Community Civics and Rural Life (2024)

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"

This book, like the author's earlier one, The Community and theCitizen, is a "community civics" text. Two purposes led to thepreparation of this second volume. The first was to produce a textthat would meet the needs of pupils and teachers who live outsideof the environment of the large city. Training for citizenship ina democracy is a fundamentally identical process in allcommunities, whether urban or rural. But, if it really functionsin the life of the citizen, this process must consist largely inderiving educational values from the actual civic situations inwhich he normally finds himself. Moreover, instruction thatrelates to matters that lie beyond immediate experience mustnevertheless be interpreted in terms of that experience if it isreally to have meaning. At least half of the young citizens ofAmerica live in an environment that is essentially rural. Hencetheir need for civics instruction that takes its point ofdeparture in, and refers back to, a body of experience thatdiffers in many ways from that of the urban citizen.

This does not imply that urban conditions should be ignored in thecivic education of the rural citizen. On the contrary, one of thethings that every citizen should be led to appreciate is theinterdependence of country and city in a unified national life. Inthe present volume emphasis is given to this interdependence. Forthis reason, and because of the fundamental principles which havecontrolled the development of the text, it is believed that thebook may perform a distinct service even in city schools.

The second purpose in undertaking the present book has been tomake as obvious as possible the elements which, in the author'sjudgment, characterize "community civics" and give it vitality.The Community and the Citizen was a pioneer among texts that havesought to vitalize the study of government and citizenship. Theterm "community civics" became current only at a later time todesignate the "new civics" which that book represented. It seemsto the author, however, that many teachers and others have seizedupon some of the more incidental, even though important, featuresof the "new civics" without apparently recognizing its reallyvital characteristics.

For example, the "new civics" performed a real service in givingemphasis to the study of the "local community," which was beingsadly 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 theother hand, the vitalizing methods that should characterizecommunity civics may be applied to the study of our "nationalcommunity," and even of the embryonic "world community,"—andshould be so applied in any "community civics" that is worthy of aplace in our schools in this critical period of national and worldhistory. The real significance of the term "community civics" isto be found in its application to an interpretation of theCOMMUNITY-CHARACTER of national and international life equallywith that of town or neighborhood.

Another service that community civics performed was in introducingcertain elements of social or "sociological" study into grades aslow as the grammar school. This has sometimes led to thedescription of community civics as "elementary sociology." TheCommunity and the Citizen was perhaps the first "civics" textbookto include such "sociological" material. So far as that book isconcerned, at least, the "sociological" material was includedPRIMARILY to afford a viewpoint from which the better to interpretGOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP. This point seems often to be missed,with the result that in some schools we find a more or lessvitalized "social study" labelled "community civics," FOLLOWED BYa formal study of government that shows no obvious, organicrelation to the earlier study. Whatever else "community civics"may accomplish, one of its foremost aims should be TO MAKEGOVERNMENT, INCLUDING THAT OF THE NATION, MEAN SOMETHING TO THEYOUNG CITIZEN. In the present book the author has endeavored tokeep this aim prominent in the mind of the teacher. It is hopedthat the organic relation of the last few chapters, which dealexplicitly with governmental mechanism and operation, to theearlier chapters will be obvious.

The underlying, vitalizing features of community civics may besummed up as:

1. THE DEMONSTRATION TO THE YOUNG CITIZEN, BY REFERENCE TO HIS OWNOBSERVATION AND EXPERIENCE, OF THE MEANING OF HIS COMMUNITY LIFE(LOCAL AND NATIONAL), AND OF GOVERNMENT IN ITS RELATION TO THATLIFE;

2. THE CULTIVATION OF CERTAIN HABITS, IDEALS, AND ATTITUDESESSENTIAL TO EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THAT LIFE THROUGHGOVERNMENT AND OTHERWISE.

The aim of the following text is to fix in the pupil'sconsciousness a few essential ideas, which will help to determinehis ideals and attitudes, by a judicious USE of facts, which willthereby be more readily remembered and understood. "The mostimportant element of success in community life … is TEAM WORK;and team work depends, first of all, UPON A COMMON PURPOSE". Thecontrolling 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 exemplifiedin the remaining chapters. They are easily grasped by youngcitizens when DEMONSTRATED by reference to their own observationand experience, which the text and the accompanying topics seek asfar as possible to compel. The last few chapters contain ananalysis of our governmental mechanism which seeks to answer thequestion, How far does our government provide the organization,the leadership, and the control over leadership necessary tosecure the teamwork which the preceding chapters have shown to beessential?

The present volume is larger than The Community and the Citizen.The author believes that this is an advantage, especially forpupils in communities where supplementary materials are not soeasily available. The increased length is due chiefly to theliberal incorporation of concrete illustrative and explanatorymatter. Young students need larger textbooks, provided theadditional matter clothes the skeleton with living flesh.

Whether based on this textbook or some other, however, communitycivics cannot be successfully taught if it is made primarily atextbook study. The word "demonstration" has been used advisedlyin the paragraphs above as applied to the ideas to be taught. Thetext sets up ideas, interprets and exemplifies them; but"demonstration" can be made only as the pupils draw upon their ownobservation and experience. Hence, numerous SUGGESTIVE topics areinterspersed throughout to divert attention from the text and todirect it to the actualities of the pupils' experience. Even thetopics should not be followed literally in every case, but shouldbe diversified to meet the needs and opportunities of theoccasion. But to "omit" such studies as suggested by the topics isto negate the value of community civics.

The successful teacher will seek to extend the pupil's opportunityto participate in group activities both within the school and inthe community outside, and will make the fullest possible use ofsuch activities both as a means of demonstrating the operation ofthe fundamental principles of civic life, and as a means ofcultivating "habits, ideals, and attitudes." "Training forcitizenship through service" is an essential factor in communitycivics.

"Community civics" has now been quite definitely assigned to thejunior high school grades (see Report of Committee on SocialStudies, Bulletin, 1916, No. 28, U.S. Bureau of Education). Whilethe tendency is toward continuous civics instruction in all ofthese grades, practice still varies greatly. The present text hasbeen written in recognition of this variation and is, in theauthor's judgment, adapt able to any of the grades in question. Ifcommunity civics is placed below the ninth grade, however, theauthor would suggest its distribution over both seventh and eighthgrades. An outline suggesting a vital coordination between thecivics and the history of these grades, and of particular servicein the seventh grade, is given in United States Bureau ofEducation Bulletin, 1919, No. 50, Part 3 (a report on CivicEducation for the Schools of Memphis, Tenn.).

It may be added that community civics in the junior high schoolgrades will be vastly more effective if it is preceded in the sixelementary grades by some such course as that outlined inCitizenship in School and Out (Dunn and Harris, published by D.C.Heath & Company). See also Lessons in Civics for the SixElementary 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 followingchapters. While it is not expected that pupils in the grades forwhich the book is intended will do a great deal of reading outsideof the text, an abundance of illustrative material is desirableand much more easily available, even for rural schools, than isoften appreciated. Let the pupils USE THEIR GOVERNMENT, in thisconnection, as freely as possible. A very large part of thereferences given are to government publications, many of which canbe obtained free of cost directly from the departments issuingthem, and all of which can be had for a nominal cost from theSuperintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,Washington, D.C. Useful publications of the state government andof state institutions can usually be had for the asking. Inordering from the Superintendent of Documents the money must besent in advance (stamps are not accepted). Lists of publicationswith the prices may be obtained from the Superintendent ofDocuments, or from the several Departments of the Government.

Frequent reference is made to Lessons in Community and NationalLife. These are issued in three pamphlets (Series A, B, and C) bythe United States Bureau of Education, at 15 cents per pamphlet.They contain a large amount of illustrative material. A very fewbooks are referred to in certain chapters because of theirespecial value when obtainable. Among these are two collections ofpatriotic selections valuable because of their emphasis uponnational ideals—Long's American Patriotic Prose (D.C. Heath &Company), and Foerster and Pierson's American Ideals (HoughtonMifflin 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 theUnited States Government.

ARTHUR W. DUNN.

Rural schools, and schools whose pupils have largely a backgroundof rural experience, have not done as much as they should towardstraining for citizenship. This is largely because the text bookshave failed to interpret citizenship and government in terms ofthe actual experience of such pupils, or to stimulate teamwork andleadership in communities with a distinctly rural background. Moreover, in city and rural schools alike, there has been failure toemphasize the interdependence of rural and urban communities in asingle national enterprise. Community Civics and Rural Life isplanned to meet these deficiencies.

There has been too much TALKING ABOUT citizenship in school, andtoo little LIVING it from day to day. Training for citizenshipnecessitates its daily practice in school and out. In the hands ofan able teacher, Community Civics and Rural Life should point theway to real community living, both now and in the future. Itshould teach the pupils what their real civic responsibilities areas well as their civic opportunities—and assist them to embracethem when they come. Children so trained will learn to respect,now and later, the rights of their neighbors, and will become asfair in their dealings with the government as with theirfellowmen. They will furnish their communities with the right kindof leaders, unselfish and public spirited. When the time calls,they will be ready to accept and shed a new dignity upon the oldpositions of school trustee, highway engineer, sanitary inspector,township supervisor, county commissioner, or the more conspicuousoffices of state and national government. Or as plain citizensthey will lend these officials their active support for communityand national betterment.

HAROLD W. FOGHT.

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

OUR COMMON PURPOSES IN COMMUNITY LIFE

TEAM WORK AND COMMON PURPOSES

The most important element of success in community life, as in aball game, a family, or a school, is TEAM WORK; and team workdepends, first of all, upon a COMMON PURPOSE. Our nation gave anexample of team work during the recent war such as is seldom seen;and this was be cause every member of the nation was keenly intenton WINNING. We may see the same thing in our school when Christmasentertainment is being planned, when an athletic tournament isapproaching, or when some other school activity is under way inwhich all are deeply interested. It is often illustrated in ourtown, or rural neighborhood when some important enterprise is onfoot, such as the building of a new railroad into town, a RedCross "drive" and a county fair, or the construction of a muchneeded new schoolhouse.

RECOGNITION OF COMMON PURPOSES

All communities have common purposes, although they are not alwaysas clearly defined as when our nation was at war, or as in theother cases mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Sometimes thepeople of a community, or a large portion of them, seem to bewholly unconscious that a common purpose exists. This may be trueeven in a family or in a school. And when this happens, the effectis the same as if there WERE no common purpose. No club orathletic team can be successful unless its members have a commonpurpose AND UNDERSTAND IT. Insofar as our communities areimperfect—and none of them, is perfect—it is largely becausetheir members fail to recognize or understand their commonpurposes.

People in communities have common purposes because they have thesame 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 hitherand thither, jostling one another, apparently in the greatestconfusion. We wonder where they are all going, what they aredoing, what they are seeking. In rural communities or in smalltowns there is less apparent confusion than in the bustling lifeof the city. Yet even here it is not always easy to see commonpurposes and common interests. Whether in large or smallcommunities, we are more likely to be impressed by the VARIETY ofmen'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 arecommon to all of us alike. It will be worthwhile to test the truthof this, because it will help us to see our community life in somekind of order, and will throw a flood of light upon the commonpurposes that control it.

PHYSICAL WANTS: LIFE AND HEALTH

For example, we all want food, drink, and sleep, clothing toprotect our bodies, and houses to shelter us. But all these thingssupply our PHYSICAL wants; that is, they re late to LIFE ANDHEALTH. Many of the things that we do every day are importantbecause of their relation to our physical well-being. One reasonwhy we enjoy out door sports is that they make our blood tingleand give a sense of physical pleasure. Unless our physical wantsare provided for, the other wants of life cannot well besatisfied. 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 ofthe association they afford with other people. ASSOCIATION WITHOTHERS is a second great want which explains many of the things wedo. Whatever may be our other reasons for going to school, itaffords us the opportunity to meet and work and play with otherboys and girls to our pleasure and profit. One of the objectionsoften raised against life in the country is the lack ofopportunity for association with other people. But life in thecountry is not so isolated as it once was; and one may be verymuch alone in a city crowd, where nearly all are strangers to oneanother, and where there is very little real association amongindividuals. City families often live in the same apartment housewithout knowing one another.

What are some things you do especially for the sake ofcompanionship?

THE WANT FOR KNOWLEDGE

While going to school enables us to associate with others, theprincipal reason for going is to gain KNOWLEDGE. Whether we alwayslike our studies or not, we certainly want knowledge, and seek itin many ways. We read the newspaper or magazine that comes to thehome. We ask questions of parents and others who have had moreexperience than we. We may travel to see new sights. We examinewith curiosity a new machine for the farm. The discoveries andinventions that mark man's progress in civilization are the resultof his unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

Mention some of the different ways in which you seek knowledge.

Mention some geographic and scientific discoveries that have beenmade 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, wewant surroundings that are pleasant and beautiful. The want forBEAUTY is sometimes more neglected than other wants, but it isimportant, and we all have it and seek to satisfy it in some wayor 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 roomtidy, by looking at pictures, or by exercising good taste inclothing. We also enjoy beauty in sound, as the song of birds ormusic 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 toenjoy association with others, to add to our knowledge, and tohear beautiful music. But the church service is one of the chiefmeans by which people satisfy another of the great wants of life—the RELIGIOUS want. Individuals differ in their religious ideasand in the depth of their religious feelings, but in everycommunity 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 toreligious causes?

THE WANT FOR WEALTH

Perhaps after school, or on Saturdays, or in vacation time, wework at tasks to earn money, or at least help in occupations thatcontribute to the "living" of the family. Doubtless we havethought more or less about what we are going to do for a livingafter we leave school. We all have a desire to own things, to haveproperty, to accumulate WEALTH. This also is one of the greatwants of life. We have perhaps already experienced thesatisfaction of raising our own first crop of corn or potatoes, ofacquiring our first livestock, of putting away or selling ourfirst supply of canned fruits or vegetables, of buying a set oftools, a bicycle, or some books, of starting a bank account. Butafter 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 ourwants. Earning a living simply means earning the things thatsatisfy our wants in life.

Make a blackboard list of the occupations by which the parents andother members of the families of the pupils in the class make aliving.

Make a blackboard list of things done by members of the class toearn money.

What is your choice of occupation by which to make a living in thefuture? 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 formany of the things that we do. In fact, ALL of our wants are ofone or another of these kinds and EVERYTHING we do is importantbecause of its relation to them. We may not be ready, yet, toaccept this statement. We may think of wants that seem at firstnot to fall under any of these six kinds. It will do no harm toadd other kinds to the list if we think it necessary. But, at allevents, the six kinds of wants mentioned are common to all of us.We live in communities in order to provide for them, and acommunity is good to live in proportion as it provides for all ofthem adequately. It is these wants that give COMMON PURPOSE to ourcommunity life.

Make as complete a list as possible of the things you didyesterday (outside of school as well as in school). Then extendthe list to include the more important things done during theentire week.

Write the six wants across the top of a page of your notebook or asheet of paper:

Health
Knowledge
Association
Beauty
Religion
Wealth

Arrange the activities in your list in the six columns accordingto the wants which they satisfy. If any activity clearly satisfiesmore than one of the wants, write it down in EACH of the propercolumns.

Which column is the longest? which comes next? which is theshortest?

Is your longest column also the longest in the lists made by othermembers of your class? Compare your other columns with those ofyour classmates. Which wants seem to keep you busiest?

Which do you think is most important? Why? Discuss this questionin class. Do you all agree in regard to this point?

If any of the activities in your list are for the purpose ofearning money, tell for what you expect to spend the money. Showhow the things you expect to buy with your money will help tosatisfy your other five wants.

For which of these six wants do you spend the most time inproviding? your father? your mother? If there is a difference inthe three answers, why is it?

Do you have difficulty in classifying any of the things you do, orthat you see others do, under any of the six heads? Make note ofthese things and, as your study proceeds, see if the difficulty ofclassification is removed.

Suppose a boy is a BULLY: what wants does he satisfy by hisbullying conduct? Suppose a boy or a girl is ambitious to become aLEADER, either among present companions or later in social life,business, or politics: under which head or heads would you placethis ambition?

A boy wants to enlist in the army, or a girl as an army nurse: dothese wants come under any of the six heads?

Would you, after your discussion of these topics, add any othergroup or kind of wants to the six mentioned? If so, what would youcall it?

Every one wants HAPPINESS. Why is it not necessary to make aspecial group under this head?

Make a list of things done in your home to provide for each of thesix 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 thingsas well as for the want for knowledge?

Make a list of a few things done in your community outside of thehome and school to provide for each of the six wants.

Think of something in which your entire community is deeplyinterested, such as the improvement of the roads, or the buildingof a new high school, or a county fair, and explain what wants itprovides for.

What wants do the following things provide for: rural maildelivery; weather reports; a corn club (or a similar club); aschool 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 anation stated in different terms than those suggested in theparagraphs above. For example, Franklin K. Lane, the Secretary ofthe Interior during the war, said, "Our national purpose is totransmute days of dreary work into happier lives—for ourselvesfirst and for all others in their time." Again, President Wilsonsaid that our purpose in entering the world war was to help "makethe world safe for democracy." Although these two statements readdifferently, they mean very much the same thing; and they bothrefer in general terms to the things this chapter discusses inmore familiar and express terms. For "happier lives" can onlyresult from a more complete satisfaction of our common wants. Ourown happiness comes from the satisfaction of our own wants ANDFROM HELPING TO SATISFY THE WANTS OF OTHERS. And "democracy"means, in part, that the COMMON WANTS OF ALL shall be properlyprovided for.

In the Declaration of Independence we read:

WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATEDEQUAL THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAINUNALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY AND THEPURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

OUR UNALIENABLE RIGHTS

The statement that "all men are created equal" has troubled manypeople when they have thought of the obvious inequalities thatexist in natural ability and opportunity. But whateverinequalities may exist, people are absolutely equal in their RIGHTto satisfy the wants described in this chapter. These are the"unalienable rights" which the Declaration of Independence sums upin the phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Thatcommunity is best to live in that most nearly provides equalopportunity for all its citizens to enjoy these rights. From theDeclaration of Independence to the present day, our great nationalpurpose has been to increase this opportunity, even though attimes we have apparently not been conscious of it, and even thoughwe have fallen short of its fulfillment. One of the chief objectsof our study is to find out how our communities are seeking toaccomplish this purpose.

"The Declaration of Independence did not mention the questions ofour day. It is of no consequence to us unless we can translate itsgeneral terms into examples of the present day and substitute themin some vital way for the examples it itself gives, so concrete,so intimately involved in the circ*mstances of the day in which itwas conceived and written. It is an eminently practical document,meant for the use of practical men … Unless we can translate itinto the questions of our own day, we are not worthy of it, we arenot 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 richfamily, and one in a very poor family. So far as this accident ofbirth is concerned, have they equal OPPORTUNITY to satisfy thewants of life? Have they an equal RIGHT to health? to aneducation? to pleasant surroundings? to earn a good living?

Suppose A is a Native American boy, and B a foreign-born boy whospeaks a foreign language: does this make any difference in theirRIGHT to life and health, an education, etc.? Does it make anydifference in their OPPORTUNITY to satisfy their wants in thesedirections?

Can you think of persons in your community who have lessOPPORTUNITY to satisfy their wants than you have? Can you think ofany persons who have less RIGHT to satisfy their wants than youhave?

The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United Statescomprise what is known as a "bill of rights." Study together inclass this bill of rights (see Appendix) to see how many of thewants described in this chapter are there, provided for directlyand indirectly.

Has your state constitution a bill of rights? If so, read ittogether in class for the same purpose as suggested in the lastquestion.

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 thisbook.

It should become a HABIT of both teacher and pupils to be on theconstant lookout for news items and discussions in availablenewspapers and periodicals illustrative of the points made in eachchapter or lesson. Individual scrapbooks may be made, but moreimportant than this is the assembling of such material as a classenterprise, its classification under proper heads, and itspreservation in scrapbooks or in files as working material forsucceeding classes. There will always be enough for each class todo, while each class at the same time contributes to the successof the work of later classes. The idea of SERVICE should dominatesuch work.

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 ourschoolroom, whether or not we get all the pure air we need,depends upon how the schoolhouse was built for ventilation, thenumber of people who occupy the room, the care that is taken byothers to keep the room free from dust, the health and cleanlinessof those who sit in the room with us. If this dependence uponothers is true in the case of the very air we breathe, how muchmore true it must be of other necessities of life that are not soabundant.

This dependence of people upon one another for the satisfaction oftheir wants is one of the most important facts about communitylife. It is not merely that A and B have the SAME wants, but thatA is dependent upon B, and B upon A, for the satisfaction of theirwants, that makes their wants COMMON.

Mention the people, both inside and outside of your home, who hada share in providing for you the food you had for breakfast ordinner.

Mention all the workers that occur to you who have been employedin producing the clothing you wear; the book you are reading; thematerials of which your house is built.

Show how the people who produce these things are dependent uponyour wants for their livelihood.

Show that you are dependent upon other people for your education;for recreation. Are other people dependent upon your education fortheir 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. Hisindependence was certainly much more complete in pioneer days thanit is now. In regard to the early days of Indiana, it has beensaid:

Give the pioneer farmer an axe and an auger, or in place of thelast a burning iron, and he could make almost any machine that hewas wont to work with. With his sharp axe he could not only cutthe logs for his cabin and notch them down, but he could make aclose-fitting door and supply it with wooden hinges and a neatlatch. From the roots of an oak or ash he could fashion his hamesand sled runners; he could make an axle-tree for his wagon, arake, a flax brake, a barrow, a scythe-snath, a grain cradle apitchfork, 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. Ifhe was more than ordinarily clever, he repaired his own cooperage,and adding a drawing knife to his kit of tools, he even went sofar as to make his own casks, tubs, and buckets. He made andmended 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, butof many. All day long in the chamber or attic the sound of thespinning-wheel and loom could be heard. Carpets, shawls,bedspreads, tablecovers, towels, and cloth for garments were madefrom materials made on the farm. The kitchen of the house was abaker's shop, a confectioner's establishment, and a chemist'slaboratory. Every kind of food for immediate use was preparedthere daily; and on special occasions sausages, head cheese,pickles, apple butter, and preserves were made. It was also theplace where soap, candles, and vinegar were manufactured.Agricultural implements were then few and simple, and farmers madeas many of them as they could. Every farmhouse was a creamery andcheese factory. As there were no sewing machines, the farmer'swife and daughters had to ply the hand needle most of the timewhen they were not engaged in more laborious pursuits. During thelong evenings they generally knit socks and mittens or made ragcarpets. [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 andhis family were not wholly independent. Even Robinson Crusoe onhis lonely island was dependent upon the tools and equipment thathe saved from shipwrecks, and that were the product of other men'slabor. So, also, the pioneer farmer had to maintain some kind ofrelation, however infrequent and slight, with the outside world.Moreover, he had to pay for his comparative independence by manyprivations. He had all the wants described in the precedingchapter, but he had to provide for them in the simplest waypossible, 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 apioneer community, it is likely that some members will have aknack for doing certain things of use to the community better thanothers can do them. Thus one man may be especially skillful inmaking axe handles. In time, the entire community comes to dependupon him for its axe handles. In addition, he probably makes othertools and does repair work of all kinds. This requires so much ofhis time that he does little or no farming, and depends uponothers for his food supply. So in a course of time the communityhas its blacksmiths, carpenters, shoe-makers, teachers,storekeepers and doctors upon whom it depends for their specialkinds of service, while each of them depends upon others to supplythe wants that he has neither the time nor the skill to supply forhimself. Thus interdependence develops in the simplestcommunities.

THE DEPENDENCE ON OTHERS OF THE MODERN FARMER

The farmer still does many things on the farm that in the citywould be done by special workers, such as repairing houses, barns,and tools. But he has become vastly more dependent upon othersthan formerly. This is due partly to improved farming methods,requiring the use of complicated machines and greater technicalknowledge; and partly to improved means of transportation andcommunication which bring him in close touch with trade centers.If a farmer needs a new axe handle, he can get a better one withless expenditure of time and effort by going to town in hisautomobile than if he made it himself. His farm machinery is toocomplicated for him to repair except in small matters, and eventhen he must go or send to town for the necessary parts, which maybe sent to him by parcel post. Not only does he get better toolsand services generally through this reliance upon others who arespecialists in their lines, but also on account of it has moretime to give to the actual business of farming, for which othersdepend 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 carriedso far as to result in loss or disadvantage. "Self-reliance" isone of the most admirable traits of character. The pioneer farmerpossessed it from necessity to a remarkable extent. A habit ofdepending upon others may quickly cause a person to lose the"knack" of doing things for himself, to become less "handy aboutthe place," and less "thrifty" about keeping things in repair orinstalling 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 beillustrated by starting with some of our own needs, as wassuggested in the topics on page 12. For example, if we need a pairof shoes, we must have money, which we will suppose that we earnby farming. In order to farm successfully we must have machinery.This we also buy in town; but it is manufactured for us in distantcity factories from metals procured from mines and from wood fromthe forest. The shoes bought at the store were also made in afactory employing hundreds of men and women, perhaps inMassachusetts. They were made from leather from the hides ofcattle raised in the far west, or perhaps even in the ArgentineRepublic. The leather is tanned by another industry, and tanningrequires the use of an acid from the bark of certain trees fromthe forest. The making of the shoes also requires machinery whichis made by still other machines, the necessary metals coming frommines. To smelt the metals and to run the factories there must befuel from other mines. Meanwhile the workers in all theseindustries must be fed and clothed and housed. This means the workof farmers, food packers, millers and bakers, lumbermen,carpenters, cotton and woolen mills, clothing factories, and manyothers. At every stage transportation enters in,—by team andautomobile truck, by railway, by water. These are only a part ofthe activities necessary in order that we may have a pair ofshoes. It would seem that practically every kind of worker andindustry in the world had something to do with it. People incommunities 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 hisfarm business by the farm practices of the community in which heis living.

There are farmers in every community who would like to changetheir systems of agriculture but are restrained from doing so bythe fact that their neighbors will not change. Many farmers havetried to change from one type of farming to another better suitedto the region, but failed because the cost of running such anentirely independent business was too great.

A man owning an orchard in a locality where there are no otherorchards has trouble getting rid of his crop. Even when the farmeris so fortunate as to get buyers, he generally receives a lowerprice for the same grade of fruit than would be received in ageneral apple-growing region.

If a man wants to buy several purebred Holstein cows, he generallygoes to a locality where a large number of farmers keep that kindof stock. Often there is a man in his own community who has forsale Holsteins that are just as highly bred as those in otherdistricts, but he either has no market for them or must sell themat a greatly reduced price.

The farmer ought not to think on account of these facts that heshould not change his system of farming just because his neighborsdo not do likewise.

Probably the best way for a farmer to start such a movement is toarouse the interest of his neighbors in his farming operations. Assoon as this has been accomplished he can gradually bring aboutthe change that he advocates. Farmers in a community profit fromthe experiences of other individuals.

WHAT GIVES VALUE TO LAND

The value of a man's property is dependent not upon his effortsalone, but upon what his neighbors do. The land occupied by apioneer increases in value as other people settle in theneighborhood, and BECAUSE they settle there. Men often buy landand then simply wait for it to increase in value because ofimprovements in the neighborhood. The property that we own mayincrease or decrease in value according to the care that neighborstake of their property. Even if we take good care of our property,it will be less valuable if the neighbors let their fences andbuildings run down and the weeds grow than it will be if they keeptheir fences and buildings in good repair and their weeds cut.

INTERDEPENDENCE IN HEALTH

Malaria is carried by mosquitoes, and we know that mosquitoesbreed in standing water, as in swamps and in old barrels or tincans that hold rainwater until it becomes stagnant. Now we mayendeavor to get rid of mosquitoes, and thus of malaria, byremoving all open receptacles of water about our premises and bydraining the marshes on our land; but unless our neighbors do thesame, we are not much better off than we were before.

Give other illustrations to show the dependence of people upon oneanother in your community.

Compare the farmer of to-day in your neighborhood with the pioneerof 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 withthat of the New England farmer described on page 14 with respectto household activities.

Are farmers in your neighborhood to-day more or less dependentupon others to supply their wants than they were when your parentswere children? Why is it? Get all the information you can fromyour parents on this point.

Which is more dependent upon others for its daily wants: a familythat lives on a farm in your neighborhood or one that lives intown? Give examples to prove your answer.

Do you know cases in your own community where land has increasedin value while lying idle? What are the reasons?

Do you know of cases in your community where property hasdepreciated in value because of neighborhood influences such assuggested on page 18?

Do you know of cases in your community similar to the onedescribed 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 anotheruntil something happens to disturb our accustomed relations. Webest realize our dependence upon the telephone when it is out oforder. The recent great war produced conditions that made usconscious of our interdependence in unexpected ways.

For example, if we had gone into a store to buy underwear in theearly part of the war, we would have found that the price hadgreatly increased, and we might have been told, if the salesmanwere well informed, that the high price was due to the manufactureof airplanes! The explanation is that the wire stays used in themanufacture of airplanes are made of steel wire from which machineknitting needles are also made. In the early part of the war allof the available wire of this kind was taken for airplanes, thuslimiting the supply of knitting needles and consequently of knitgoods.

The manufacture of airplanes is also said to have affected theprice 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 intogreat demand for the manufacture of airplane wings. Sinceairplanes were necessary, linen fishing nets were sacrificed andthe price of deep-sea fish went up. This, of course, created ademand for other kinds of fish, and the price of the latter alsowent up.

CONFLICTS DUE TO INTERDEPENDENCE

When people are so closely dependent upon one another conflictsare likely to occur. Sometimes they are due to selfish disregardby some persons of the rights and interests of others; but moreoften they are due simply to failure to see what the real resultsof a particular act may be and how it may affect other people. Itwas not dreamed that the building of airplanes would affect theprice of underwear and fish, and it was only after carefulinvestigation that the relation between these things wasdiscovered. A family that is careless in the disposal of refusefrom the household and stables may unconsciously poison the wellsof neighbors half a mile away. Sometimes men oppose publicimprovements, such as better roads, or a new schoolhouse, becausethey see only the direct costs of the improvements, and fail tosee the more important losses to themselves and to the communityif the improvements are not made.

DANGER OF HASTY JUDGMENTS

One thing we may learn from such facts as these is the danger offorming hasty judgments about things that happen, or conditionsthat exist, or proposals that are made, in our community life.Even those conditions or events that are apparently most simplemay be related to other conditions and events that are not atfirst apparent. Wise judgment and wise action are dependent uponthe most complete knowledge obtainable.

We shall see, as we proceed with our study, how this fact ofinterdependence appears in every phase of our community life.

From observation in your own community, give illustrations to showhow people, in attempting to satisfy their own wants, mayinterfere with the efforts of others to satisfy theirs. Thefollowing 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 foodproducts).

Men who raise cattle and those who raise sheep on the westernranges.

A boy who raises chickens and one who has a garden adjoining.

Suppose a schoolmate comes to school with measles or some othercontagious disease. How may this affect your schoolwork? yourassociation with your friends? How may it even add to yourfather's expenses?

Show that your schoolmates are as dependent upon you as you areupon 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 theirinterest in doing this, is it possible that they might interferewith 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 beentirely "self-made"?

Does a child become more or less dependent upon others as he growsolder? Explain your answer.

Show that as a person becomes more "self-dependent" other peoplebecome more dependent upon him; for example, in the home, and inschool.

Watch the newspapers for items illustrating interdependence, orconflicts due to it.

READINGS

Lessons in Community and National Life (see note on referencematerials 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 localhistory stories.

THE NEED FOR COOPERATION IN COMMUNITY LIFE

THE NEED FOR TEAMWORK

When people have common purposes and are dependent upon oneanother in accomplishing them, there must be COOPERATION, which isanother name for "teamwork." A team of horses that does not pulltogether can not haul a heavy load. A baseball team, thoughcomposed of good players, will seldom win games unless itsteamwork is good. A few soldiers may easily disperse a large mobbecause they have teamwork, while a mob usually does not. Thisprinciple of "pulling together," "teamwork," or "cooperation," isof the greatest importance in community life. There can be no realcommunity life without it.

SIMPLE TYPES OF COOPERATION

In the early days there were "barn raisings," when neighbors cametogether to help one of their number to "raise" his barn; and allthe men of a pioneer community contributed their labor in buildingthe community church or schoolhouse. This was a simple form ofcooperation. It may be seen now at threshing time, whenneighboring farmers combine to thresh the grain of each, the samegroup of men and the same threshing machine doing the work forall. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that:

In a group of 14 farmers situated in a community in one of thebest farming regions in the corn belt, … it was found that 5 menout of the 14 failed to get all their corn planted by the lastweek in May. They had worked as hard and as steadily at thatoperation as had their neighbors, but they were delayed by onecause or another, such as lack of labor or teams, or were handlinga larger acreage than their equipment would allow them to handlesatisfactorily. In this same community were 3 men who completedall their planting operations before the 20th of May, and 5 otherswho completed their work by the 25th of May. … If all these menhad considered that corn planting was a national necessity and hadpooled their efforts, all of the corn on all the farms could havebeen planted within the most favorable time. [Footnote: The FarmLabor Problem, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of theSecretary, Circular No. 112, p. 5.]

Give other illustrations of this sort of cooperation from the farmor community life of your neighborhood.

Give illustrations of such teamwork among boys and girls.

Give illustrations of the failure of enterprises in which you havebeen interested because of a lack of teamwork.

Why is it an advantage for the farmers to use one threshingmachine for all the threshing of the neighborhood instead of eachfarmer having his own machine?

ORGANIZED COOPERATION AND LEADERSHIP

As communities grow and the people become more dependent upon oneanother, and especially when it becomes hard to see how one thingthat happens may affect others, as shown in Chapter II,cooperation becomes more difficult, but it becomes even morenecessary. It needs to be ORGANIZED, and it needs LEADERSHIP. Theexperience of fruit growers in California affords a goodillustration of this. When they acted independently of oneanother, they often had difficulty in disposing of their productto advantage. Sometimes it rotted on the ground. As individualsthey did not have the means of learning where the best marketswere. They had to make their own terms separately with therailroads for transportation and since they shipped in smallquantities, they paid high freight rates. They had no adequatemeans of storing fruit while it was awaiting shipment. They weredependent upon commission merchants in the cities for such pricesas they could get, which were often practically nothing at all.

These and other difficulties that made fruit growing unprofitablewere overcome by the organization of fruit growers' associations,in which each grower may become a member by purchasing shares ofstock. The members elect from their number a BOARD OF DIRECTORS,who in turn appoint a BUSINESS MANAGER who gives his entireattention to the association's business. The association hascentral offices and storage and packing houses.

The manager keeps in close touch with market conditions,—wherethe demand for fruit is greatest, the kinds of fruit wanted, thebest prices paid. He contracts for the sale of fruit at fairprices. Shipping in large quantities, he gets the advantage of lowrates on fast freight trains with refrigerator cars. Uniformmethods of packing fruit are adopted, sometimes the fruit beingpacked at the central packing house. Information is distributed asto the best methods of growing fruit, the best varieties to grow,and so on. On the other hand, supplies and provisions are boughtin large quantities, securing the best quality at the lowestprices.

VOLUNTARY COOPERATION IN CITIES

In cities there are almost innumerable organizations by whichgroups of people cooperate for one purpose or another. Men in thesame line of business or in the same profession organize topromote their common interests. There are boards of trade,chambers of commerce, merchants' and manufacturers' associations.Lawyers have their bar associations, physicians their medicalassociations. There are associations of teachers, and work men inthe various trades have their unions. Besides such business andprofessional organizations, there are clubs and associations ofall sorts for men, for women, and even for children, some of themeducational, some social or recreational, some philanthropic, somereligious. Where there are so many people interested in the samething, where it is easy for them to meet together, and wherecompetent leadership is forthcoming, it is quite the usual thingto 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 makeorganization easy, they have not fully realized its advantages,and they have lacked leadership. This has been an obstacle to thefullest development of community life. The most backwardcommunities are those where there is the least cooperation. Insuch communities "the farmer works single-handed, getting nostrength 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. Themap on page 36 shows the distribution of organizations amongfarmers in the United States for cooperation in businessenterprises of various kinds, though it shows only about half asmany as actually exist. They include cooperative grain elevatorsand warehouses, creameries and cheese factories, cooperativestores, fruit and grain growers' associations, livestockassociations, cotton and tobacco associations, and many others.

Study the map on page 36 and indicate the region or regions whereyou think cooperative grain elevators and warehouses would be mostnumerous; livestock associations; dairies and creameries; fruitgrowers' associations; cotton growers' associations; tobaccogrowers' associations.

Are there any organizations of farmers in your community similarto those in the list in the last paragraph above? Make a list ofthem. What are their purposes? What are their advantages? Whatobstacles have they encountered? Are all the farmers in thecommunity members? If not, why? Describe their plans oforganization—membership, officers, management, etc. (Discussthese questions at home and report results.)

Is there any organization of businessmen, or of workmen, in yourtown or neighboring town? If so, ascertain what advantages itseeks.

Show how an ordinary store, or a bank, or a grain elevator, is ameans by which people cooperate.

Are there any boys' or girls' clubs in your community? Show howsuch clubs require and secure cooperation. How is leadershipprovided?

If there is a parents' association connected with your school,show how it brings about cooperation among its members in theinterest of the school.

Make a list of all the organizations you can think of in yourcommunity (such as clubs, societies, associations). Opposite thename of each write the chief purposes for which it exists.

Write the six great wants across the top of a page, as suggestedin the fifth topic on page 6, and arrange the list oforganizations suggested in the last question above in the propercolumns according to the wants they provide for.

Discuss the importance of leadership in school activities. Whatare 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 "farmbureaus" in the northern and western states with a membership ofnearly 100,000. A farm bureau is an organization to securecooperation throughout an entire county for the promotion ofa*gricultural interests. The members elect an executive committeeto manage the affairs of the bureau. In each of the smallcommunities of which the county is made up, there is a "communitycommittee." The chairmen of the several community committeesconstitute a county agricultural council. The chairmen and membersof the various committees are chosen because of their interest inspecial lines of work and their fitness to direct such work.Various other organizations in the county, such as the fairassociation, breeders' associations, the Grange, the schools, andothers, are represented in the committees of the bureau, thepurpose being to secure teamwork among them, as well as among thedifferent communities of the county and among the individualfarmers. The bureau also cooperates with the state and nationalgovernments in employing a COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AGENT, who is thebureau's adviser, or leader. In short, the farm bureau representsthe county working together in an organized way and underleadership 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 isa small city of 10,000. There had formerly been more or lessjealousy between the city and county, as too frequently happens.But a businessmen's association was organized in the city, whichinterested itself in bettering the agricultural conditions of thecounty, because the business of the city was very dependent uponthe neighboring agriculture. A "crop improvement association" wasformed, including farmers in its membership. A county agriculturalagent was employed, and local community clubs were organized indifferent parts of the county, which held meetings attended by thefarmers and their families, and by businessmen from the city. Agood roads association was organized, and a "good roads day" washeld on which businessmen turned out with the farmers, stores ofthe city were closed, and on one of the principal roads at least90 per cent of the workmen were city men. Stone was contributed bycontractors, concrete firms furnished men gratis to repairbridges, one company supplied outfits for trimming trees, and alarge amount of work was done by the county and town working sideby side … Such results could only be accomplished through unityof purpose and cooperation of all the people.

