number of +bills introduced. In a recent Congress more than 33,000 bills were +introduced in the House of Representatives alone. Whereas in the +state legislatures some of the rules of procedure are fixed by the +state constitutions, the rules of Congress are determined entirely +by each house for itself. The committee on rules in each house, +the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairmen of +the committees in both houses, may run things as they see fit. +That this is done there is plenty of evidence, such as the +following words of a member of Congress: + +You send important questions to a committee, you put into the +hands of a few men the power to bring in bills, and then they are +brought in with an ironclad rule, and rammed down the throats of +members; and then those measures are sent out as being the +deliberate judgment of the Congress of the United States when no +deliberate judgment has been expressed by any man. + +DIFFUSED LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS + +It is this procedure in Congress that causes leadership to become +diffused, hidden, and often to pass outside of the government +altogether into the hands of "bosses" and special "interests." +There can be no well-conceived PLAN worked out by responsible +leaders and approved by Congress as a whole. There may be "plans," +worked out by leaders in Congress, but they are likely to be plans +designed to serve party ends rather than to promote a well- +thought-out program of national development. Thousands of bills of +the greatest variety are introduced by individual members and +handled by different committees acting independently of one +another and often at cross purposes. + +RELATION BETWEEN EXECUTIVE AND LEGISTLATIVE BRANCHES + +The legislative and executive branches of government are each +extremely jealous of any encroachment upon its powers by the +other. It is not always easy to decide just where the dividing +line lies between the powers properly exercised by each. It is +maintained on the one hand that Congress is encroaching on the +rightful domain of the executive; and at least it is true that +while it denies the President responsible leadership in +determining the policies of the government, it has failed to +substitute any other responsible leadership, and has even made +leadership obscure. On the other hand, it is maintained that the +executive encroaches upon the powers of Congress. While this +chapter was being written a member of the House of Representatives +made a speech in which he said: + +This bill presents a fine specimen of bureaucratic legislation. +[Footnote: "Bureaucratic legislation" here means lawmaking by +bureaus in the executive branch of the government.] If the +Congress ever intends, as it surely does, to regain the powers +granted it by the fathers, of which it is now temporarily deprived +by bureaucratic encroachment, now is the time to start upon such a +campaign by defeating by a decisive majority the bill now offered +for your consideration ... Every time you weaken Congress by the +establishment of a bureau in which the authority of Congress is +lessened, you lay one more stone in the erection of the temple of +autocracy ... These bureaus are not only legislating by +administrative processes but are usurping the power and +prerogatives of the people's courts ... + +THE DUTY OF CONGRESS TO WATCH THE EXECUTIVE + +It is the business of the people's representatives in the law- +making branch of government not merely to make laws, but also to +watch and control the executive. The great English philosopher, +John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), thus stated the purpose of the +English House of Commons: + +To watch and control the government; [Footnote: "Government" here +refers to the executive branch.] to throw the light of publicity +on its acts; to compel a full explanation and justification of all +of them which any one considers questionable; to censure them if +found condemnable; to be at once the nation's committee on +grievances; an arena in which not only the opinion of the nation, +but that of every section of it, and as far as possible, of every +eminent individual that it contains, can produce itself in full +sight and challenge full discussion. + +As we have seen, the English House of Commons has a way to control +executive leadership without destroying it. Even if we desired to +do so, we could not adopt the English plan without changing our +Constitution. But there are ways in which the same result could in +a measure be accomplished without such change. One of these is by +a well-organized BUDGET SYSTEM. + +RESPONSIBILITY FOR APPROPRIATIONS + +The methods of making appropriations for the purposes of our +national government have been as unbusinesslike as in the states. +Charges of extravagance and inefficiency have been made freely, +the blame being placed sometimes upon Congress and sometimes upon +the executive departments. Both are at fault; and the difficulty +is that it is almost impossible to fix the responsibility +anywhere. + +DUPLICATION AND CONFUSION IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH + +Although the national government, unlike the states, has a single- +headed executive, the executive departments are composed of a +multitude of bureaus and other subdivisions that are not well +organized in their relations to one another. There is overlapping, +duplication, and even conflict of work. The director of finance of +the War Department said that in the recent war, + +The War Department entered this war without any fixed or carefully +digested and prepared financial system. There were at the +beginning of the war five ... bureaus each independent of the +others, each making its own contracts, doing its own purchasing, +doing its own accounting, with as many different methods as there +were bureaus. As a result they were competing with each other in a +market where the supplies in many cases for which they were +competing were restricted in amount ... There was no central +authority to prune, revise, or compare estimates submitted and to +coordinate expenditures, and that naturally resulted in +overlappings and duplications, and some of them of a large amount. +[Footnote: Testimony before Budget Committee, quoted by Will +Payne, "Your Budget," Saturday Evening Post, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 32.] + +The responsibility is partly in the executive department; but it +is also partly in Congress, for it creates bureaus, defines their +duties, appropriates money for them. And in Congress the +responsibility is divided among various committees. + +One committee or subcommittee has supervision of building the +barracks at a given army post while another committee or +subcommittee has supervision of building the hospital at the same +post. One committee has jurisdiction of the guns, another +committee has jurisdiction of the emplacement of the guns. All +committees are jealous of their own prerogatives and sometimes +more or less jealous of other committees. [Footnote: Will Payne, +"Your Budget," SATURDAY EVENING POST, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 166.] + +APPROPRIATIONS MADE MORE OR LESS BLINDLY + +Each year the executive departments submit to the Secretary of the +Treasury an estimate of the amount of money they think they will +need. The Secretary of the Treasury puts these estimates together +without revision and without criticism and submits them to +Congress, together with an estimate of the probable revenues +available. While there is a committee on appropriations in each +house of Congress, + +... one class of appropriations after another has been taken away +from this committee and intrusted to other committees until, as a +result, the work of preparing appropriations in the House of +Representatives is broken up so that there are now no less than +fourteen general appropriation