Among other things accomplished in this county, a fair associationhas been formed; medical instruction has been introduced into theschools; a public library and hospital have been built; the schoolsystem of the county has cooperated in all educational work; bothtown and county merchants have offered prizes to members of theboys' clubs; also for cooking in the schools, and have put women'srestrooms in the stores for the use of the public.

There is now an active girls' canning club in every community inthe county, attended by the girls and also by their mothers. Thereare 12 social clubs which meet regularly; 15 parent-teachers' andmothers' clubs; and there is not a school in the county which doesnot have some form of community meeting. The schoolhouses aregenerally used for the meetings of the community clubs. In someinstances farmers have given sufficient ground for amusem*ntpurposes 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 ofthe effect of education and organization under the properleadership. THE TOWN AND THE COUNTY ARE ONE. The result is betteragriculture, better business, and better living." Write a brieftheme on one of the following topics:

(a) The importance of the telephone as a means of cooperation inmy community.

(b) Instances in my community where bad roads have caused a lackof cooperation.

(c) Instances in my community where improvement of roads has ledto better cooperation.

In what ways do you think there is need for better cooperation inyour community? Discuss this with your parents, and report inclass the result of your talk with them.

Is there any organized cooperation in your community or county asa whole for the general improvement of the community or county?

Investigate the organization and work of a farm bureau. (If thereis none in your county, write to your State Agricultural Collegeor to the States Relations Service, Department of Agriculture,Washington, D.C., for information. See references at the end ofthis chapter.)

PUBLIC LIBRARY AS AN EXAMPLE

Cooperation is as necessary for the fullest satisfaction of ourother wants as it is in the business of making a living. In onepioneer community there were few "books and papers and they werehanded about from house to house." There may be comparatively fewpeople in a community who can afford to buy a hundred books eachyear; but there may easily be a hundred persons who could buy onebook each, and by some arrangement exchange with one another, sothat each could in the course of a year have the use of a hundredbooks. Neighborhood clubs are often organized to subscribe formagazines on this plan. A public library provides an arrangementby which a great variety of good reading matter can be enjoyed bythe entire community at trifling cost to each member. In fact, wemay be able to draw books from such a library without any cost toourselves; but the books which we thus enjoy do cost the communitya large sum of money, and our free enjoyment of them is one of theadvantages of community cooperation. Our part in the cooperationis in using the books carefully and in returning them promptly, sothat as many people as possible may have the use of them.

NATION-WIDE COOPERATION

The necessity for cooperation is by no means limited to ourneighborhood or county or city. People with common purposesorganize for cooperation on a state-wide or nation-wide scale.Following is a list of national organizations in the interest ofa*griculture. As our study proceeds, we shall have abundantillustration of the value of cooperation and of the disadvantagesthat 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 formedonly by practice; and opportunity to practice cooperation isabundant if we are only on the lookout for it. We shall find thatit not only secures better results in whatever we are doing, butthat it also adds greatly to the enjoyment of life. Let us notforget that cooperation merely means "team work," working togetherfor the common good.

"They who cannot or will not work together are always in a weakposition 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 doyou get from it? About how many books do you draw from it in thecourse of a year? What would these books cost you if you boughtthem? What do they cost you when you draw them from the library?

Usually a fine is imposed for keeping a book from the librarybeyond a specified time. Show why this is proper.

Do you have the use of a "traveling library" in your school orcommunity? If so, where do the books come from? Show how itsecures cooperation.

Give examples of cooperation in your home, and show what is gainedby it.

In what ways do you think that cooperation could be improved inyour 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 monthfor the good of the community in which you live?

Make a list in your notebook of ways in which you think you couldcooperate with others to promote the welfare of your community,and add to the list from time to time as new opportunities forsuch cooperation occur to you.

Are any of the national organizations in the list on page 35represented in your community? What are their purposes? (Consultparents 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 Agriculturehave 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 tomethod of applying for this material. The assistance of the localcounty agent, the state agricultural college, or of thecongressman, 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.

WHY WE HAVE GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT A MEANS TO SECURE COOPERATION

We are now in a better position to understand why we havegovernment. It is a means by which to secure cooperation, or teamwork.

IN EDUCATION

When a schoolhouse is built to-day, it is not done by combinedmanual labor, as in the pioneer community. As in all building,there is cooperation of a highly organized kind in the productionand assembling of the materials and in the construction of thebuilding by workmen of different kinds. But more than this, sincethe schoolhouse is a PUBLIC BUILDING, the community cooperates inpaying for it. This is done by means of TAXES. The people paytaxes not only for the building, but also to meet the cost ofoperating the school, paying the teachers, buying equipment, andheating the building.

The community must know how much money is needed for the school,the taxes must be fairly apportioned and collected, and the schoolmust be properly managed to perform the community's work ofeducation. In small communities the people may meet together tovote the taxes and to decide on other matters relating toeducation, as in New England towns. But there must be leadership,and there must be an organization to perform the work which thecommunity wants done. Every community therefore has its board ofeducation, or school committee, a superintendent, and otherofficials. Such organization corresponds to the board of directorsand business manager of the fruit growers' association, only itrepresents the entire community and attends to the community'sbusiness of education. It is part of the community's governingmachinery.

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 paysas school tax? If you had a teacher at home, could you get as goodan education as you can now get at school? Explain your answer.

In what ways do you cooperate with the community to make theschool a success?

If there is a public library in your community, is it supported bytaxation? Who manages the public library for the community?

IN FIRE PROTECTION

When a building takes fire in the country the neighbors gather asquickly as possible to fight the flames by such means as may be athand, but seldom very effectively. In a small city or town, theremay be a volunteer fire company composed of men who, when a firebreaks out, leave their usual occupations to save the property. Inlarge cities, fully equipped and costly fire departments aremaintained, with paid firemen who are always on duty. The policeusually keep the crowd away from the burning building, not onlyfor their own safety, but because they would hinder rather thanhelp the trained and organized firemen. In each case there iscooperation for fire protection; the greater the common danger,the more perfect the organization and the more complete thecontrol 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 workon the roads. Now, in the most progressive communities, the roadsare better and more uniformly built and kept in better repairbecause they are placed by the community in charge of skilledroadmakers paid for by taxation. But whether the farmercontributes money or labor, or both, cooperation is planned anddirected by the government. (See Chapter XVII.)

IN HEALTH PROTECTION

In Benjamin Franklin's time, each householder in Philadelphiaswept the pavement in front of his home if he wanted it keptclean. Franklin, who was a splendid example of good citizenship inthat he was always looking for opportunities to improve hiscommunity, tells what happened:

One day I found a poor industrious man, who was willing toundertake keeping the pavement clean by sweeping it twice a week,carrying off the dirt from before all the neighbors' doors, forthe sum of sixpence per month to be paid by each house. I thenwrote and printed a paper setting forth the advantages to theneighborhood that might be obtained by this small expense. … Isent one of these papers to each house, and in a day or two wentaround to see who would subscribe an agreement to pay thesesixpences; it was unanimously signed, and for a time wellexecuted. This raised a general desire to have all the streetspaved, and made the people more willing to submit to a tax forthat purpose.

This was community cooperation under simple conditions. A hundredyears later, the one and a half million people living inPhiladelphia were just as truly cooperating to keep their cityclean by means of more than 1200 miles of sewers for which theyhad paid nearly 35 millions of dollars, and by means of adepartment of highways and street-cleaning which employed acontractor to clean the streets and to remove all ashes andgarbage at an annual cost of more than a million and a halfdollars. 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 ourlocal governments, is also true of state and national governments.We shall not stop for illustrations of this now, because they willbe numerous in later chapters. (See, for example, Chapter XII.)

Is there a government in your home? If so, prove whether or not itis a means by which the members of the family cooperate.

Describe the government of your school and show how it securescooperation.

If you can get a copy of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, findin it further instances in which he improved the cooperation ofhis 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 yourcommunity is a means of cooperation.

In what ways can you cooperate with the school board or trusteesof your community, and thus with the community itself, for betterschools?

GOVERNMENT TO HELP AND NOT TO REPRESS

A number of boys whose lives were spent mostly in the city streetswere once asked what the word "government" suggested to them. Someof them at once answered, "The policeman!" And when they wereasked "Why?" they replied, "He arrests people," "He makes us keepoff the grass in the parks," "He drives us off when we play ballin vacant lots." These answers represent a common idea aboutgovernment, that it is something over us to restrict our freedom.Government does restrict the freedom of individuals at times; butone of the best illustrations of its real purpose is the trafficpoliceman in cities. He stands at the crossing of busy streets,regulating the movement of people and vehicles in such a way as toinsure the safety of all and to keep the intersecting streams oftraffic moving smoothly and with as little interruption aspossible. Now and then he leaves his post to help a child or anaged person or a cripple across the street; or answers theinquiries of a stranger. If now and then he arrests a driver, itis 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 trafficpoliceman; but there may be signs at the intersection of highwaysto guide travelers, or warnings such as "Dangerous Curve!" or"School: Drive Slowly!" Such signs are usually posted by state orlocal authorities in accordance with LAW. And even where there areno signs, the laws themselves are supposed to regulate traffic.Some one has compared the laws in our country to the signals givento a football team by the quarterback. These signals are agreedupon in advance by the team, and tell each player not only what hehimself, but also what every other player, is to do, and thus teamwork is secured. And so our laws are said to be "signals ofcooperation," just as much as the sign "Drive Slowly," or as whenthe 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 arealso RULES by which cooperation is secured—"rules of the game."Wherever people are dependent upon one another and work togetherthere must be rules of conduct. One kind of rules consists of whatwe call "etiquette" or "good manners." We have doubtless allobserved how much better an athletic contest moves along, or eventhe ordinary sports of the playground, where good manners prevail."Good manners" include more than the "party manners" that we puton and take off on special occasions, like "party clothes." Theyconsist of the accepted rules of behavior toward those with whomwe associate. In the home, in school, in business, in publicplaces, there are "good manners" that are recognized by custom andthat make the wheels move smoothly and without jar. We do not needa law or a policeman to require a man to give way to a woman, oreven to another man, in passing through a doorway; good mannersprovide for this. Even on the public street much confusion isavoided by an observance of good manners, or CUSTOM. Thoughtfulpeople instinctively turn to the right in passing others (inEngland and Canada the custom is to turn to the left) withoutthinking whether there is a law on the subject or not.

LAW GIVES FREEDOM

Now most of our laws that regulate the conduct of individuals aresimply rules that experience has proved to be of the greatestadvantage to the greatest number, and that are necessary becauseSOME people have not "good manners." Most people observe them, notbecause they are laws, but because they are reasonable and helpfulin avoiding friction and in securing cooperation. If they are goodlaws, it is only the "ill-mannered" who are really conscious oftheir existence. Just laws restrict the freedom only of the "ill-mannered," while they GIVE freedom to those who have "goodmanners."

What street or highway signs are there in your community? Whoplaced 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 theydid not exist, would your own conduct be different? Why?

What are some of the rules of good manners that are supposed tocontrol 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 thefreedom 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 werenot written laws, and if there were no penalty for failing toobserve them? Why?

THE ORIGIN OF LAW

The following story illustrates the difference between law andcustom, or "manners," and how the former may develop out of thelatter. [Footnote: "Rudimentary Society among Boys," by JohnJohnson, in Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical andPolitical Science, vol. ii (1884). The story as here given isreproduced from Lessons in Community and National Life, Series C,p. 145, U. S. Bureau of Education (Lesson C-18, "Cooperationthrough Law," by Arthur W. Dunn). ] There was once a boys' schoollocated in an 800-acre tract of land, in the fields and woods ofwhich the boys, when free from their studies, gathered nuts,trapped small animals, and otherwise lived much like primitivehunters.

Just after midnight some morning early in October, when the firstfrosts of the season loosened the grasp of the nuts upon thelimbs, parties of two or three boys might be seen rushing at fullspeed over the wet fields. When the swiftest party reached awalnut tree, one of the number climbed up rapidly, shook off halfa bushel of nuts and scrambled down again. Then off the boys wentto the next tree, where the process was repeated unless the treewas occupied by other boys doing likewise. Nut hunters coming tothe tree after the first party had been there, and wishing toshake the tree some more, were required by custom to pile up allthe nuts that lay under the tree. Until this was done, theunwritten law did not permit their shaking any more nuts on theground.

So far this was a CUSTOM accepted by the boys because of itsreasonableness. But after a while, some members of this boycommunity thought to get ahead of the other members. One nightbefore frost came they secretly went to the woods and tookpossession of most of the nut trees by shaking them according tocustom. When this was discovered, some of the leaders of thecommunity CALLED A MEETING of all the boys. After discussing thematter thoroughly, they provided against a repetition of the trickby MAKING A RULE (passing a law) that thereafter the harvesting ofnuts should not begin before A FIXED DATE in October.

These boys acted very much as men have often acted under simpleconditions of community life. The New England "town meeting," forexample, 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 laterchapters. At present we are merely noting WHY we have laws, andthe fact that they are supposed to be made, directly orindirectly, by the people themselves. And right here we see thesecond thing necessary to make a DEMOCRACY. On page 9 we saw thatin a democracy all people have certain equal and "unalienable"rights, and that that community is most democratic that affordsits members most nearly equal opportunity to enjoy these rights.Now we see further that in a democracy the people make their ownlaws. Moreover, the laws of a democracy control, not only theconduct of the people, but also the government itself. Thegovernment of a democracy may do only those things, and use onlythose methods, for which the people give the authority. It is onlywhen government exercises power without control by the people thatit becomes autocratic.

TWO HISTORIC DOCUMENTS

The purpose of our government is clearly stated in two historicdocuments. One of these is the Declaration of Independence, whichhas already been quoted in Chapter I. The same quotation is givenhere with an additional sentence in italics:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are createdequal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certainunalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness. That, TO SECURE THESE RIGHTS, GOVERNMENTSARE INSTITUTED AMONG MEN, DERIVING THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THECONSENT 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 moreperfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, andsecure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, doordain and establish this Constitution for the United States ofAmerica.

DEMOCRACY A GOAL STILL TO BE REACHED

It is not to be supposed that our government and our laws areperfect. They cannot be perfect as long as they are made andoperated by imperfect people. It is possible, for example, thatthe boys of the city had a just complaint against the governmentfor not permitting them to play ball in vacant lots, UNLESS THECOMMUNITY AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDED THEM WITH ANOTHER SUITABLEPLACE FOR THE GAME—for every community should protect the rightof its boys and girls to play. We are far from having attainedcomplete democracy. It is a goal toward which men are struggling,and have been struggling for centuries—since long before ourRevolutionary War, and in other countries as well as in our own.The great world war which began in 1914, and which the UnitedStates entered in 1917, was a war to establish more firmly in theworld the principles of democratic government. Whether theseprinciples shall be carried out in practice, and whether ourgovernments—local, state, and national—shall fulfill thepurposes so clearly stated in the preamble to the Constitution,depends upon the extent to which each citizen understands thesepurposes, and cooperates with his fellow-citizens and with hisgovernments in support of them.

THE "RIGHT IDEA OF IT"

It is said that in one of the training camps during the war anofficer addressed a squad of new recruits as follows:

Boys, I want you to get the right idea of the salute. I do notwant you to think that you are being compelled to salute me as anindividual. No! When you salute me, you are simply renderingrespect to the power I represent; AND THE POWER I REPRESENT ISYOU. Now let me explain. You elect the President of the UnitedStates, and the President of the United States grants me acommission to represent his authority in this army. His onlyauthority is the authority that you vest in him when you elect himPresident. Now, when you salute an officer, you salute not theman, but the representative of your own authority. The salute isgoing to be rigidly enforced in this army, and I want you boys toget the right idea of it. I want you to know what you salute andwhy.

It is very important that we should "get the right idea" of whatour government is. It is very much the idea that the officer gavehis soldiers about the salute. It is the idea contained in thischapter: that government is our own organization for team work incommunity life. All through this book we shall be engaged indiscovering how far this is true.

Do you know of instances in which the national government hashelped 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 assumedcontrol of all the railroads of the country. Show how this was tosecure 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 Constitutionwith the common purposes stated on page 6 of Chapter I.

Show how the pupil who does as he pleases in school may interferewith the rights and liberties of other pupils. Is it right thathis liberty should then be restricted? Why? Is liberty the rightto do as one pleases? If not, what is it?

Read together in class the preamble to the Constitution andcarefully 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.

WHAT IS CITIZENSHIP?

WHAT MEMBERSHIP MEANS

Before we go further, let us get a definite idea of what it meansto be a citizen.

IN THE BODY

We have frequently referred to the fact that we are "members" ofvarious communities. Our bodies have members, such as arms andhands. The tongue has been called an unruly member. "It is alittle member and boasteth great things." [Footnote: James iii:5.]

There are two important facts about members of the body. One isTHAT THEY GET THEIR LIFE FROM THE BODY. If the hand is cut off, itquickly ceases to be a hand because it is severed from the sourceof life. If the body is seriously ill, its members are unable toperform their proper work.

The second important fact is THAT THE BODY IS DEPENDENT UPON ITSMEMBERS FOR ITS LIFE. If the hand is cut off, or an eye put out,the body does not necessarily die, but it is seriouslyhandicapped. If a member is paralyzed or diseased it may be apositive hindrance to the body, and the disease may spread toother members. The body may suffer merely because its members arepoorly trained.

IN THE COMMUNITY

That is what it means to be a member of the body; and membershipin a family, or a school, or a club, or a community, is just thesame. We have already seen, and we shall see more fully as we goon with our study, how completely we are dependent upon ourcommunities for food, for the protection of life, for education,and for all else that makes up our life. The community that doesnot provide for its members in these things is like a sick body.On the other hand, as members of a community we are alwayscontributing something to its life—either to its advantage ordisadvantage. Of course, each of us is only one of a great manymembers in a large community, and we may seem to be veryunimportant. But each performs his part, whether it be great orsmall, and whether he does it well or poorly.

CITIZENSHIP MEANS MEMBERSHIP

Now we often speak of members of a community as CITIZENS of thatcommunity. CITIZENSHIP means practically the same thing asmembership in the community. As a good community is one thatprovides well for its members, so the good citizen is the memberwho does well his part in the life of the community. A bad citizenis the member who hinders the progress of the community when hemight be helping. A citizen has certain RIGHTS and certain DUTIES.His rights are what the community owes him; his duties are what heowes the community.

TRAINED AND UNTRAINED CITIZENS

There are many members of communities who are like the diseased orparalyzed hand, or like the hand that is untrained. A member of anathletic team who does not "train" will probably be dropped fromthe team—he fails to become an athlete. A member of a community,or a citizen, who does not "train" still remains a member, but aninefficient one. He is a handicap to his community and interfereswith community team work. The part that a member plays incommunity life may be more important than he realizes. Even insmall things, "the falling short of one may mean disaster tomany." 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 yetcitizens because we are young. The Constitution of the UnitedStates says that "ALL PERSONS born or naturalized in the UnitedStates and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" (that is, subjectto its laws) "are citizens of the United States and of the statewherein they reside." Even persons born in foreign countries andwho have not yet been naturalized [Footnote: "Naturalization" isthe legal process by which persons of foreign birth renounce theirallegiance to the land of their birth and pledge their allegianceto our government.] enjoy almost all the rights of native-bornAmericans, and therefore have much of the responsibility ofcitizenship. Until they are naturalized they are still consideredmembers of the country from which they came, and therefore asowing certain duties to that country which would be inconsistentwith their duties as members of our nation. Therefore they aredenied certain POLITICAL rights, such as voting and holdingoffice. [Footnote: In a few states even unnaturalized persons areallowed to vote after they have declared their intention ofbecoming citizens.] These same political rights are denied tonative-born citizens until they have reached maturity. But we mustnot confuse this right to vote with citizenship.

Explain how the idea of membership as described in the textapplies 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 iteither 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 bean injury or a benefit to the entire school. Give illustrations toprove this.

Show how a failure to save food, to buy savings stamps, or toperform other services that one is able to perform, weakened ournation and other nations who were her allies during the war withGermany.

Make a list of things you have done during the week for thebenefit 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 thedefinition of a citizen. Discuss the meaning of the section.

At what age does the native-born citizen acquire the right tovote? Why is he not allowed to vote before that time?

What native-born citizens of the United States do not have theright 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.

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 ofcommunities. It is time to consider just what they are

Every community, of course, consists of a GROUP OF PEOPLE whooccupy a more or less DEFINITE LOCALITY. Much depends, incommunity life, upon the character of both the people and thelocality they occupy. But the essential thing about a community isthat the people who comprise it are WORKING TOGETHER (cooperating)under an ORGANIZATION (government) for the COMMON GOOD (commonpurposes).

LARGE AND SMALL COMMUNITIES

A neighborhood of farmers with their families may constitute acommunity. In this case the area occupied may be extensive whilethe people are few in number. Or the community may be a city witha population very large in proportion to area it occupies. Thereare villages, towns, and small cities of varying sizes both as topopulation and area. Each state in our Union is a community and sois the nation itself because each is composed of a group of people(very large in these cases), occupying a definite territory (alsolarge), and having a government through which the people areworking for common ends. There is a world community, but it is, asyet, very imperfect. The nations and peoples that comprise it havebeen slow to recognize their common purposes and have so farfailed to develop adequate means of cooperation, (See ChapterVIII.)

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 nearestneighbors have a common interest because of living close together?Do your family and your neighbors work together to provide forthese interests?

What are some of the things in which all the people of your cityor village (or the one nearest to you) have a common interest, andwhich 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 centeringaround farming activities, or the social life of the localneighborhood. A few miles away is a village or city whose peoplealso have their own peculiar interests, such as the lighting ofthe streets at night, or the building of a new high school, or theelection of a mayor. Yet there are interests common to both thefarming community and the city community. The city is dependentupon the country for its food supply, and the farmers aredependent upon the city for their market. Probably some of thefarmers send their children to the city schools. Thus city andrural communities are bound together into a larger community withinterests common to both.

In the early days of western settlement a community was founded inIllinois. It was an agricultural community, but in the midst of ita village grew, which in the course of time became a small city.One of the first settlers was a young farmer with a mechanicalturn of mind. He began experimenting to improve the methods ofplanting grain. The result was the invention of a corn planter,the manufacture of which became one of the chief industries of thegrowing city, employing hundreds of men and sending machines toall parts of the world. Another young farmer invented a betterplow than those which had been in use, the manufacture of whichbecame another of the city's industries. In those pioneer dayseach family usually made its own brooms, but one young man in thiscommunity earned his way through the local college by makingbrooms from corn raised on the college farm. The college cornfielddisappeared in the course of time, but on one part of it theregrew up a broom factory employing a large number of workmen. Thesecity industries were thus literally "children of the soil," andthe city's prosperity depended upon the agriculture of thesurrounding region. On the other hand, the city provided thefarmers with improved plows and corn planters, furnished them animmediate market for their products, supplied them with goodsthrough its shops and stores, and gave education to hundreds offarmers' children in its schools and college.

NEED FOR RURAL AND CITY TEAMWORK

Sometimes jealousies and antagonisms arise between smallneighboring communities, and especially between rural and citycommunities. This interferes with the progress of bothcommunities, and of the larger community of which each is a part.It may be proposed to build a township high school. It is naturalthat the several communities that comprise the township shouldeach want it. But the interest of the entire township should beconsidered in determining the location of the school, and notmerely the advantage of one local district as against others. Itsometimes happens that the people of a city are exempted fromtaxation for county purposes outside of the city, although thebenefits would be almost, if not quite as great, for the city asfor the country. This sort of thing serves to set off city andcountry against each other instead of binding them together totheir mutual advantage. The case of Christian County, Kentucky,described in Chapter III, is an excellent illustration of teamworkbetween city and country in the interest of the entire county, andof 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 unitedinto a large community, the county. Map I shows the schooldistricts and the townships which comprise the county. The city ofMadison occupies the center, and small towns and villages arescattered here and there. The country school is the chief centerof interest in each school district. Here and there through thecounty are high schools. Each of these is a center of a largerirregular area, including a number of school districts and partsof several townships as shown in map 2. Map 3 shows TRADE AREAS.Trade and education are two of the chief interests that bindpeople into communities. But where these interests exist, thereare likely to be other interests; the high school is likely to bea meeting place for social and recreational purposes.

The area and boundaries of a "farming" or "rural neighborhood"community are usually rather indefinite and changeable, dependingupon surface features and upon transportation conditions, or thelength of the "day's haul." With improved roads and better meansof transportation, larger areas and more people are included. A"neighborhood" or "trade area" with automobiles is much largerthan one where horses or ox carts are used exclusively. Theconsolidated school with transportation provided for pupilsexpands the rural neighborhood community.

COMMON INTERESTS OF THE LARGER COMMUNITY

Each of the small dots on map 3 represents a farm home. If weselect one of these dots and imagine ourselves members of thefamily that lives there, we shall see that we are members of acertain school district, of a certain township, of a communitythat has grown up around a trade center and a high school, and ofcourse of the county as a whole. No matter in what school districtwe live, we have an interest in some matters in common with thepeople of all other school districts in the county. For example,there is a state university at Madison, and connected with it is atraining school for teachers. The work done here influences theteaching in all the schools of the county, and indeed of the wholestate. There is also an agricultural college at the stateuniversity which serves the farmers throughout the entire countyand state. If we look closely at map 3, we shall see how highwaysand railroads center at Madison, which is the county seat of DaneCounty and the capital of the state of Wisconsin.

Just as the many small communities that make up a county aredependent upon one another, requiring organized cooperation forthe county welfare, so all the counties of a state, and all thepeople who live in all the counties, are interdependent in manyways. The people of the city of Madison, for example, depend fortheir food supply upon the farmers not only of Dane County but ofthe entire state. The university at Madison serves not Dane Countyalone, but the people of all the counties of the state. The publicschools of the state should be equally good in all counties andmanaged by a uniform plan. Roads and other means of transportationare a matter of concern to the entire state. And so the state is acommunity, organized with a government, to secure cooperationamong all the people and all the smaller communities that composeit. In fact, a large part of the business of the governments ofthe local communities, such as city and county and township, is toadminister the laws of the central state government.

In a similar manner, the forty-eight states of the Union, with allthe counties and smaller communities of which they consist,comprise our great national community, of which we are allmembers.

COMMUNITIES IN THE LARGER COMMUNITIES

When we speak of "our community" we are likely to think at once ofthe small community immediately around us—our neighborhood,village, or city. Our citizenship in these local communities isextremely important, and will demand no small part of ourattention. But it is equally important to be fully alive to ourcitizenship in the larger communities. This is true wherever welive; but there is a sense in which our national community ispeculiarly important to those of us who live in rural communities.The wants of people in cities are, as a rule, looked after morecompletely by their local governments than is the case in ruralcommunities.

The people of rural communities, and especially farmersthemselves, are directly served by the national government in agreat variety of ways. In the next chapter we shall consider ournation as a community.

Show how the different classes of your school are bound togetherby interests common to the entire school. Compare this union ofclasses with the union of states into a nation. What constitutesthe government of your school?

Mention some things in which all the people of your county have aspecial interest. Are these things of equal interest to farmersand townspeople?

Do the farmers and townspeople of your county work well together,or are there conflicts between them? If there are conflicts, whatare the causes?

Point out some ways in which the prosperity and welfare of thefarmers of your locality depend upon a neighboring city or town.Also some ways in which, the city or town depend upon theneighboring farmers.

If there is organized cooperation in your county, similar to thatdescribed on page 32, has it been brought about or encouraged bygovernment, or solely by voluntary effort on the part of citizens?If the government had anything to do with it, was it the countygovernment, state government, or national government?

Has farmland increased or decreased in value in your localitysince your father was a boy? Can you show a relation between thischange in value of farmland and the growth of nearby towns orcities?

What industries in your town (or a neighboring town) are dependentupon farming for their raw materials? for the sale of theirproduct?

What is the cotton gin? the spinning jenny? Show how theseinventions were a benefit to agriculture. How did they promote thegrowth of cities?

Make a map of your school district. Do the people of this districtcooperate 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 purposesbesides trade do the farmers of this trade area come to the tradecenter?

On a map of your county, show the area from which pupils come tothe 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 correspondingto the small trade areas of your county. Show how the farmers andthe 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, Universityof 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.

OUR NATIONAL COMMUNITY

IMPERFECTIONS OF OUR NATIONAL COMMUNITY

It is important to get in the habit of thinking of our nation as acommunity, just as we think of our school or town or ruralneighborhood as one. This is not always easy to do because of itshuge size and complicated character. It would be wrong, too, toget the idea that it is a perfect community—none of ourcommunities is perfect. Conflicts of interest are often moreapparent than community of interest. Teamwork among the differentparts and groups that make up our nation is often very poor.Although our government is a wonderfully good one, it is stillonly an imperfect means of cooperation. Our nation is far frombeing a complete democracy, for there are many people in it who donot have the full enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit ofhappiness; and large numbers of our "self-governing" people reallyhave little or no part in government.

LOYALTY TO IDEALS

It need not give us an unpatriotic feeling to acknowledge theimperfections of our nation or of our government; for communitiesGROW, not only in size, but also in ability to perform theirproper work, just as individuals do. We call a person conceitedwho thinks that he is perfect, especially if he boasts of it. Buthis conceit is itself an imperfection and a hindrance to growth.So the patriotic citizen is not one who is unable to see defectsin his community, or who refuses to acknowledge them, but one whohas high CIVIC IDEALS and is loyal to them, who understands inwhat respects these ideals have not been reached, and who, as amember of the community, contributes everything he can to keep itgrowing in THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

"The problem of government is, after all, the problem of humangrowth. … The one constant and inconstant quantity with whichman must deal is man—changing, inert, impulsive, limited,sympathetic, selfish, aspiring man. His institutions, whethersocial or political, must come out of his wants and out of hiscapacities. Luther Burbank has not yet made grapes to grow onthorns or figs on thistles. Neither has any system of governmentmade 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 isthe 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 "nationalspirit," and showed very clearly the importance in our nationallife of those elements which characterize all community life—common purpose, interdependence, and organized, cooperation (seeChapters I-III). The creation of a National Army did much to bringthis about.

When the benefits which come to the nation through the creation ofthe National Army are catalogued, the fact that it has welded thecountry into a hom*ogeneous society, [Footnote: "hom*ogeneoussociety"—a society or community all of whose parts and membershave like purposes and interests.] seeking the same national endsand animated by the same national ideals, will overtop all otheradvantages. The organization of the selected Army fuses thethousand separate elements making up the United States into onesteel-hard mass. Men of the North, South, East, and West meet andmingle, and on the anvil of war become citizens worthy of theliberty won by the first American armies. [Footnote: MajorGranville R. Fortesque, in National Geographic Magazine, Dec.,1917]. How this welding of the parts of the nation together wasbrought about by the war is suggested by the words of an oldConfederate soldier who wrote to a friend in the North:

"During the war between the states I was a rebel, and continuedone in heart until this great war. But now I am a devoted followerof Uncle Sam and endorse him in every respect."

DIVERSE ELEMENTS IN OUR NATION

The fact that our nation contained in its population large numbersof people from practically every country of Europe caused nolittle anxiety when we entered the European war. Our populationembraces a hundred different races and nationalities. Of these,ten million are negroes and three hundred thirty-six thousand areIndians. Thirty-three million are of foreign parentage, and ofthese, thirteen million are foreign-born. Five million do notspeak English, and there are one thousand five hundred news papersin the United States printed in foreign languages. Five and one-half million above the age of ten years, including both foreignand native, cannot read or write in any language. New York Cityhas a larger Hebrew population than any other city in the world,contains more Italians than Rome, and its German population is thefourth largest among the cities of the world. Pittsburgh has moreSerbs than the capital of Serbia. It is said that there were moreGreeks subject to draft in the American army than there were inthe entire army of Greece. Would all these people be loyal to ournation, or would they divide it against itself?

LOYALTY OF DIVERSE ELEMENTS

The war, in fact, showed us that there were some among us who hadnever really become "members" of our nation and who were dangerousto our peace and safety. It also showed us the danger that comesfrom the presence of so many illiterates, or of those who cannotuse the English language; for such people, even though loyal inspirit to the United States, cannot understand instructions eitherin the army or in industry, and otherwise prevent effectivecooperation. And yet the most striking thing that the war showedus in regard to this mixed population is that the great mass ofit, regardless of color or place of birth, is really American inspirit 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 thelack of harmony between wage earners and their employers. Therewere many sharp conflicts between them. Strikes occurred, or werethreatened, in factories, shipyards, mines, and railroads, thatblocked the wheels of industry at a time when the nation needed tostrain every nerve to provide the materials of war. This lack ofharmony between workmen and employers, which in war threatened ournational safety, has existed for many years and has always been anobstacle to national progress. But the common purpose of winningthe war caused employers and wage earners, in most cases, toadjust their differences. In nearly every case, one side or theother, or both sides, yielded certain points and agreed not todispute over others, at least for the period of the war. Thenational government did much to bring this about by the creationof labor adjustment boards to hear complaints from either side andto settle disputes. If our national community life is to developin a wholesome way, complete cooperation between workmen andemployers must be secured and made permanent on the basis ofinterests that are common to both.

THE EFFECT OF A COMMON PURPOSE

Such facts as these show how easy it is, in a huge, complexcommunity like our nation, for conflicts to arise among differentsections and groups of the population; and how difficult it isalways to see the common interests that exist. But they also showhow such conflicts tend to disappear when a situation arises whichforces us to think of the common interests instead of thedifferences. All else was forgotten in the common purpose to "winthe war." No sacrifice was too great on the part of any individualin order that this national purpose might be served. Everywherethroughout the country, in cities and in remote rural districts,service flags in the windows testified that the homes of the landwere offering members that the nation and its ideals might live.Men, women, and even children contributed their work and theirsavings and denied themselves customary comforts to help win thewar. 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." Butthere were purposes that lie much deeper than this, without whichit would not have been worth while to enter the war at all. As wesaw in Chapter I, our nation is founded on a belief in the rightof every one to life and physical well-being; to be secure inone's rightful possessions; to freedom of thought—education, freespeech, a free press; to freedom of religion; to happiness inpleasant 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, "forourselves first and for all others in their time," that our nationwas solidly united against the enemy that threatened it fromwithout. But it was with this same purpose that the War ofIndependence was fought, that our Constitution was adopted, thatslavery was abolished, that millions of people from foreign landshave come to our shores. It is this common purpose that makes thegreat mass of foreigners in our country Americans, ready to fightfor America, if necessary even against the land of their birth. Itis this for which the American flag stands at all times, whetherin peace or in war.

What proof can you give of a "national spirit" in your localityduring the war?

What evidence can you give to show that this national spirit is oris not as strong since the war closed?

What was the "National Army"? the "National Guard"? Which of theseorganizations was most likely to develop a "national spirit"? Why?What good reasons can you give for the action of the government inconsolidating the Regular Army, the National Army, and theNational Guard into a "United States Army"?

What arguments can you give in favor of requiring all instructionin the public schools to be given in the English language?

What arguments can you give in favor of teaching lessons incitizenship in foreign-language newspapers?

What foreign nationalities are represented in your locality?

Make a blackboard table showing the nationality of the parents andgrandparents of each member of your class.

Give illustrations to show that "winning the war" was thecontrolling purpose in your community during the war.

In what way has the war made YOU think about the right-to-life andthe 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 purposeas 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 howdependent the nation is upon all its parts, and how dependent eachpart is upon all the others. It was often said that "the farmerswould win the war." At other times it was said to be ships, orfuel, or airplanes, or railroad transportation, or trainedscientists and technical workers. The truth is, of course, thatall these things and many more were absolutely necessary, and thatno one of them would have been of much value without all theothers.

It is true that the winning of the war depended upon the farmers,because they are the producers of the food and of the rawmaterials for textiles without which the nation and every groupand person in it would have been helpless. But the farmer couldnot supply food to the nation without machinery for itsproduction, and without city markets and railroads and ships forits distribution. Machinery could not be made, nor ships andlocomotives built, without steel. For the manufacture of steelthere must be iron and fuel and tungsten and other materials. Andfor all these things there must be inventors and skilledmechanics, and to produce these there must be schools. And so wecould go on indefinitely to show how the war made us feel ourinterdependence. What we need to understand, however, is that THISINTERDEPENDENCE IS CHARACTERISTIC OF OUR NATIONAL LIFE AT ALLTIMES; 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 ournational energies to the work of destruction incident to war, weas a nation made astonishing progress in many ways other than inthe art of war—in what we might call nation-building.

In some ways we made progress in a year or two that under ordinarycirc*mstances might have required a generation. A strikingillustration of this is in the development of a great fleet ofmerchant ships at a rate that would have been impossible beforethe war. Beginning with almost nothing when the war began, we had,in less than two years, a merchant fleet larger than that of anyother nation, and that in spite of the constant destruction ofships by the enemy. The chairman of the shipping board of theUnited States government says that this is because the necessitiesof the war made the whole nation see how much it depends uponships, and caused not only ship-builders, but also engineers andmanufacturers and businessmen and the Navy department of thegovernment, and many others, to concentrate upon this problem,with the result that we discovered methods of shipbuilding, and ofloading and unloading and operating ships when they were built,that will probably enable us to maintain permanently a merchantmarine, the lack of which we have deplored for many years.

In a similar way we discovered and brought into use valuablenatural resources of whose existence we had largely been ignorantand for which we had been dependent upon other nations. We madeastonishing progress in scientific knowledge, and especially inthe application of this knowledge to invention and to industrialenterprises. We developed a new interest in agriculture, andlearned the food values of many products that had formerly beenneglected. We were led to attack seriously the great problem ofsuitable housing for workmen, and had an important lesson in therelation between wholesome home-life and industrial efficiency(see Chapter X, pp. 112-113). Foundations were laid for theadjustment of the unfortunate differences that have long existedbetween workmen and their employers. The war suggested changes inour educational methods, some of which will doubtless becomeeffective, 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 WASSTIMULATED WHEN THE WAR FORCED US TO SEE THE RELATION OF ALL THESETHINGS TO ONE ANOTHER AND TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OUR NATIONALPURPOSE. On the other hand, failure to recognize this nationalinterdependence means slow progress as a national community. Whenthe war began, our nation was said to be "unprepared." Insofar asthis was true—and it was true in many particulars—it was becausein the times of peace before the war we had not thought enoughabout the dependence of our national strength and safety upon allthese factors in our national life WORKING TOGETHER. And so, inthe times of peace AFTER THE WAR, if the purposes for which ournation fought are to be fulfilled, we must continue to profit bythis lesson which the war has taught us.

Recall your discussion of national interdependence in connectionwith your study of Chapter II.

Report on some of the important scientific and commercialdevelopments 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 fromthe war?

Show how the strike of coal miners in 1919 affected the life ofthe 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 aNation. To this end our people must draw close in one compactfront against a common foe. But this cannot be if each man pursuesa private purpose. The Nation needs all men, but it needs eachman, not in the field that will most pleasure him, but in theendeavor that will best serve the common good. … The wholeNation must be a team, in which each man must play the part forwhich he is best fitted. [Footnote: Conscription Proclamation, May18, 1917.]

THE NATION AS A TEAM

We had some suggestion on page 72 of how such national team workbecame a fact. "Do your bit!" was the watch-word. It was splendidto see how personal interests gave way before the desire to servethe nation. It is a thrilling story how the racial elements in ourpopulation forgot their differences of race and language andremembered only that they were American; how employers andemployees laid aside their differences; how farmers andbusinessmen, manufacturers and mechanics, miners and woodsmen,inventors and teachers, women in the home and children in theschools, doctors and nurses, and every other class and groupsubordinated their personal interests to the one national purposeof winning the war in order that "the world might become a decentplace in which to live."

As soon as the United States entered the war, Washington, thenation's capital, became filled with people from all parts of thecountry who wanted to help in some way. Some were called there bythe government; others came to volunteer their services and tooffer ideas that they thought useful. Many came as representativesof organizations—business and industrial organizations,scientific associations, civic societies. New committees andassociations were formed, until the number of voluntary citizenorganizations eager to do "war work" became almost too numerous toremember. They were all an indication of the desire of the peopleto do their part in the national enterprise.

CONFUSION WITHOUT ORGANIZATION

But there followed a period of confusion. All these organizationsand the people whom they represented wanted to help, but they didnot always know just what to do nor how to do it. Eachorganization had its own ideas which it often magnified above allothers. Different organizations wanted to accomplish the samepurpose, but wanted to do it in different ways. Often theyduplicated one another's efforts. A war could not be won undersuch conditions. But out of all this confusion there finallydeveloped order, and this was because the various organizations ofpeople realized that if they were to accomplish anything they mustwork in cooperation with the national government, whose businessit was, after all, to organize the nation for united action. Infact, it was for this reason that they came to Washington. Many ofthem sought to influence the government to adopt this or thatplan, and sometimes succeeded; but it was the government thatfinally decided what plans were to be adopted, and all of theeffort of the numerous organizations and of individuals must bebrought into harmony with these.

NATIONAL TEAM WORK THROUGH GOVERNMENT

The period of the war afforded many striking examples of nationalcooperation secured by the government. It may have seemedsometimes that our government interfered with personal freedom toan unreasonable extent, as when it limited the amount of coal wecould buy, fixed the prices of many articles, determined the wagesthat should be paid for labor, took over the management of therailroads and of the telegraph and telephone lines, and did manyother things that it never had done in times of peace. We expectedgovernment to exercise powers in war time that it would not bepermitted to exercise in times of peace. But it can be shown thateven during the war, the government, with all its unusual powers,did not "ride roughshod" over the people, but sought to "make thempartners in an enterprise which after all was their own." Thenation was fighting for its life and for the very principles uponwhich it was founded, and it was necessary that cooperation shouldbe complete and effective. This was what the government sought,and it exercised its powers by inviting and obtaining nationalcooperation to a remarkable extent.

THE SELECTIVE DRAFT AS AN ILLUSTRATION OF TEAM WORK

Our national army was created by a "selective" draft, orconscription. Conscription had formerly been looked upon withdisfavor as a form of forced military service. A volunteer armywas thought to be more in harmony with a democratic form ofgovernment. But the draft is now seen to be far more democraticthan a volunteer army because it treats all able-bodied men alike,instead of leaving the fighting to those who are most courageousand most patriotic, while those who are inclined to shirk mayeasily do so. Moreover, the SELECTIVE draft means the selection ofmen to serve in the capacity for which they are best fitted. InGreat Britain, under a volunteer system, and in France, under asystem of compulsory military service for all men, thousands ofbrave men went to the trenches in the early days of the war who,because of their training, should have been kept at home toperform the vast amount of skilled labor and scientific work whichthis war demanded. War industry, without which there could be nofighting, was thus greatly hampered.

By our selective draft, on the other hand, while every man wasexpected to do his share, each was selected as far as possible todo the thing which he could do best and therefore which would bestserve the country. It also sought to prevent those who hadfamilies dependent upon them from going to war until they wereabsolutely needed. Thus the selective draft is an example ofgovernment organizing our national manpower for more effectiveteamwork and with less hardship than if it had been left tovoluntary action.

TEAM WORK THROUGH THE FOOD ADMINISTRATION

The United States Food Administration was created by the Presidentto carry out the provisions of a law passed by Congress", toprovide further for the national security and defense byencouraging the production, conserving the supply, and controllingthe distribution of food products and fuel." The President placedat its head a man in whom the people of the country had greatconfidence, because of his experience and success in organizingand managing the Belgian relief work, Mr. Herbert Hoover. Hegathered around him men familiar with the problems relating to thefood supply of the nation, and then proceeded to enlighten thecountry in regard to the nature of these problems and to seek forthe cooperation of the people in solving them.

As soon as he was appointed, the food administrator issued astatement containing the following facts:

Whereas we exported before the war but 80,000,000 bushels of wheatper annum, this year we must find for all our allies 225,000,000bushels, and this in the face of a short crop. … France andItaly formerly produced their own sugar, while England and Irelandimported largely from Germany. Owing to the inability of thefirst-named to produce more than one third of their needs, and thenecessity for the others to import from other markets, they mustall come to the West Indies for their very large supplies, andtherefore deplete our resources.

If we can reduce our consumption of wheat flour by 1 pound, ourmeat by 7 ounces, our sugar by 7 ounces, our fat by 7 ounces PERPERSON PER WEEK, these quantities, multiplied by 100,000,000 (thepopulation of the United States) will immeasurably aid andencourage our allies, help our own growing armies, and soeffectively serve the great and noble cause of humanity in whichour 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 whatit must do if it were to be successful in its undertaking. It istrue that the President had large powers to enforce observance ofthe rules outlined by the Food Administration, but it was only inthe exceptional case of the individual consumer and producer whor*fused to cooperate for the common good that it became necessaryto use the power. The method of democracy is to point out clearlyhow the desired result may be obtained and to depend upon thepeople to govern themselves accordingly.

After a year of the war a member of the Food Administration isquoted as saying, [Footnote: In an article on "Your WheatlessDays," by W. A. Wolff, in Collier's Weekly, Aug. 17, 1918.]"There's never been anything like it in history. … We asked theAmerican people to do voluntarily more than any other people hasever been asked to do under compulsion. And the American peoplemade good!"

What was true in the unusual time of war is true to even a greaterextent in the ordinary time of peace. We have little to fear fromour national government as long as we and those to whom we entrustit* management, always keep in mind its real purpose, which is toshow us how to work together effectively as a nation and to helpus do it.

EVERY MAN COUNTS

All through this study we are going to observe how in the ordinaryaffairs of life our national government serves us in this respect.One thing that we need especially to learn is that we have a greatnational purpose ALL THE TIME, in peace as well as in war. Infact, PEACE IS A PART OF THAT PURPOSE. We went to war becausewithout it there could be no assurance of a lasting peace. Whilewe fought to defend our national purpose and our national idealsagainst a powerful foe from without, this purpose and these idealscannot be fully achieved by the war alone. They can be finallyachieved only by ourselves as we develop, day by day, our nationalcommunity life. To do this we must always keep in mind our greatnational purpose, we must realize our dependence upon one anotherin achieving this purpose, and we must make our national team workas perfect as it can be made. Above all, we must realize that, inpeace 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 WHOLENATION MUST BE A TEAM, IN WHICH EACH MAN SHALL PLAY THE PART FORWHICH 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 teamworkfor war purposes?

Show how boys' and girls' clubs, or the School Garden Army, madecooperation possible on a national scale. Is this true in peacetimes as well as in war time?

Is there greater or less need of national teamwork today thanduring the war? Explain your answer.

What evidences are there that the teamwork of our nation has notbeen as good since the war as during the war? Why is this?

Show how universal military training might increase the nationalspirit What arguments can you give against it?

Should or should not the food administration of wartime becontinued 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.

A WORLD COMMUNITY

Is there a world community? A world torn by war, as our world wasfrom 1914 to 1918, may not seem to give much evidence of it, andmany would at once answer "No" to our question. And yet suchphrases as the "brotherhood of man" and the "cause of humanity"are familiar to us all. We may briefly discuss the question inthis study, because if there is such a community, we are allmembers of it, and our membership in it affects our lives asindividuals and as a nation.

WHAT THE WAR DISCLOSED WITH REGARD TO A WORLD COMMUNITY

The world community is certainly very imperfectly developed, butwhile the war emphasized its imperfections, it also furnishedevidence if its reality. Its existence depends upon the presenceof recognized common purposes and of organized teamwork inaccomplishing these purposes, as in the case of any community. Thewar disclosed conflicting interests among the nations; but itunited for a common purpose a larger part of the world'spopulation than had ever before acted together in a common cause.It disclosed an interdependence among the nations and the peoplesof the world that we had not thought of. And while it disclosedthe weakness of the world's organization for teamwork, it arousedus to the possibilities of such organization, made us long for it,and brought us, as many believe, a step nearer to itsaccomplishment.

AMERICA'S DETACHMENT FROM THE WORLD

Separated by wide oceans, from the rest of the world, our nationgrew and prospered with a sense of security from the conflictsthat from time to time disturbed the Old World. We early adopted apolicy of avoiding entanglements that might draw us into theseconflicts. 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 littlepolitical connection as possible. … Why, by interweaving ourdestiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace andposterity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest,humor, or caprice? It is our true policy to steer clear ofpermanent 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 principlethat Washington had stated, also denied the right of Europeanpowers to interfere with the free growth of the republican nationsof North and South America. The United States has steadfastly heldto this doctrine from that day to this.

NATIONS HAVE BECOME CLOSE NEIGHBORS

But great changes have come to the world since the time ofWashington. The use of steam in navigation, the submarine cableand wireless telegraphy have brought all the world into closerrelations than existed between New England and the Southern Statesin the early days of our national life. Our government atWashington may send messages to European capitals and receive areply within ten minutes. The Atlantic has been crossed byairplane. The nations of the world have become very closeneighbors. The murder of a prince in a little city of centralEurope drew from millions of homes in America their sons to fighton the soil of Europe. We entered the war because our interestswere so closely bound up with those of the world that we could notkeep 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 emphasizedit. But now that we are aware of it, it will probably influenceour lives to a much greater extent than before the war.

WHAT THE WORLD WAS FIGHTING FOR

The nations that were associated against Germany, occupy, withtheir dependencies, two-thirds of the earth's surface and includemore than four-fifths of its population. The governments of thesenations declared that they were fighting primarily, not forselfish interests such as "ports and provinces and trade," but"for the common interests of the whole family of civilizednations—for nothing less than the cause of mankind." [Footnote:Stuart P. Sherman, American and Allied Ideals, p. 14.] Even ifsome of the governments were influenced to a greater or lesserextent by selfish motives, they still recognized a common interestof the peoples of the world, a "cause of mankind," and based theirappeals upon it. The prime minister of England said, "We must notallow any sense of revenge, any spirit of greed, any graspingdesire, to overcome the fundamental principles of righteousness."Faraway Siam declared that she entered the war "to uphold thesanctity of international rights against nations showing acontempt for humanity." And little Guatemala proclaimed that shehad "from the first adhered to and supported the attitude of theUnited States in defense of the rights of nations, of liberty ofthe seas, and of international justice." Our President said that"what we demand in this war is nothing peculiar to ourselves. Itis that the world be made fit and safe to live in for every peace-loving nation. … All the peoples of the world are in effectpartners 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 effectpartners," is the same as that for which the AmericanRevolutionary War was fought, which was proclaimed in ourDeclaration of Independence, and for which America has alwaysstood—the equal right of all men to "life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness," and to self-government. Nearly the wholeworld was united against a few autocratic governments that deniedthese rights.

AMERICA HAS FOUGHT FOR THE FREEDOM OF OTHERS

At the time of the American Revolution the colonists had no desireto fight the English PEOPLE, but revolted against the autocraticEnglish GOVERNMENT of that time, which refused to recognize therights of the people. The English people had many times fought forthese rights, and many of them sympathized with the Americancolonists, The winning of American independence was a victory forfree government in England as well as in America, and thegovernment of England today is as democratic as our own. Thisunderstanding about the American Revolution throws light upon whatthe President of the United States meant when he said that wefought Germany for "the ultimate peace of the world and for theliberation of its peoples, THE GERMAN PEOPLES INCLUDED." Anotherwriter said, "We are not fighting to put the Germans out but toget them in."

THE GROWTH OF HUMAN SYMPATHY

It has taken a long time for the peoples of the world to develop asense of their common wants and purposes. Differences in language,in race and color, in religious beliefs and observances, in formsof government, even in such matters as dress and other habits andcustoms, have tended to obscure the common feelings of all. Thislack of sympathetic understanding is suggested by Shylock, inShakespeare'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 withthe same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the samemeans, warmed and cooled by the same Winter and Summer, as aChristian 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 wrongus, shall we not revenge? if we are like you in the rest, we willresemble you in that.

Increased opportunity for travel, better means of communication,and more widespread education have greatly increased theunderstanding among peoples and nations, and have disclosed toview common purposes and ideals in spite of differences. The factthat large numbers of people from every part of the globe havecome to the United States to live together as one nation hascontributed to the same result.

Give illustrations from your own experience and reading to showthat differences in dress, language, race, and customs makesympathetic 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 themselvestogether, regardless of national boundaries, for the promotion ofcommon interests.

One example of this is the common movement of organized laborwhich has overstepped national boundaries.

There is an International Institute of Agriculture, withheadquarters at Rome, and representing 56 countries, the purposeof which is to promote better economic and social conditions amongagricultural populations of the world. Some of its publicationsare published in five languages.

Literature and art bind all the world together, and science knowsno national boundary lines. Christianity is one of the greatestinfluences for a "brotherhood of man." Differences in religiousbelief have presented most difficult barriers to overcome, butthere has been a steadily increasing tolerance of one religiousfaith toward others.

These are only a few of hundreds of illustrations that might begiven.

SERVICE OF THE RED CROSS

We have all become familiar, during the war, with the work of theRed Cross. No other organization has done more to extend thefeeling of common brotherhood in the world and the spirit of worldservice. During the war a Junior Department of the Red Cross wasorganized, enrolling in its membership about twelve millionAmerican boys and girls and organizing them for practical serviceto war-stricken Europe and Asia. Since the war, the Junior RedCross, whose headquarters are at Washington, D. C., has undertakento use its organization to promote correspondence among boys andgirls of different lands, and an exchange of handiwork, pictures,and other things illustrative of their interests. The AmericanSchool Citizenship League (405 Marlboro Street, Boston) isencouraging the same idea, and there is a Bureau of French-American Education Correspondence for a similar purpose, withheadquarters at the George Peabody College for Teachers,Nashville, Tenn.

THE MOVEMENT FOR WORLD PEACE

Numerous INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONGRESSES have been held, the firstone as early as 1843, and in the United States and other countriesorganizations exist for the promotion of friendly relations amongthe nations, and especially for the substitution of arbitrationfor 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 ofdifferent 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 internationalcooperation is that of the North and South American republics. Thefirst Pan-American Conference, attended by delegates from thetwenty-one American republics, was held in Washington, D.C., in1889. As a result of this Conference the Pan-American Union wasestablished, with permanent headquarters in Washington. Itspurpose is "the development of commerce, friendly intercourse, andgood understanding among these countries."

INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENT

To secure anything like effective teamwork among the nations forthe common interest and to substitute arbitration for war as ameans of settling differences, there must be some kind ofinternational organization, and rules to which the governments ofthe nations will agree. Civilized nations have always had theirofficial means of dealing with one another through theirgovernments, 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 internationallaw has gradually grown up. But treaties and international lawhave frequently been violated, and no international government hasexisted with sufficient authority or power to force nations toobserve the law or to keep their agreements. As a result of twopeace 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 bynations if they desired to do so. But there was no way by which anation could be compelled to appeal to the court.

NATIONALITY AND SOVEREIGNTY

Nations have a strong sense of their NATIONALITY, and areextremely jealous of their SOVEREIGNTY, which is the supreme powerclaimed by every nation to form its own government and to manageits own affairs without interference by other nations. It is thisthat has prevented the development of anything like a realinternational government that could control the conduct ofnational governments, or that could require a nation to submit itsgrievances to any judge other than itself. This has perhaps beenthe chief weakness of the world community.

A LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Many people have long believed that the self-governing nations ofthe world must sooner or later unite, in the interest of worldpeace, in some kind of federation or league, with a centralorganization to which all would agree to submit their differences.The war made it seem even more necessary. Accordingly, the PeaceConference at Versailles at the close of the war included in thetreaty of peace a Covenant (or constitution) for a League ofNations. The treaty, including the Covenant, has been ratified(March, 1920) by four of the five great nations associated againstGermany (France, England, Italy, and Japan; the United Statesbeing the exception), besides several other nations. While thePresident of the United States strongly advocated the treaty withthe Covenant, the Senate did not approve of its ratification.Those in our country who opposed the Covenant did so for a varietyof reasons, but chief among them were: first, the fear that theCovenant would cause us to depart from the principles laid down byWashington and Monroe; and, second, the fear that the powersconferred upon the international government would deprive ournational government of some of its sovereign powers. The friendsof 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 firstmeeting January 16, 1920, the United States, of course, not beingrepresented.] 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 saidwith regard to any really effective world government.

MIGHT DOES NOT MAKE RIGHT

When people live together in communities, each person has tosacrifice something of his personal freedom in order that all mayenjoy the largest possible liberty. The same is true of familiesin a neighborhood, of communities in a state, of the states in ournation. There is no reason why it should not be true of nationswhich are neighbors to one another. No nation has any more rightto do as it pleases than a person or a family has, IF WHAT ITPLEASES TO DO IS UNJUST TO ITS NEIGHBORS. The only thing, however,that a nation can properly be asked to give up IS BEING UNJUST TOITS NEIGHBORS. We saw in Chapter IV that government and lawincrease rather than decrease the individual citizen's freedom,and that it is only the "ill-mannered" who feel the restrictionsof a wise government. So, when we finally get a world governmentthat 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 reallysecure friendly cooperation among the nations for their commoninterests, it will be brought about, not by sacrificingnationality and national patriotism, but by STRENGTHENING them.

What is required is not less loyalty to one's nationality, butmore sympathetic understanding of nationalities and nationalideals different from one's own, combined with a recognition ofthe fundamental interests … which unite them to each other.[Footnote: "Thoughts on Nationalism and Internationalism," inHistory Teachers' Magazine, June 1918, p. 334.]

The only way to be sure of a perfect neighborhood is first to seeto it that the homes of the neighborhood are strong and wholesome. No person can really be loyal to his neighborhood who is notfirst of all loyal to his home. Thoroughly efficient townships andcounties and cities are essential to a thoroughly efficient state;and no citizen is loyal to his state who is not loyal to histownship, county, and city. The strength of our nation dependsupon the strength of the states that compose it, and real nationalpatriotism cannot well exist in the heart of a citizen who isdisloyal to his state. The first essential step toward aneffective WORLD government is to see that our national governmentis efficient and at the same time JUST. The first and best servicethat a citizen can perform for the world community is to be loyalto 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 thedispute 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 anindividual?

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 aperfect neighborhood is first to see to it that the homes of theneighborhood are strong and wholesome."

The meaning of the statement in the quotation at the end of thetext 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 theLeague of Nations and world relations following the war. Amongthese are:

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, edited by Henry E. Jackson (published byPrentice-Hall, Inc., 70 Fifth Ave., N.Y. Paper, 50 cents; cloth,$1). "A document prepared to stimulate community discussion andpromote 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 (Leagueto 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 onthe treaty of peace is to be found in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, afile 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, consultyour public library; and write to the Pan American Union and theAmerican Red Cross, both in Washington, D.C., for descriptivepublications.

For the Hague Conferences and the Hague Tribunal, consult any goodmodern encyclopedia, and your public library. Write for materialsto the American School Citizenship League, 405 Marlboro St.,Boston, and the World Peace Foundation, Boston.

THE HOME

"NO NATION CAN BE DESTROYED WHILE IT POSSESSES A GOOD HOME LIFE."

The home is the smallest, the simplest, and the most familiarcommunity of which we are members. In many respects it is also themost important. The quotation with which this chapter openssuggests this. It will appear at many points in our study.

What do you think that the quotation at the head of the chaptermeans? In what respects do you think it true?

Some cities take pride in the fact that they are "cities ofhomes." 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 finedwelling?

Is a hotel a home? May a family living in a hotel have a homethere?

Is an orphan asylum a home? Would you exchange life in your ownhome for life in an orphan asylum? Why? There are children whothink an orphan asylum is a fine place to live; why is this?

The home is important (1) because of what it does for its ownmembers, and (2) because of what it does for the larger communityof which it is a part. We shall consider first what it does forits own members.

THE PIONEER FAMILY

Under the conditions of pioneer life the wants of the members ofthe family were provided for almost entirely by their own unitedefforts. They built their own dwelling from materials which theythemselves procured from the forest. They made their living fromthe land which they occupied, with tools which were largelyhomemade. They provided their own defense against attack fromwithout and against sickness within. Such education as thechildren obtained was of the most practical kind, and was obtainedby actual experience in their daily work supplemented by suchinstruction 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 communitylife began. The neighboring homes came to depend upon one anotherand to cooperate in many ways. The store at the crossroadsprovided for many wants that each home had formerly provided foritself. The doctor who came to live in the community relieved thehome of much anxiety in case of sickness. The education of thechildren was in part, at least, turned over to the communityschool. And so, as a community grows, the home shifts much of theresponsibility for providing for the wants of its members uponcommunity agencies.

DEPENDENCE OF THE CITY HOME

This shifting of responsibility for the welfare of citizens fromthe home to the larger community is carried furthest in cities.Almost everything wanted in the home may be bought in the cityshops, and work that is done in the home for the family, such asrepair work, dressmaking, laundry work, and cooking, is likely tobe done by people brought in from outside. Water is piped in froma public water supply and sewage is piped out through publicsewers. Gas and electricity for lighting and heating are furnishedby city plants. Since many city homes have not a spot of groundfor a garden or for outdoor play, they depend upon public parksand 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 communityagencies, there is danger that the family may forget its ownresponsibility for the welfare of its members in connection withevery want of life. For no matter how good the community'sarrangements for health protection may be, the health of everycitizen depends more upon the home than upon any other agency (seeChapter XX). No matter how good the schools, the home always hasgreat responsibility for the education of the children, bothwithin the home itself and through cooperation with the schools(Chapter XIX). No matter how many social organizations and placesof amusem*nt the community may afford, the social and recreationallife of the home is the most important of all and the most far-reaching in its influence (Chapter XXI). No matter how excellentthe form of government in a community may be, its results will bevery 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 thepioneer home, but the life of the rural citizen is much moredependent upon efforts within the home itself than the life of thecity resident. The business of farming by which the family livingis secured is carried on at home, and, as a rule, all the membersof the family have some part in it. It is a cooperative familyenterprise to a much greater extent than any other modernbusiness.

In cities, in the great majority of cases, the work by which thefamily living is earned is done away from home, and very often nomember of the family except the father has any direct part in it.There are numerous cases, however, where the mother and even thechildren go out to work, and in such cases the home life may beseriously interfered with.

It would be hard to find a rural home in the United States to-daythat is not near enough to a schoolhouse to enable the children toattend it, at least for an elementary education. Unfortunately,high schools are not yet easily accessible in all ruralcommunities (see Chapter XIX). But whether the education affordedby the rural school is of the best or not, the boy or girl on thefarm gets in addition a kind of education through the variedoccupations of the farm life that the city boy or girl does notget, and for which the city schools have tried in vain to find anadequate substitute. It is remarkable how many of the successfulmen and women of our country were raised on farms; and they almostalways bear witness to the value of the training received there.

So in matters of health, of social life and recreation, ofpleasant and beautiful surroundings, the rural home must dependvery largely upon itself. The strength and happiness of thecommunity, of our nation itself, depend largely upon the extent towhich the homes perform their proper work in providing for thewants of their members.

Review what was said in Chapter II regarding the independence ofthe pioneer family.

Review also what was said in Chapter I regarding the growingdependence of the family upon the community.

Gather stories regarding pioneer home life (a) in your ownlocality, (b) in the settlement of the West; (c) in colonialtimes. Illustrate from these stories how the home provided for thewants of its members.

Show in detail how the various members of a farmer's family takepart in the business of farming. Compare with a family in townwhose living is provided for by some other business.

Make a list of the different people who come to the home of afamily in town to provide for its wants (such as the grocer's boy,the milkman, the postman, etc.). Compare with a farmer's home withrespect to this service from outside.

LABOR SAVING IN THE HOME

We have read in an earlier chapter that "our national purpose isto transmute days of dreary work into happier lives—for ourselvesfirst and for all others in their time." This purpose cannot befully achieved if it is not first of all achieved in the home. Oneof the objections often raised to life on the farm is that it is alife of drudgery, of few conveniences and comforts, of long hours,hard work, and little recreation. Happily this is not so true asit once was. Labor-saving machinery, better methods oftransportation and communication, better schools, have done muchto improve conditions of rural home life. But occasionally therestill come statements like the following from some of the women infarm homes:

In many homes life on the farm is a somewhat one-sided affair.Many times the spare money above living expenses is expended oncostly machinery and farm implements to make the farmer's worklighter; on more land where there is already a sufficiency; onexpensive horses and cattle and new out-buildings; while little ornothing is done for home improvement and no provision made for thecomfort and convenience of the women of the family.

If a silo will help to reduce the man's labor, a vacuum cleanerwill do likewise for his wife. If the stock at the barn needs agood water system to help it grow, the stock in the house needs ittoo, 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 nobathtub; a fine buggy and a poor baby carriage. On many farms ahundred 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, forit is only by improved methods of farming that the means and theleisure can be found to enrich the home life in every way. But theadvantages gained by improvements that increase the farmer'sreturns are largely lost if they do not at the same time bring"happier lives" to the family as a whole. The farm home is notonly the place where the family living is EARNED; it is also theplace where the family life is LIVED. Democracy aims at EQUALopportunity to enjoy "life, liberty, and the pursuit ofhappiness"; "days of dreary work" must be transmuted into "happierlives" for the women and children as well as for the men. Unlessthis is done in the home there is little chance of its being doneat all.

A story is told of a housekeeper in a farm-home in the West whosaw in the sacred rite of old-school housekeepers something morethan scrubbing and polishing … When her housecleaning was overshe knew just what linen she would need during the coming year,just how much fruits and vegetables she would need to can orpreserve or dry, just what clothing must be replaced or repaired,and what dishes would be needed to keep her set complete. She notonly made changes to improve the appearance of her house, butplanned and made the changes in her workshop which would savesteps and make her work as easy as possible. When her mind got towork, housekeeping became a game, the object being to eliminateall unnecessary labor. Her benches and tables and sinks wereraised 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 highchair, made dishwashing and ironing much easier. She has beenhousekeeping intelligently a dozen years, yet each house-cleaningor stock-taking period she installs some new labor saver.

She not only makes her head save her heels, but she takes anotherkind of inventory which is as well worth while. It is theinventory which we all need to take of ourselves to be sure thatwe are making the best of our opportunities instead of driftingalong day by day in a rut. She searches out the hidden places inher soul to see if she is just as patient, as thoughtful, ascheerful as she might be … [Footnote: RECLAMATION RECORD, Feb.,1918, p.55, "Project Women and Their Materials," by Mrs. LouellaLittlepage.]

COMMUNITY COOPERATION AND THE HOME

In some rural communities the home has been relieved of much ofthe household drudgery by the development of cooperativecreameries, cooperative laundries, and other communityinstitutions to do work that was formerly done entirely in thehome. In such cooperative enterprises, citizens of the communitybuy shares of stock as in the case of the fruit growers'association. In one community in Michigan "a vote was taken, thewomen voting as well as the men, to determine the sentiment of thecommunity on the establishment of such a laundry, and the vote wasso overwhelmingly in favor of the proposition that the Farmers'Club promptly called a meeting to promote the enterprise." Anaddition was built to the cooperative creamery, which thecommunity already possessed, so that the same steam plant could beused for both. The farmers brought their laundry when they broughttheir cream, and carried it back on the next trip. "The laundryhas been successful in relieving the hard life of a farmer's wife,and in addition has been not only self-sustaining but a profitableinstitution." One of the women of the community says,

It has lightened the work in the home to such an extent that onecan manage the work without keeping help, which is very scarce andhigh priced, when it would be impossible to do so if the washingwas included with our other duties.

And another writes,

This change gives me two days of recreation that I can call my ownevery week and also gives me more time in which to accomplish thehousehold duties. [Footnote: "A Successful Rural CooperativeLaundry," 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 thegovernment, and this is especially true in the case of the ruralhome. The public schools, both in city and country, now considerhome making and "home economics" as worthy of a place in thecourse of study as geography and mathematics (see Chapter XIX).State agricultural colleges are beginning to give as muchattention to these subjects as they do to soils and fertilizersand stock-breeding. Moreover, the colleges conduct "extensioncourses," sending teachers trained in the art of home making togive instruction to women and girls in every part of the state.They assist in organizing clubs of girls and women to studyvarious aspects of home making and housekeeping, and givedemonstrations of the most successful methods of cooking, ofcanning, and of other activities connected with home life on thefarm, as well as of labor-saving devices in the household. Thestate agricultural colleges have the cooperation of the Departmentof Agriculture of the national government in all this work.

WHAT ONE GIRL ACCOMPLISHED

In the Year Book of the Department of Agriculture for 1916 thereis an account of results derived from home demonstration work inthe Southern States. The following story of what Ruth Andersonaccomplished is a good illustration of the possibilities of thiswork.

Ruth Anderson, of Etowah County, Alabama, in her second year ofclub work, had an excellent plot of one tenth of an acre of beansand tomatoes. She is the second girl in a family of eleven, andtakes a great interest in her club work. The family home wassmall, dark, and crowded, and somewhat unattractive. One day acarpenter friend of her father saw her one tenth of an acre andsaid he wished he had time to plant a garden. She told him shewould furnish vegetables in exchange for some of his time. …After a while a bargain was made by which the carpenter agreed tobegin work on the remodeling of the house if Ruth would furnishhim with fresh and canned vegetables for the season.

The other members of the family were soon interested in thisundertaking and worked willingly to contribute their share to itssuccess. When the house was partly finished Ruth won a canning-club prize given by a hardware merchant in Gadsden, the countyseat. Silverware was offered her, but, intent upon completing thenew house she asked the merchant how much a front door of glasswould cost, and learned that she could get the door, side lights,and windows for the price of the silverware. In this way Ruthbrought light and joy to her family with her windows and door. To-day they live in a pretty bungalow that she helped to build withher gardening and canning work. At the age of 14, in the secondyear of her work, Ruth put up 700 cans of tomatoes and 750 cans ofbeans. [Footnote: "Effect of Home Demonstration Work in theSouth," in 1916 Year Book of the Department of Agriculture, p.254.]

Ruth's home before and after she began her work is shown in theaccompanying illustrations.

NATIONAL AID TO THE HOME

The national government helps in home making in other ways thanthose suggested above, and through other departments than that ofa*griculture. In the Department of the Interior the General LandOffice, the Bureau of Education, the Reclamation Service, theOffice of Indian Affairs are all doing work to improve the homesof the land. So, also, is the Public Health Service of theTreasury Department; the Bureau of Standards in the Department ofCommerce; the Children's Bureau in the Department of Labor. Weshall encounter some of this work as we proceed with our study.

In what ways has household work been relieved of its drudgerysince your mothers were girls?

What labor-saving devices have been introduced in your home?

Make a report on labor-saving inventions for the household (seereferences at end of chapter).

What are some labor-saving household devices that could be made byboys and girls (such as fireless cookers, iceless refrigerators,etc.)? (See references below). Can your school help in suchprojects? To what extent could (or do) boys' and girls' clubsundertake such projects? Is there any leader in your community whocould 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 forimprovement. Consult parents.

Does experience in your community confirm the feeling of the womenquoted on page 104?

Are there any cooperative enterprises in your community thatrelieve the housekeeper of household labor, such as cooperativelaundries, creameries, etc.? Are they a business success? Havethey improved conditions of home life?

What is the difference between a "cooperative" laundry and anordinary laundry such as may be found in most towns? Does onerelieve the home more than the other?

What other business enterprises are carried on in towns thatrelieve the home of work? Why are such business enterprises notconducted in the same way in rural communities?

Is there any special interest in home improvement in yourcommunity? Who or what has brought it about? What can you do toencourage 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 thehome, send to the United States Bureau of Education for itsBulletin, 1919, No. 46, "Bibliography of Home Economics,"especially section VIII on "The Family," and section X on "TheHouse and Household Activities." Among the many titles given inthis 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, Reports103, 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.

WHY GOVERNMENT HELPS IN HOME MAKING

Our nation requires healthy citizens, intelligent citizens,prosperous and happy citizens. The home can do more to producethem than any other community agency. Therefore the nation is wiseto look after its homes.

RELATION OF HOME CONDITIONS TO INDUSTRY

People cannot do their work well if they live in unwholesome orunpleasant homes. This was made clear during the recent war. Thelack of suitable living places for workmen and their families wasone of the chief obstacles to shipbuilding and munitionsmanufacture during the early part of the war. England found thisout as well as the United States, and one of the first things bothcountries had to do was to take measures to provide proper homeconditions for those who were engaged in supplying the nation'sneeds. 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 hasnaturally been greatest in crowded industrial centers, but it isby no means absent in small communities, or even in the opencountry. One writer describes a certain farmhouse where fivepeople 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 werewell-to-do farmers, living in a large twelve-room, stone house andsimply 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 remoteand backward regions, but even in prosperous farming communities.

What is the result of this overcrowding and lack of proper housingin the country? Just exactly the same as in the great cities—lackof efficiency, disease, and premature death to many … While thegreat majority of people subjected to overcrowding and bad housingconditions do not prematurely die, yet they have a lessenedphysical and mental vigor, are less able to do properly theirdaily work, and not only become a loss to themselves and theirfamilies, but to the state … [Footnote: Bashore, "Overcrowdingand 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 regulatehousing conditions, but such laws seldom apply to smallcommunities. In cities where people live crowded together inclosely built city blocks, unsanitary conditions in one homeendanger the health of the entire community. There is also dangerfrom fire, and vice and crime may breed and spread quickly andunseen. The community is driven, therefore, in its own defense, toregulate the people's housing. In small communities, andespecially in rural communities, where homes are more widelyseparated and in some cases quite isolated, it has seemed oflittle concern to others how one citizen builds his home and whathe does in it. Thoughtful consideration of such cases as thatdescribed above, however, must convince us that it IS a matter ofnational concern what happens even in remote homes. Both thephysical and the economic strength of the nation are undermined byunwholesome conditions in the separate homes of the land.

COMMUNITY PLANNING

Economic loss to the community may result not merely fromUNWHOLESOME home conditions, but also from INCONVENIENCE oflocation and arrangement of the homes. A good deal of attention isbeing given to "community planning" in the United States andespecially in England and other European countries. Communityplanning includes not only provision for the proper location andconstruction of public buildings and streets, for water supply,lights, parks, etc., but also for the convenient, as well aswholesome and pleasant location of homes. Large cities, likeLondon, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, have spent enormoussums of money in city planning after they have already grown upwithout plan. It has necessitated destroying old structures andwidening streets. Villages and small towns are in a position tointroduce a plan for future growth without this needless expense.Our beautiful capital city of Washington has grown according to aplan that was carefully laid out before a building was erected.But even in Washington one of the greatest problems the city hadto face during the war was that of providing homes for theenormous number of workers who came to the city to do the work ofthe government.

PLANNING THE FARMSTEAD

"The need of careful arrangement in country homes is much moreurgent than in city homes for the reason that country people usetheir homes as the business center of their profession," saysProf. R.J. Pearce, of Iowa State College. "The farmer in hisbusiness center must not only produce enough raw material toprovide for him self and family, but he needs to produce enough tofeed and clothe the entire human race." "CONSERVATION OF SPACEmust be taken into consideration to obtain the greatest resultsfrom our high-priced land; CONVENIENCE must be a prime factor whenexpensive labor is at a premium; and ATTRACTIVENESS must be one ofthe chief motives not only to make farm property more saleable butto give greater enjoyment to the owner and his family…" "Afarmstead is, but a unit in a farming community, yet travelersform an impression of the entire community by individual farmhomes which they see in passing. Therefore, not only financialconsideration but personal pride and a feeling of community spiritand enterprise should urge the farm owner to develop his farmsteadaccording to the best of modern methods."

What facts can you find in regard to what the government did toprovide homes for workers in shipbuilding or munitions plantsduring the war?

In many of the war industries preference was given to men withfamilies 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 thecommunity 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? Arethey carefully observed and enforced?

Make a study of the arrangement of the buildings on farms withwhich you are familiar, drawing diagrams, and report whether ornot they are well planned with reference to ECONOMY OF SPACEoccupied, 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 thefamily? How?

Must a home be large and costly to be attractive?

What impression would a stranger get in regard to the "communityspirit" of your community from the appearance of its homes? Wouldhe be right?

THE HOME AND COMMUNITY STABILITY

Home ownership is one of the strongest influences that givepermanence and stability to the community. The census taken by theUnited States government every ten years shows that home ownershiphas been decreasing throughout the country as a whole. Thedecrease has been greatest in cities, but it is true also offarmhome ownership. In 1880 only 25% of the farms of the UnitedStates were occupied by tenants (renters); in 1910, 37% were sooccupied. It is true that in the ten years from 1900 to 1910 therewas a slight increase in the proportion of farms owned by theiroccupants in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, and in alarge part of the West; but the increase in these parts was morethan overbalanced by the decrease in the South Atlantic and Gulfstates and in the Mississippi Valley. The smallest proportion offarm tenancy is found in New England (8%), and the largest in thesouthern states (45.9% in the South Atlantic states, and more than50% in the South central states). A large part of the farming inthe South is done by negroes, most of whom are either laborers onthe farms of the white population or tenants on small farms whichthey usually work on shares. And yet the number of negro farmowners in the South has been rapidly increasing in the last fewyears, though not so rapidly as the number of tenants. In 1910negro farm owners cultivated nearly 16,000,000 acres of land inthe 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 ruraldistricts of the United States has been observed with considerableanxiety because of the effect upon our national welfare and uponthe 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 theclose of the year without sacrificing the results of labor whichhe has done … The renter who ends harvest knowing that he willmove in the spring, will not do as good a job of hauling manureand fall plowing as he would were he to stay; nor does he take asgood care of the buildings and other improvements …

The cost to the farming business of the country each year for thisannual farm moving-week mounts into the millions of dollars. Andthe pity of it all is that practically no one is the winnerthereby … The renter loses, the landlord loses, the generalcommunity and the nation at large lose. [Footnote: W.D. Boyce, inan editorial in THE FARMING BUSINESS, February 26, 1916, quoted inNourse, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, p. 651.]

Tenant farming also places obstacles in the way of communityprogress in other ways.

The tenant takes little interest in community affairs. Thequestions of schools, churches, or roads are of little moment tohim. He does not wish to invest in enterprises which will ofnecessity be left wholly … to his successor. In short, he is inthe community, but hardly of it. [Footnote: B.H. Hibbard, "FarmTenancy in the United States," in Annals of the American Academyof Political and Social Science, March, 1912, p. 39.]