bills prepared by seven different +committees ... In the preparation of their bills the committee on +appropriations and the other committees in charge of +appropriations are really compelled to work more or less blindly. +Sometimes they hold extensive hearings endeavoring to get a +complete grasp of the multitudinous detailed expenditures for +which they must provide. But, of course, it is impossible for the +several committees, in the time at their disposal, to give even +minor matters the amount of attention demanded by sound public +economy. [Footnote: C. A. Beard, AMERICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS, +pp. 366, 367.] + +THE PRINCIPLES OF A BUDGET SYSTEM + +The first principles of a budget, according to students of +government, are that it should be prepared by the executive branch +of the government, which is responsible for spending the money; +that it should be prepared by an agency responsible directly to +the President, and with authority to revise and adjust the +estimates of the several departments in the light of the needs and +resources of the government as a whole; and that it should be +based upon an accounting system that will show clearly how +efficiently each department and minor subdivision is doing its +work. As this chapter is being written, a bill is before Congress +which, if passed, will more or less completely accomplish these +results. + +THE NEED FOR CENTRALIZING APPROPRIATIONS + +It remains for Congress, however, to make the appropriations +requested in the budget, with such modifications as may be shown +to be wise. It is generally accepted that appropriations cannot be +wisely made under the present system, and that responsibility for +them must be centered in one committee in each house. + +This change will necessitate a change in the rules which can only +be made by each house for itself. A resolution has been introduced +in the House of Representatives recommending this change, but it +has not at this writing been acted upon. + +In the English House of Commons, when the appropriation bill is +introduced, the House becomes in effect a court before which the +prime minister and his cabinet are placed on trial to defend their +budget. The whole House is in session. The minority party, which +conducts the opposition, employs counsel, and by its searching +inquiries compels the cabinet to explain and defend the budget at +every point. By this procedure the public is informed as to the +work and program of the government, and the executive leaders held +strictly to account. + +RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CITIZEN + +A budget system, however good it may be, like all other +governmental machinery is merely an organization for team work, +and will do very little good unless the team work is forthcoming, +not only among the various branches and departments of government, +but also on the part of the citizens. + +If there is a real budget it has got to be your budget. It will be +good, bad or indifferent finally just in proportion to your +interest in it and your expression of that interest at the polls +and elsewhere. If there is a good budget system--not on paper, but +in actual practice--you've got to make it. If, when a budget bill +is finally enacted you say, "Well, that job is done," and dismiss +it from your mind there will be no lasting gain ... [Footnote: +Will Payne, "Your Budget," SATURDAY EVENING POST January 3, 1920, +p. 30.] + +Effective control over government can be exercised only by PUBLIC +OPINION and PUBLIC INTEREST. We may have any kind of government we +want, if we only want it badly enough, and only when we want it +badly enough. The blame for inefficiency and wastefulness on the +part of government at Washington, or at the state capital, or at +the county seat, rests largely with the people back home, who are +either selfish or blind to the fact that the interests of the +nation are larger than their own or those of their own little +community. The very people who talk most loudly about the +extravagance of government, or about the burden of taxes, are +likely to be the ones who expect most from their congressmen for +purely personal or local advantage. They are likely to judge their +representative's fitness for his position more by his ability to +get funds from the public treasury for local gratification than by +his attitude toward great national questions. + +Investigate and report on the following: + +The present Speaker of the House of Representatives, and some of +the more important members. + +Leaders in the Senate at the present time. + +A list of some of the more important committees in each House of +Congress. + +The procedure by which a bill becomes a law, from the time when it +is introduced to the time it goes into effect as a law of the +land. + +Bills introduced in Congress by the representative from your +district. The purposes of these bills. (Consult at home, at your +public library, at your newspaper office.) + +Follow the course of debate on some measure in the House of +Representatives or the Senate in the files of the Congressional +Record (files may be found at your public library, or at the +newspaper offices, if not in your school). + +Conflict of opinion regarding the powers of the President and of +the Senate in connection with the discussion of the treaty of +peace with Germany. + +"Filibustering" in Congress. + +Clause 2 of section 6 of Article I of the Constitution says, "No +person holding any office under the United States shall be a +member of either House during his continuance in office." Why is +this? + +The privileges of members of Congress under clause I of section 6 +of Article I of the Constitution. Reasons for these privileges. + +"Log-rolling" in Congress, what it is and why so called. + +The details of the budget system of the national government if one +has been created by the time you study this chapter. + +Any change in the rules of Congress relating to appropriations. + +The desirability of introducing in our government a plan similar +to that used by the House of Commons. + +THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY + +The judicial power of the United States government is vested by +the Constitution "in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior +courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish" +(Art. III, sec. I). The number of judges in the Supreme Court is +determined by Congress, and they are appointed by the President +with the advice and consent of the Senate. At present the Supreme +Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. +Its sessions are held in the Capitol building at Washington. +Congress has created circuit courts of appeals, of which there are +now nine, each "circuit" including several states; and district +courts, of which there is at least one in every state, and +sometimes several. In addition to these there is a court of +customs appeals and a court of claims, for special classes of +cases. The courts of the District of Columbia are also United +States courts, inasmuch as the District is governed entirely by +the national government. The judges of all United States courts +are appointed by the President and hold office for life. + +POWERS OF THE FEDERAL COURTS + +The powers of the federal courts are stated in Article III, +section 2, of the Constitution. In general, they have jurisdiction +over cases of a national or interstate character. Most cases that +come in the first instance before the federal courts are tried in +the United States district courts, going to the higher courts only +on appeal; but there are certain classes of cases that go to the +Supreme Court at once (Art. III, sec. 2, cl. 2). A case brought to +trial before a state court may be appealed to the Supreme Court of +the United States when the Constitution, the laws, or the treaties +of the United States are involved, and its decision is final. The +Supreme Court may declare a law passed by Congress or an act of +the President null and void if, in its opinion, such law or act is +contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. It has been +questioned whether the framers of the Constitution intended the +Supreme Court to have this power, but it exercises the power on +the ground that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land to +which even Congress and the President are subject, and that it is +the sacred duty of the courts to preserve it from violation. We +have noted the influence exercised by the Supreme Court in +extending the activities of the United States government by its +broad interpretations of the Constitution. + +Study the powers of the federal courts in Article III, sections 1 +and 2. + +What is treason? (Art. III, sec. 3, cl. I.) + +What is meant by the second clause in section 3 of Article III? + +READINGS + +Guerrier, Edith, The Federal Executive Departments, Bulletin, +1919, No. 74, U. S. Bureau of Education. Swanton, W. I., Guide to +United States Government Publications; Bulletin, 1918, No. 2, U. +S. Bureau of Education. + +In Lessons in Community and National Life: + +Series A: Lesson 12, History of the federal departments. + Lesson 18, Local and national governments. + +Series B: Lesson 13, The Department of the Interior. + Lesson 14, The United States Public Health Service. + Lesson 21, National standards and the Bureau of Standards. + +In Foerster and Pierson's American Ideals: The nature of the Union +(Daniel Webster), pp. 17-26. The nature of the Union (John C. +Calhoun), pp. 27-44. Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, pp 59- +64. The frame of the national government (Bryce), pp. 285-300. +Criticism of the federal system (Bryce), pp. 301-311. Merits of +the federal system (Bryce), pp. 312-321. + +Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics, Part ii, +especially chaps, xi and xiv Hart, A. B., Actual Government, Part +v, The National Government in Action. Bryce, James, The American +Commonwealth, vol. I, Part i. Wilson, Woodrow, Congressional +Government (Houghton Mifflin Co.). Haskin, F. J., The American +Government (Lippincott). Young, The New American Government +(Macmillan). + + + + + +APPENDIX + + + + + +THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES + + +PREAMBLE + +We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more +perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, +provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and +secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do +ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of +America. + +ARTICLE I. THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT + +SECTION I. CONGRESS IN GENERAL + +All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a +Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and +House of Representatives. + +SECTION II. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES + +1st Clause. The House of Representatives shall be composed of +members chosen every second year by the people of the several +States, and the electors in each State shall have the +qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch +of the State legislature. + +2nd Clause. No person shall be a representative who shall not have +attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a +citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be +an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. + +3rd Clause. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned +among the several States which may be included within this Union, +according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined +by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those +bound to service for a term of years, and, excluding Indians not +taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration +shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the +Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of +ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number +of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, +but each State shall have at least one representative; and until +such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall +be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and +Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New +Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, +Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and +Georgia three. + +4TH CLAUSE. When vacancies happen in the representation from any +State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of +election to fill such vacancies. + +5TH CLAUSE. The House of Representatives shall choose their +Speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of +impeachment. + +SECTION III. THE SENATE. + +1ST CLAUSE. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of +two senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, +for six years; and each senator shall have one vote. + +2nd CLAUSE. Immediately after they shall be assembled in +consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as +equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of +the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second +year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, +and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so +that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies +happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the +legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary +appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which +shall then fill such vacancies. + +3rd CLAUSE. No person shall be a senator who shall not have +attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen +of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an +inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. + +4TH CLAUSE. The Vice-President of the United States shall be +President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be +equally divided. + +5TH CLAUSE. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also +a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or +when he shall exercise the office of President of the United +States. + +6TH CLAUSE. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all +impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall all be on +oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is +tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall be +convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members +present. + +7TH CLAUSE. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend +further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold +and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United +States; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and +subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according +to law. + +SECTION IV. BOTH HOUSES. + +1ST CLAUSE. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for +senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by +the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law +make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of +choosing senators. + +2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every +year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, +unless they shall by law appoint a different day. + +SECTION V. THE HOUSES SEPARATELY. + +1ST CLAUSE. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, +returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of +each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller +number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to +compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under +such penalties as each house may provide. + +2nd CLAUSE. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, +punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the +concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. + +3rd CLAUSE. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, +and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as +may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of +the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire +of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. + +4TH CLAUSE. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, +without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three +days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses +shall be sitting. + +SECTION VI. PRIVILEGES AND DISABILITIES OF MEMBERS. + +1ST CLAUSE. The senators and representatives shall receive a +compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and +paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in all +cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be +privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of +their respective houses, and in going to and returning from the +same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not +be questioned in any other place. + +2nd CLAUSE. No senator or representative shall, during the time +for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under +the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, +or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such +time; and no person holding any office under the United States +shall be a member of either house during his continuance in +office. + +SECTION VII. MODE OF PASSING LAWS + +1ST CLAUSE. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the +House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur +with amendments as on other bills. + +2nd CLAUSE. Every bill which shall have passed the House of +Representatives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be +presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he +shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections, +to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter +the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to +reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of that +house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together +with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall +likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that +house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of +both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of +the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on +the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be +returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after +it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in +like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their +adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a +law. + +3rd CLAUSE. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the +concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be +necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented +to the President of the United States; and before the same shall +take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by +him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of +Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed +in the case of a bill. + +SECTION VIII. POWERS GRANTED TO CONGRESS. + +The Congress shall have power-- + +1ST CLAUSE. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and +excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defence and +general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and +excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; + +2nd CLAUSE. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; + +3rd CLAUSE. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among +the several States, and with the Indian tribes; + +4TH CLAUSE. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and +uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United +States; + +5TH CLAUSE. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of +foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures; + +6TH CLAUSE. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the +securities and current coin of the United States; + +7TH CLAUSE. To establish post-offices and post-roads; + +8TH CLAUSE. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by +securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive +right to their respective writings and discoveries; + +9TH CLAUSE. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; + +10TH CLAUSE. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed +on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations; + +11TH CLAUSE. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, +and make rules concerning captures on land and water; + +12TH CLAUSE. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of +money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; + +13TH CLAUSE. To provide and maintain a navy; + +14TH CLAUSE. To make rules for the government and regulation of +the land and naval forces; + +15TH CLAUSE. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute +the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel +invasions; + +16TH CLAUSE. To provide for organising, arming, and disciplining +the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be +employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the +States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the +authority of training the militia according to the discipline +prescribed by Congress; + +17TH CLAUSE. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases +whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as +may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of +Congress, become the seat of the Government of the United States; +and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the +consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall +be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, +and other needful buildings;--and + +18TH CLAUSE. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper +for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other +powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United +States, or in any department or officer thereof. + +SECTION IX. POWERS DENIED TO THE UNITED STATES. + +1ST CLAUSE. The migration or importation of such persons as any of +the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be +prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight +hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such +importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. + +2nd CLAUSE. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not +be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the +public safety may require it. + +3rd CLAUSE. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be +passed. + +4TH CLAUSE. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid, +unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore +directed to be taken. + +5TH CLAUSE. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from +any State. + +6TH CLAUSE. No preference shall be given by any regulation of +commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of +another; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be +obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. + +7TH CLAUSE. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in +consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement +and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money +shall be published from time to time. + +8TH CLAUSE. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United +States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under +them shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of any +present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from +any king, prince, or foreign State. + +SECTION X. POWERS DENIED TO THE STATES. + +1ST CLAUSE. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or +confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; +emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a +tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, EX POST +FACTO law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant +any title of nobility. + +2nd CLAUSE. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, +lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may +be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the +net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on +imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the +United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision +and control of the Congress. + +3rd CLAUSE. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay +any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of +peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State or +with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, +or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. + +ARTICLE II. THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. + +SECTION I. PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT. + +1ST CLAUSE. The executive power shall be vested in a President of +the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the +term of four years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen +for the same term, be elected as follows: + +2nd CLAUSE. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the +legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the +whole number of senators and representatives to which the State +may be entitled in the Congress. But no senator or representative, +or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United +States, shall be appointed an elector. + +[The 3rd clause has been superseded by the 12th article of +Amendments. See page xix.] + +4TH CLAUSE. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the +electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes, which +day shall be the same throughout the United States. + +5TH CLAUSE. No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen +of the United States at the time of the adoption of this +Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; +neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not +have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen +years a resident within the United States. + +6TH CLAUSE. In case of the removal of the President from office, +or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers +and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice- +President; and the Congress may by law provide for the case of +removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President +and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as +President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the +disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. + +7TH CLAUSE. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his +services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor +diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, +and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument +from the United States, or any of them. + +8TH CLAUSE. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he +shall take the following oath or affirmation:--"I do solemnly +swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of +President of the United States, and will, to the best of my +ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the +United States." + +SECTION II. POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT. + +1ST CLAUSE. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army +and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several +States, when called into the actual service of the United States; +he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer +in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to +the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to +grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United +States, except in cases of impeachment. + +3rd CLAUSE. He shall have power, by and with the advice and +consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of +the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and +with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, +ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the +Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose +appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which +shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the +appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in +the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of +departments. + +3rd CLAUSE. The President shall have power to fill up all +vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by +granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of their next +session. + +SECTION III. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. + +He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the +state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such +measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on +extraordinary occasions convene both houses or either of them, and +in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of +adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think +proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; +he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall +commission all the officers of the United States. + +SECTION IV. Impeachment of the President. + +The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the +United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, +and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and +misdemeanors. + +ARTICLE III. THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. + +SECTION I. The United States Courts. + +The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one +Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may +from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the +Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good +behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a +compensation, which shall not be diminished during their +continuance in office. + +SECTION II. Jurisdiction of the United States Courts. + +1st Clause. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law +and equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United +States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their +authority, to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public +ministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime +jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be +a party; to controversies between two or more States; between a +State and citizens of another State; between citizens of different +States; between citizens of the same State claiming lands under +grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens +thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. + +2nd Clause. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public +ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a +party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all +the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have +appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such +exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. + +3rd Clause. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of +impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the +State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when +not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place +or places as the Congress may by law have directed. + +SECTION III. TREASON. + +1ST CLAUSE. Treason against the United States shall consist only +in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, +giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of +treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt +act, or on confession in open court. + +2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall have power to declare the +punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work +corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the +person attainted. + +ARTICLE IV. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. + +SECTION I. STATE RECORDS. + +Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public +acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And +the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which, +such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the +effect thereof. + +SECTION II. PRIVILEGES OF CITIZENS. + +1ST CLAUSE. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all +privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. + +2nd CLAUSE. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or +other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another +State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State +from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State +having jurisdiction of the crime. + +3rd CLAUSE. No person held to service or labor in one State, under +the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of +any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or +labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom +such service or labor may be due. + +SECTION III. NEW STATES AND TERRITORIES. + +1ST CLAUSE. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this +Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the +jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the +junction of two or more States or parts of States, without the +consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of +the Congress. + +2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make +all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or +other property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this +Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of +the United States or of any particular State. + +SECTION IV. Guarantees to the States. + +The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a +republican form of government, and shall protect each of them +against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the +executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against +domestic violence. + +ARTICLE V. POWERS OP AMENDMENT. + +The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it +necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on +the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several +States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, +in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as +part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of +three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three- +fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may +be proposed by the Congress: provided that no amendment which may +be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight +shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the +ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its +consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. + +ARTICLE VI. PUBLIC DEBT, SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION, OATH OF +OFFICE, RELIGIOUS TEST. + +1st Clause. All debts contracted and engagements entered into +before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid +against the United States under this Constitution, as under the +Confederation. + +2nd Clause. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States +which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, +or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, +shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every +State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws +of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. + +3rd Clause. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and +the members of the several State legislatures, and all executive +and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the +several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support +this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as +a qualification to any office or public trust under the United +States. + +ARTICLE VII. RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION. + +The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be +sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the +States so ratifying the same. + +AMENDMENTS + +PROPOSED BY CONGRESS AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THE +SEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINAL +CONSTITUTION. + +ARTICLE I. FREEDOM OF RELIGION. + +Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of +religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging +the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people +peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a +redress of grievances. + +ARTICLE II. RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. + +A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free +state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be +infringed. + +ARTICLE III. QUARTERING SOLDIERS ON CITIZENS. + +No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house +without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a +manner to be prescribed by law. + +ARTICLE IV. SEARCH WARRANTS. + +The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, +papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, +shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon +probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly +describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to +be seized. + +ARTICLE V. TRIAL FOR CRIME. + +No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise +infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand +jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in +the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public +danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be +twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in +any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived +of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor +shall private property be taken for public use without just +compensation. + +ARTICLE VI. RIGHTS OF ACCUSED PERSONS. + +In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to +a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and +district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which +district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be +informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be +confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory +process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the +assistance of counsel for his defence. + +ARTICLE VII. SUITS AT COMMON LAW. + +In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall +exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be +preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re- +examined in any court of the United States than according to the +rules of the common law. + +ARTICLE VIII. EXCESSIVE BAIL. + +Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, +nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. + +ARTICLE IX. RIGHTS RETAINED BY THE PEOPLE. + +The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be +construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. + +ARTICLE X. RESERVED RIGHTS OF THE STATES. + +The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, +nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States +respectively, or to the people. + +ARTICLE XI. + +The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to +extend to any suit, in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted +against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or +by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. + +ARTICLE XII. + +1ST CLAUSE. The electors shall meet in their respective States, +and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, +at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with +themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for +as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as +Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons +voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice- +President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they +shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the +government of the United States, directed to the President of the +Senate; the President of the Senate shall, in presence of the +Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, +and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the +greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if +such number be a majority of the whole number of electors +appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the +persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the +list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives +shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in +choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the +representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this +purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of +the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to +a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a +President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, +before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice- +President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or +other constitutional disability of the President. + +2nd CLAUSE. The person having the greatest number of votes as +Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a +majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no +person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the +list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the +purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of +senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to +a choice. + +3rd CLAUSE. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the +office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of +the United States. + +ARTICLE XIII. + +SECTION I. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a +punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly +convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place +subject to their jurisdiction. + +SEC. II. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by +appropriate legislation. + +ARTICLE XIV. + +SECTION I. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, +and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the +United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall +make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or +immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State +deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due +process of law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the +equal protection of the laws. + +SEC. II. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several +States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole +number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But +when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors +for President and Vice-President of the United States, +representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers +of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied +to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one +years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way +abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, +the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the +proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to +the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such +State. SEC. III. No person shall be a senator or representative in +Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any +office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any +State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of +Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of +any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of +any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall +have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or +given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by +a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. + +SEC. IV. The validity of the public debt of the United States, +authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of +pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or +rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States +nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred +in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or +any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such +debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. + +SEC. V. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate +legislation, the provisions of this article. + +ARTICLE XV. + +SECTION I. The right of citizens of the United States to vote +shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any +State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of +servitude. + +SEC. II. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by +appropriate legislation. + +ARTICLE XVI. + +The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, +from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the +several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. + +ARTICLE XVII. + +SECTION I. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of +two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for +six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in +each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of +the most numerous branch of the State Legislatures. + +SEC. II. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State +in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue +writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided that the +Legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make +temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by +election as the Legislature may direct. + +SEC. III. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect +the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid +as part of the Constitution. + +ARTICLE XVIII. + +SECTION I. After one year from the ratification of this article, +the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors +within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof +from, the United States and all territory subject to the +jurisdiction thereof, for beverage purposes, is hereby prohibited. + +SEC. II. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent +power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. + +SEC. III. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have +been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the +legislatures of the several States, as provided in the +Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission +thereof to the States by the Congress. + +ARTICLE XIX. + +SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote +shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any +state on account of sex. + +SECT. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by +appropriate legislation. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Community Civics and Rural Life, by Arthur W. Dunn + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMMUNITY CIVICS *** + +This file should be named 5088.txt or 5088.zip + +Produced by Robert Rowe, Charles Franks +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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