A family that owns its home feels a sense of proprietorship in apart of the community land. The money value of a home increases inproportion to the prosperity of the community as a whole; itsowner will therefore be inclined to do all he can to promote thewelfare of the community. A community that is made up largely ofhomes owned by their occupants is likely to be more prosperous andmore progressive, and its citizens more loyal to it, than acommunity 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 inall cases, nor that a man who does not own his home cannot be athoroughly good citizen. There are circ*mstances that make itnecessary for many families to live in dwellings that they do notown. Tenancy may be a step toward home ownership. A citizen mayhave insufficient money to buy a farm, but enough to enable him torent one. By industry, economy, and intelligence, he may soonaccumulate means with which to buy the farm he occupies or someother. The increase in the number of tenants in the SouthernStates is due in large part to the breaking up of many largerplantations into small farms which are occupied by tenants, manyof them negroes. That many of these tenants are on the road tohome 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 homeowner to take an interest in the community life in which he andhis family share, and to cooperate with his neighbors for thecommon good. While he lives in the community he is largelydependent upon it, like any other citizen, for the satisfaction ofhis wants. Its markets and its roads are his for thetransportation and disposal of his produce and stock. He gets thebenefit of its schools for the education of his children. He mayshare in its social life if he cares to do so. His property isprotected by the same agencies that protect that of his neighbors.He cannot, therefore, escape the responsibility of contributing tothe 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 theman who owns one to make his farm produce to its full capacity, toprotect the soil from exhaustion and the buildings and fences fromdestruction. But on the other hand, it is the duty of thelandlord, both as a good business man and as a good citizen, tomake such terms with his tenant that the latter will take aninterest 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 histenant. The tenant must be interested not only in himself but inhis landlord and his land. A system that favors the tenant to theinjury of the land is bad. A system that favors the land to theinjury of the tenant is equally harmful. Either system will resultin the poverty of both the landlord and the tenant. [Footnote: Dr.Seaman A. Knapp, quoted by Dr. Thomas Jesse Jones in "Negroes andthe Census of 1910," p 16. (Reprint from THE SOUTHERN WORKMAN forAugust, 1912.)]

The fact remains, however, that home ownership contributes to thepermanence, the stability, and the progress of a community. It isalso a fact that conditions have developed in our country, both incities and in rural communities, which make home ownershipincreasingly difficult. In another chapter (Chapter XIV) we shallsee what some of these conditions are, and what our government hasdone and may do to overcome them.

THE HOME A SCHOOL OF CITIZENSHIP

One of the most important services performed for the community bythe home is that of training its members for citizenship. Thefamily has been called "a school of all the virtues" that go tomake good citizenship. It is a school in which not only thechildren, but also the parents, not only the boys and men, butalso the girls and women, receive training by practice. In thehome are developed thoughtfulness for others, a spirit of self-sacrifice for the common good, loyalty to the group of which theindividual is a member, respect for the opinions of others of longexperience, a spirit of teamwork, obedience to rules which existfor the welfare of all. If these and other qualities of goodcitizenship are not cultivated in the home, it is not in a healthycondition nor performing its proper service to the community.

Moreover, the exercise of these virtues in the home is not onlytraining for good citizenship; it IS good citizenship. If the homeis as important a factor in our national life as this chapter hasindicated, then one of the greatest opportunities for goodcitizenship, and one of the greatest duties of good citizenship,is that of making the home what it should be; and in this eachmember 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 bytheir owners? how many by tenants? What is the percentage oftenancy?

To what extent are the tenants men who were formerly farmlaborers, but who by renting farms are making a start on their ownaccount? Is this a sign of progress?

What percentage of the tenants are white? negro?

To what extent are the tenants foreigners who have recently cometo the locality?

Are the tenant farms usually rented for long periods or for shortperiods?

What is the system of tenancy in your locality (i.e. cash rental,working on shares, partnership with the owner, etc.)? If more thanone exists, which seems to work best? Why?

Is tenancy increasing or decreasing in your locality? What reasonsare given for this?

Does experience in your locality support the statement that tenantfarmers are less likely than others to interest themselves incommunity progress?

If you live or go to school in town, make a study of homeownership in the town. (If a small community, the class may studythe entire area; if large, different sections may be studied bydifferent groups of pupils.) How many homes are occupied by theirowners? how many by tenants? What is the percentage of tenancy? Istenancy increasing or decreasing? For what reasons?

Is there some section of the community where most of the peopleown their homes, and another section where most of the peoplerent? If so, do you notice any difference in the generalappearance of the two sections? Do you think that the difference,if any exists, is due in any part to the fact that some own andothers rent their homes?

Is there a tendency for the farmers of your locality to move intotown? If so, why? What becomes of their farms?

Review the points made in the discussion of topics 4 and 5 on page38 (Chapter III). Continue to develop plans for cooperation in thehome and school.

What does it mean to be "in training" for athletics? In the lightof your answer to this question, what would it mean to be "intraining" 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."

EARNING A LIVING

LIVING, NOT EARNING, THE END IN VIEW

The most conspicuous activities that we see going on in thecommunity are usually those that have to do with earning a livingor the production of wealth. [Footnote: The activities by which weearn a living are also the activities by which wealth is produced.It is important to understand that when we speak of "wealth" we donot necessarily mean GREAT wealth. A boy who has a fifty-centknife, or a girl who has a twenty-five-cent purse, has wealth astruly as the man who owns a well-stocked farm. The difference ismerely in kind and amount. Food, clothing, houses, books, tools,cattle, are all forms of wealth. ANY material thing, for which weare willing to work and make sacrifices because it satisfies ourwants, is wealth. Earning a living is merely earning or producingwealth to satisfy our wants and those of others.] Indeed, somepeople become so absorbed in the business of earning a living thatthey seem to be LIVING TO EARN rather than EARNING TO LIVE. Itdoes not do to forget that not EARNING, but LIVING, is the realend in view. Unless we know how to use what we earn to provideproperly for all of our normal wants, the effort we spend inearning is very largely wasted.

Nevertheless, before we can enjoy a living it has to be earned, byourselves or by someone else; and the activities by which it isearned occupy so important a place in our lives, are so closelydependent upon the community, have so much to do with ourcitizenship, and receive so much attention from government, thatwe must give them some consideration in this chapter and severalchapters following.

IMPORTANCE OF VOCATIONAL LIFE

While young people are spending most of their time at school or atplay, their fathers and other grown people are usually chieflyoccupied 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 TOMEASURE QUANTITIES of cloth or grain. In a similar manner, out ofgold, silver, paper, and other materials, we make money, and for asimilar reason, viz. to MEASURE THE VALUE of wealth. When we speakof a FIFTY-CENT KNIFE and a TWENTY-FIVE CENT PURSE, we measure thevalue of these articles. It would take thousands of DOLLARS tomeasure the value of a well-stocked farm.

When we say that a boy earns a dollar, or that a man earns $4.00 aday, we measure the value of his work or his service. If a manworks for a farmer, he very likely receives his "board andlodging" in part payment for his services; he makes a directexchange of his services for food and shelter. But he alsoprobably receives in addition an amount of money, because with themoney he can buy clothes and other things that the farmer cannotgive. He takes the money and buys with it these other things thathe needs to supply his wants. Thus money becomes something morethan a measure of wealth or of services; it is also A MEANS OFEXCHANGING WEALTH OR SERVICES.

These are the two uses of money. Money has value only because ofwhat it represents in wealth, and wealth is useful because itenables us to satisfy wants. These things are mentioned because itis quite important that we should never forget that "money" and"wealth" are worth working for only because of the "living," orlife, that they help us to attain.]

Children are, as a rule, wholly dependent upon their parents fortheir living. But during their period of dependence they aregaining skill and experience, in school and otherwise, that willlater enable them to earn their own living and that of otherpeople who may, in turn, become dependent upon them.

As adult life approaches, there comes an increasing desire forindependence of others, to have possessions, own property, oraccumulate wealth. Our VOCATIONS, or occupations, by which we earna livelihood, come to occupy a prominent place in our thought, andto a large extent control our activity. Doubtless most of thosewho read this chapter have begun to think more or less seriouslyabout what they are going to do for a living. Some may be alreadydoing so, in part, or helping to earn that of their families. Boysand girls who live on farms are especially likely to have a sharein the work by which the family living is provided; but most boysand girls have more or less regularly "earned money," even if theyhave not considered it necessary for their living. An inquiry in alarge, first-year high school class disclosed the fact that thegirls of the class, quite as much as the boys, were thinking oftheir choice of vocation. More avenues are open to girls to-daythan formerly by which to earn their living outside of the family;but even the management of a home is a business as truly as themanagement of a farm or factory, and is an exceedingly importantfactor in the earning of the family living.

What part, if any, do you have in helping to earn the familyliving?

What have you done during the past year to earn money (a) out ofschool hours on school days, (b) on Saturdays, (c) in vacationtime? 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 thatseem attractive to you. Why are they attractive?

What do you know about the opportunities and the qualificationsnecessary for success in the vocations you have named? How may youproceed 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 yourmothers were girls?

Make a list of the occupations of the fathers (or other members ofthe families) of the members of your class.

Make a list of as many occupations in your community (town orcounty) as you can think of.

DEPENDENCE OF THE PIONEER

Our dependence upon others for a living by no means ends withchildhood. There is no such thing as an entirely "self-made man,"by which is meant a man who has been successful entirely by hisown efforts. It is true that the primitive hunter and the pioneerfarmer were independent of others to an unusual extent. But theirliving was a meager one, and they could not accumulate muchwealth. The very land that a pioneer occupies, even though it isextensive and fertile, has little value as long as it is remotefrom centers of population.

Even if a pioneer laid claim to a large tract of land, he couldproduce little wealth from it in crops if he could get no help tocultivate it, or if he had no improved machinery (made by others);and whatever he produced, he and his family could eat but littleof the product. He could feed some to his few animals, and hewould save some for seed; but anything that he raised above whathe could actually use would have no value unless he could get itto other people who wanted it. If he could not sell what heproduced, neither could he buy from others what they produced tosatisfy other wants than that for food. So the kind of living aperson enjoys, and the amount of wealth he accumulates, dependlargely upon other people, and upon the community in which helives.

DEPENDENCE OF THE MODERN FARMER

Under present-day conditions, a farmer who raises wheat probablyuses none of it himself. He sells his entire crop for the use ofothers, while to supply himself and his family with bread he goesto the store and buys flour that may have been milled in Minnesotafrom wheat raised by other farmers, perhaps in North Dakota orSouth Dakota. In exchange for his wheat he also gets clothingmanufactured in New York or New England from cotton raised inGeorgia or Texas, or from wool grown in Montana. He buys a wagonmade in Indiana from lumber cut in the South and iron mined inMichigan and smelted in Ohio. Thus he earns his living byproducing food for other people, while the things he uses inliving are the product of labor expended by other people in theeffort to earn THEIR living. We noticed in Chapter II how manypeople and occupations were concerned in producing a pair ofshoes.

EARNING BY SERVICE

While the farmer or other worker may be interested primarily inproviding for his own wants and those of his family, he can dothis only by producing something or performing service for others;and while each worker may be most concerned about WHAT HE RECEIVESfor his work, the community is most concerned about WHAT HEPRODUCES. Earning a living has two sides to it: rendering serviceto others and being paid for the service rendered. It is as if thecommunity entered into a sort of agreement with the worker to theeffect that it will provide him with a living in return fordefinite service to the community or for the product of his labor.What we call "business" is SELLING A SERVICE. It may be personalservice, such as teaching, or prescribing medicine, or nursing, orgiving legal advice, or cutting hair, or driving a team, orrunning an automobile. Or it may be purchasing, storing,retailing, and delivering things which have been produced perhapsmany hundreds or thousands of miles away. Or it may be raisingfoodstuffs 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 toothers. Whatever it is, every man's business is also thecommunity's business, and the community has a right to expectindustry and honest, efficient work from every worker.

Discuss the occupations named in answer to the two questions onpage 26, from the point of view of their service to the community.

To what extent is your father's business or occupation dependentupon the business or occupation of the fathers of other members ofthe class?

Show how your father's business is also the community's business.

What is the price of land in your neighborhood? Consult yourfather or friends in regard to the increase or decrease in pricein recent years and in regard to the reasons for it.

LIVING WITHOUT EARNING

There are exceptional cases where people RECEIVE a living withoutEARNING it. One class of such people is represented by thieves,gamblers, swindlers, and persons engaged in occupations that arepositively harmful to the community. Such people may be veryskillful and they may work hard enough, but they take what othershave earned without producing anything of value to the community.

Then there are those who are incapable of productive work becauseof physical defects, or through the feebleness of old age. It isthe duty of every citizen to provide, as far as possible, duringhis productive years, for the "rainy day" of misfortune oradvancing age. For those who cannot do so, the community mustprovide.

Very young children are users of wealth produced by others. It isexpected, however, that children will in later years make returnto the community for what they have received during their periodof dependence.

INHERITED WEALTH

Some people inherit wealth, or otherwise come into possession ofit without effort on their part. The wealth so received, however,has been earned by someone, or has come from the community in someway. If the person who so receives it uses it in a way that ishighly useful to the community, he may in a sense earn it evenafter he receives it; but if he uses it solely for his ownenjoyment, without effort to make it highly useful to thecommunity, he does not in any sense earn it, and places himself inthe 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 worka living that fairly compensates them for the service they renderby it to the community. If our community life were perfectlyadjusted in all its parts; if all the people clearly recognizedtheir common interests and their interdependence; if they had thespirit of cooperation and were wise enough to devise smoothlyworking machinery of cooperation;—then the returns that a workerreceived for his work would be closely proportionate to theservice rendered by his work. That is, he would GET what heEARNED, so far as wages or profits were concerned. But this is oneof the particulars in which our community life is still imperfect.Where so many different kinds of workers are engaged in producingshoes, for example, it is extremely difficult to determine howmuch each should be paid for his share of the work. What WAGESshould be given to the different classes of workers who care forcattle, make the leather, manufacture the machines with which theshoes are made, operate the machines, mine the coal and iron forthe production of the machines, and so on? What PROFITS shall beallowed to the men who raise the cattle, to the merchants who sellthe shoes and the machines, and to the transportation companiesthat carry them from the factories to the dealers? What INTERESTshall be received by the men who furnish the CAPITAL necessary torun the factories and the farms? These questions relating to theDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH that men produce have proved very difficultto answer satisfactorily.

A very useful and interesting, but rather difficult, science hasgrown up to explain the PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND USE OFWEALTH. It is called the SCIENCE OF ECONOMICS. Of all thedivisions of this science, that relating to the distribution ofwealth is the most perplexing. It is the inequalities in thedistribution of wealth, the sense of injustice produced by theseinequalities, and sometimes a failure to understand what a fairdistribution is, that have caused all the labor disputes referredto in Chapter VII (p. 71), and the discontent sometimes felt byfarmers and other producers in regard to the prices of theirproducts.

Have you ever heard any one say, "The world owes me a living"? Isthis a true statement? If so, in what sense do you think it istrue?

Which do you think is the truer statement: "I have a right to aliving," or "I have a right to earn a living"? Discuss thedifference.

A thief has been known to say, "I was brought into the worldwithout my own consent; therefore the world owes me a living, andI owe the world nothing." Is this good argument? Did the peopleupon whom he depends for a living have any more to say about theirbeing brought into the world than he had?

What things are you using to-day that were not provided for you byothers?

If a stranger should come to your community to-day to live, whatare some of the things that he would find already provided by thecommunity for his use in making a living?

Name five important inventions and state what they have done foryou.

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 settledyour state? to Robert Fulton? to the men who built the firsttranscontinental railroad?

Can you think of some way in which your family is indebted for itsliving to the British nation? to France? to ancient Greece? to thePhoenicians? to the people of Brazil?

Which is the greater, the debt of your family to the world or thedebt of the world to your family?

What is a "parasite"? Could this term be appropriately applied toany of the people referred to in the last few paragraphs of thetext above?

GOVERNMENT INTERESTED IN PRODUCTION

Each citizen has a right to feel that the government is interestedin his individual prosperity and happiness; and it is, for unhappyand discontented citizens are seldom good citizens. But thegovernment represents community as a whole, and has the interestof the community as a whole in its keeping rather than theinterest of particular individuals. Its interest is primarily inwhat 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 Presidentmade an appeal to his fellow producers countrymen, in which hesaid:

It is evident to every thinking man that our industries on thefarms, in the shipyards, in the mines, in the factories, must bemade more prolific and more efficient than ever and that they mustbe more economically managed and better adapted to the particularrequirements of our task than they have been; and what I want tosay is that the men and women who devote their thought and theirenergy to these things will be serving the country and conductingthe fight for peace and freedom just as truly and just aseffectively as the men on the battlefield or in the trenches. Theindustrial forces of the country, men and women alike, will be agreat national, a great international Service Army,—a notable andhonored host engaged in the service of the nation and the world …Thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands, of men otherwise liableto military service will of right and necessity be excused fromthat service and assigned to the fundamental, sustaining work ofthe fields and factories and mines, and they will be as much partof 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 whichwe are cooperating is an abundance of supplies, and especially offoodstuffs. … Without abundant food … the whole greatenterprise 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, andhelps greatly, to solve the problem of the feeding of the nations;and that every housewife who practices strict economy puts herselfin the ranks of those who serve the nation.

The nation needs the productive work of each citizen in time ofpeace as truly as in time of war, although when it is not fightingfor its very life it is more tolerant of those who do notcontribute efficiently by their work to the common good. Itcarries them along somehow. But such members of the community area burden and a source of weakness at all times. Therefore, forexample, there are in most of our communities laws againstvagrancy; that is, against willful and habitual idlers "withoutvisible means of support," such as beggars and tramps.

PROBLEM OF THE UNEMPLOYED

There are times when many men are "out of work." In times ofbusiness depression the number may become very great, while inprosperous times the number dwindles; but always there are some.It is often through no fault of their own; it is another result ofthe imperfect adjustment of our community life. It often happensthat while large numbers of men are unable to find work inindustrial centers, the farmers may be suffering for want of help.This may be merely because there is no way by which to let workmenknow where they are needed, or of distributing them to meet theneed. Or, many of the unemployed may be unskilled, while thedemand 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 thecommunity has to deal with. During the war the national governmentsought to overcome these difficulties by the organization of anemployment service in the Department of Labor, and state and localcommunities established employment bureaus.

Who have been some of the builders of your own community by reasonof their business life? Explain.

So far as you have observed, what boys have been most successfulafter leaving school—those who make it a practice to do all theycan for their employers, or those who have tried to do the leastpossible?

Is it true in your community that the most useful citizens arethose who care more about the excellence of their work than aboutwhat they receive for it?

Are there many vagrants in your community? Are there laws againstvagrancy? If so, what are they?

Are there often many men out of work in your community? If so, whyis 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 andsince the war in getting labor when it was needed? Did thegovernment help them at that time? How?

It is of the greatest importance both to the individual and to thecommunity that every citizen: (1) should be continuously employedin a useful occupation, (2) should be free and able to choose theoccupation for which he is best fitted, and in which he will behappiest, 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 beindustrious 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 aredesirous of doing useful work. At the same time, it is easy forany of us to fall into the habit of thinking more about what wecan GET than about what we can GIVE. There ARE people whohabitually seek to do as little as possible for what they receive,or to get all they can for the least possible service. Thisapplies not only to idlers who live entirely off the communitywithout any service on their part, but also to those who haveemployment, but who seek to evade, by "time-serving" and otherwise"slacking," the full responsibility of service. We sometimes hearcomplaint in regard to public officials who draw good salarieswithout rendering adequate or honest public service in return, andto such we frequently apply the term of "grafter." But theprinciple is exactly the same when any person who has undertakento do a piece of work fritters away his time or "loafs on thejob."

SATISFACTION IN SERVICE

After all, the chief return that we get for our work is not thewages or the profits, important as they are to us, but thesatisfaction of doing something that is worthwhile. If thispleasure is absent from the work we do, no amount of money returnscan compensate us for it. The happy man is a busy man, anindustrious man; and his happiness is more in the doing than inthe mere fact of money returns.

IMPORTANCE OF A RIGHT CHOICE

(2) The value of our work to the community and the pleasure thatwe derive from it both depend to a large extent upon our fitnessfor it. It is important to choose our work carefully. There arefour important considerations in choosing a vocation: (a) itsusefulness to the community, (b) one's own fitness for it, (c)one's happiness in it, and (d) whether it offers an adequateliving to one's self and dependents. The last of these is, ofcourse, a most important consideration. What a person receives forhis work ought to be determined by the first two considerations,i.e. the usefulness of the work to the community and one's fitnessfor it. We have seen that this is not always true. In such casesit often becomes necessary to make a further choice—a choicebetween working primarily for one's own profit and workingprimarily for the satisfaction that comes from important servicewell rendered. It is not always easy to make this choice; butthere are many people who have sacrificed large incomes for thesake of doing work that the community needs and for which theyconsider 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 ornot; and many a man is a farmer apparently for no other reasonthan that he was raised on the farm and has seen no opportunity todo anything else. Other people seem to be forced into otheroccupations by circ*mstances or drift into them by chance. Buteven in these cases there is something of a choice. The farmer'sboy "chooses" to remain on the farm rather than to take thechances involved in running away, or because he would rather be athome than in a strange city. The discontented farmer might havechosen to be a lawyer if he had been willing to make enoughsacrifices to get ready for it; and even now he "chooses" toremain on the farm in spite of his dislike for it because to dootherwise would mean sacrifice of some kind or other that he isunwilling to make.

THE MEANING OF OUR WORK TO THE COMMUNITY

The pleasure and effectiveness of ANY work, however, are increasedif its importance to the community or to the world is clearlyunderstood; for ALL productive work is important. There is no moreterrible work than that of the soldier in the trenches. No manwould voluntarily choose it for his own pleasure. But millions ofmen have gone into it joyfully because of the results to beattained for their country and the world. Other millions of menand women, and even children, on the farms, in the mines, in theshops, and in the homes, worked and sacrificed during the war withGermany as they had never worked and sacrificed before, producedresults such as had never been produced before, and doubtlessexperienced a satisfaction in their toil that they had neverexperienced before, because each one saw more definitely thanbefore the relation of his work to the great national and worldpurpose. An understanding of the meaning of our work in itsrelation to community welfare goes a long way toward "transmutingdays of dreary work into happier lives."

FREEDOM, EQUALITY AND JUSTICE

The opportunity to choose one's calling, to decide what serviceone will fit himself for, the right of "self-determination" withregard 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 CHOOSEthat which they like to do, and AN EQUAL CHANCE TO MAKE A LIVING,or to obtain compensation for their labor or enterprise. It is forthese things more than for anything else that people have leftold-world conditions and come to America. The ability to make aliving under conditions of freedom and justice depends in partupon the common wants of the community, and upon the willingnessof members of the community to pay for the satisfaction of theirwants enough to enable those who perform service for them also tosatisfy theirs. But it also depends upon the ability of theindividual to make a choice, and upon his willingness to spendyears in preparation, if need be, to enable him to offer a serviceof the kind he likes to render, and for which others are glad topay well.

A DAY OF SPECIALISTS

We are living in a day of specialists. The very nature of ourinterdependent life makes it necessary for each worker to do onething and to do it exceedingly well. Even farming is broken up toa considerable extent into special kinds of farming. Moreover,since the worker must be a specialist, requiring long, specialtraining, it is more difficult than it used to be for him tochange from one occupation to another after he has once started.Each person, therefore, owes it both to himself and to thecommunity to choose his vocation carefully, so far as he hasopportunity to make a choice. The schools are more and more makingit their business to give boys and girls the knowledge and theexperience that will enable them to choose wisely their mode ofearning a living.

THE NECESSITY FOR TRAINING

(3) Whether a citizen follows a vocation of his own voluntarychoice, or one into which he has fallen by chance or by force ofcirc*mstances, he is under obligation to the community as well asto himself to do his work well. In these days of specializationthis inevitably means preparation, training. If the communityexpects the citizen to perform efficient service, it must affordhim a fair opportunity for preparation. During the war thegovernment made special provision for training, not only formilitary service, but also for the industrial occupations that thenation needed. Vocational training is now receiving greatattention from the schools and from government.

HASTY ENTRANCE UPON VOCATIONAL LIFE

As in the choice of a vocation, so in preparation for it theindividual has his share of responsibility. It is always atemptation for young people to get out into the active work of theworld at the earliest possible moment. The desire to beindependent, to earn one's own living, to "make money," is strong.It leads many boys and girls to leave school even before they havefinished their elementary education. In the great majority ofcases this results in serious economic loss both to the boy orgirl and to the community. The charts on page 137 furnish evidenceof this.

PATRIOTISM IN VOCATIONAL LIFE

We call it patriotism when a man gives all that he has, even hislife if necessary, for the good of his country, without stoppingto consider whether or not he will receive an equal benefit inreturn. There is no higher type of patriotism than that whichprompts a citizen to perform his best service for the community inhis daily calling, not for what he can get for it, but for what hecan give. This patriotism is shared by the young citizen who iswilling to defer an apparent immediate gain to himself in order toprepare himself thoroughly for more effective service later.

If your father had his life to live over again, would he choosethe same vocation that he is now following? Consult him as to hisreasons.

What special kinds of farming exist in your locality? Is there atendency in your community toward specialization in farming, ortoward 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 inthe industries of your town.

Does your school offer any vocational training or vocationalguidance?

Is there a tendency in your school for boys and girls to quitbefore completing the course? At what grades do pupils begin todrop out in considerable numbers? Why do they leave? What sort ofwork do they do when they leave school?

At what ages does the law in your state permit boys and girls togo to work? Show how this restriction of freedom now increasesfreedom 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 andstimulating 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.).

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 ofthe 92 million people of our country at that time were engaged in"gainful occupations"; that is, in earning their living and thatof the remaining 54 million people who were dependent upon them.Of the 38 million, more than 13 1/2 million were producing wealthdirectly from the land, in agriculture, forest industries, miningindustries, and fishing. About 10 1/2 million were engaged inmanufacturing and mechanical trades, by which the materialsextracted from the land are transformed into articles of use. Theremainder of the "breadwinners" were engaged in trade andtransportation, and in professional, personal, and public service.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE

Of the 13 1/2 million people gaining their living directly fromthe land, more than 12 1/2 million were engaged in agriculturalpursuits. At the present time (1919) probably one half of thepopulation, including women and children, is directly dependentupon agriculture as a means of livelihood, while the other half,as well, is dependent upon it for food supply and the materialsfor clothing.

In view of the fact that agriculture is the source of the nation'sfood supply and of a large part of the national wealth, and thatso large a part of the people are engaged in it as a means oflivelihood, it is not surprising to find our government deeplyinterested in it and performing a vast amount of service for itspromotion.

STATE DEPARTMENTS OF AGRICULTURE

The government of every state in the Union has an organization toprotect and promote the farming industry and the welfare of thefarmer. This organization differs in its form and in the extent ofservice performed in the several states, due partly to the varyingimportance of agriculture in the different states, and partly tothe varying success with which the people and theirrepresentatives have dealt with the problem. In some of the statesthere are departments of agriculture, equal in dignity and powerwith the other main divisions of the government. In othersagricultural interests are placed in the hands of subordinateboards, bureaus, or commissions. In some cases the officials incharge of the organization, such as the commissioner ofa*griculture, are elected directly by the people, while in othersthey are appointed by the governor of the state or by thelegislature. Often the department is organized in numerousbranches with specialists at the head of each. Thus, there aredairy commissioners, horticultural boards, livestock sanitaryboards, foresters, entomologists (specialists in insect life inits relation to agriculture), and others, to look after everyaspect of farming. In a constantly decreasing number of states thepowers of the agricultural officers are slight and their workineffectual; but in others the organization is thorough and thework 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 ofduties: first, regulative and administrative duties, such as theenforcement of laws relating to agriculture passed by the statelegislature, enforcing quarantine against diseased animals,establishing standards for the grading of grain, making andenforcing rules for the control of animal and plant diseases, andsimilar matters. Second, investigative and educational duties,such as the investigation of animal and plant diseases, cropconditions, and other agricultural problems; and the distributionof information to the farmers and to the people of the stategenerally, relating to agricultural matters. Reports and bulletinson special subjects are published and farmers' institutes areconducted.

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND EXPERIMENT STATIONS

The practice is growing, however, to transfer the work ofinvestigation and education to the STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES ANDEXPERIMENT STATIONS which have been established and are conductedwith the cooperation of the national Department of Agriculture.These institutions have a corps of highly trained specialists andeducators and are equipped with laboratories and experimentalfarms where research may be carried on under the most favorableconditions. The agricultural colleges not only educate young menand women within their walls in agriculture and related subjects,but carry on EXTENSION WORK throughout the state for the benefitof the farmers and the people of rural communities. With thedevelopment of these institutions the state department ofa*griculture is left with almost purely administrative andregulative duties. This seems to be the wiser plan oforganization.

Write to your state commissioner of agriculture or to thesecretary of your state board of agriculture for a copy of thelaw, or other published document, containing a description of theorganization of your state department of agriculture and its work.Also ask for, if available, a list of publications issued by thedepartment, from which you may later select such as may seem to beuseful.

Write to your state agricultural college, or to the experimentstation, 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 iswell to send but ONE letter for the class or school, and torequest THE SMALLEST NUMBER OF COPIES that will serve the purposesof the class. Public officials are busy people, and thepublications for which you ask cost the people of the communitymoney.

The members of the class may compete, if desired, in formulating asuitable letter, and a class committee may select the best, orformulate one on the basis of suggestions from the class.

Materials collected in this way should become school property, andthe class should be conscious that it is accumulating a libraryfor later classes as well as for themselves. Study and report onthe following:

The organization of your state department of agriculture, itsofficers and how chosen, its divisions and their work.

The work done at your state experiment station (individual reportsmay be made on the several important lines of work, or onparticular investigations or discoveries of interest).

The character of the extension courses offered by your stateagricultural college. Courses given in your own community.

Instances of regulative work done in your state and county by yourstate department of agriculture.

Instances in which your county or locality has been served by yourstate agricultural college or by the experiment station.

The difficulty of the farmer in coping with animal disease orplant disease by his own effort.

Facts to show that money has been saved to your community by thestate agricultural department or experiment station.

Why the people of the cities of your state should pay taxes tosupport the department of agriculture.

Facts to show that your state department of agriculture and yourexperiment station are really "means of cooperation" in your stateand county.

Extent to which the farmers of your locality actually cooperatethrough the governmental machinery of the department ofa*griculture.

Consult your parents or farmer friends as to ways in which thework of your state department of agriculture, agriculturalcollege, or experiment station should be extended.

Sentiment among the people of your locality, especially thefarmers, as to the usefulness of your department of agriculture,experiment station and agricultural college.

Get information from your county agent, or from your stateagricultural college, as to the states having the best organizeddepartments of agriculture, and then get information as to theirpoints 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 theboll weevil unless neighboring states do likewise. Inferiorservice in one state by its department of agriculture is adetriment not only to the farmers of that state, but to those ofother states and of the country as a whole. States gradually learnfrom one another and frequently adopt from one another the bestmethods that are developed. This is a slow process. Theagriculture of our nation must be considered as a great nationalenterprise, and not as forty-eight separate enterprises. This wasmade evident during the recent war. Hence the necessity fornational control.

EARLY NATIONAL SUPPORT OF AGRICULTURE

Washington and Jefferson, like other founders of our nation, tookthe keenest interest in agriculture. But in the early years of ourhistory little was done by the national government for itspromotion, except by a rather generous policy of disposing of thepublic lands (see Chapter XIV). In 1820 a committee on agriculturewas for the first time created in the House of Representatives,and in 1825 a similar committee in the Senate. In 1839 Congressmade its first appropriation for agricultural purposes, $1000, tobe spent in gathering information about crops and otheragricultural matters. This was a small beginning when comparedwith the $37,000,000 appropriated by Congress for agriculturalpurposes in 1918.

CREATION OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The United States Department of Agriculture was created byCongress in 1862, though it was not placed on an equality with theother executive departments of the national government, with amember of the President's cabinet at its head, until 1889. Whileit has some very important regulatory powers, that is, powers toenforce laws and otherwise to control the practice of the people,its service has been largely by way of scientific investigation ofthe problems of agriculture and the distribution of theinformation so acquired. Its policy has been one of cooperationwith state authorities.

NATIONAL COOPERATION WITH THE STATES

In 1862 Congress gave to the several states portions of the publiclands, the proceeds from which were to be used for theestablishment and support of the agricultural colleges of whichmention has been made. Again, in 1887, Congress madeappropriations for the establishment of the agriculturalexperiment stations, which are conducted cooperatively by thestate and national governments. In 1914 the Smith-Lever Act waspassed by Congress, making appropriations for agriculturalextension work to be conducted by the state agricultural collegeswith the cooperation of the Department of Agriculture. By theterms of this act each state must appropriate a sum of money forthe extension work equal to that received from the nationalgovernment.

THE STATES RELATIONS SERVICE of the Department of Agriculturesupervises and administers these cooperative relations with thestates under the terms of the Smith-Lever Act. In each state thereis a director of extension work who represents both the UnitedStates Department of Agriculture and the state agriculturalcollege. 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 theircounties and assist in organizing rural communities forcooperation. Women county agents, or home demonstration agents,are rapidly being installed also, to conduct extension work inhome economics and organize cooperation among the women.

In the Southern States during 1915 about 110,000 farmers carriedout demonstration work under the supervision of county agents.Each such farm demonstration serves as an object lesson for theentire community. These demonstrations included corn raising in446,000 acres, cotton in 202,000 acres, tobacco in 2630 acres,small grains in 196,000 acres, and many other products in hundredsof thousands of acres. Stumps were removed from more than 70,000acres, 220,000 acres were drained, and there were 29,000demonstrations in home gardens. Sixty-four thousand improvedimplements were bought. Work was done with orchards involving morethan 2,000,000 trees, 29,000 farmers were instructed in the careof manure with an estimated saving of more than 3,000,000 tons.Farmers in 678 cooperative community organizations were advisedwith regard to the purchase of fertilizers with a saving in costof $125,000. One thousand six hundred fifty-four communityorganizations were formed to study local problems and to meetlocal business needs. Nearly 63,000 boys were enrolled in cornclubs.

There were also in the Southern States 368 counties with homedemonstration agents, who gave instruction to 32,613 girls and6871 women. Each of the girls produced a one tenth acre homegarden of tomatoes and other vegetables. They put up more than2,000,000 cans of fruit and vegetables worth $300,000. There werenearly 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 boysand girls were enrolled in club work. Nearly 25,000 of these wereengaged in profit-making enterprises in which they produced foodworth more than $500,000. Reports from 3155 homes show 546,515quarts of fruits and vegetables canned, about half of whichconsisted of vegetables, windfall apples, and other products thatfrequently go to waste.

How much money does your state receive from the national treasuryunder the terms of the Smith-Lever Act? (Discuss at home, consultyour county agent.)

Find out from your county agent, and from your home demonstrationagent (if there is one), what their work includes and how it isdone. Invite them to speak to your school on the subject.

What demonstration work is being carried on in your county for menand women? Results achieved?

With the help of your county agent, make a map of your countyshowing the distribution of his demonstration work.

Report on boys' and girls' club work in your county. Describeparticularly any such work in which you are engaged.

What are some of the problems in regard to which the farmers ofyour 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 theorganization of rural communities for cooperation in buying andselling, in obtaining rural credits and insurance (see ChapterXIII), in developing means of communication (Chapter XVIII), andin providing for social needs. It investigates markets and methodsof 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 theapplication of business methods to farm management and farmpractice. It studies the cost and profitableness of producingparticular crops, livestock, and dairy products, the use of thewoodlot, the most economic and effective farm equipment. Itinvestigates the cost of the farmer's living, methods of keepingaccounts, 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 muchto eradicate them. It studies methods of dairying and dairymanufacturing, of breeding and feeding livestock, of producingwool and other animal fibers, of poultry raising. It cooperateswith the States Relations Service and the state agriculturalcolleges in educational work, conducting livestock demonstrationwork and advising with regard to the establishment and managementof creameries and cheese factories. It promotes the organizationof 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 offoreign seeds and plants, from which many new industries havegrown up amounting in value to many millions of dollars each year.Its explorers have brought new varieties of cereals from Russiaand 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 breedingof hardy and disease-resisting grains, fruits, and vegetables,studies soil fertility, investigates the medicinal qualities ofplants, tests seeds, and improves agricultural implements. Itsexperiments are conducted in experimental gardens in Washington,D.C., at Arlington, Va., and at the experiment stationsdistributed widely over the United States.

This bureau does much educational work, instructing farmers how tocontrol plant diseases and how to organize for cooperation in thebreeding of disease-resisting plants, and conductingdemonstrations on reclaimed lands in arid regions. During 1916 itdistributed, through members of Congress, 356,000 tulip andnarcissus bulbs, 96,000 strawberry plants of 15 varieties, 14,000packages of lawn grass seed, and more than 16,000,000 packages ofvegetable and flower seeds.

THE BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY studies the influence of environment oncrops and plants; investigates the quality of mill products, themethods of bread making, of tanning leather, and of paper making.It tests the food values of all kinds of products, the keepingquality of poultry, eggs, and fish in the course oftransportation, and the composition of drugs. It is called upon byother departments of government to make chemical analysis of manyarticles.

THE BUREAU OF SOILS investigates the quality of soils and theiradaptation to different kinds of crops, and the fertilizer sourcesof the country.

THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY is concerned with the study of insectsand their relation to agriculture, including those that aredestructive to fruit, shade, and forest trees. Its work includesthe study and promotion of bee culture. It has carried on acampaign 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 birdreservations, including among others the Montana National BisonRange, the winter elk refuge in Wyoming, the Sully's Hill NationalGame Preserve in South Dakota, and the Aleutian IslandsReservation in Alaska. It studies the food habits of NorthAmerican birds and mammals in relation to agriculture,horticulture, and forestry, and the habits, geographicaldistribution, and migrations of animals and plants. It conductsexperiments and demonstrations in destroying animals harmful toagriculture and animal husbandry and in connection with rearingfur-bearing animals. It cooperates with local authorities in theprotection of migratory birds.

THE BUREAU OF CROP ESTIMATES gathers and publishes data regardingagriculture, and particularly estimates relating to crop andlivestock, production.

THE WEATHER BUREAU is in charge of the forecasting of the weather,the issuing of storm warnings, the display of weather and floodsignals 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 thework of the federal government for road improvement, and studiesfarm engineering problems such as those relating to sanitation andwater supply (see Chapters XVII and XX).

REGULATORY POWERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The Department of Agriculture has certain important powers ofregulation and control. Animals are inspected at market centers todiscover the presence of disease, and localities infected arequarantined.

In 1915 more than 15 million sheep were inspected and nearly 4million dipped to cure scabies. As a result nearly one and onehalf million square miles of land were released from quarantine.In the same year more than a million square miles were releasedfrom quarantine against scabies in cattle.

In quarantining a state, or portion of a state, the Departmentacts by authority of laws passed by Congress under its power toregulate interstate and foreign commerce (Constitution, Art. I,Sec. 8, cl. 3). By the same authority, all cattle for export andall imported from foreign countries are inspected and thosediseased excluded. Slaughter houses and meat-packingestablishments where meat is packed for interstate or foreigncommerce are inspected; meat that is unfit for use beingcondemned, while that which is good has the government stampplaced upon it. Such measures are primarily health measures (seeChapter XX), but they have great economic value.

In a similar manner imported seeds, plants, and plant products areinspected to prevent the importation of plant diseases and plantpests, and also to prevent adulteration of plant products.Warehouses are inspected and licenses granted to those that aresuitable for the proper storage of cotton, grains, tobacco,flaxseed, and wool. The Department enforces the laws that fix thestandards for grading cotton and grain, and licenses graininspectors. It also enforces the Food and Drugs Act (see ChapterXX).

Topics for investigation:

Difficulties experienced by farmers in your locality in marketingproduce 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 intransportation facilities in recent years.

Consult your county agent, or write to the Office of FarmManagement, for publications relating to farm management, farmaccounting, etc.

Discuss with farmers of your acquaintance the extent to which theyfind farm accounts and farm records useful.

Diseases of livestock prevalent in your locality and state.Experiments in cooperation to eradicate these diseases. Assistancereceived from the Department of Agriculture.

Crops of foreign origin raised in your locality. Countries fromwhich 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 thismatter.

Importance of these various farmers' problems to the people intown—the housekeeper, the merchant, the manufacturer, therailroad companies.

Cases of animal quarantine occurring in your locality.

Why warehouses for food products, cotton, etc., should belicensed. What "licensing" means.

How grain, cotton, or other products are "graded." The reason forgrading. 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 hisother interests, such as health, education, and social life, areespecially looked after by the Department of Agriculture, heshares with all other citizens the services of all the otherdepartments of government, each of which also has its elaborateorganization (see Chapter XXVII). It is the Treasury Department,for example, acting under authority given to it by Congress, thatprovides the people with their system of money and with a bankingsystem, both of which are great cooperative devices. TheDepartment of Commerce serves the farmer directly by discoveringmarkets for his products in every part of the world, andindirectly by everything it does to promote the country'scommerce. The rural mail delivery, the parcel post, and the motortruck service of the Post Office Department are of untold value tothe farmer (see Chapter XVIII). The Department of the Interior hassupervision 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 questionswhich the farmer has to face. It is one that he must help to solvefor himself:

As soon as work on the farms is organized, and employment is madesteady for all help, just so soon will a better class of laborersbe attracted to the farm. As the farm-owner wishes life to be freefrom eternal drudgery for himself and family, yielding the fruitsof happiness, leisure, and culture, he would do well to consentand arrange to give the farm hand who shares the shelter of hisroof a fair chance at the same benefits. The laborer wants regularhours, a chance for recreation, a good place to live in, andenough wages to maintain a family according to American standards.[Footnote: W.J. Dougan and M.W. Leiserson in "Rural SocialProblems," 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 farmerby his own unaided efforts can have little control. One of theseis the problem of bringing the laborer and the job together (seeChapter XI, p. 133). The work of the Employment Service in theDepartment of Labor during the recent war affords a strikingillustration of cooperation secured through an agency ofgovernment.

THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

The Employment Service had been created in 1914, but was rapidlydeveloped during the war to meet the demand for farm labor toprovide a food supply adequate to war needs. The main offices ofEmployment Service were with the Department of Labor inWashington. But each state had a federal director of employment,and branch offices were established in local communities. Thesuccess of the whole scheme depended, first of all, uponcooperation between national, state, and local governments.

Thousands of county agents and local rural community organizationsdiscovered and reported local needs to local employment offices,which in turn distributed the information by means of thedistrict, state, and national organizations. Fifty-five thousandpost offices became farm-labor employment agencies, postmastersand rural carriers acting as agents. Railroads cooperated both inreporting needs for the districts through which they run and indistributing labor to the points where needed. Newspaper officesserved as employment bureaus. The operators of nearly 8000 ruraltelephone companies weekly called up the homes of two millionfarmers to inquire as to needs. State and county councils ofdefense, chambers of commerce, labor unions, farmers'organizations, and other volunteer agencies afforded channelsthrough which the farmer and the laborer were brought together.

From January to the end of October 1918, approximately 2,500,000workers were directed to employment (not all farm workers). Inthat year the enormous wheat crop of the western states wasentirely harvested by labor forces organized and moving northwardas the harvest ripened. "Teamwork between the county agriculturalagents and farm-help specialists of the Department of Agricultureand the harvest emergency force of the United States EmploymentService is considered largely responsible for the excellentresults." In a similar manner assistance was given in harvestingthe 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 theEmployment Service. In 1918, 210,000 boys between the ages of 16and 20 were enrolled for work on the farms during the summer. TheReserve was responsible in 1917 and 1918 for saving millions ofdollars worth of crops. It is estimated that in 1918 it raisedenough food to feed a million soldiers for one year.

EMPLOYMENT SERVICE IN PEACE TIME

With the passing of the war emergency, the elaborate machinery ofthe Employment Service was in large measure allowed to fall topieces through lack of appropriations for its maintenance. This istrue of much of the emergency organization of government developedduring the war period. It illustrates the tendency in our countryto leave business control as fully as possible to individualinitiative excepting in times of great emergency. So important isthe problem of bringing the worker and the job together that manybelieve that the Employment Service organization should be revivedand continued.

The central office at Washington is still maintained. In moststates there are still (1919) state directors. The local machineryhas been largely discontinued except in cities where volunteeragencies, such as the Red Cross and other welfare organizations,have taken over the work, chiefly to find employment fordischarged soldiers and sailors. A few states have madeappropriations to continue the Boys' Working Reserve.

NATIONAL VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE

One division of the Employment Service is the Junior Section, forthe guidance of boys and girls from 16 to 21 years of age seekingemployment. Local junior sections were organized as branches oflocal employment offices and in schools. A "junior counselor" wasplaced in charge of each local junior section to study the needsand qualifications of those who applied for employment, and togive them advice. The Junior Section is still maintained with adirector in the Washington office. The duties of the juniorcounselor are stated as follows:

To influence boys and girls to remain in school as long aspossible.

To give aid toward the right start for those who have to leaveschool to go to work.

To arouse the ambitions of the boys and girls to fit themselvesfor 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 tosee that they have the best available advantages of study andlabor.

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 Statesgovernment is doing in the interest of agriculture and the farmer,and the extensive machinery necessary to do it. The facts givenare only a few of those that might be given. The detailed story ofhow much of this work is done is fascinating, and often ofthrilling interest. All around us may be seen, if our eyes areopen, the evidences of the work of our government. Always thegovernmental 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, themore we shall be impressed by the fact that its greatest serviceis in opening the way for cooperation, and in providing theorganization 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 laborersin 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 andcommunity.

Employment agencies in your community at the present time. By whomconducted. Are they free, or run for profit? Advantages anddisadvantages of the two kinds.

Harvesting the wheat crop in war time.

The Boys' Working Reserve in your locality. The experience of thefarmers of your locality as to its value. Possible objectionsraised 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 StateAgricultural College, and the State Experiment Station,publications relating to their work.

Send to the U. S. Department of Agriculture for its List ofPublications Available for Distribution; or for publicationsrelating to particular topics. Among the useful publications ofthe 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 orlater years).

Report on Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative
Agricultural Extension Work (1915 or later years).

A very useful publication is the "Guide to United StatesGovernment Publications," published by the U.S. Bureau ofEducation as Bulletin, 1918, No. 2. It not only describes thepublications of each department of government, but also theorganization 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.

THRIFT

"THRIFT IS GOOD MANAGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS OF LIVING."

NATIONAL IMPORTANCE OF THRIFT

This definition is taken from "Ten Lessons in Thrift," issued bythe 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 economicproblems must be solved through thrift … Unless our people gaina deep, sincere appreciation of the absolute necessity for thrift,we cannot hope to hold the proud position we occupy as the flagbearer of nations …" [Footnote: S.W. Strauss, President AmericanSociety for Thrift, in "The Patriotism of War Savings" (NationalEducation Association pamphlet, THRIFT, 1918)]

LESSONS OF THE WAR

The great war taught us some lessons about the importance ofthrift to the nation. The enormous expenses of the war were paidand the armies and the civilian populations of the countries atwar were fed very largely by the combined small savings of ourpeople. Nearly 20 million people contributed to the fourth libertyloan, by which almost seven billion dollars were raised, anaverage of about $350 for each contributor. Almost every onebought war savings stamps, by which about a billion dollars wereraised 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." Theprovisioning of our armies and of the needy peoples of Europe wasmade possible by the saving, in American homes, of slices ofbread, of teaspoonfuls of sugar, of small portions of meat andfats.

THRIFT AS PATRIOTISM

Thrift, however, is not merely a war necessity. "The time whenthrift shall not be needed—needed as vitally as food itself—willnever come … Through thrift alone can the rebuilding come—therebuilding of America—the rebuilding of the world … Thrift ispatriot ism because it is the elimination of every element thattends to retard…" [Footnote: S W Strauss, "The Patriotism of WarSavings"]

Thrift is necessary both for individual success and for goodcitizenship. It is only by thrift that the individual may in somemeasure repay others for the care he himself received duringdependent childhood, and provide, during his productive years, forthe "rainy day" of sickness and old age. It is by thrift thatCAPITAL is accumulated with which to carry on the world's work.The citizen who saves and invests his savings in a home, inbusiness enterprises, in bonds or savings stamps, not only makeshis own future secure, but becomes identified with the communityand takes a greater interest in it. The thrifty citizen inspiresthe confidence of the community, and acquires an influence incommunity affairs that the unthrifty citizen does not enjoy.Finnish farmers in a certain section of New England are said to beable to obtain credit from neighboring bankers and businessmenmore easily than many of their neighbors, and to be considered asespecially desirable citizens, because of their reputation forthrift and honesty. Thrift is often confused with stinginess andselfish ness. On the contrary it alone makes generosity andservice possible.

THRIFT, "THE ESSENCE OF DEMOCRACY"

"Thrift is the very essence of democracy." For democracy meansfreedom, equality of opportunity, "self-determination." No man isa greater slave than one who is bound and driven by financialnecessity. By thrift the mind is "unfettered by the pettyannoyances that result from improvident ways." Thrift meansproviding for the future. There is nothing in the world that willso establish one's faith in the future and that will, therefore,give that freedom of spirit upon which democracy depends, as thewise 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 CHANCEof practicing it." It is a RIGHT as well as a duty. Before the warit was said that four fifths of the wage earners of our countryreceived less than $750 a year for their labor. Studies in variouscities also showed that an average family of five could notmaintain health and efficiency on an income of less than from $750to $1000. Under such circ*mstances thrift is the strictestnecessity, but it is a thrift that means pinching economy and thesacrifice of health and efficiency. It is not the thrift thatprovides for the future and gives freedom to the individual, thethrift that is "the essence of democracy itself." Every man shouldhave an opportunity to earn a "living wage," which includes anopportunity to provide for the future. Democracy is not completeuntil 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) ininvesting.

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 personis an industrious person—he makes wise use of his time; and alsoto note that many of those who are now in want, or who, inadvanced years, are receiving small wages, owe their condition toa failure at some time or other to make use of the opportunity forthrift. Many people do not recognize the opportunity when it ispresented, or lack the wisdom or the courage to seize it. Thriftinvolves MAKING A CHOICE, and in many cases a wise choice requirescourage as well as wisdom. It is a choice between the satisfactionof present wants and the sacrifice of present enjoyment for thesake of greater satisfaction and service in the future.

When a boy in school has a chance to take a job that will pay himwages, 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 thriftis shown by careful choice of vocation, and by thoroughpreparation for it, even though it requires sacrifices that seemdifficult (see pp. 137, 139).

We may note here, also, that physical fitness is essential ifearning power, which means power to perform service, is to befully developed. The "conservation" of health and life is soimportant that a chapter is devoted to it later (Chapter XX).

THRIFT IN SPENDING

(2) After money has been earned, thrift shows itself first of allin the way the money is spent; and many of us have the spending ofthe money that some one else has earned. Every time we spend anickel or a dollar we make a choice—we choose to spend or not tospend, how much we shall spend, for what we shall spend.

A lawyer in a small town reports that in one month he made out thenecessary papers to enable 75 men to mortgage their homes to buyautomobiles.

Butchers say that during the war they more often sold expensivecuts of meat to wage earners who were by no means well-to-do, butwho happened for the time to be getting good wages, than to peopleof larger means. One reason, perhaps, for extravagance in food andclothing on the part of unintelligent people who find themselvesunusually prosperous, is that they see no better way to spendtheir money. Those who find pleasure in books, in education fortheir children, in travel, in investing money in serviceableenterprises, and in the higher things of life, have to make ACHOICE in regard to what they shall enjoy, and as a rule prefer tosacrifice the grosser pleasures.

CHOOSING WHAT TO SPEND

People, and especially young people, need a certain amount ofsweets in their diet. But when we know that the candy bill of thepeople of the United States amounts to $400,000,000 a year, thatthis is almost as much as the total amount spent for publiceducation, that it is about double the amount used to keep Belgiumsupplied with food for a year during the war, or that it will buy234 million bushels of corn at $1.70 a bushel, we may well thinktwice before deciding to spend MUCH money for candy.

TESTS FOR SPENDING

The few cents difference in the price of two articles betweenwhich we must choose, and the nickels we spend for immediateenjoyment, may seem to amount to very little; but the New YorkCity street railways collected in a year $95,000,000 in five-centfares, and the Woolworth Building in New York, one of the largestoffice buildings in the United States, was built from the profitsof "5 and 10 Cent Stores." One thrift stamp a week amounts in fiveyears to $65, and 14 cents a day at 4 per cent interest amounts intwenty years to more than $1500. In one of the "Ten Lesson inThrift," 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 thatrelates to wise spending or buying?

If you do not have such instruction, apply to the homedemonstration agent in your county (if there is one), or write toyour state agricultural college, or to the States RelationsService, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., forcirculars or bulletins relating to thrift in buying food,clothing, etc.

In writing for such material, why is it an example of thrift toask for ONE copy of EACH publication for your CLASS or for yourSCHOOL, rather than to ask for a copy for each pupil?

In what ways is thrift shown by having a class committee write oneletter making the request for the class instead of having eachmember of the class write?

Has any home demonstration work relating to thrift been conductedin your community? What methods were employed, and what resultsachieved?

Who in your family makes most of the expenditures for the familyliving?

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 buyingfood? clothing? house furnishings? books? amusem*nts?

Discuss the topics mentioned in the following statement of "valuesin 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 inquantity 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 repairand remaking; suitability to season, health, occupation, comfort;home-made VERSUS ready-made; conditions of manufacture, use ofchild labor, the sweat shop, the living wage, health.

Make a study at the grocery of the relative prices of articlesbought in small and large quantities: for example, laundry soap bythe bar, by the quarter's worth, by the box; canned goods by thecan, 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 inpackage; 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 ratherthan in bulk, even at a higher price? Give examples.

Which is likely to be more economical, to buy groceries bytelephone or in person? To buy by mail order or at the store intown? Why?

At Christmas time the Park View community center in Washington,D.C., ordered 140 turkeys from a rural neighborhood center inMaryland. The turkeys were brought by the producers to theschoolhouse of the rural neighborhood, taken by a postal servicemotor-truck to the schoolhouse of the Park View center inWashington, and from there distributed to the 140 families. Thecity buyers paid an average of 15 cents a pound less than theprice prevailing in the Washington markets, and the producersreceived 6 cents a pound more than the Washington markets werepaying.

Why was there a saving to both producer and consumer in the abovecase? What costs of marketing were cut out or reduced?

What is the "middleman"? Does he perform a real service to thecommunity? Should he be paid for his service? Why? Is it just thatthe middleman should be "eliminated" by cooperative marketing andbuying organizations? Why?

Is there any cooperative buying organization in your community? Ifso, how has it benefited the community? If not, why? (Consult yourparents, your county agent, and others.)

Get publications from your state agricultural college relating tocooperative buying and selling.

THRIFT IN MANAGEMENT

Wise expenditures depend not only upon knowledge of prices andqualities, but also upon good management, as in planning ahead.One plan that has been the means of lifting many individuals andfamilies out of financial difficulties and of enabling them to layby as savings a portion of their income, however small the lattermay be, is the BUDGET, which means the apportionment ofexpenditures according to a plan laid out in advance. No budgetcan apply to all families alike, but the following illustrates theprinciple:

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 charitycontributions, gifts, books, magazines, newspapers, amusem*nts,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 isbeing lived up to, it is necessary to keep accounts of receiptsand expenditures. With such accounts, it is possible to determinewhere savings can be made under some heads and where, perhaps, itis necessary or advisable to spend more.

Is a budget used in your home? Find out from your parents theirreason 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 governmentand 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: Thisand the following topics are adapted from "Ten Lessons inThrift."]

When is food a necessity and when an amusem*nt?

When is amusem*nt education and when a frivolity?

When is fuel an item in rent and when current housekeepingexpense?

When are club dues education and when amusem*nt?

When is vacation health and when amusem*nt?

When is the theater amusem*nt and when indulgence?

When is rent a necessity and when an extravagance?

[Footnote: From "Suggestion for Home Demonstration Agentsregarding Methods of Teaching Thrift," States Relations ServiceCircular, Dec. 27, 1918.]

THRIFT IN SAVING

(3) The object of thrift in spending is both to get the greatestvalue for our money now and to insure savings that will providefor the future. Every budget should make as definite provision forsavings as for rent or clothing. The purpose of a budget and ofaccounts is to assure a surplus rather than a deficit. Successfulmen and women make it a practice always to spend less than theyearn, no matter how little they earn, and they cannot be sure ofthis without planning ahead and keeping accounts. Saving in thisway is largely a matter of habit; but it is astonishing how manyfail to form the habit. Court records show that out of every 100men who die, 82 leave no income-producing estates, or that about85 per cent who reach the age of 65 are dependent upon relativesor upon the community. "Out of every 100 widows, only 18 are leftin comfortable circ*mstances, while 47 are obliged to go to workand 35 are left in absolute want." [Footnote: S.W. Strauss, "TheGreater Thrift," National Education Association PROCEEDINGS, 1916,p. 278.]

AMERICAN EXTRAVAGANCE

Wise buying means saving money; and so does the wise use of whatwe buy. It is said that an American ship can be distinguished fromthe ships of other nations in harbor by the flocks of gulls thathover around to feast on the food thrown overboard. Whether thisis true or not, Americans have a reputation for wastefulness. Ithas been called our chief national sin. It is said that a familyin France can live in comfort on what an American family in thesame circ*mstances ordinarily throws away. An average load ofgarbage 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 isenough glycerine in a ton of garbage to make explosives for 14shells, enough fat and acid to make 75 bars of soap, and enoughfertilizer to grow 8 bushels of wheat. It is said that 24 citieswasted enough garbage to make 4 million pounds of nitroglycerine,40 million cakes of soap, and fertilizer for 3 million bushels ofwheat. On the other hand, 300 cities produced 52 million pounds ofpork 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 UnitedStates would equal in a year the total production of 400 thousandcows; that one ounce of meat or fat saved daily would in a yearmean 875 thousand steers, or a million hogs; and that if 81percent of the whole wheat were used in bread instead of 75percent, the saving in a year would feed 12 million people. Duringthe war our government organized a campaign for the salvage of"junk," and the total amount collected had a value of 1 1/2billion dollars. The school children of Des Moines, Iowa, arereported to have gathered and sold two thousand dollars' worth ofwaste paper in one week, and those of many other communitiesobtained similar results.

VALUE OF BY-PRODUCTS

Every successful business man is constantly vigilant to discoverand remedy waste in his business—waste of materials, time, andeffort. Many of the most valuable products in certain industriesare "by-products,"—that is, products produced as an incident tothe main industry and from materials that otherwise would havebeen wasted. In the manufacture of gas from coal, for example,important by-products are co*ke, tar, and ammonia. There has beengreat waste in the lumber industry, but now practically everyscrap from the tree may be used. In the Forestry ProductsLaboratory at the University of Wisconsin, a process has beendiscovered of producing from 15 to 25 gallons of wood alcohol froma ton of sawdust—and sawdust has many other uses. These are onlyillustrations. Scientists and inventors, many of them employed bythe government, are constantly at work finding uses for wasteproducts.

WASTEFULNESS IN FARMING

Wastefulness is found in great variety in farming activities. Forexample:

Why plant seed only 60 or 70 per cent of which will germinatewhen, for a few dollars extra and a little work, seed may beprocured that will average 90 to 95 per cent in the germinationtest? Why purchase or cultivate a worthless crab apple tree or ahybrid when Rome Beauty, Northern Spy, or Grimes Golden, and otherstandard varieties of apples may be secured for a few additionalcents? Why feed and care for a "scrub" pig, calf, or colt when itwill bring at maturity only half or two thirds the price of athoroughbred? … It is not thrift to invest money in second-rateproducts.

Some farmers are so careless … that they do not husk their cornin the fall but leave it standing in the field until late winteror early spring. By this time the fodder is somewhat decayed andunfit for feeding purposes. Possibly a third of the corn has beeneaten by the birds, a third of it has rotted, and a third of itremains in a damp and moldy condition. … Many boys could makegood wages by going over the corn field at cutting time andcollecting the ears lying on the ground. … Often a farmer willcut down his hay, paying no attention whatever to the reports ofthe weather bureau … Apples shaken from the trees by the winddecay on the ground …

The bearings of mowing machines and reapers often suffer excessivewear because the owner neglects to keep them properly oiled. Oftena wheat drill, a mowing machine, a threshing machine, or an engineis left out of doors for a whole year, or for several months afterthe farmer has ceased to use it. A good piece of machinery, ifjudiciously used, properly lubricated, and put away in a dryplace, may last from ten to twenty years, while the life of suchmachinery will only be about half as long without proper care. Ifa wooden handle rots loose from its fastenings it is an indicationthat the handle has not been thoroughly dried after it has beenused. Tools rust out very readily if they are not kept dry andthoroughly oiled … So careless are some farmers that hoes,shovels, mattocks, wrenches, saws, and axes are thrown down in thefield or woods to lie there until it is again necessary to usethem. It often takes hours to find an article thus misplaced orthrown aside. It is economy of time to know just where to findeverything on the farm. [Footnote: The Teaching of Thrift, by H.R. Bonner, Assistant State Superintendent of Schools, WestVirginia, 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 StatesRelations 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 ina home, a wise use because of the satisfaction that a homeproduces. If the home is well located, well built, and well keptup, it will probably also increase in money value. Savings may beinvested in machinery for farming, manufacturing, or mining; in astock of goods to be sold at a profit; in houses or officebuildings to be rented to others; or they may be lent to otherswho pay interest for their use. In all these cases moneyrepresents CAPITAL—capital being the machinery or tools and otherequipment with which wealth is produced.

Capital is brought into existence in only one way—that is, byconsuming less than is produced. If one has a dollar one can spendit either for an article of consumption, say confectionery, or foran article of production, say a spade. He who buys a spade becomesa capitalist to the amount of a dollar—that is, he becomes theowner of tools. The process is precisely the same whether theamount 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. Farmingrequires more capital to-day than formerly because of theincreased use of machinery. The necessary capital must either besaved by the person who wants to use it, or borrowed from otherswho have saved it.

The advantage of borrowing is that one does not have to wait solong to get possession of the tools and equipment. One can getthem at once and make them produce the means of paying forthemselves. Without them the farmer's production might be so lowas to make it difficult ever to accumulate enough with which tobuy 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 toaccumulate the purchase price without them. That is the onlyadvantage of credit in any business, but it is a great advantageto those who know how to use it. [Footnote 2: T.N. Carver, "How toUse Farm Credit," FARMERS' BULLETIN, 593, U.S. Department ofa*griculture, p. 2.]

CREDIT

Credit is simply a person's ability to borrow and depends upon theconfidence that others place in him. This confidence depends onhis 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 forthis reason that thrift is essential to a man's credit—thrift andhonesty.

There is no magic about credit. It is a powerful agency for goodin 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 notunderstand them. … Many a farmer would be better off to-day ifhe had never had a chance to borrow money at all, or go into debtfor the things which he bought. However, there is no reason whythose farmers who do know how to use credit should not have it.

Shortsighted people, however, who do not realize how inexorablythe time of payment arrives, who do not know how rapidly toolswear out and have to be replaced, or do not keep accounts in orderthat they may tell exactly where they stand financially, will dowell to avoid borrowing. Debts have to be paid with deadlycertainty, and they who do not have the wherewithal when the dayof reckoning arrives become bankrupt with equal certainty.

On the other hand there is nothing disgraceful in borrowing forproductive purposes. The feeling that it is not quite respectableto go into debt has grown out of the old habit of borrowing to payliving expenses. That was regarded, perhaps rightly, as a sign ofincompetency. … But to borrow for a genuinely productivepurpose, for a purpose that will bring you in more than enough topay off your debt, principal and interest, is a profitableenterprise. It shows business sagacity and courage, and is not athing to be ashamed of. But it cannot be too much emphasized thatthe would-be borrower must calculate very carefully and be surethat 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, theconditions of farm business are such that it has not always beeneasy for him to borrow capital. Here again cooperation helps. Insome of our states the law permits the organization of CREDITUNIONS. The members are farmers of a neighborhood or district and,therefore, are acquainted with one another. Each member must buyshares of stock, which provides a certain amount of funds. Theunion may also receive deposits of money, paying interest on themas a savings bank would do. This increases the funds and alsoencourages thrift on the part of the farmer. Idle money, or moneythat might otherwise be spent unwisely, is thus made productive.In some unions, as in Massachusetts, children are encouraged todeposit their small savings, and in some cases half the capital ofthe union is made up of such small savings deposits. From thesefunds loans are made to members of the union on reasonable terms,provided they are to be used for productive purposes. The unionmay also borrow money from the bank in town on the COLLECTIVECREDIT of its members for the improvement of agriculturalconditions in the neighborhood.

NATIONAL AID TO THE FARMERS' CREDIT

Similar aid to the farmers' credit has been given by the nationalgovernment through the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916. This Actcreated a Federal Farm Loan Board in the Treasury Department, andtwelve Federal Land Banks, one in each of twelve districts intowhich the United States was divided for that purpose. Through theorganization provided by the board and the banks, a farmer may nowborrow money on more favorable terms, but only on condition thathe agrees to use the money for the purchase and improvement ofland or for equipment, and to engage in the actual cultivation ofthe farm for the development of which he desired the money.

The provisions of the Federal Farm Loan Act afford an excellentillustration of how government promotes citizen cooperation. Thegovernment does not lend the money to the farmers; it merelyprovides the machinery by which the farmers may cooperate amongthemselves, and also secure the cooperation of investors in allparts of the country, to obtain capital necessary for the properdevelopment of the land. As a rule the farmer can borrow moneyfrom the land bank only by being a member of a local "nationalfarm loan association." His dealings with the bank are throughthis association. His membership in the association gives himbetter standing and secures for him better terms than he could getif acting separately. Moreover, the money that the bank lends tothe farmer comes from the farmers who belong to the association,and from investors in all parts of the country, who buy shares ofstock in the bank and bonds issued by the bank on the security ofthe farmers' land and equipment. The whole scheme is one ofcooperation which would be impossible but for the legislation,financial support, and supervision of the government atWashington.

PARTNERSHIP IN THE NATION'S BUSINESS

It will be seen then that much of the capital that a farmer usesis borrowed, and is made up of small savings of other people—someof them his neighbors, others in distant places. The same is truewith respect to the capital used in all other businesses. Theenormous capital of railroads is derived chiefly from the savingsof millions of people, some of whom buy shares of railroad stockdirectly, but most of whom deposit their savings in banks or otherinstitutions which, in turn, lend it to the railroads or invest itin their stock. The farmer or the school boy who has a savingsaccount in a neighboring bank thus may become a partner in variousbusiness enterprises of the country. His dollars or dimes, addedto the dollars and dimes of many other people, are used to buymachinery and tools and materials, and to pay labor. Because ofthe service performed by his savings he receives interest on hismoney.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT

There are many opportunities for young people to invest savings inproductive enterprises,—perhaps more in rural communities thanelsewhere. The different kinds of boys' and girls' clubsillustrate the variety of channels through which money may be bothearned and invested. As soon as a boy invests a little money in apig, or a calf, or garden tools, he becomes a capitalist to thatextent. It is to be hoped that not many have the experience of theboy 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 smalldeposits and pay compound interest, usually at a rate of 3 percent or 3 1/2 per cent. Such banks operate in accordance withstate or national laws to protect the depositor against loss. Manyschools conduct school savings banks. The pupils bring their smallamounts to the teacher or to some pupil acting as "teller," thecollected funds then being deposited in some bank in thecommunity. These school banks promote habits of thrift and affordexperience in business methods, besides bringing into use in theworld's work many small amounts of money that would otherwise belying idle or spent unwisely.

POSTAL SAVINGS SYSTEM

In 1910 Congress established the Postal Savings System under whichany post office may be a savings bank. Any person over ten yearsof age may deposit money at the postal savings bank in amounts offrom $1.00 to $25.00, receiving from the postmaster POSTAL SAVINGSCERTIFICATES as evidence of the deposit. Provision is made forsavings accounts of less than a dollar by selling POSTAL SAVINGSSTAMPS at ten cents each, ten of which may be exchanged for adollar certificate. Two per cent interest is paid on postalsavings, but savings certificates may be exchanged for POSTALSAVINGS 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 Stampsis a good investment and a patriotic act. The money raised in thisway is used for the national defense and for reconstruction afterthe war. The Savings Division of the United States TreasuryDepartment carries on a campaign of thrift education. Among otherthings, it promotes the organization of savings societies andthrift clubs, because thrift is a habit which is encouraged by theexample and cooperation of others. In Randolph County, Indiana,for example, each consolidated school has its thrift club, andover 75 per cent of the pupils are members. One of these schoolssold over $11,000 worth of thrift stamps, and others sold from$1500 to $3500 worth. Savings societies exist among the workmen ofmany industries, and employers report that these have increasedthe purchase of homes, and have resulted in a saving of materialsand tools because of the habits of thrift established.

INSURANCE

Among the many other agencies to promote thrift we shall onlymention BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS and INSURANCE. The purposeof building and loan associations is to help people of small meansto purchase or build homes. Insurance affords a particularly goodillustration of organized cooperation. The PREMIUMS paid bythousands of policy holders produce a large sum of money, part ofwhich goes to pay the expenses of the insurance company, but mostof which is invested in enterprises that cause the amount rapidlyto increase. Out of this fund the occasional losses of individualsare paid. Life insurance is a good form of investment. It providesfor the future of the family of the insured in case of his death.By the ENDOWMENT plan the insured may himself receive, at the endof a specified number of years, all that he has paid in premiumstogether with interest.

During the war our national government itself insured the soldiersagainst death or injury. This was known as WAR RISK INSURANCE. Atthe end of the war the soldier had the privilege of converting thewar risk insurance into a regular form of insurance, stillprovided, however, by the government itself. One of our statesalso, Wisconsin, sells life insurance to its citizens.

As we proceed with our study we shall encounter other aspects ofthrift in various chapters. As a nation we may be thrifty orunthrifty in the use of our resources (see Chapters XIV and XV).Thrift is as essential in our "community housekeeping," which iscarried on by government, as in our homes and business. But we canhardly expect thrift to become a national characteristic unless itfirst becomes a personal habit.

Are you a capitalist? If so, explain in what way.

What forms does the capital take with which your father doesbusiness?

What capital does an Eskimo have? the American Indians when thecountry was first settled?

Do you belong to a thrift club? Would it be desirable to organizeone in your school? Confer with your teacher and principal aboutit. 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 otherorganization to promote thrift in your community? If so, find outhow it operates.

Write a story on the subject, "What my five dollars may accomplishafter I put it in the savings bank, before it comes back to mewith interest."

Why are people willing to accept a lower rate of interest from apostal 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 inElementary Schools." Both of these contain lists of readings.

The Post-Office Department has publications descriptive of thepostal savings service.

Farmers' Bulletins, U.S. Department of Agriculture, relating tothrift.

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 StateAgricultural College, will doubtless furnish lists of referencesand perhaps provide materials.

The United States Bureau of Education will send list ofreferences.

THE RELATION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

"NATURE WAS MUCH BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN MAN. SHE WOULD SUFFER NOSUDDEN HIGHWAYS TO BE THROWN ACROSS HER SPACES; SHE ABATED NOT ANINCH OF HER MOUNTAINS, COMPROMISED NOT A FOOT OF HER FORESTS. …FOR THE CREATION OF THE NATION THE CONQUEST OF HER PROPERTERRITORY FROM NATURE WAS FIRST NECESSARY … A BOLD RACE HASDERIVED INSPIRATION FROM THE SIZE, THE DIFFICULTY, THE DANGER OFTHE TASK."

If you wanted to buy a farm, what facts would you investigate inregard to land and location?

What farm in your neighborhood comes nearest to meeting yourrequirements in these matters? Explain fully why.

Make a sketch map of a farm in your neighborhood, preferably oneupon which you have lived, showing as nearly as you can theboundaries, 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 thelocation of the buildings? of the roads and bridges? the kinds ofcrops raised on different parts of the farm?

Should the surface features of the land be taken into account indetermining the position of the house and barns in relation toeach other? Why?

Has the character of the land influenced the life of the farmer'sfamily in any way? Explain.

IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS

Directly or indirectly, geographical conditions affect everyaspect of community life and help or hinder us in satisfying allof 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 ofwealth.

ESTABLISHING RELATIONS WITH THE LAND

Every step that man has taken to make his relations with the landpermanent and definite has been a step of progress incivilization, as when, for example, the savage hunter became aherdsman, or the herdsman an agriculturist. We live to-day in anage of machinery, which is a result of turning to our use themetals from the depths of the earth and the power derived from theforces of nature, as in the application of steam, electricity, andthe explosive force of gasoline. Many have had a part in this workof establishing relations with the land: explorers; scientists whohave discovered the uses of our varied mineral and vegetableresources and how to make the forces of nature serve us; engineerswho have built our railroads and bridges and tunneled ourmountains. A most important part has been taken by those who wintheir living directly from nature's resources—the woodsman, theminer, the farmer; and the service of the farmer has beenespecially great in giving stability to our community life.

AGRICULTURE MEANS A SETTLED LIFE

Those American Indians were most civilized who had developedagriculture to the highest point, because this meant a settledlife. If we recall the story of the colonization of America weshall remember that it was not successfully accomplished by thegold hunters and fur traders who came first, but only when thosecame who, as farmers, began to cultivate the soil. Later, as thepopulation moved westward across the Alleghenies into theMississippi Valley and on to the Pacific Coast, the hunters andtrappers were the scouts who found the way, while the real armythat took possession of the land was an army of farmers.

Did the American Indians who formerly lived in your locality leada settled life? Why? Were they agriculturists to any extent? Ifso, what do you know of their method of agriculture?

Of what pastoral peoples have you read? Why was their life moresettled than that of hunting peoples? Why less settled than thatof farmers?

Why were settlements by gold hunters and fur traders likely not tobe 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 aninteresting one, but too long to be told here. The right has longbeen recognized and protected by government. If your father owns apiece of land he doubtless has a DEED for it, containing anaccurate description of the land and giving him title toownership. In each county there is an office of government whereall deeds are recorded—the office of the recorder or register ofdeeds.

The record of every piece of land is thus kept and is open toexamination by any one. If a man wishes to buy a piece of land hewill go to the office of the recorder and find out whether thetitle to the land is clear. Only by so doing may he be protectedagainst error or fraud.

TRANSFERS OF LAND

Since lands are likely to change hands a number of times, andsince men frequently MORTGAGE their lands as security for loans orother indebtedness, thus giving to others a claim to their land,it is sometimes a tedious and difficult task for a buyer to tracethe record back and to be sure that the title to the land isclear. It sometimes requires months. There are lawyers who make abusiness of examining the records and making ABSTRACTS OF TITLES.This involves expense. Besides, there is always the chance that amistake may be made somewhere. For this reason some states haveadopted a plan known as the TORRENS SYSTEM of land transfer, fromthe name of the man who devised it in Australia.

Under the Torrens System the government itself, through its properofficer, may examine the title to any piece of land. The land isthen REGISTERED, and the owner is given a certificate as evidence.If a mortgage is placed on the land or if it changes hands thetransaction is recorded on the certificate and in the officerecords. A mere glance at the record of registry or at thecertificate is sufficient to ascertain the title to the land. Thustime and expense are saved; and moreover the government gives itsabsolute guarantee to the owner or buyer as to his rights in theland.

The Torrens System is in use in some form in fourteen states ofthe Union, in the Philippines and Hawaii, and in various othercountries 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 theclaims of others. Boundary lines were indefinite. Where surveyswere made they were often inaccurate. Much confusion resulted.Disputes arose that frequently found their way into the courts anddragged on for many years. The government sought to put an end tothis state of affairs, and in Thomas Jefferson's administration asurvey was begun to establish lines by which any piece of landmight be located and defined with exactness.

The government survey was begun by establishing certain north andsouth lines known as PRINCIPAL MERIDIANS. There are twenty-four ofthese, the first being the meridian that separates Indiana fromOhio, while the last runs through the state of Oregon. Atintervals of six miles east and west of the principal meridianswere established other meridians called RANGE LINES. A parallel oflatitude was then chosen as a BASE LINE, and at intervals of sixmiles north and south of the base line were established TOWNSHIPLINES. These township lines with the range lines divide thecountry into areas six miles square called TOWNSHIPS. A townshipmay thus be located with reference to its nearest base line andprincipal meridian (see diagram I).

Since meridians converge as we go north (look at a globe), thetownships are not exactly square, and become slightly smallertoward the north. To correct this, certain parallels north andsouth of the base line were chosen as CORRECTION LINES, from whichthe survey began again as from the original base line.

Each township is divided into SECTIONS one mile square, andtherefore containing 640 acres each. These sections are numberedin each township from 1 to 36 as indicated in diagram III. Eachsection is further subdivided into halves and quarters, which aredesignated 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 GeneralLand Office of the Department of the Interior. In 1917 more than10,000,000 acres, or nearly 16,000 square miles, were surveyed. Inthat year there still remained unsurveyed more than 900,000 squaremiles of public land, 590,000 of which were in Alaska and 320,000in the United States proper. In the original thirteen states alongthe Atlantic seaboard a similar survey has been made, but eitherby private enterprise or under the authority of the state orcounty governments. Massachusetts has recently spent a large sumof money in a new survey of the state for the purpose of verifyingand correcting doubtful boundaries.

Has your father a deed to the land you live on? If so, ask him toshow it to you and explain it. How is the land described?

At the first convenient time, make a visit to the office of therecorder of deeds in your county, and ask to have some of therecords shown and explained to you, preferably the record of theproperty you occupy. Where is the office of the recorder? (A visitof this sort should be in company with the teacher or parent. Aclass excursion for this and other purposes may well be arrangedfor.)

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 therecorder's office, or from a map of your county showing the surveylines, locate the land you live on, as indicated in theaccompanying 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 orirregular? How does this happen?

Do you know of any boundary disputes between farmers or othercitizens in your community? What machinery of government exists tosettle such disputes?

THE PUBLIC LANDS

At the close of the Revolutionary War, the territory of the UnitedStates extended west as far as the Mississippi River. That part ofthis territory which lay west of the Allegheny Mountains had beenclaimed by seven of the thirteen states that formed the Union; butsoon after the war they ceded these western possessions to theUnited States, having received a promise from Congress that theselands, which were largely unoccupied at the time, should bedisposed of "FOR THE COMMON BENEFIT OF THE UNITED STATES." Theythus became PUBLIC LANDS; that is, they belonged to the people ofthe nation as a whole. The common interest in these public landswas one of the chief influences that kept the thirteen statesunited under one government during the troubled times between theclose of the Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution in1789. As time went on, the public lands of the nation wereincreased by the acquisition of new territory, [Footnote:Louisiana Territory was acquired in 1803, Oregon in 1805, Floridain 1812 and 1819, Texas in 1845, California and New Mexico in1846-48, the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, Alaska in 1867.] Of the3,600,000 square miles comprising the United States and Alaskamore than three fourths has at some time been public land; but ofthis there now remain, exclusive of Alaska, only about 360,000square miles, much of which is forest and mineral land, unsuitablefor agriculture.

DISPOSAL OF THE PUBLIC LANDS

To turn this great domain with all its resources to the fullestservice of the nation has been one of the greatest problems withwhich our government has had to deal. In the early part of ourhistory various plans were tried by which to secure the occupancyand development of the agricultural lands by farmers, until in1862 the first Homestead Act was passed by Congress.

About 10,000,000 acres of the public land were given to soldierswho fought in the Revolution and in the War of 1812 in recognitionof then-service to their country. About 60,000,000 acres werelater given to veterans of the Mexican War.

Until the year 1800 the plan in use for the disposition of thepublic lands was to sell large areas to colonizing companies, withthe expectation that these companies would find settlers to whomthey would sell the land in small quantities at a profit. This wasnot successful, as actual settlers found it difficult to get landthey wanted at prices they could afford.

From 1800 to 1820 lands were sold in small areas ON CREDIT. Manybought more than they were able to pay for, and much land sodisposed of had to be taken back by the government.

In 1820 a third plan was adopted: That of selling land for cash inany quantity to any purchaser. This led to speculation,individuals and companies of individuals buying recklessly,without intention of actual settlement, but with the purpose ofselling again at a profit. This brought on a financial panic in1837.

Then followed the "PREEMPTION" plan, by which actual settlerscould "preempt" land (get the first right to it) by merely takingpossession 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 theland 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 tomen's desire to earn a living, to acquire property, and especiallyto own homes. It has been modified from time to time, but in allessentials it still remains in force and provides that any citizenof the United States who has reached the age of twenty-one, or whois the head of a family, may acquire a farm on condition of livingupon it for a period of three years, cultivating the land anderecting a dwelling, and paying to the government a small fee. Thesize of the farm that he may so acquire varies according to thenature of the land, but the usual homestead on good agriculturalland is limited to 160 acres.

The purpose of the government has been to encourage ACTUALSETTLEMENT in order to secure the development of the nation'sresources, and for this purpose to allow each settler enough landto enable him to support a family in comfort. It was decided that160 acres of GOOD FARM LAND was enough.

Some portions of the public land, however, are less productivethan others. Where the rainfall is slight and where irrigation isimpracticable, and yet where crops can be raised by the "dryfarming" process, the law allows a settler to take 320 acres.

A settler may also obtain 320 acres in the "desert lands" of someof the western states. These lands may be made productive byirrigation, but the settler must construct his own irrigationsystem. Originally 640 acres were allowed in such lands, but theamount has been reduced to 320 acres, and the Commissioner of theGeneral Land Office now recommends (1916) that it be furtherreduced to 160 acres.

In those parts of the desert region which the government hasalready reclaimed by irrigation, thus making the land extremelyfruitful, the amount usually allowed a settler is from 40 to 80acres.

There are regions where the land is suitable only for stockraising and for forage crops. Here Congress has decided that 640acres is a fair amount for the support of a family.

Lands that are valuable for their timber and mineral resources aredisposed of on different terms, but on somewhat the sameprinciple.

RECLAMATION OF LANDS BY SOLDIERS

At the close of the war in 1918 a plan was proposed by theSecretary of the Interior to secure the occupation of land byreturning soldiers. Since the lands suitable for farming in theirnatural state have practically all been disposed of; the plancontemplates the reclamation of arid and swamp lands, and of landfrom which the forests have been cut but which are still coveredwith stumps. It is proposed that returned soldiers shall beemployed by the government in the work of reclaiming the land, andthat those who desire to become farmers may buy their farms in thereclaimed lands at a reasonable price, and with a period of thirtyor forty years in which to pay for them. The Secretary of theInterior said: "This plan does not contemplate anything likecharity to the soldier … He is not to be made to feel that he isa dependent. On the contrary, he is to continue in a sense in theservice of the Government. Instead of destroying our enemies he isto develop our resources." Much of the land whose reclamation byand for returning soldiers is thus contemplated is not now publicland, 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 theLand Settlement Act, which provides for "a demonstration inplanned rural development." "Its first idea is educational, toshow what democracy in action can accomplish." Under the terms ofthis act the state acting through a Land Settlement Board and withthe cooperation of experts from the University of California, haspurchased several thousand acres of land at Durham, in ButteCounty, which it sells to settlers on easy terms. It also lendsmoney to settlers for improvement and equipment for the farmers.

The California Land Settlement Act is significant, because iteliminates speculation, it aims to create fixed communities byanticipating and providing those things essential to early andenduring success.

Another feature is the use it makes of cooperation. The settlersare at the outset brought into close business and socialrelations. It reproduces the best feature of the New England townmeeting, as every member of the community has a share in thediscussions and planning for the general welfare. This influencein rural life has been lacking in new communities in recent years.In the great movement of people westward with its profligatedisposal of public land, settlement became migratory andspeculative. Every man was expected to look out for himself. Ruralneighborhoods became separated into social and economic strata.There was the nonresident landowner; the influential residentlandowner; the tenant, aloof and indifferent to communityimprovements; and, below that, the farm laborer who had no socialstatus and who in recent years, because of lack of opportunity andsocial recognition, has migrated into the cities where he couldhave independence and self-respect, or has degenerated into ahobo.

At Durham, for the first time in American land settlement, thefarm laborer who works for wages is recognized as having as usefuland valuable a part in rural economy as the farm owner. Theprovisions made for his home are intended to give to his wife andchildren comfort, independence, and self-respect; in other words,the things that help create character and sustain patriotism. Thefarm laborers' homes already built are one of the most attractivefeatures of the settlement; and when the community members gathertogether, as they do, to discuss matters that affect the progressof the settlement, or to arrange for cooperative buying andselling, the farm laborer and his family are active and respectedmembers of the meetings.

From maps in school histories study the claims of the seven statesto western lands.

What is the Ordinance of 1787?

Make reports on the circ*mstances connected with our variousterritorial acquisitions.

From whom did the colonists get the right to the land in theoriginal thirteen colonies?

Do you know anyone who has ever taken up a "homestead claim"? Ifso, learn how it was done.

If possible, get a description of a "land lottery" and a "landrush" in newly opened public lands.

Get all the information you can about the plan to provide land forthe soldiers, referred to above. Do you think this is a betterplan than that of giving land to soldiers outright? Why? Is yourstate likely to cooperate with the national government in carryingout this plan? How?

THE NATION'S INTERESTS ARE FIRST

The policy of the government of disposing of the public lands toindividuals has of course been of great benefit to the latter; butwe should not lose sight of the fact that the national well-beingis the first consideration. As the Commissioner of the GeneralLand Office said in a recent report (1916), "Every acre of publicland disposed of under this line of legislation is AN INVESTMENT,the profits to be found in the general development of the welfareof the nation at large."

SAFEGUARDING THE INTERESTS OF INDIVIDUALS

It has been no simple matter to administer our public lands, andmistakes have been made. Sometimes the interests of individualshave not been sufficiently safeguarded. Many settlers havesuffered serious loss, and many promising communities have failed,through the taking of homesteads in regions of little rainfall, asin western Kansas and Nebraska. The government now seeks toprotect homesteaders against such errors by distinguishingcarefully between lands suitable for ordinary agriculture andthose suitable only for dry-farming and stock-raising, byinforming prospective settlers in regard to the facts, and byallowing larger entries in lands of the latter classes. Anothermistake was made in allowing many of the first claimants to stock-raising lands so to locate their claims as to acquire theexclusive use of the only available water supply for miles around,thus making useless other large tracts. This might have beenavoided by a little foresight.

ABUSE OF LAND LAWS

On the other hand, the land laws have sometimes been abused. Largequantities of public land have fallen into the hands ofspeculators whose purpose is not to develop its resources, but tomake a profit from the increased value of the land due to theefforts of others. Immense areas of land have thus been withheldfrom production, or have been made to produce to a limited extentonly, to the great loss of the nation.

RAILROAD LANDS

In the days of transcontinental railroad building, large tracts ofland were given to the railroad companies by the government, withthe expectation that they would dispose of it at reasonable pricesto settlers attracted by the new transportation facilities, andwould use the proceeds in railway development. In fact, however,large quantities of this land have been held in an unproductivestate for speculative purposes.

An illustration of this is the case of the Oregon and CaliforniaRailroad land grant, made by Congress in 1869 and 1870, andcomprising more than 4,200,000 acres, most of which bore a heavygrowth of valuable timber. "This railroad grant … contained aspecial provision to the effect that the railroad company shouldsell the land it received to actual settlers only, in quantitiesnot greater than one-quarter section to one purchaser and at aprice not exceeding $2.50 an acre. By this precaution it wasintended that in aiding the construction of the railroad animmediate impetus should also be given to the settlement anddevelopment of the country through which the road was to beconstructed."

After selling some of the lands according to the terms of theagreement, the railroad company ceased to live up to these termsand sold large bodies of the land to lumber interests, thusputting a stop to the development of the region in the wayintended by the government. The government brought action againstthe railroad company, the outcome of which is that the governmenthas bought back from the company at $2.50 an acre all of the landsof the grant which remained unsold, amounting to about 2,300,000acres and valued at from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000.

These lands are being classified "in accordance with their chiefvalue, either in power-site lands, timber lands, or agriculturallands," and are to be disposed of accordingly. The timber will besold separately from the land, and the land will then be opened tohomestead entry.

By this arrangement the railroad company gets for the land allthat it was entitled to under the terms of the original grant. Inaddition, provision is made for the payment to the counties inwhich the land lies of the taxes which the railroad company hasnot paid. As the lands are sold, the proceeds are to be dividedbetween the state and the United States, the state receiving 50percent, 40 percent being paid into the general reclamation fundof the United States (see Chapter XIV, p. 213), and 10 per centinto 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, actingthrough Congress, the Courts, and the General Land Office of theDepartment of the Interior, has sought to obtain justice for allparties concerned, and to fulfill the original purpose of securingthe development of the land in the interest of the state and thenation.

LANDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Something like 133,000,000 acres of our public lands have fromtime to time been turned over to the states, the proceeds to beused for the promotion of public education, for the constructionof roads, and for other purposes (see Chapters XVII and XIX). Insome cases these lands have not been used altogether for thepurposes for which they were granted. School lands have sometimesbeen sold at a nominal price to individuals who have reaped theprofit, whereas the lands might have been so administered by thestates as to have brought large returns for educational purposes.In some cases, state officials have made unwise investments of thefunds derived from the sale of the lands, thereby losing them forthe use of the state.

LAND MONOPOLY AND TENANTRY

The control, or "monopolizing," of the public land by largeholders is said to be one of the causes of increasing tenantry(Chapter X, p. 116); for as the available supply of desirablefarming land is diminished, the actual home-seeker is driven totake less productive lands, or to purchase from the large holdersat a higher price. The more recent land laws limit the amount ofpublic land that an individual may acquire to an area sufficientto enable him to make a comfortable living for a family (seeabove, p. 199). They also exact from the homesteader an agreementthat he will actually occupy and cultivate the land.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR LAND FRAUDS

The responsibility for the defects in our methods of administeringthe public lands rests in part upon our governmentalrepresentatives, who have not always dealt wisely with theextremely difficult problem. But it rests also upon eachindividual citizen. There are those, be it said to our shame, whodeliberately seek to defeat the purpose of the laws and toappropriate to their own selfish uses the lands which belong tothe nation as a whole. There is one division of the General LandOffice in Washington known as the Contest Division. Before itcome, not only the ordinary disputes that are likely to arisebetween rival claimants, but also cases of alleged fraud andviolation of the land laws. In the year 1916 MORE THAN 12,000CASES OF ALLEGED FRAUD WERE ACTED UPON, AND NEARLY 12,000 OTHERCASES AWAITED ACTION AT THE END OF THE YEAR! But theresponsibility comes much closer home than this. Many of us whowould not think of violating the law have failed to appreciate thevalue of the gifts that nature has given us, and have apparentlybeen "too busy" to inform ourselves as to whether or not ourpublic lands have been administered solely for the purpose towhich Congress devoted them just after the Revolution. This, likeevery other matter of community interest, requires team work.

The community has certain rights to a citizen's land that areclearly recognized as superior to the citizen's rights. Actingthrough its government, it may take a part of a citizen's propertyby taxation (see Chapter XXIII). Taxes are paid in money; but if acitizen does not pay the tax upon his land, the government maysell 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 theRIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN. For example, if the interests of thecommunity demand that a new road be built, the government willseek to buy the necessary land from the farmers along the line ofthe proposed highway. Some farmer may say that he does not wantthe road to run through his farm, or he may try to get a pricebeyond what his land is worth. The government may then CONDEMN therequired land and fix a price despite the farmer's objections. Thecitizen whose land is taken must, however, be paid for it; theConstitution of the United States protects him by the provision,"nor shall private property be taken for public use without justcompensation" (Amendment V, last clause).

The right of eminent domain may be exercised to secure a site fora schoolhouse, a post-office, an army post, or courthouse, or forany other public purpose. The government also authorizescorporations that perform a public service to exercise the right,as in the case of railroads which must obtain a right of way fortheir 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, thegovernment may control the use to which a citizen may put hisland. Occasion for the exercise of the police power arises mostfrequently in cities, where it is necessary to control theconstruction of buildings for fire protection, and to regulate thekinds of business that may be conducted. In country districts itdoes not usually make so much difference what a man does on hisown land; but even there the police power may be exercised, aswhen the state of Idaho passed a law forbidding the herding ofsheep within a certain distance of towns.

POLITICAL RELATIONS WITH THE LAND

There is another way in which government establishes relationsbetween the people and the land. Citizens of the United Stateshave certain political rights and duties, such as voting, holdingoffice, and paying taxes. These rights may be enjoyed and theduties performed only within certain districts which thegovernment creates for this purpose. Thus, a citizen has a rightto vote within the state where he lives, but not in any otherstate. He must cast his vote within his own county, township, andprecinct. The boundaries of the states are established by thenational government (except the original thirteen states of theUnion, whose boundaries were fixed before the national governmentwas organized); but they may not be changed afterward without theconsent of the states affected. The states organize their owncounties and townships [Footnote: In the public land states thepolitical township usually, but not always, corresponds with thetownship surveyed by the national government. See pp. 194-196.]and other districts. Villages and cities are granted definiteboundaries by the state, and organize themselves into wards andprecincts. There are legislative, congressional, judicial, andrevenue districts, the boundaries of which are fixed by state andnational governments. Locally, there are school districts. Theboundaries which separate one nation from another are determinedby agreement, or treaty, between the nations concerned.Uncertainty or indefiniteness in regard to national boundary lineshas been the cause of much international strife, and was animportant factor in the European war begun by Germany in 1914.

If you live in a "public land" state, for what uses have publiclands been given to the state? Have the school lands in your statebeen wisely used?

Is it easy for a young man to acquire a farm in your locality? tokeep up improvements on a farm that he owns? Has it been easy fora farmer in your locality to borrow money? (Consult parents andfriends.)

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 paytaxes?

Do you know of cases of the exercise of the right of eminentdomain in your community? For what purposes? Was it exercised bylocal, state, or national government?

In what ways does government control the use to which you may putthe land on which you live?

In what township do you live? school district? congressionaldistrict? 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 theland surveys, the national forests, and many other importantitems. It may be secured from the Superintendent of Documents,Government Printing Office, Washington, for $1.

See the New International Encyclopedia and the EncyclopediaAmericana on public lands, national forests, and other topicsreferred to in this chapter.

In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE:

Series A: Lesson 4, What nature has done for a typical city.

CONSERVING OUR NATURAL RESOURCES

RESOURCES OF THE SOIL

In the preceding chapter we learned that as a nation we have notbeen altogether thrifty in the disposal and use of our publiclands. The same thing will have to be said regarding the use ofthe resources of the land, of which the soil is by far the mostvaluable.

It is said that 1200 boys in Ohio, organized in clubs, increasedthe average yield of corn from 35 bushels to 81 bushels per acre.The average returns per acre from the soil of the United Stateswere lower before the war than in any European country, exceptRussia. The following table gives the production per acre of fourcereals in the United States and five European countries in 1913.The same relative position of the United States would be shown ifwe took the average production of these countries for a series ofyears.

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 nomeans 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 Americanfarmer in agricultural efficiency. His adaptability to new andchanging conditions, to the use of improved machinery andprocesses, coupled with the great natural resources with which thenation is endowed, make him far superior to any of hiscompetitors. It is true that he does not produce more per acrethan the farmers of some other nations. Production per acre,however, is not the American standard. The standard is the amountof production for each person engaged in agriculture, and by thistest the American farmer appears to be from two to six times asefficient as most of his competitors.

WASTEFULNESS OF EARLY FARMING

As long as we had a great abundance of unoccupied land it wouldperhaps have been uneconomic to increase the production of thatwhich was occupied by the costly methods of agriculture used inBelgium, Germany, and other thickly settled countries. But the oldmethods of farming not only failed to get from the soil all thatit was then capable of producing, they also robbed it of fertilitywithout restoring to it what was taken from it. Thus the losscaused by wasteful methods was passed on to future generations. Tocontinue such methods in the light of our present knowledge andwith our growing population is thriftless in the extreme. Methodsof preserving and restoring the fertility of the soil and ofobtaining the largest returns from it are now receiving the mostcareful 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 laterparagraphs, and land held for speculation, but also vacant lotsand unused back yards in cities and villages, and waste or unusedportions of cultivated farms. It is largely from city and villagelots that the School Garden Army obtained its remarkable results.It is astonishing how many farmers buy instead of raising theirvegetables for the table, as well as feed for their stock.

Texas, for instance, has purchased $200,000,000 worth of foodproducts yearly from northern markets which might have beenproduced more cheaply at home. It takes 15 to 20 acres of land inTexas to grow cotton enough to buy 160 bushels of canned sweetpotatoes, while one acre of Texas soil would produce the samequantity, and uncanned. [Footnote: THRIFT, a monograph publishedby the National Education Association, 1918.]

Such topics as the following should be studied, consultingparents, farmers of the locality, and such printed sources ofinformation as are available.

The important cereal crops of your state. The average yield peracre of each. Increase or decrease in yield in recent years.

The work of corn clubs and other boys' and girls' clubs toincrease the yield of crops in your state.

The difference between "production per acre" and "production perperson engaged in agriculture."

The difference between "intensive" and "extensive" agriculture.

"Single crop" and "diversified crop" types of agriculture in yourlocality. Advantages of each.

Extent to which farmers of your locality raise their own tablevegetables and stock feed.

Evidence furnished by your town, or neighboring towns, during thewar, of the wealth-producing power of vacant lots or unusedbackyards.

RECLAMATION OF ARID LANDS

Much of our public land has been nonproductive solely because ofthe lack of moisture. In 1902 a law known as the Reclamation Actwas passed by Congress, providing that the proceeds from the saleof public lands in states containing arid regions,[Footnote: Thestates 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 toeducational and other public purposes, should be used for theconstruction and maintenance of irrigation works. This reclamationwork is in charge of the Reclamation Service of the Department ofthe Interior, whose engineers have built great dams and reservoirsfrom which the water has been led by canals and ditches into thedesert. By 1916 more than 1,000,000 acres had been irrigated underthis act, the crop value in that year reaching $35,000,000. Thereclaimed land is disposed of to actual settlers in accordancewith the homestead laws, each homesteader repaying the governmentin annual installments the cost of reclaiming the land heoccupies. The fund so created is used by the government forfurther reclamation projects. The Department of Agriculture sendsits experts to advise with the farmers in regard to the problemspeculiar to the reclaimed regions. "Every effort should be and is,therefore, being made to promote the success of the farmer, and onthe basis of his success to increase the prosperity of thecountry." [Footnote 2: Report of the Reclamation Service, 1912-1913, p. 4.]

The Yuma project in Arizona opened a new Valley of the Nile wherefour crops of alfalfa are now raised on what once were arid lands.The streets of Yuma and Somerton are crowded with the automobilesof farmers, enriched by thousands of acres of splendid long-staplecotton, alfalfa, corn, and feterita. Another irrigated valley inArizona, that of the Salt River, has few superiors in the worldand has come in three years into great prosperity. Arizona plantedto cotton last year 92,000 acres. Its crop was 96 per centperfect, the best record in the United States. [Footnote: ArthurD. Little, "Developing the Estate," ATLANTIC MONTHLY, March,1919.]

The principal irrigation projects of the Reclamation Service areshown on the accompanying map.

RECLAMATION BY STATES AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISE

Five or six times as much arid land has been reclaimed by privateenterprise as by the Reclamation Service. The first extensiveirrigation project in the West was a cooperative enterprise by theMormon colonists in Utah. It is said that about two fifths of theland irrigated in the United States is supplied with water byworks built and controlled by individual farmers or by a fewneighbors, while another one third is supplied by stock companies.As early as 1877 Congress passed "a desert land law," by whichhomesteads were granted in the arid lands on condition that thesettlers should irrigate the land. In 1894 the Carey Act waspassed by Congress under which the national government may give toa state as much as a million acres of arid public land within itsborders, on condition that the state provides for its irrigation.The work is done by private stock companies, with whom the statemakes a contract for the purpose. The most extensive irrigationproject undertaken by private enterprise is that of the ImperialValley in California, which derives its water from the ColoradoRiver. Under the laws of California the Imperial Valley region hasbeen organized as an "irrigation district," with power to levytaxes for the development and support of the irrigation work. Eachstate in which irrigation is practiced has its own laws regulatingthe use of water by farmers and other consumers.

The theory is that the state regulates the appropriation of thewater, exercising this power and holding the land in trust for thepublic … It is the duty of every state to which the ReclamationAct is applicable to assist with every resource under itscontrol.[Footnote: Water Supply Paper, 234, U.S. GeologicalSurvey, Department of the Interior, p. 66.]

Reference has been made in Chapter XIV to the proposed plan forthe reclamation and settlement of new areas of arid land byreturning soldiers.

SWAMP LANDS

There are probably 80,000,000 acres of swamp lands in the UnitedStates which could be made productive by drainage. Farmersthemselves could reclaim much of this land at comparatively smallcost, greatly increasing their own profit and the wealth of thecountry.

One farm in Wisconsin has 40 acres of poorly drained land that inits present condition is practically worthless. $25.00 per acrespent in drainage will make this 40-acre tract the equal of any inthe district, and good land is selling there at $150.00 per acre.[Footnote 2: "Unprofitable Acres," in YEAR BOOK, Department ofa*griculture, 1915, P. 147.]

The national government has at various times granted to the statesswamp lands aggregating 60,000,000 acres, with the expectationthat the states would reclaim them. The states have, however, donevery little to fulfill the expectation. These swamp lands areamong those whose reclamation by returning soldiers is proposed bythe 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 Actapplies, report on what has been accomplished by it in your state.

The development of one of the irrigation projects shown on themap.

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 theirreclamation.

The reclamation of swamp or marshy land on particular farms ofyour 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 ofa few of our streams are turned to the work of reclaiming land.Our unused water resources are very great. Niagara Falls have beenharnessed for industrial uses, and with only a small part of theirpower in use they light the streets and houses, run the streetcars, and turn the wheels of industry in Buffalo and Toronto andthe neighboring region. But so far we are making use of less than10 per cent of the power easily available from our streams. "Thewater now flowing idly from our hills to the sea could turn everyfactory 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," ATLANTICMONTHLY, March, 1919, p. 388.] It is probably not too much toexpect that when our undeveloped water power is utilized it willprovide electric light and power for every farm in the land. Ournation has allowed many of the best water power sites of thecountry to fall into the hands of private speculators who holdthem undeveloped, as in the case of farmlands, forests, and otherresources.

CONSERVATION OF FLOOD WATERS

Floods are not only immensely destructive of property, causing aloss of $100,000,000 along the Mississippi River alone in a singleyear, but they carry to the sea water that might be used forirrigation and for industry. Reservoirs, such as are built forirrigating projects, regulate the flow of water in streams andprevent floods. In New England and New York reservoirs have beenbuilt for this very purpose, and probably 10 per cent of the floodwaters that originate in these states is saved in this way andturned to industrial uses. Similar conservation of flood watersoccurs in Minnesota, but it is estimated that for the country as awhole not more than one per cent of the flood waters is saved.[Footnote: "Conservation of Water Resources," Water Supply Paper234, U.S. Geological Survey, 1919.] There are areas in which thereservoir system is impracticable, as in the lower MississippiValley. Here all that can be done is to protect the adjacent landby means of levees while controlling the floods farther up thevalley.

FUEL RESOURCES

Larger use of water power would conserve another valuableresource—coal. Of this fuel we have vast resources—"in WestVirginia alone more than Great Britain and Germany combined." Butthe supply is not inexhaustible and we are mining it and using itin an extravagant manner. The loss here is not merely of heat andpower and light, but of many valuable products of coal, includingdyes, ammonia, vaseline, and many others.

DESTRUCTION BY FLOODS

Floods are increasing in the United States. This is due chiefly tothe 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 offthe surface. The destruction of the forests, therefore, involvesnot only the loss of the timber, but also the loss caused by thefloods, including the washing away of the soil.

THE FOREST RESERVES

In 1891 Congress authorized the President to establish "forestreserves," the first to be created being the "Yellowstone ParkTimberland Reserve." From time to time new reserves wereestablished, and in 1907 the name was changed to the NationalForests. In 1917, more than 176 million acres were included withinthe National Forest boundaries, 21 million acres of which,however, belonged to private owners. They are administered by theForest Service of the Department of Agriculture, at the head ofwhich is the Chief Forester. They are grouped in seven districtswith a district forester in charge of each. Over each of the 150forests in the seven districts there is a forest supervisor; andeach forest is further subdivided into ranger districts underdistrict rangers who not only look after timber sales and the useof 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 towork for long periods in all kinds of weather. He must also knowhow to pack supplies and find food for himself and his horse in acountry where it is often scarce. Besides a written test,prospective rangers are examined in compass surveying, timberwork, and the handling of horses. [Footnote: "Government ForestWork," Forest Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, p. 15.]

There are also employed in the Forests great numbers of loggingengineers, lumbermen, scalers, planting assistants, guards, andothers. In the great war, the Forest Service raised two regimentsof men who went to France to assist in the various kinds offorestry work necessitated by the war.

WORK OF THE FOREST SERVICE

The purpose of the Forest Service is to secure the use of theforests "in such a way that they will yield all their resources tothe fullest extent without exhausting them, for the benefitprimarily of the home builder. The controlling policy is servingthe public while conserving the forests." [Footnote: "The Statusof Forestry in the United States," Forest Service Circular 167,1909, p. 5.] Timber is cut and sold, but always with a view todeveloping future growth. The forests are protected against fire.Burned-over areas are reforested by planting. Water power sitesare protected. The freest possible use of forest pasture land ispermitted, but under such regulations as to prevent injury to theforests and the denudation of the land by overgrazing. In 1915,nine million cattle, horses, sheep, and goats were pastured in theforests. In 1916 it was said that "more than 20 million dollarswill probably be spent in the next ten years in building goodroads in the National Forests." [Footnote 2: "Opening up theNational Forests by Road Building," YEAR BOOK of the Department ofa*griculture, 1916. Also reprinted in separate Leaflet No. 696.]

WASTE OF TIMBER RESOURCES

But our timber resources are not all in the National Forests, andthe waste continues to an appalling extent.

With a total annual cut of 40,000,000,000 feet, board-measure, ofmerchantable lumber, another 70,000,000,000 feet are wasted in thefield and at the mill. In the yellow-pine belt the values inrosin, turpentine, ethyl alcohol, pine oil, tar, charcoal, andpaper stock lost in the waste are three or four times the value ofthe lumber produced. Enough yellow-pine pulp-wood is consumed inburners, or left to rot, to make double the total tonnage of paperproduced in the United States.

But the wastes in lumbering, colossal though they are in absoluteamount, are trivial compared to the losses which our estate hassuffered, and still endures, from forest fires. The Frenchproperly regard as a national calamity the destruction of perhapsa thousand square miles of their fine forests by German shells.And yet the photographs that they show of this wreck and utterdemolition may be reproduced indefinitely on 10,000,000 acres ofour forest lands swept each year by equally devastating fire forwhich our own people are responsible. You have doubtless alreadyforgotten that forest fire which last autumn, in Minnesota, burnedover an area half as large again as Massachusetts, destroying morethan twenty-five towns, killing 400 people, and leaving 13,000homeless. [Footnote: "Developing the Estate," ATLANTIC MONTHLY,March, 1919, pp. 384-385.]

The nation has been defrauded of a great deal of wealth in timberby speculators who have taken advantage of the homestead laws.

Single tracts of 160 acres often have a value for the timber aloneof $20,000 … Lands acquired … under the guise of the homesteadlaw are to-day in the hands of lumber companies who promptlypurchased them from the settlers as soon as the title passed, andare either reserving them for later cutting or are holding theland itself after cutting for from $40 to $60 an acre, or evenmore—a speculative process which effectively prevents thepossibility of men of small means acquiring and establishing homesthere. [Footnote 2: "The National Forests and the Farmer," in YEARBOOK, Department of Agriculture, 1914, p. 70.]

To prevent this sort of thing, the government now sells the timberand the land separately, withholding from agricultural entryheavily timbered land until the timber is cut off.

In the Kaniksy National Forest, in Idaho and Washington, timbersales have been made to include much of the remaining agriculturaltimberland. Within eight years fully 10,000 acres of land will bemade available for settlement. Permanent homes will be establishedand there will be available for the use of the communitiesapproximately $225,000 for roads and schools, their share of theproceeds from the sale of the timber. [Footnote 3: IBID., p. 71.]

STATE FORESTS

Besides the National Forests, there are more than 4,000,000 acresof STATE FORESTS.

Twenty-four states have forestry departments, sometimes under astate board or a commission, sometimes under the control of asingle state forester, as in Massachusetts and Virginia. In NewYork, New Jersey, and Wisconsin the state forestry is a part ofthe work of a general "conservation commission." In Connecticut itis centered in the state agricultural experiment station, and inTexas in the agricultural college. In South Dakota the stateforester 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 toit.

PRIVATELY OWNED TIMBERLANDS

The difference between the number of states having state forestsand the number having forestry departments is due to the fact thatthe public forests embrace only a small part of the timbered landof a state. It will be noted from the table on page 225 that onlyone 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 givento forest preservation and use in the South than these factsindicate, because of cooperation between state and nationalgovernments, chiefly through the county agents. Such cooperationalso exists in the northern states. The map on page 242 showscooperation for fire protection in New Hampshire.

VOLUNTARY PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATIONS

The conservation of our forest resources requires cooperation onthe part of citizens. In many states there are "timberland owners'fire protective associations," in 1917 about fifty of them. Thereis an American Forestry Association that publishes a magazinedevoted to forestry, AMERICAN FORESTRY; a Society of AmericanForesters; The Camp Fire Club of America, with a committee onconservation of forests and wild life. Besides, there is aconsiderable number of local associations with similar purposes.

EROSION

It is not always realized how important to our welfare the forestsare, especially from the point of view of agricultural production.A very large part of the timbered area of the United States is insmall woodlands on privately owned farms. Not only are the timberresources themselves of great value, but the relation of woodlandto agriculture is very close, especially in its effect upon soilerosion.

Altogether it has been estimated that erosion is responsible foran annual loss in this country of approximately $100,000,000. Tothe farmer it means money out of pocket from start to finish. Itimpairs the fertility and decreases the productivity of his land,and may even ruin it altogether; it renders irrigation moredifficult and more costly; by reducing the possibilities of cheapwater power development it tends to keep up the price and checkthe more extended use of electricity; and by interfering withnavigation it helps to prevent the development of a comprehensivesystem of cheap inland water transportation. But the farmer is notthe only sufferer. The entire community is directly affected bythe loss and is justified in taking heroic measures to remedy theevil.

If the problem is to be solved we must cease to accelerate surfacerun-off by burning the forests and brush fields, overgrazing therange, clearing steep slopes for agriculture, and practicingantiquated methods of cultivation. On the contrary, the farmer,the forester, and the stockman must cooperate in seeing that theland is so used that surface run-off, particularly at the higherelevations, is reduced to a minimum.

Children in particular should have their interest actively arousedand their support enlisted. In one state, "gully clubs" have beenorganized by the state forester. These are composed largely ofschool children who take an active part in the work of gullyreclamation and particularly in finding and checking incipientgullies before it is too late. Why could not such organizations asboy scouts, girl scouts, and campfire girls be used in the sameway? [Footnote: "Farms, Forests, and Erosion," YEAR BOOK of theDepartment of Agriculture, 1916, pp. 107-134.]

MINERAL RESOURCES

Soil, water, and forests are only a few of the rich naturalresources of our country, although they are among the mostimportant. Great as the mineral production of our country now is,we have only begun to open the mineral storehouse. On the otherhand, we have been extremely wasteful of some of our minerals, asin the case of natural gas, oil, and coal. The war has done more,perhaps, than anything else to open our eyes to our mineral wealthand to convict us of our wastefulness in the past. In the light ofwhat it has shown us we should redouble our efforts to conserveour resources. Our government has been gradually developing aprogram of conservation which we should help to make effective. Atthe end of this chapter will be found references to interestingaccounts of our national wealth, and of what the government isdoing to conserve it in other directions than those described inthis chapter. Many of these references are to publications issuedby the government itself, which can be obtained for the asking.

Investigate and report on.

Losses in your state from periodic floods. Measures adopted orproposed 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 withthe 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 resourcesand their use; also (pp. 151-209) a comprehensive and interestingdiscussion of our mineral resources and their development. Thatfor 1918 contains an account of the plan for land reclamation byand for soldiers.

Publications of the Geological Survey, the Bureau of Mines, andthe 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 Agriculturemay be mentioned:

Farmers' Bulletin 340(Declaration of Governors for theconservation 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.

PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND PROPERTY RIGHTS

DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY

There is nothing more discouraging than to have the product ofone's labor swept away by disaster. The farmer who has everyprospect of a bumper crop after a hard season's work may have hishope dashed by smut in his grain, or by a visitation ofgrasshoppers, or by storm and flood. Cholera may carry off hishogs, or hoof-and-mouth disease his cattle. Rats and other rodentsmay eat his grain. Fire may destroy his barn or his home. Thethief may steal his pocketbook or his automobile. His investmentsmay prove unfortunate, or be swept away by somebody's badmanagement or fraud. Some thoughtless boys or deliberate vandalsmay ruin in a few minutes a beautiful lawn or trees that havetaken 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 isreported by the Department of Agriculture that nearly $800,000,000damage was done to crops by insects in a single year. Animaldiseases 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 andfeed products to the value of $150,000,000 a year are destroyed byprairie dogs, ground squirrels, and other rodents. It is said thatprairie dogs often take half the pasturage of western cattleranges. It is estimated that the killing of wolves, coyotes,mountain lions, bobcats, and lynxes saved more than $2,000,000worth of livestock in 1918. Floods have destroyed $100,000,000 inproperty in the Mississippi Valley alone.

The loss from fire in the United States is said to equal the valueof our total product of gold, silver, copper, and petroleum.

The buildings consumed by fire in 1914, if placed on lots of 65feet frontage, would line both sides of a street extending fromNew York to Chicago. A person journeying along this street ofdesolation would pass in every thousand feet a ruin from which aninjured person was taken. At every three fourths of a mile in thisjourney he would encounter the charred remains of a human beingwho has been burned to death. [Footnote: "The Fire Tax and Wasteof 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 servicesperformed for us by our government. We have already noted inChapter XII what a great deal of work both the national and stategovernments are doing to prevent loss of crops and of livestockfrom disease, insects, and other causes. What this may mean to theindividual farmer and to the country is suggested by the case of afarmer who had hundreds of acres of corn destroyed in some mannerunknown to him. A single visit from a representative of theDepartment of Agriculture showed him the cause of the trouble, thecorn rootworm, and how it could be eradicated by a simple rotationof 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 inequipping experimental laboratories and employing scientists toseek out these enemies of the farmer and of the nation, to findmethods of destroying them or counteracting their effects, and toadvise the farmer how he may protect himself and his neighbors.While the government provides leadership in these matters, itdepends upon the cooperation of the people to get results, as wehave seen in so many cases. A farmer may destroy all the rats, orground squirrels, or prairie dogs on his place, but the troublewill be repeated unless there is community cooperation. The samething is true of animal and plant diseases, insect enemies, and soon.

Investigate and report on:

Further facts regarding losses to farmers of the United States dueto insect and bird enemies, predatory animals, animal and plantdiseases.

Similar losses in your own state.

Estimated losses of individual farmers in your locality from anyof 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 ofproperty.

NATIONAL COOPERATION FOR FLOOD PREVENTION

Some kinds of protection require effort beyond the powers ofindividual citizens, or even of combined citizen action. This isthe case with flood protection. Millions of dollars in propertyhave been destroyed, thousands of lives lost, and untold sufferingcaused by the periodic recurrence of floods in certain sections ofthe country, as in the lower Mississippi Valley, or as in Ohio, afew years ago. The individual farmer has some responsibility forsuch floods, because by looking after his own drainage andpreserving his own timberland he may help decrease the amount ofwater that flows into the streams and ultimately causes such havocfarther down the valley. But such efforts are helpful only inconnection, with the larger efforts of the government. Even stategovernments cannot alone control the floods, because the watersthat cause damage in Louisiana and Mississippi come from thestates along the entire course of the Mississippi River and itstributaries. Moreover, the destruction caused in Louisiana or anyother state is a loss to the entire nation. The control of floodsrequires 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 subjectto flood, notably the lower Mississippi, where the work has beendone by the joint action of the states affected, through theirlocal levee boards and their state boards of engineers, and theUnited States Mississippi River Commission. The United Statesgovernment has spent large sums for river improvements, but thereis a general feeling that the money has not always been wiselyspent. At all events the work has been restricted to navigablestreams under the power of the national government to regulateinterstate commerce. Recently, however, the President has approveda law passed by Congress appropriating $45,000,000 for the controlof the floods of the Mississippi by improvements from theheadwaters of the river to the mouth of the Ohio. The law alsoincludes the appropriation of $5,000,000 for the protection of theSacramento Valley in California. This law was passed under thepower given to Congress by the Constitution "to lay and collecttaxes…for the common defense and general welfare of the UnitedStates" (Art. I, sec. 8, clause i).

WORK OF THE UNITED STATES WEATHER BUREAU

Great saving of property has been effected by the United StatesWeather Bureau. The work of this Bureau is wonderful, but it isnot mysterious. Just as the movements of a ship or of a railroadtrain 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 waveor of a flood are reported from a multitude of observing stations.There are central weather-forecasting stations at Chicago, NewOrleans, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Washington,D.C. Weather forecasts are made up at these points fromobservations telegraphed in from observing stations, and withintwo hours are telegraphed to about 1600 distributing stations,from which they are further distributed to about 90,000 mailaddresses daily, to all newspapers, and are made available to5,500,00 x3 telephone subscribers. A farmer may call central bytelephone and learn with remarkable certainty what the weather fortwenty-four hours will be, except in the case of local thundershowers which may drench his fields while passing by those of hisneighbor.

"It may be said without exaggeration that the San Francisco officeof the Weather Bureau has saved to the citrus fruit growers ofCalifornia more money within the last five years than the annualappropriation for the entire Bureau during a period of twentyyears." "In the citrus fruit districts of California it isreported 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 alimited district in Florida…was reported at over $100,000." "Thewarnings issued for a single cold wave… resulted in saving over$3,500,000 through the protection of property." "Signals displayedfor a single hurricane are known to have detained in port on ourAtlantic coast vessels valued with their cargoes at over$30,000,000." Flood warnings are sent in from about 60 centersalong our rivers, enabling farmers to remove their cattle frombottom lands, to save their crops when they are ready for cutting,and otherwise to determine their farming operations. They are alsoof the greatest service to railroads, business men, and homeowners, in cities. These are but a few illustrations of theservices 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 (orharbor 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 tobenefits 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 forwhich we are not responsible, such as storms, the depredations ofinsects, and epidemics of animal disease. But some of it is due toour own carelessness. It was said on page 176 that wastefulness isour chief national sin. Carelessness is the twin sister ofwastefulness; they go hand in hand. Enormous waste is caused byfire, and most fires are due to carelessness—carelessness inhandling matches, in the use of oil stoves, in accumulations ofrubbish, in disposing of hot ashes, in smoking where there areinflammable materials.

Fire Protection in Cities

In cities and towns the safety of our own property from fire islargely dependent upon the care of others. If our neighbor iscareless, our property as well as his may be destroyed. Under suchcirc*mstances it is necessary to have rules to regulate conductfor the common safety. The materials with which we may build, thethickness of our walls, the construction of our flues, the storageof explosive or inflammable materials, the disposal of rubbish andashes, and many other things, are regulated by law. This iscooperation for fire prevention. Much money is also spent bycities for fire protection, including water supply and organizedfire departments.

FIRE PROTECTION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

Where people live widely separated from one another, as in ruralcommunities, such regulations are less necessary and organizedfire protection is less easy to afford. A farmer's property may bedestroyed by fire from a spark from a passing locomotive, or fromthe camp of a careless hunter in the adjoining woods. There may bestate laws to control such cases. But in the main, if his propertyburns it is due to the carelessness of some one who lives on thepremises, and he is dependent upon his own efforts to control thefire. Improved farm water supply with adequate pumping facilities,the telephone by which neighbors may be summoned, and theautomobile by which help may quickly be brought, have increasedthe farmer's safety; but his chief safeguard is the exercise ofcare by all who live on the farm at every point where a fire mightpossibly be started.

FIRE INSURANCE

Fire insurance is a means of reducing the fire loss of individualproperty owners by a form of cooperation. Insurance companies,operating under state laws, sell insurance to property owners. Thelatter pay a small premium for the protection afforded. From thefunds produced by the premiums and the interest on theirinvestment, the occasional losses of individuals are paid. Thisdoes not prevent the destruction of the property, but itdistributes the loss among thousands of people, perhaps in allparts of the country.

FARMERS' COOPERATIVE INSURANCE

There are in the United States about 2000 FARMERS' COOPERATIVEFIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES, carrying insurance amounting to morethan 5 billion dollars. These companies are associations offarmers who elect their own directors and manage their owninsurance business. They provide insurance at a much lower ratethan the ordinary commercial insurance companies. A usualprovision of the laws under which these cooperative companiesoperate is that no member may insure his property for its fullvalue. His neighbors will help him bear his loss, but will notbear it all. This has the effect of causing him to exercisegreater care to prevent fire on his premises. For this reasoninsurance 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 werepreventable.

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 ofthese laws is left largely in the hands of local communityofficers. Cities have police departments, with large numbers ofpatrolmen and detectives whose business it is not only to arrestviolators of the law after the violation has taken place, but alsoby their vigilance to prevent the violation from occurring.

RURAL POLICE PROTECTION

The state laws against the violation of property rights apply torural communities as well as to cities, and rural communities haveofficers for their enforcement—the constable in townships, thesheriff and his deputies in counties. Where the population issmall and widely scattered, as in a rural township or county,about all the officers can do is to arrest law violators after thecommission of the unlawful act, if they can be found. The officersare too few to watch isolated and remote property, and in case ofserious disturbance, such as a riot, they are too few to handlethe situation effectively. Rural communities and many smallindustrial or mining communities do not always have the protectionthey need against lawlessness. In such cases the tendency issometimes for the people to "take the law in their own hands." Intimes of labor trouble mining companies and other industrialcorporations have sometimes organized their own police. Suchpractice is dangerous, for the enforcement of law should be in thehands 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 variouslocalities, we hear too frequently of "lynching parties," whichare as lawless as the original offenders against the law, and tendto create a disrespect for law.

And yet disrespect for law may also result from failure on thepart of the community to enforce the law through regular agencies,from failure of officers to apprehend offenders promptly, or ofcourts to mete out justice promptly and impartially.

STATE POLICE Canada has been more efficient than the United Statesin affording protection to remote and rural communities, by meansof her national mounted police. "The isolated farmer and his wifeslept securely in their sod hovel beyond the frontier, becausethey 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 Academyof Political and Social Science, 1912, p. 228.] In our own countryTexas has her "rangers" who protect her borders against raids; butthe best example of rural policing in the United States is inPennsylvania, where there is a well-organized state police, or"constabulary," which has many times proved its efficiency inprotecting remote rural communities and homes, in bringingcriminals to justice, and in quelling riots in mining centers.

VANDALISM

A great deal of property is destroyed or injured by VANDALS. Theoriginal Vandals were a tribe of Germanic peoples who invadedsouthern and western Europe in the Middle Ages, and who were notedfor their destructiveness of the beautiful buildings and otherevidences of Roman civilization. There seem to be vandals inalmost every community, and sometimes they seem to be especiallynumerous in small communities, perhaps because of the lack ofpolice protection. Sometimes vandalism is wanton,—that is, itresults from an apparent love of being destructive. Most often itis purely thoughtless. Few people would knowingly injure theproperty of another if they would stop to think of their feelingsif another should injure THEIR property. It is a case of "badmanners." Moreover, it is not a "square deal" to injure another'sproperty while expecting one's own property to be secure. Whenvandalism occurs in a community it creates a general feeling ofinsecurity and destroys the sense of freedom.

PUBLIC PROPERTY is often more likely to suffer from vandalism thanprivate property. Some people will mar the walls of publicbuildings, or make their floors filthy with expectoration, whenthey would not think of doing so in private buildings. They willbreak shrubbery in public parks, or despoil public flower beds,when they would not think of entering private premises for suchpurpose. There seems to be a feeling that public property belongsto no one, or else that, since it is public, any one is at libertyto do as he pleases with it. This, of course, is foolish. It is asif a stockholder in a business corporation should injure ordestroy the corporation property, forgetting that he owned a sharein 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 ofyour state.

The extent and causes of vandalism in your community.

Is vandalism justifiable on Halloween?

Inspect the courthouse and other public buildings in yourcommunity 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'sproperty, the loss of the property is not the worst thing thathappens, but the attack upon PROPERTY RIGHTS. The right tosecurity in one's possessions is among the most sacred rights of afree people, being classed with the right to life, the right offree speech, the right of petition, the right to freedom ofreligion. It is by securing these rights that the law makes usfree. The sacred right to property is as truly violated by one whosteals 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 ourhouse. The amount has nothing to do with it. The tax which theEnglish government imposed on tea imported by the Americancolonists was not a heavy tax, but the colonists objected becauseit was imposed without their consent.

CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEES OF PROPERTY RIGHTS

The citizens of a free country require protection of theirproperty rights against infringement by their government as wellas by one another. The Revolutionary War was fought in defense ofthis and other rights against violation by the English government.When the Constitution of the United States was framed, the peoplerefused to ratify it unless amendments were added guaranteeingthese rights. Thus it was provided that "no soldier shall, in timeof peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of theowner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed bylaw" (Amendment III); that "the right of the people to be securein their persons, houses, papers, and effects, againstunreasonable 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 privateproperty be taken for public use without just compensation"(Amendment V. See also Chapter XIV, p. 207). The Constitution alsoprovides that "no state shall … pass any … law impairing theobligation of contracts" (Art. I, sec. 10, clause I), and invarious other ways protects our property rights. Our stateconstitutions contain many similar provisions. Our governmentshave the power to take property in the form of taxes, but undercertain restrictions imposed by our constitutions to safeguard therights of the people (see Chapter XXIII).

OUR NATIONAL ARMY

It is to protect these RIGHTS, rather than property itself, thatcommunities have their police, that states have their militia, andthat the nation has its army and its navy. Among the chief causesthat led us into war with Germany was the fact that Germany wasviolating the property rights of our citizens. While ourConstitution provides for state militia and a national army forthe defense of our rights, property rights included, it has alwaysbeen our national policy to maintain as small a standing army asis consistent with the national safety; and this for the veryreason that a large standing army and a large navy are not only agreat burden of expense, but also, as the founders of our nationbelieved, a menace to the liberties of the people and to the peaceof the world.

THE SERVICE OF THE COURTS

We have seen that no person may be deprived of property by thegovernment "without due process of law." This means that theprocedure provided by law must be followed, and that the citizenwhose property is taken may have his side of the case presented,the value of the property in question appraised by impartialjudges, and so on. It is the business of THE COURTS to see thatjustice is done. They inquire into the facts in the case, andinterpret the law bearing on it. The courts are the finalsafeguard to our liberties. Our government comprises, therefore,not only a law-making branch and a law-enforcing branch, but alsoa LAW-INTERPRETING, OR JUDICIAL, branch—the courts.

THE RIGHTS OF ACCUSED PERSONS

The Constitution guarantees justice to persons accused ofviolating the property rights, or other rights of citizens, bytheft, fraud, or otherwise, as well as to the citizen who has beenwronged. "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy theright to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of theState and district wherein the crime shall have been committed …and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; tobe confronted with the witnesses against him, to have compulsoryprocess for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have theassistance of counsel for his defense" (Amendment VI). "Excessivebail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor crueland unusual punishments inflicted" (Amendment VIII).

Investigate and report on:

How are property rights guaranteed in your state constitution? inthe national Constitution?

Read the charges made in the Declaration of Independence againstthe King of England with respect to the violation of propertyrights.

"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 thewar?

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 nationalforests.

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 ofcontrol.

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; reprintedin 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.

ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION

STUDIES OF THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROADS

During the years 1910-1915 the Office of Public Roads of theUnited States Department of Agriculture made a continuous study,year by year, of the methods and results of road improvement ineight selected counties of the United States. [Footnote:Spotsylvania, Dinwiddie, Lee, and Wise counties in Virginia;Franklyn County in New York; Dallas County in Alabama; LauderdaleCounty in Mississippi; and Manatee County in Florida.] The resultsof the investigation are described in Bulletin No. 393 (1916) ofthe Department of Agriculture, which is worth sending for andstudying by any school that is interested in the improvement ofthe community.

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VA

One of these counties was Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a map ofwhich is shown on the opposite page. Since the Civil War thefarmland in this county had gradually declined from its prosperouscondition before the war until it was little better than awilderness of second-growth timber, valued at from $5 to $15 anacre. For many months of the year the roads were well-nighimpassable. There was much wealth in timber, but it could not bemarketed to advantage. The soil was very little cultivated. Morefarm products were shipped into Fredericksburg, the only city inthe county, by rail from outside than were shipped out from thefarms of the county.

MOVEMENT FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT

Nearly one third of the population of the county lived inFredericksburg; but under the law of the state of Virginia thepeople of the city could not be taxed for county purposes outsideof the city. Moreover, two of the four districts of the county atfirst took little interest in the matter of road improvement,although they had to use the roads in going to market atFredericksburg. Courtland and Chancellor districts, however, weredetermined to have better roads, and voted to raise the necessarymoney by selling bonds to the amount of $100,000. Three yearslater the other two districts, inspired by the success ofCourtland and Chancellor districts, also voted bonds for roadimprovement to the amount of $73,000. This debt would of coursehave to be paid off by levying taxes upon the people of thedistricts. With a tax rate of $1.70 on every hundred dollars'worth of property, a farmer with a farm assessed at $3000 wouldpay 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 thatit is worth while to spend so much money on their roads. They haveto 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 arelittle used, or in construction that does not stand the trafficand soon wears out, is of course a bad investment. But the resultsin Spotsylvania County, as well as in the seven other countiesstudied by the Office of Public Roads, justified the cost.

STATE AND LOCAL COOPERATION

The law of Virginia provided that all highway construction in thestate must be supervised by the STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER. Heaccordingly appointed an engineer to supervise the work inSpotsylvania County, the engineer's salary being paid by thestate. The work of construction, however, was under the directionof a COUNTY BOARD OF PUBLIC ROADS. The board appointed asuperintendent who hired all labor and teams and purchased allequipment and materials. Three main highways in Courtland andChancellor districts, and leading into Fredericksburg, were chosenfor improvement. Within two years more than forty miles of roadwere completed, or about 10 per cent of all the roads in theentire county.

MONEY FOR REPAIRS

Roads have to be kept in repair after they are constructed. By1914 money was needed for this purpose. The farmers objected tofurther increase of the tax rate, so it was decided to chargeTOLLS for the use of the improved highways—5 cents for a singlehorse and vehicle, 10 cents for two horses and a buggy, 15 centsfor 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 wasneeded was raised in this way in the first month, and the tollswere therefore reduced one half. One advantage to the county ofthe toll system was that automobilists and others from otherdistricts, counties, and states would contribute to the upkeep ofthe roads.

EFFECT OF IMPROVEMENTS ON LAND VALUES

On the roads selected for improvement there were 35 farmsincluding 5518 acres. In 1910, the average value of these farms,including buildings, was $14 per acre, and seldom did any one wantto buy land in the neighborhood. But within two years after theroad improvement seven of the 35 farms had been sold, and a largepart of another, as shown in the following:

In the next two or three years a number of other farms were soldat similar increased prices, and some farms that had beenabandoned were reoccupied. Large areas of land were cultivated forthe first time since the Civil War. The farmers were, however,most interested for the time being in their timber wealth, andbetween 1909 and 1913 the shipments of forest products fromFredericksburg increased 78.2 per cent.

THE AVERAGE HAUL

Before the improvement of the roads, the average weight of loadfor a two-horse team in the winter and spring, when the roads werebad, was about 1200 pounds; when the roads were dry, about 2400pounds. The cost for hauling at this rate averaged, for the yearround, about 30 cents per ton per mile. After the roads wereimproved, the average load the year round was 4000 pounds, and thecost for hauling only 15 cents per ton per mile.

Investigate and report on:

Results of road improvement in others of the eight countiesreferred to on page 248 (see Bulletin 393, 1916, Department ofa*griculture).

Procure or make a map of your county showing road improvement. Isyour county well provided with improved roads?

Do the cities and towns in your county contribute to theimprovement of the country roads?

Do the people of the rural districts of your county contribute tothe improvement of the streets of the cities and towns?

Bond issues in your county for road improvement. Meaning of "bondissues."

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 roadimprovement?

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 beengenerally abandoned?

Who has charge of bridge construction in your county?

From what sources does the money come for road repair in yourcounty?

What is the cost of hauling on the roads of your county? How doesthis cost compare with the cost in neighboring counties andstates?

Relation of land values in your county to the character of theroads.

MONEY VALUE OF GOOD ROADS

Good roads pay, in dollars and cents, provided they are made ofsuitable materials and with due regard to the kind and amount oftraffic they are to carry. They permit of larger loads, and moreloads in a given time; they save wear and tear on horses, harness,wagons, and automobiles; in the case of automobiles they savegasoline; they save the time of the farmer; they make possible amore varied agriculture by making marketing easier; they add tothe 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 thesame time, the improvement of the roads was followed by a decidedimprovement in school attendance. In more than one case it led tothe improvement of the quality of the schools by the consolidationof a number of poor, one-room schoolhouses into a single largerschool with better equipment and better teachers (see ChapterXIX). The relation between good roads and good schools is clearlysuggested in one of the illustrations in this chapter. So, also,good roads increase the ease with which the people of thecommunity may associate with one another, attend church orcommunity meetings at the schoolhouse, and enjoy the social lifeand entertainment of the neighboring city or village. When theroad is improved, the farmers along the way are more likely tokeep the weeds cut, to repair broken fences or build new ones, andotherwise to beautify the adjoining premises, which adds both tothe money value of property and to the enjoyment of life.

ROAD MAKING A COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE

Road making is necessarily a cooperative enterprise. In the firstplace, a public road serves the common interest of the entirecommunity. The community may, through its government, exercise theRIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN, taking land from adjacent farms for thepurpose of laying out a new road, provided, of course, that thefarmers are paid for it. In the second place, the making of a roadis far too costly and difficult for an individual farmer toundertake for the benefit he himself would derive from it. Itrequires a great deal of labor and a high degree of technicalskill.

ROAD MAKING A JOB FOR EXPERTS

It has been quite common for farmers themselves to work on theroads of their locality—"working out" their road taxes. But roadsso made are seldom very good, unless the work is supervised bysomeone trained in the business. Whether a farmer works on theroads himself or merely pays for having it done, it is to hisadvantage to know something about road making. The Department ofa*griculture and the state agricultural colleges now give extensioncourses in road making for the benefit of the farmers. It isreported that in one county of Oklahoma the pupils of fortydifferent school districts have built more than forty miles ofgood roads, of course working under supervision.

VALUE OF COUNTRY ROADS TO CITIES

Good country roads are of the greatest importance, not only to thefarmers and rural communities, but also to the people of cities.The road improvement in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, was of asmuch benefit to the people and the business of Fredericksburg asto the farmers. An excellent illustration of the recognition ofthe common interest of city and country in the public roads, andof effective cooperation in improving them, was given in ChapterIII, page 32, in the case of Christian County, Kentucky. The wideuse of the automobile has done a great deal to awaken the peopleof cities to their interest in country roads, and associations andjournals devoted to the interests of automobilists have beenactive 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 roadsin two districts was a direct advantage to the farmers of theother two districts. Carrying this idea further, we shall see thatthe roads of one county may be of the greatest importance to othercounties in the state; and those of one state of importance toother states. The crossties produced from the timber ofSpotsylvania County may be wanted for railroad building in adistant state. The cotton from the plantations of Tennessee orTexas is needed at the mills in New England. The wheat of thegreat farms of the northwest supplies the whole nation. Most ofthe freight carried on the railroads and steamships has at sometime and in some form been hauled in wagons and trucks overcountry roads. It is clear, then, that the character of thehighways in any locality is a matter of national interest, andeven of world-wide interest.

EARLY NATIONAL INTEREST IN ROAD BUILDING

When our nation was created, the question of highways at oncebecame very important. The states needed to be bound together, andthe public lands must be settled. The Constitution gave Congressthe power "to establish post offices and post roads," and "toregulate commerce … among the several states"; but it was notclear how far these powers could be exercised for "internalimprovements." Roads and canals were proposed in great numbers. In1806 Congress authorized the building of the Cumberland Road,which began at Cumberland, Md., and was finally completed as farwest as Illinois. Road building was, however, left chiefly to thestates and to private enterprise. The Cumberland Road finallypassed under the control of the states through which it ran, andby them was given into the management of the counties. Many"turnpikes" were built by private companies, which charged tollsfor their use.

POOR ROADS IN THE UNITED STATES

The building of many canals and, later, the coming of railroadscaused interest in public highways to decline, and their buildingwas left almost wholly to local initiative, where it remaineduntil very recently. The result is that the United States has hadthe poorest roads in the civilized world. Under local managementthe cost of public roads fell chiefly upon the farmers, citiesescaping taxation for this purpose, except for their own streets.A road running across a state might be well kept in somelocalities while allowed to run down in others. A community wasreluctant to spend money on a highway only to have theimprovements destroyed by through traffic from neighboringcommunities who had no responsibility for maintaining the road.Local communities could not afford to employ expert officials toplan and supervise road construction.

STATE CONTROL OF HIGHWAYS

Under these conditions the road situation became so bad thatpublic sentiment was gradually aroused on the subject, and it wasseen that a road was of more than merely local importance. Statecontrol was agitated. New Jersey was the first state to pass a lawplacing the highways within the state under state regulation. Thiswas in 1891. Other states followed New Jersey's example, until by1914 forty-two states had state highway departments. These differgreatly from one another in organization, powers, and efficiency.Unfortunately, "political influence" has entered into roadbuilding and management in many states in such a way as tointerfere with efficiency;—that is, those in charge of roads haveoften been chosen for political reasons rather than for theirfitness for the work, and large sums of money have been spentunwisely, if not dishonestly in some cases.

RECENT PROGRESS UNDER STATE CONTROL

In a number of states, STATE HIGHWAYS have been built. These arewholly state enterprises, paid for and managed by the state.California has two trunk lines running the entire length of thestate, with branch lines connecting them with the county seats. ToJanuary 1, 1914, Massachusetts had completed more than 1000 milesof state highways. New York has an extensive system, and Marylandis another example. But the plan most commonly in use is state aidand supervision in the construction of roads by counties. This wasthe New Jersey plan of 1891. By it, plans for road improvementwith state aid in any county must be approved by the state highwaydepartment, and construction is supervised by state engineers. Thecost is divided between the state and the local community.

In New Jersey the property owners along the highway, who of courseare 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 toplan a "county system" of highways to be a part of the statesystem. The cost of each county system is divided equally amongtownship, county, and state. The work is directed by a countyhighway commissioner, but in accordance with plans andspecifications of the state highway commission. In Ohio, a systemof "intercounty highways" is being built, connecting all thecounty seats of the state. Counties, towns, and property ownersalong the highway must provide an amount equal to that provided bythe state, and the work is under the direction of the statehighway department.

In Virginia the cost of highway construction is divided equallybetween state and local communities; but the counties often acceptfrom 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 bythe sale of bonds by the state. For the maintenance of the roadsafter they are built, the proceeds from automobile licenses areapplied.

Our roads, even in remote rural districts, are of nationalimportance for the reasons stated on page 259. Moreover, they arebecoming more and more used for the transportation of freight andpassengers over long distances, for which the introduction of theautomobile and the motor truck is responsible. Therefore, nationalcooperation 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 hasheretofore been largely educational and advisory. In 1893 theOffice of Road Inquiry (now the Office of Public Roads) wascreated in the United States Department of Agriculture toinvestigate methods of road making and management. The results ofits investigations have been published for the benefit of thecountry. Advice was given when asked for. Instruction was giventhrough extension courses (p. 257). Here and there model orexperimental roads were constructed to test new methods or toserve as object lessons to the localities where they were built.Good road building has also been greatly stimulated by theextension of the rural free mail delivery, routes not beingestablished unless the roads are in reasonably good condition. Thenational government has also given to many states public landswithin their borders, the proceeds from which were to be used forroad construction; and a part of the proceeds from the sale oftimber in the national forests is devoted to road building in thelocality.

FEDERAL AID ROAD ACT

In 1916, however, Congress passed the law known as the Federal AidRoad Act. This law places the national government in the samerelation to the states, in the matter of road building, that thestate governments have borne to the counties in granting stateaid.

The Federal Aid Road Act appropriated 75 million dollars to aidstates in improving their "rural post roads," and 10 milliondollars for the construction and maintenance of roads in thenational forests. Of the 75 million dollars for state aid inbuilding post roads, 5 million dollars were to be available thefirst year, 10 million the second, 15 million the third, and so onfor five years, when the total amount will have been used. Themoney is given to the states only on their request, and oncondition that each state shall provide an amount equal to thatreceived from the national treasury. The money is apportionedamong the states on the basis of area, population, and the extentof post roads in the state.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATE

The administration of the law is in the hands of the Office ofPublic Roads. The entire country is divided into ten districts,over each of which is a district engineer. When a state desiresaid from the national government, its highway department must drawup plans for the improvements proposed and submit them to thedistrict engineer, who in turn submits them with recommendationsto the Secretary of Agriculture, whose approval they must have.Having obtained this approval, the work is carried on by the stateas 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 newcooperative enterprise of the national government will be. But thefirst important effect has been to cause the organization of statehighway departments in the few states that did not already havethem, and the reorganization of such departments in the stateswhere they were weak; for the Federal Aid Road Act provides thataid may be given to the states only on condition that they haveeffective highway departments. The result is that every state inthe Union now has an active highway department, and roadimprovement 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 localitybecause of good roads; or lost because of unimproved roads.

The wear and tear on vehicles and equipment because of unimprovedroads.

Effect of improved or unimproved roads in your county on schooland church attendance, social life, etc.

Instances of the exercise of the right of eminent domain in yourcounty for road improvement.

Materials used in road making in your county. Relative merits ofdifferent materials as shown by experience in your county.

Methods of road construction in your county.

Extension courses in road making by your state agriculturalcollege.

The amount of traffic on the roads of your community by non-residents.

The sentiment of farmers of your locality with regard to roadimprovement.

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 yourcounty.

The extent to which federal aid for road improvement has beentaken advantage of by your state.

THE NATION'S INTEREST IN TRANSPORTATION

Those who live in the most remote rural communities have a vitalinterest in the nation's transportation system, including railwaysand steamship lines. As we have seen (p. 203), there was theclosest relation between the building of railroads and the openingof the public lands. The market of the farmer and the source ofhis supplies are not merely the neighboring trading center, but infar distant parts of the country and of the world. Withoutrailroads, the farmer, the manufacturer, and the city merchantwould alike be helpless.

GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF RAILROADS

While our government has at times given direct aid to encouragethe building of railroads, as by the gift of public lands, theyhave been developed chiefly by private enterprise. They are ownedby private corporations which do business under charters grantedby the state governments (rarely by the national government) andregulated by law. Control over them has been exercised chiefly bythe state governments, except in matters affecting interstatecommerce, which falls under the control of Congress. As the partsof our country have become more closely bound together andinterdependent, largely by the influence of the railroadsthemselves, an increasingly large part of commerce has become"interstate" in character, and railway transportation has becomemore and more a national concern. The result is an increasingcontrol by the national government

INTERSTATE COMMERCE

In 1887, Congress created an Interstate Commerce Commission withpower to inquire into the management of the business of "commoncarriers," such as railroads, steamship lines, and expresscompanies. It was later given power to fix rates which suchcarriers could charge. Other laws were passed, such as the ShermanAct, 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 railroadmanagement at that time, but, on the other hand, they are said insome respects to have hampered the economic and efficientdevelopment of the country's transportation system. The ShermanLaw, for example, absolutely forbade the consolidation ofcompeting railroad lines under one management, although suchconsolidation often makes for efficiency and economy.

GOVERNMENT RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION IN WAR

When the United States entered the recent war, the weakness of ourtransportation system quickly became apparent, and the need forthe most effective transportation service led the government totake unusual steps to secure it. The President issued aproclamation by which, in the exercise of his WAR POWERS, he "tookpossession and assumed control of each and every system oftransportation in the United States and the appurtenancesthereof." This meant assuming control over 397,000 miles ofrailways owned by 2905 corporations and employing more than1,700,000 persons. The management of this great transportationsystem was intrusted to a Railroad Administration with a DirectorGeneral of Railroads at its head. The ownership of theserailroads, however, remained with the private companies, whichwere to receive compensation for the use of their property, andwere to receive back the railroads after the war was over.

ADVANTAGES OF GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT

The whole purpose of the government in its management of therailroads was to win the war, the convenience of the public beinga minor consideration. The people cheerfully put up withinconveniences of travel and with rates that they had notexperienced while the roads were under private management. On theother hand, there were certain decided advantages in themanagement of all railroads as one great system. It meant theconsolidation of competing lines that the law itself prevented therailway companies from effecting, it meant shortening routes inmany cases, the use of common freight terminals by differentlines, the increase of track facilities and storage areas atseaport terminals, the selling of passenger tickets good over anyone 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 asduring war. There are others who believe as strongly in privateownership and direction. Many of the latter believe, however, thata more perfect control should be exercised over the privatelyowned roads by the government under laws that protect theinterests of the public and that at the same time permit, or evenrequire, greater cooperation among the roads than has heretoforeexisted. Since the war, bills have been introduced in Congresslooking to these ends, and doubtless the experience of the warwill result in an appreciable improvement in our country's railwaytransportation system.

WATER TRANSPORTATION

In the early days of our nation, rivers were used fortransportation to a large extent, and canals were proposed ingreat numbers, some of them being built and carrying a largeamount of traffic. The coming of the railroads caused watertransportation to decline, to the nation's great loss. The warstimulated the use of our waterways to a considerable extent, andany scheme for transportation control in the future should providefor their fullest development as a means of marketing the productsof our farms, forests, mines, and factories.

There was also a time, in the early part of our history, when ourseaports swarmed with American ships that sailed every sea. Ourshipping afterward declined because other nations built and mannedships more cheaply than we could do. We allowed these othernations to carry our commerce. We deplored the fact that ourmerchant marine had disappeared and discussed ways and means torestore it. But all to no purpose, until the great war came; thenwe HAD to have ships.

EFFECT OF WAR UPON OUR MERCHANT MARINE

When we entered the war we had almost no ships. Congress createdthe United States Shipping Board and its Emergency FleetCorporation. As a result, and within a year's time, the UnitedStates took rank as the leading shipbuilding nation in the world.It has more shipyards, more shipways, more ship workers, moreships under construction, and is building more ships every monthduring the war than any other country. Prior to the war the UnitedStates stood a poor third among the shipbuilding nations. SinceAugust, 1917, more seagoing tonnage has been launched fromAmerican shipyards than was ever launched before in a similarperiod anywhere. [Footnote: "Shipping Facts," issued by the U.S.Shipping Board, September, 1918.]

Moreover, under the stress of necessity methods of shipbuildingand operation were developed that ought to make it possible forthe United States to compete successfully in the future with othernations, even though our workmen and sailors are paid more thanthose of other nations.

The chairman of the shipping board said, "The American communitymust think of ships as a local improvement." This means that thebusiness and welfare of every American community, whether aseaport or a remote farming community, are dependent upon ships.By our merchant marine the American farmer and the Americanbusinessman are brought into touch with the remotest parts of theearth.

Investigate and report on:

The service of the railroads to the farmers of your county. To themerchants 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 ratediscrimination.

The work of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

The work of the United States Railway Administration during thewar.

Advantages and disadvantages of government control of railroadsduring 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 theymean 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 recentwar.

The building of "fabricated ships."

The life of a sailor to-day, as compared with that of 100 yearsago.

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 transportationfacilities, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In LESSONS IN COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL LIFE:

Series A: Lesson 26, Concentration of control in the railroadindustry.

Series B: Lesson 27, Good roads.

Series C: Lesson 25, A seaport as a center of concentration ofpopulation 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 subjectof roads, railroads, river transportation, etc. For example, inthe REVIEW OF REVIEWS, February, 1918, there are the followingarticles:

"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.

COMMUNICATION

Roads and other means of transportation are important not only asa means of transporting products, but also as a means ofcommunication among the members of the community. Team work isimpossible without prompt and effective means of communication.

Tell what you know about the value of signals in getting team workin a football or baseball team.

Discuss the importance of means of communication in conductingmilitary operations. What means were used for this purpose in ourArmy 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 toconvey information between distant points?

LANGUAGE AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

One of the most interesting chapters in history is that relatingto the development of means of communication. Language itself isthe most important of these means. It is not altogether clear whatthe first steps were in the development of spoken language; but weknow that among uncivilized peoples conversation is aided, andoften largely carried on, by signs made with the hands. Writtenlanguage certainly developed from the use of pictures, which weregradually curtailed into HIEROGLYPHICS, such as were used by theancient Egyptians, and finally developed into the ALPHABET, eachletter of which was originally a picture.

A story is told of a group of American Indians who some years agovisited an eastern city. They could not make themselvesunderstood, nor could they understand others, and became verylonely. They were taken to visit a deaf-and-dumb institution,where they were quite delighted to find that they could conversefreely by the use of a natural sign language.

Uncivilized peoples are in the habit of conveying ideas in themost astonishing ways. For example, among a certain African tribethe gift of a tooth brush carries a message of affection. TheseAfricans take great pride in their white teeth, and the toothbrush 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, ourletter M represents the ears of an owl, which in Egypt was calledMU, and the picture of which, later reduced to the ears, came torepresent the sound of M..

EFFECTS OF ILLITERACY AND INABILITY TO USE ENGLISH

The fascinating story of the development of language cannot betold here. It is referred to because we are likely to forget whatan important factor it is in making community life possible.Inability to use a common language prevents intercourse and teamwork. Large numbers of men drafted in the American Army wereunable to understand the English language. Between 30,000 and40,000 illiterates were taken in the first draft and it is saidthat there were nearly 700,000 men of draft age in the UnitedStates who could neither read nor write. They could not sign theirnames, nor read orders or instructions. They had to be separatedand taught, thus greatly delaying the complete organization of ouravailable fighting forces. Inability to use a common language isequally an obstacle in industrial life, for non-English speakingworkmen are unable to understand instructions, or to read signsand warnings. Many accidents are due to this cause. It is saidthat approximately 5 1/2 million of our population above ten yearsof age cannot read or write in any language, and that 5 million ofour foreign population cannot use English. An active campaign isnow being conducted to teach English to foreigners and toeradicate illiteracy. A bill has recently been introduced inCongress to provide Federal aid for this purpose.

If the productive labor value of an illiterate is less by only 50cents a day than that of an educated man or woman, the country islosing $825,000,000 a year through illiteracy … The FederalGovernment and the States spend millions of dollars in trying togive information to the people in rural districts about farmingand home making. Yet 3,700,000, or 10 per cent, of our countryfolk can not read or write a word. They can not read a bulletin onagriculture, a farm paper, a food-pledge card, a liberty-loanappeal, a newspaper, the Constitution of the United States, ortheir Bibles, nor can they keep personal or business accounts. Anuninformed democracy is not a democracy. A people who cannot havemeans of access to the mediums of public opinion and to themessages of the President and the acts of Congress can hardly beexpected to understand the full meaning of this war, to which theyall must contribute in life or property or labor.—SECRETARYLANE, Annual Report, 1918, p. 30. From letter to the President.

Ask at home: What is "illiteracy"? What is the difference betweenan "illiterate" and a non-English speaking person?

Debate (or discuss):

RESOLVED, That ALL persons of sound mind in the United Statesshould be required by law to attend school until they are able tospeak, read, and write English fluently.

RESOLVED, That the elimination of illiteracy and the teaching ofEnglish to foreigners should be left wholly to the states withoutinterference or aid from the national government.

Why are foreigners required to read sections from the Constitutionof 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 votewho cannot read intelligently.

What is being done in your community and in your state toeradicate illiteracy and to teach English to foreigners?

THE PRINTING PRESS AND NEWSPAPERS

Next to language itself, the most important invention for thecommunication of ideas is the art of printing. It made possiblethe book, the magazine, the newspaper. The writer of this book isenabled to communicate with boys and girls whom he will never seeby means of the printed page and the pictures which the bookcontains. By the same means the ideas of people who lived long agohave been handed down to us, and the ideas of to-day will bepassed on to later generations. Most wonderful is the modernnewspaper, which daily carries into almost every home of the landthe 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, throughadvertisem*nts, with possible buyers, and the farmer and businessman to keep posted regarding crop conditions and market prices.Most newspapers have special departments for different classes ofreaders—a woman's page, a children's column, a page devoted tosports, another to market conditions. Most of them also have adepartment in which individuals may ask questions or express theirown opinions regarding questions of the day. The "localnewspaper," with a circulation that seldom extends far beyond thecounty in which it is published, is of the greatest value instimulating a community spirit.

THE RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH

The first amendment to the Constitution of the United Statesprovides that:

Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech orof 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 ademocracy. It controls the conduct of individuals, and it controlsthe actions of government. The representatives and leaders of thepeople in the government seek constantly to know what publicopinion is, and the public press is one of the chief channelsthrough which they may find out. On the other hand, leaders andparties seek to FORM public opinion, to lead the people to thinkin certain ways and to support certain ideas. The press affords aneffective means for doing this.

PROPAGANDA

It is easy to see that both good leaders and bad leaders may thuscreate public opinion, that both good and bad ideas may be spreadthrough the press. During the war we heard much about GermanPROPAGANDA. This means that ideas were systematically spread tocreate a public opinion favorable to the German cause. It was donelargely by rumors, springing from no one knows where, andspreading by word of mouth. But it was also accomplished throughthe newspapers, by news items and stories that appeared to be trueand that were published innocently enough in most cases, but thatafterward were found to be false.

THE DEVELOMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION

It is not to be supposed that all propaganda is harmful ordangerous. There is propaganda in good causes, or on both sides ofa disputed question. By this means public opinion is educated.When the peace conference at Paris proposed a plan for a League ofNations, it was at once taken up for discussion through thenewspapers and magazines. People who believed in the ideaorganized a campaign of PUBLICITY to support the plan and tocreate a public opinion for it, while those opposed to it wereequally active in their attempt to create a public opinion againstit. 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 thenewspapers in behalf of better schools, better roads, womansuffrage, prohibition, or any other cause.

The good citizen cannot well get along without the newspaper andmagazine. But he needs to keep in mind the fact that news itemsmay be in error, and that the opinions expressed by editors andother writers usually represent the opinions of but a single groupof people, which may be large or small, right or wrong. In mostcases these writers are sincere, but there is always the chancefor error. The intelligent citizen will not base his own opinionsand actions solely on what he reads in ONE paper or magazine orbook, but will seek to understand ALL sides of a question. He ishelped to do this by the great variety of publications availablerepresenting every shade of belief, and by the freedom of speechand 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 citizenmay always say anything he pleases in public. At no time has onethe right to attack the character of another by false or maliciousstatements. This constitutes slander, or libel, and may bepunished by the courts. In time of war freedom of speech and ofthe press may be restricted to an extent that would not betolerated in time of peace, because if absolute freedom werepermitted information might be made public that would be helpfulto the enemy, and propaganda started that would be dangerous tothe public safety. But even in war time, the people of a democracychafe under restrictions upon free speech and a free press, and itis often a delicate question to determine how far such restrictionis 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? Dothese local papers take the same position in regard to publicquestions? Do you read more than one?

What is the most influential newspaper in your state (ask athome)? 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, youngman." Also find out what you can about his influence as an editor.

Examine with care the newspapers you take at home and make a listof their different "departments" or "sections."

What do you first look for in the newspaper when you read it? Askyour father and mother and other members of the family what theyfirst 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 thatyou 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 advertisem*nts useful inyour 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 thecolonies before the Revolution. During the Revolution BenjaminFranklin was made Postmaster General, and he made the service aseffective as it could well be made under the conditions thatexisted in those times. The plan that he devised was continuedafter the Constitution was adopted. In those days mails were sentfrom New York to Boston and to Philadelphia two or three times aweek. 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 ahalf-day. Postage cost from six cents to twenty-five cents foreach letter, according to the distance it was carried, and had tobe paid in cash in advance. Postage stamps were not introduceduntil 1847. Often mail was allowed to accumulate until there wasenough to pay for the trip. The isolation of a remote ruralcommunity can well be imagined where the difficulties ofcommunication were so great, and where the scarcity of money madepostage an important item.

RURAL MAIL ROUTES

In 1918 there were 54,345 post-offices in the United Statesmanaged by the Post-Office Department at Washington, besidesnearly 600 in the Philippines managed by the war Department, and afew in the Panama Canal Zone. Of the 3030 counties in the UnitedStates, 3008 had rural mail routes aggregating more than a millionmiles in extent, serving more than 6 million families, and costingfor operation more than 53 million dollars. This cost, howeveramounts to only about $1.90 for each person served, or a littlemore than one cent for each piece of mail handled. The aim is tomake the postal service pay for itself, and in 1918 the receiptsexceeded the expenditures by more than 60 million dollars.

SPECIAL SERVICES OF THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT

The Post-Office Department not only provides for thetransportation of ordinary mail, but through its post-offices itsells money orders for the transmission of money safely throughthe mails; it operates the parcel post by which merchandise may betransported, including farm produce of many kinds; it administersthe postal savings system. One of the interesting divisions of thePost-Office Department is the Division of Dead Letters, to whichis returned all mail that fails to reach its destination. In 1918there were returned to the Dead-Letter Division 14,451,953 piecesof mail. In these "dead letters" there were drafts, checks, moneyorders, and loose money, amounting to $4,194,839.68. The failureof this mail to reach its proper destination is due in very largemeasure to carelessness in addressing and to failure to place onthe envelope or package a return address. A great deal of loss andinconvenience could be avoided, and much labor and expense savedfor the postal service, if every one would see that every piece ofmail sent out is properly addressed and stamped, and has a returnaddress in the upper left-hand corner.

TRANSPORTATION OF THE MAILS

The efficiency of the postal service depends very largely upon themeans of transportation, from steamship and railway lines down tothe country roads. Nothing else, perhaps, has stimulated theimprovement of roads so much as the rural mail service. It is thepower granted by the Constitution to Congress to establish POST-roads that enables the Federal government to aid the states inroad improvement. The development of fast mail trains and theintroduction of motor-truck service have been important steps inthe improvement of the postal service in city and country. Thelatest development is the transportation of mail by airplane. Anaerial mail route between Washington, D. C., and New York City wasestablished May 15, 1918, and a round trip daily is now made overthis route, regardless of weather conditions. The flying time fromWashington to New York, with a stop at Philadelphia, averages twohours and thirty minutes, or one half the time of the fastesttrains. The Post-Office Department is planning an extensiveairplane mail service from the Atlantic to the Pacific, withvarious side lines; also to the West Indies, Panama, and SouthAmerica. The routes are partially worked out, and trial trips havebeen 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 togetherour nation and the world as a whole. Without them the modernnewspaper, with its daily news from every corner of the globe,would be impossible, our cooperation in the great World War wouldhave been extremely difficult, and the President probably wouldnot have left the United States to participate in the peacenegotiations at Paris. Although the first telegraph line in theUnited States was owned and operated by the government as a partof the postal service, the telegraph service of the country hassince been in the hands of private corporations; except thatduring the war the Post-Office Department took over the managementof the telegraph and the telephone, as the Railroad Administrationtook over the transportation lines.

THE TELEPHONE

As this chapter is being written, word has come that the Secretaryof the Navy has talked by WIRELESS TELEPHONE with the President ofthe United States while the latter was 800 miles out at sea on hisreturn from France. At the close of the war American aviators weretalking with one another from airplane to airplane, and receivingorders from the ground, by wireless telephone. These instancessuggest new possibilities of communication in the near future.Already the ordinary telephone has practically made over ourcommunity life in many particulars. We can hardly estimate itsvalue in business and home life, in the city or on the farm. Thereare about 8000 rural telephone systems in the United Statesserving the homes of two million farmers. In 1912, out of sevenhundred and eighteen telephone systems in North Carolina, aboutsix hundred and fifty were country telephone systems owned andoperated privately by groups of farmers. These included about20,000 telephones and used approximately 35,000 miles of wire.

SERVICE OF THE RURAL TELEPHONE To call a neighbor and ask for theexchange of labor on certain work, as threshing, haying, etc., isonly the work of a moment. To have a definite answer immediatelyis often worth much. To be able to 'phone the village storekeeper,who runs a country delivery, and ask that supplies be sent out isa great convenience to the housewife. To 'phone the implementdealer and learn whether he has needed repairs in stock and, ifso, to have them sent out on the next trolley car, if not to askhim to telegraph the factory to forward them immediately byexpress, is a saving of time that often amounts to a large savingwhen the planting or harvesting of crops is delayed because ofneeded repairs.

… farm homes have been saved from destruction by fire because ofprompt help secured by word over the telephone; … valuableanimals have been saved through the early arrival of theveterinarian who was summoned by 'phone. … Many an itinerantsharper's plans have been frustrated. … The sharper in disgustturns to other fields where there are no telephones over which tonotify his prospective victims of his game.

Business appointments, social appointments, discussions of socialand church plans, to say nothing of the mere friendly exchange ofgreeting over the telephone have probably compensated every ownerof a rural telephone many times over for the expense of it, if allbusiness advantages were ignored.

… At some seasons of the year the general summons to the 'phonegives notice that central is ready to report the weather bureau'sprognostication 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 reducedto a small amount in many rural districts by the organization oflocal cooperative telephone companies.

Ask at home, or have committee interview postmaster:

How is the postmaster in your post-office chosen? Are allpostmasters chosen in the same way?

What are first-class, second-class, third-class, and fourth-classpost-offices?

How are rural mail-carriers chosen?

What is a "star mail route," and how does it differ from anordinary rural route? Are there any "star routes" in your county?

What constitute first-class, second-class, third-class, andfourth-class mail? What is the rate of postage on each?

Has rural mail delivery had the effect of causing road improvementin your county? If so, give instances.

From the office of a local newspaper find out about the work ofthe Associated Press or similar news agency.

Why does the work of a newspaper reporter carry with it greatresponsibility?

Who was Samuel F. B. Morse? Who is Alexander Graham Bell? Marconi?

What particular advantages has the telephone brought to yourcommunity? 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 yousee.

Write a theme on "Modern means of communication and the growth ofa 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 theU. S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1888-1889. This is profuselyillustrated and very interesting.

The volume may be in the public library. It may be difficult toobtain, 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 andteaching 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.

EDUCATION

DEMOCRACY DEPENDS UPON EDUCATION

Both the efficiency and the democracy of a community depend uponthe 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 weretrained to be efficient workers, and thus to contribute to thenational strength; but they were trained TO SUBMIT to authority,and not to exercise control over it. The kind of education thatdevelops leaders was given only to the few. The leaders of theGerman people were imposed upon them from above; in the UnitedStates we are supposed to CHOOSE our leaders. In a nation whoseaim is to afford to every citizen an equal opportunity to make themost of himself and whose people are self-governing, educationmust be widespread, it must develop the power of self-direction,it must train leaders, and it must enable the people to choosetheir leaders intelligently. When Governor Berkeley of Virginiareported to the king of England in 1671, "I thank God there are nofree schools nor printing; and I hope we shall not have thesehundred years," he spoke for the autocratic form of governmentwhich a hundred years later led the colonies to revolt, and whichin 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 OFeducation. There must be trained leadership. And since the aim ofdemocratic government is to secure team work in public affairs,the people must have the tools of team work, such as a commonlanguage and other knowledge that makes living and workingtogether possible; they must have training that will enable themto contribute effectively to the community's work, and anintelligent understanding of the community's aims and ideals. Andsince government is controlled largely by public opinion, thepeople must have an intelligent understanding of the community'sproblems. We had abundant illustration during the recent war ofthe extent to which our government not only depended upon highlyeducated men and women for leadership, but also used educationalmethods to secure its ends.

THE COST OF EDUCATION

These facts explain why public education is the largest singleitem of expense in our government (except in time of war). In 1914nearly 600 million dollars were spent for public elementary andhigh schools. Some 200 million dollars more were spent for privateelementary and high schools, and for universities, colleges, andnormal 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 areasonable education. Every state now has a compulsory educationlaw, though these laws vary greatly. In some states every childmust attend school for seven years (7 to 14, or 8 to 15), and inone state (Maryland) for eight years. In other states the periodis less, sometimes as little as four years. In most of the statesthere is an additional period, usually of two years (14 to 16),during which children must remain in school unless they go towork. As a rule there are laws that forbid the employment ofchildren in industry before the age of 14. In some states they maygo to work as soon as they reach the age limit regardless of whattheir educational qualifications are; in others they must havecompleted 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 showsthe number of children of school age in and out of school in theseveral states in 1915-1916. For the country as a whole, 17.4 percent of the children of school age were not in school.

"School terms are so short in many states and compulsoryattendance is so badly enforced that THE SCHOOL LIFE OF THEAVERAGE PERSON GROWING UP IN RURAL SECTIONS IS ONLY 4.5 SCHOOLYEARS OF 140 DAYS EACH. In urban communities conditions arebetter, but far from satisfactory." [Footnote: Bulletin, 1919, No.4, U. S. Bureau of Education, "A Manual of EducationalLegislation," 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 wereopen, the average number of days of attendance by each pupilenrolled, and the rank of the state in each case, for each statein the school year 1915-1916.

Why would it not be more democratic to permit children to attendschool or not as they or their parents wish?

Discuss the statement that "education makes people free." Comparethis 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 differentstates a good thing? Why?

Is the compulsory school law rigidly enforced in your state? Howis it enforced?

How much of each year must a child spend in school during thecompulsory period in your state?

Investigate the reasons given by pupils in your community forleaving school before completing the course, and report.

What rank does your state hold with respect to length of term? toaverage daily attendance of pupils? (See table.)

What rank does your state hold with respect to number of childrenof school age in and out of school? (See table.)

What is the length of your own school year? Do you think it shouldbe lengthened? Why?

Get from your teacher or principal the average daily attendancefor each pupil enrolled in your school; in your county. Do youthink this record could be improved?

Is there any good reason why the school year should be shorter inrural communities than in cities?

It is advocated by many that schools should be open the yearround. What advantages can you see in the plan? Debate thequestion.

THE DISTRICT SCHOOL

The pioneer family was dependent at first upon its own efforts forthe education of its children. When other families came, aschoolhouse was built, a teacher employed and the work of teachingthe elements of knowledge was handed over to the school. This wasthe origin of the "district school," which is characteristic ofpioneer conditions. As the population grew and local governmentwas organized, the unit of local government tended to become theunit for school administration. In New England this was the "town"or township; in the South it was the county; in the West it wassometimes the township and sometimes the county, or else acombination of the two. In a large number of the western states,however, and in a few of the eastern states, the district schoolpersists in many rural communities, a relic of pioneer conditions.It is often felt that it is more democratic for each district toadminister its own school, subject only to the laws of the state.

Under the district system there is an annual school meeting of thevoters of the district, who vote the school taxes, determine thelength of the school year, and elect a board of education orschool trustees. The trustees look after the school property,choose the teacher and fix his salary, and in a general way managethe school business. Each school is independent of all otherschools.

TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION

Under the township system all of the schools of the township areadministered by a township board or committee (or by a singletrustee in Indiana) elected by the people of the township. Thechief advantages over the district system are that all the schoolsof the township are administered by a single plan, the taxes areapportioned to the schools according to needs, and pupils may betransferred from one school to another at convenience. In NewEngland two or three townships are sometimes united into a "uniondistrict" supervised by a single superintendent.

COUNTY ORGANIZATION

Under the county system all the schools of the county are underthe management of a county board and, usually, a countysuperintendent. In 29 of the 39 states that have countysuperintendents they are elected by the people, in 8 states theyare appointed by the county board, in Delaware they are appointedby the governor, and in New Jersey by the state commissioner ofeducation. Election of the county superintendent is losing favoron the ground that there is less assurance of securing a highlytrained man. The chart on page 293 shows a plan of organizationfor county schools proposed to the legislature of South Dakota bythe 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 thecounty, and better supervision because of the larger fundsavailable for this purpose. It is under the county system oforganization that the movement for SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION isprogressing most rapidly. By this is meant the union of a numberof small, poorly equipped schools into a larger, well-graded, andwell equipped school. Its advantages may best be suggested by anexample.

In Randolph County, Indiana, there were, in 1908, 128 one-roomschools in the open country, with an attendance of from 12 to 60pupils doing grade work only, 6 two-room schools in hamlets, withgrade work only; 2 three room schools in villages, with grade workand two years of high school work with a six months' term; 3 four-room village schools, with grade work and three years of highschool 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 eightmonths' term.

By consolidation, 113 one-room schools and 4 two-room schools weresupplanted by 20 consolidated schools with two grade teachers; 6with four grade teachers, 6 with five grade teachers; 2 with sixgrade teachers; and 1 with eight grade teachers—a total of 86grade teachers doing the work formerly done by 148 teachers, anddoing it better. Fifteen of the schools have a four-year highschool course with an eight months' term. For the five-year periodpreceding consolidation not more than half of the eighth-gradepupils attended high school; after consolidation, an average of 96per 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 withrunning water, modern heating and sanitation, telephone, restroomsfor pupils and teachers, gymnasiums and outdoor physicalapparatus, physical training and athletic competition beingcarried on under supervision. The courses of study have beenenriched, increased attention is given to vocational work, andmusic and art receive attention impossible in the districtschools. Eleven of the schools have orchestras, and concerts areheld which the community as well as the schools attend. There areauditoriums 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 theschool cannot do. What the school does that the family cannot do.

Organization of the schools in your district, township, county, orcity.

Advantages of graded schools over ungraded schools.

Consolidation of schools in your county or state.

Debate the question: The district school is more democratic thanthe 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 boardof education.

Authority, or lack of authority, of your county superintendentover the schools of cities and large towns in the county.

Qualifications prescribed for teachers in your county or town. Howselected.

How are school books selected? Are they free to pupils? Advantagesand disadvantages of free textbooks.

Evidence that public education is or is not a matter of commoninterest to the people of your community.

Examples of team work, or lack of it, in your community in theinterest of the schools.

Are the methods by which school authorities are chosen in yourcommunity calculated to secure the best leadership?

How the duties relating to the schools are divided between yourschool board and the superintendent. Does your board perform anyduties that should be performed by the superintendent, or VICEVERSA? 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 preparefor college the few who wished to continue their education. Whilethey still continue to give preparation for college, theirdevelopment in recent years has been largely for the benefit ofthe greater number of boys and girls who do not expect to go tocollege. The high school naturally made its first appearance incities. It requires more elaborate equipment and more highlytrained teachers, and its cost is at least twice that ofelementary schools. These facts, together with the small andscattered population of rural communities, have been obstacles tothe development of rural high schools. The consolidated school hasin large measure removed these obstacles, and a high schooleducation is rapidly becoming as available for rural boys andgirls 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 schoolafter 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 ascompared with that in the elementary school.

Education must not only be within the reach of every citizen of ademocracy, but it must be of a kind that will fit him to play wellhis part as a member of the community.

EDUCATION FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS

The public schools now give more attention than formerly to thephysical education and welfare of the pupils (see Chapter XX, pp.314, 315). The wide prevalence of physical defects disclosed inthe effort to raise an army during the recent war will doubtlesscause still greater emphasis to be placed on this aspect ofeducation. Physical fitness is the foundation of good citizenship.Provision for physical education and welfare has found its wayinto rural schools more slowly than in city schools, as thefollowing table shows. But our nation can be neither efficient norfully democratic until the physical well-being of all its citizensis provided for, and the responsibility rests largely with thepublic 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 toearn a living, for every efficient citizen must be self-supportingand able to contribute effectively to the productive work of thecommunity. The interdependence of all occupations in modernindustry and the necessity for every worker to be a specialistmake training essential for every worker who is to attain successfor himself and contribute his full share to the community's work.The war emphasized strongly the nation's dependence upon trainedworkers in every field of industry.

NATIONAL AID FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

One of the direct results of war needs was the passage byCongress, in 1917, of the Smith-Hughes Act, providing for nationalaid for vocational instruction for persons over 14 years of agewho have already entered upon, or are preparing to enter, sometrade. The instruction given under the terms of this act must beof less than college grade. Every state in the Union has met theconditions imposed by this law.

The Smith-Hughes Act created a Federal Board for VocationalEducation to consist of the Secretaries of the Departments ofa*griculture, Commerce and Labor, the United States Commissioner ofEducation, and three citizens appointed by the President, one torepresent labor interests, one commercial and manufacturinginterests, and the third agricultural interests. The lawappropriates national funds to be given to the state for theestablishment of vocational schools and for the training ofteachers for these schools; but each state must appropriate anamount equal to that received from the national government. Eachstate must also have a board for vocational education, throughwhich 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 tocultivate special vocational skills; not to turn out trainedfarmers, or mechanics, and so on. But the work of these schoolsshould be such that their graduates will be better farmers, ormechanics, or lawyers, or doctors, or engineers, or teachers, thanthey would be without it. First of all these schools shouldproduce 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 instructionregarding the significance of all work in community and nationallife, and by every means possible prepare the pupil to make a wisechoice of vocation. Moreover, the schools should provide a breadthof education that will "transmute days of dreary work into happierlives."

MAKING LIFE EDUCATIONAL

Mr. Herbert Quick in his story of "The Brown Mouse," which is aplea for better rural schools, says:

Let us cease thinking so much of agricultural education, anddevote ourselves to educational agriculture. So will the nation bemade strong.

The life we live, even on the farm, is full of science andhistory, civics and economics, arithmetic and geography, poetryand art. The modern school helps the pupil to find these things inhis daily life and, having found them, to apply them to living forhis profit and enjoyment. For this reason it works largely throughthe "home project," boys' and girls' clubs, gardening, and manyother activities.

A recent writer has said,

What is the true end of American education? Is it life or aliving? … Education finds itself face to face with a biggerthing than life or the getting of a living. It is face to facewith a big enough thing to die for in France, a big enough thingto go to school for in America … Neither life nor the getting ofa living, but LIVING TOGETHER, this must be the single PUBLIC endof 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 communitycorrespond to the conditions of living in the community outside ofschool, the better the training afforded for living together. Inmany schools the spirit and methods of community life prevail,even to the extent of school government in which the pupilsparticipate.

Of this community pupils and teachers are members with certaincommon interests. Cooperation is the keynote of the communitylife. The realization of this cooperation is seen in theclassrooms, in study halls, in the assembly room, in thecorridors, on the playground. It manifests itself in the method ofpreparing and conducting recitations; in the care of schoolproperty; in protecting the rights of younger children; inmaintaining the sanitary conditions of the building and grounds;in the elimination of cases of "discipline" and of irregularity ofattendance; in the preparation and conduct of opening exercises,school entertainments, and graduating exercises; in beautifyingthe 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 communitylife. We have noticed how, in Randolph County, Indiana, theconsolidated school building affords a meeting place for all sortsof community activities. The school law of California providesthat:

There is hereby established a civic center at each and everypublic schoolhouse within the State of California, where thecitizens of the respective public school districts … may engagein supervised recreational activities, and where they may meet anddiscuss … any and all subjects and questions which in theirjudgment may appertain to the educational, political, economic,artistic, and moral interests of the respective communities inwhich they may reside; Provided, that such use of said publicschoolhouse and grounds for said meetings shall in no wiseinterfere with such use and occupancy of said public schoolhouseand grounds as is now, or hereafter may be, required for thepurpose 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 forhealth work suggested in the table on page 299.

Other provisions in your school for the physical well-being ofpupils.

The work of your school that relates directly to preparation forearning 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 yourcounty 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 schooland that of the community in which you live. The wisdom of makingthem 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 isused.

Economy (or lack of it) in allowing schoolhouses to stand idlemost 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 schoolsystem. Education is considered a duty of the state, though it isperformed largely by local agencies. The constitutions of allstates make provision for it. State control and support ofeducation are necessary if there is to be equality of educationalopportunity for all children of the state. Every state has adepartment of education, and in most states each local communityreceives a portion of a general state tax for school purposes. Thestate departments of education differ widely from one another bothin organization and in the effectiveness of their work. In moststates there is a state board of education, composed sometimes ofcertain state officials, including the governor and the statesuperintendent of education, sometimes of citizens appointed forthis purpose alone by the governor or (in four states) by thelegislature. In only one state is it elected by popular vote. Inall states there is also a chief educational officer, usuallycalled state superintendent or commissioner of education or ofpublic 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 thegovernor. Under the state superintendent there are deputysuperintendents, heads of departments, and supervisors of thevarious branches of educational work. The diagram on page 293shows a plan of organization proposed for one state by the UnitedStates Bureau of Education.

RELATION OF STATE TO LOCAL ORGANIZATION

The extent of the supervision and control exercised by the statedepartment of education over the schools of the state varieswithin wide limits. In some cases it is very little. In manystates there are state courses of study that are followed more orless closely by local communities. In a number of states thetextbooks used by all schools are selected either by the stateboard of education or by a special state textbook commission. InNew York State the examination questions used in all schools areprepared by the state educational authorities. Some states furnishtext books free, and in a very few the state even prints alltextbooks. It has not been easy to work out a well-balanced planof state administration of schools that would ensure athoroughgoing education for the entire state, and that would atthe same time leave sufficient freedom to local school authoritiesto adjust the work to local needs.

HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Many of the states support higher educational institutions, suchas state universities and state agricultural colleges, at whichattendance is free for citizens of the state. There are alsospecial state schools for defectives, such as the blind and thedeaf.

POLICY OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT TOWARD EDUCATION

The national government gave its first support to public educationby the Ordinance of 1787 under which the Northwest Territory wasorganized. It provided that "religion, morality, and knowledgebeing necessary government to good government and the happiness ofmankind, schools and the means of education shall be foreverencouraged." As new states were organized, sections of the publiclands were to be reserved for school purposes. Grants of publicland were also made for the establishment of agricultural collegesand experiment stations.

THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION

We have also noted the national cooperation with the states foragricultural extension work and for vocational education. TheUnited States Bureau of Education is under the direction of theUnited States Commissioner of Education. It has exerted its chiefinfluence through its investigations of educational methods andits numerous reports and other publications. It serves as a sortof educational "clearing house" for local and state schoolauthorities. One of its chief endeavors has been to increase theeducational 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 thestate.

Organization of your state department of education. Compare withthe organization of state departments in neighboring states.

Arguments for and against the method of choosing your state boardof education and your state superintendent.

Do the rural schools and city schools of your state operate underthe 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 ofstudy. Of uniform examinations throughout the state.

Management and support of your state university.

Qualifications for admission to the state university and stateagricultural college.

Why you are (or not) going to college.

The value of the state university or agricultural college to yourstate.

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. Theseannual reports contain excellent summaries of every phase ofeducation 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 ofspecial application to rural education.

Teachers of civics will find the following helpful:

1915, No. 17, Civic education in elementary schools as illustratedin Indianapolis (Government Printing Office, 5 cents).

1915, No. 23, The teaching of community civics (GovernmentPrinting 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, chapteron civic education.

1917, No. 51, Moral values in secondary education.

1918, No. 15, Educational survey of Elyria, Ohio, chapter on civiceducation (Government Printing Office, 30 cents).

1919, No. 50, Part 3, Civic education in the public school systemof Memphis. Write to the U.S. Bureau of Education for list ofreferences on pupil self-government. Also write to the SchoolCitizens' Committee, 2 Wall St., New York City, for material onthe 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.

THE COMMUNITY'S HEALTH

PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND THE NATIONAL DEFENSE

There is nothing else that concerns the community or the nation somuch as the health of its citizens. Of more than three million menbetween the ages of 21 and 31 examined for military service in1918, only about 65 per cent were passed as physically fit tofight 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 kindof service, or were capable only of the less strenuous activitiesconnected with warfare. Most of the defects found could have beenremedied, or prevented altogether, if proper care had been takenin earlier years.

PHYSICAL DEFECTS AND THE NATION'S INDUSTRY

The nation loses by this physical unfitness in other ways than infighting power. Investigations have shown that wage earners losefrom their work an average of from six to nine days each year onaccount 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, andotherwise, is a serious matter, to say nothing of the absolutewant to which it reduces many families and the suffering entailed.In addition to this, the country loses the wage earner'sproduction. Sometimes death brings to the family permanent loss ofincome, and to the nation complete loss of the product of the wageearner's work. The nation spends large sums of money every year inproviding for dependent families and individuals.

If each of the 38 million wage earners in the United States in1910 lost 6 days from work in a year, how many days' work wouldthe 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 inwages 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 lostfrom work, etc.

What would such expense mean to a family living on as low wages asthose mentioned on page 167?

EDUCATION AND PHYSICAL DEFECTS

Moreover, the nation loses a great deal (how much cannot becalculated) from the physical unfitness of many who keep onworking, but who are not fully efficient because of bodily defectsor ailments. We see the results of this even in school. Pupils wholag behind their mates in their studies are often suffering fromphysical defects of which their teachers, and even theythemselves, may be unaware. It may be that they are ill-nourished,or that they have defective vision, or hearing, or teeth, or thatthey sleep in poorly ventilated rooms. The community does not getit* money's worth from its schools if its children are not inphysical condition to profit by them. In a similar manner earningand productive power are reduced.

PHYSICAL UNFITNESS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

It has usually been assumed that the people in rural districts aremore healthy than those who live in cities; but it has been foundthat there is as much physical unfitness there as elsewhere. It istrue that the records of the war department seem to show fewer menrejected in rural districts as totally unfit for any kind ofmilitary service; but evidence of other kinds has been collectedthat indicates that some kinds of disease, at least, and manyphysical defects are more prevalent in the country than in thecity. In THE LURE OF THE LAND, Dr. Harvey Wiley makes a comparisonof the death rate from certain diseases in a few states where thefigures 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 ruralschool children, which show results in favor of the former. Of330,179 children examined in New York City 70 percent were founddefective, while of 294,427 examined in 1831 rural districts ofPennsylvania 75 per cent were defective. The preceding chart showsthe comparative prevalence of health defects among city andcountry children.

Investigate the following:

Meaning of "vital statistics." Importance of vital statistics toyour community. Where recorded for your county or town. What thevital statistics of your community for the last year show.

Causes of deaths in your community for the last year. Thepercentage of these deaths that were "preventable." Increase ordecrease of death rate in your community during recent years, inyour state.

The nature of the prevailing sicknesses in your community duringthe last year. Per cent of these that were contagious. List ofcontagious diseases in the order of their prevalence.

Quarantine regulations in your community against contagiousdiseases. Extent to which they are observed. Who is responsiblefor their observance? For their enforcement?

Observe condition of sidewalks and other public places withrespect to expectoration. Is there a law on the subject in yourcommunity'? 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 isit conducted? Who sends the inspectors? To what extent the homesof the community cooperate with the schools in getting resultsfrom medical inspection.

BETTER CONDITIONS IN CITIES DUE TO ORGANIZED TEAM WORK

We may well ask why ill health and physical defects seem to bemore prevalent in rural communities than in cities. The answerprobably is, simply, that in cities they are PREVENTED moreeffectively. The chart on page 313 shows that while the death ratein New York City was 20.6 per thousand in 1900, it had declined to14 per thousand in 1914; while that in the rural districts of NewYork State remained practically the same during these years (15.5per thousand in 1900, 15.3 in 1914).

This indicates that health conditions in the city were originallymuch worse than in the country. They were rapidly improved byorganization for health protection. There is not the occasion, inrural communities, for the elaborate health-protectingorganization that is now found in all large cities, because thepeople in rural communities are not so completely dependent uponone another nor at the mercy of conditions over which, asindividuals, they have no control. And yet even in ruralcommunities physical well-being depends largely upon organizedteam work.

SCHOOLS AS AN AGENCY FOR HEALTH CONSERVATION

Cities have used their school organization to combat physicaldefects and weaknesses of pupils, and that is why they make abetter showing than rural communities in such matters as thoseshown in the table on page 312. Removing such defects from youngpeople means a stronger and more efficient adult population ten ortwenty years from now; for these defects are often the causes ofmore serious illness in later years. The table on page 299,Chapter XIX, shows how much behind cities rural communities havebeen in the use of their school organization for this purpose. Theencouraging thing is, however, that rural communities arebeginning to find the means to use their schools in this way. Theway has been opened by school consolidation (p. 295), by thegrouping of all the small and isolated schools of a county under acentral county administration (p. 294), by aid from the state,both in money and in supervision, and by cooperation from thenational government.

HEALTH EDUCATION FOR ADULTS IN CITIES

Cities have extended their health-educational work to the adultpopulation. 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. Classesfor mothers are conducted at the school in the afternoon orevening. But more than this, city boards of health, often incooperation with the school authorities, conduct educationalcampaigns by means of literature distributed to the homes throughschool 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. Thehomes may be reached by the right kind of instruction in theschools. The classes or clubs for women conducted by women countyagents may be, and often are, used as means of health instruction.Public meetings at the "community center" at the schoolhouse maybe devoted at times to public health problems, with lectures,moving pictures, and discussions. The local newspapers alwaysafford a channel through which to get matters of this kind beforethe people. Local and state boards of health, the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture, and the Public Health Service may anddo use these and other agencies to reach the people.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HOME

No matter how much machinery for cooperation we may have in ourcommunity, like that described above, it cannot help much unlessevery family and every citizen cooperates intelligently.

In a large city, a small group of men, constituting the citycouncil, may inaugurate measures which will accomplish sanitaryimprovements at thousands of homes; but for the accomplishment ofsanitary improvements at 1000 farm homes at least 1000 persons …must be convinced that the sanitary measures are needed, becomeinformed how to apply them, and be willing to put them intooperation.

[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 getin the crowded living and working conditions of cities. There itis necessary to regulate these conditions by law, and factoriesand tenements are inspected to see that they are properlyventilated and not overcrowded. In rural communities there is lessexcuse for bad air, and the responsibility for it rests moredirectly upon the individual, as illustrated on page 112, ChapterX.

BAD AIR AND THE SPREAD OF DISEASE

It might seem that it is nobody's business but our own how we livein our homes or at our work. But bad air lessens vitality andnurtures disease. This reduces productive power. Moreover, colds,influenza, and tuberculosis (of which more than a million peopleare constantly sick in the United States), all of which arenourished in bad air, may be spread by contact, or by food handledby those who are sick. People who live in bad air at home minglewith others at church, in moving picture theaters, at school, inthe courtroom, and in other public meeting places, which arethemselves often poorly ventilated. It is strange that courtrooms, where justice is administered, schools where children areprepared for life, and churches where people worship, are so oftenbadly ventilated.

Report on the following:

Is your schoolroom well ventilated? How do you know? What effectdoes poor ventilation have upon your feelings and your work?

If the law requires school attendance, why should it also requiregood ventilation of the school?

If the ventilation of your school is not good, what may you doabout it? Who is responsible for it?

Observe and report upon the ventilation of the court rooms, movingpicture theaters, churches, and other meeting places in yourcommunity.

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 Impurewater is one of the chief sources of typhoid fever and otherdiseases of the intestines. About 400,000 persons have typhoidfever every year in the United States, and 30,000 are killed byit; and it is unnecessary. We have from three to five times asmuch typhoid as many European countries have, and for no otherreason than that we are negligent.

PURE FOOD AND HEALTH

Pure, clean, wholesome food is equally essential. We need notdwell upon the importance of the right kinds of food and well-cooked food. Much illness is caused by "spoiled" foods. Diseasegerms may be carried by food as well as by water. Tuberculosis maybe carried by milk, either from diseased cattle, or from victimsof the disease who handle the milk at some point in its progressfrom the dairy farm to the home. The death rate among babies isappalling, especially in cities, because of the use of milkcontaining germs of intestinal diseases. Typhoid fever may becontracted from milk, green vegetables, and oysters from bedscontaminated with sewage.

The food supply of cities passes through many hands before itreaches the consumer. At almost every point it is protected byregulations and inspection. Most of it, however, comes originallyfrom the farm which is beyond the control of the city authorities.The producers and handlers of food products in rural districtstherefore owe it not only to themselves but also to their cityneighbors to exercise every possible precaution against the spreadof disease. Such precautions consist in cleanliness in handlingand storing milk, butter, and meats; in the cleansing of milkreceptacles with pure water; in the proper location andconstruction of wells; in protecting springs from surfacedrainage; in sanitary disposal of sewage and other wastes from thehousehold; in protection of food against flies.

SANITATION IN CITIES

In cities a great deal of attention is given to sanitation. Sewageis carried off by public sewers. Householders are required toplace garbage in sanitary cans, whence it is collected anddisposed of in such a way as not to pollute the soil. Ashes andrefuse are carried away from homes and shops, and the streets arecleaned daily. In rural communities such matters are left almostentirely to the householder.

FLIES AS DISEASE CARRIERS

Exposed garbage, improperly built outdoor toilets, and stablemanure are breeding places of flies; and flies are notoriouscarriers of disease. Yet, out of more than 3000 homes in onecounty in Indiana only 31 made provision to prevent stable manurefrom breeding flies, and the same was true of only 1 out of morethan 2000 homes in a county in North Carolina, and only 86 out ofnearly 5000 homes in an Alabama county.

DANGER FROM MOSQUITOES

Malaria is widespread in the United States and imposes a heavytoll upon the nation's health. It is carried from one victim toanother by a certain kind of mosquito, of which it iscomparatively easy to get rid by proper drainage of breedingplaces, by treating the surface of pools with kerosene, byscreening, and by seeing to it that rain barrels are covered andthat tin cans and other receptacles of water are not left lyingaround. But flies and mosquitoes do not stop with fences, nor dothey recognize city or county boundaries. Hence, individual effortwithout community cooperation is likely to be useless.

POLLUTED SOIL AND HOOKWORM DISEASE

The terrible hookworm disease so prevalent in our southern statesis caused by a minute worm that infests soil polluted with sewage.It penetrates the soles of the feet of those who go barefoot andthe palms of the hands of those who work in the soils, finds itsway through the blood to the intestines, and thence to the soilagain. An investigation in 770 counties in 11 states wherehookworm disease is prevalent showed that out of 287,606 farmhomes only six tenths of one per cent disposed of their sewage insuch a way as to prevent soil pollution.

Out of 305 homes in a little community in Mississippi, only 4properly disposed of sewage. When the first investigations weremade, there were 407 cases of hookworm disease out of 1002residents. Besides, there had been recently 12 cases oftuberculosis, 47 of typhoid fever, 184 of malaria, and 384 ofdysentery.

Safe methods of disposing of sewage were introduced, houses werescreened, an artesian well was bored for a public water supply,and the community cleaned up generally. After these improvementsthe various diseases almost entirely disappeared. Similar resultswere 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 recentimprovements.

The public water supply (if any) of your community. Its sources.Method of purification. Quality of water. How the people know itis pure or impure. Public or private ownership of the supply. Costto the householder.

Extent to which the families represented in your class depend uponprivate wells. How many have had their well water examined to testit* purity. How to proceed to have water tested. Who tests it? Whopays for the test? (If possible, visit the laboratory where thetests are made.)

Number of cases of typhoid fever in your community, now or duringlast year. How the information can be obtained. Is the informationlikely to be accurate? Whose business is it to keep a record? Whyshould 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: onthe farms where it is produced; in the hands of dealers anddistributors; in the home. Who make these regulations?

Outline on a map the area from which your community is suppliedwith milk. Show on a map cities that are supplied by your countywith dairy products, garden vegetables, meats, etc.

Clean-up campaigns in your community.

Progress and methods of fly and mosquito extermination in yourcommunity.

The work of the Rockefeller Foundation for the extermination ofhookworm disease (see references).

Hospitals that serve your community. Where located. By whomsupported (private, city or town, county, state).

NATIONAL CONTROL OF HEALTH CONSERVATION

Health protection, like education, has been considered primarilythe duty of the state. But many conditions affecting health havearisen that the state cannot completely control. Chiefly under thepower given to it by the Constitution to regulate foreign andinterstate commerce (p. 451), Congress has passed many laws thatprotect health, placing their enforcement in the hands of theseveral 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 RuralEngineering, which deals with problems of farm water supply andrural sanitation, its Bureau of Entomology which wages war againstflies and other disease-carrying insects, and its Bureau of AnimalIndustry which inspects cattle, meats, and dairy products. TheDepartment of Agriculture also administers the Food and Drugs Act,the purpose of which is to secure purity of food products and torequire that they and medicinal drugs shall be labeled in such away 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 andhealth conditions and the means of controlling them. It has givenconsiderable attention to rural sanitation. It issues reports andother publications of great value to the citizen, some of thembeing listed at the end of this chapter. It has representatives inall important foreign ports, inspects all ships that enterAmerican harbors, and holds them in quarantine until they andtheir passengers are given a clean bill of health. Cholera andother dangerous diseases have thus been prevented from gaining afoothold on American soil.

HEALTH WORK OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS

The War Department has also waged a relentless warfare againstdisease, not only in the army itself, but also in the Panama CanalZone, Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippines, and other regionsoccupied by the army. The Department of Labor seeks to improve thephysical conditions of labor for both men and women, and itsChildren's Bureau is charged with a study of all matterspertaining to the welfare of children. In the Department of theInterior the Census Bureau collects national vital statistics; theBureau of Mines has done valuable work for the prevention ofaccidents in mines and mining industries; and the Bureau ofEducation seeks to promote physical education, instruction in homeeconomics, and education in the home relating to the care ofchildren.

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, orboth. These departments differ greatly in their organization andin the extent and effectiveness of their work.

NEW YORK STATE ORGANIZATION

One of the best organized state departments of health is that ofNew York. Among its most important features are (1) a PUBLICHEALTH COUNCIL which has power to establish a state-wide SANITARYCODE; (2) the concentration of all administrative power in thehands of a single state COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH, who has a staff ofexperts to direct special lines of health work; and (3) a well-organized scheme of cooperation between the state department andlocal health authorities.

LOCAL ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH PROTECTION

The absence or weakness of local organization for healthprotection has been one of the obstacles to progress in physicalwell-being in the United States. Driven by an appalling death rateand frequent epidemics, our large cities have developed healthdepartments which in many cases have proved very effective. But insmaller communities, while health departments or health officersusually exist, the organization has for the most part been veryineffective. The people themselves have not been sufficientlyaroused to their needs and to methods of meeting them. New Yorkand Massachusetts are among the most progressive states in thismatter. Each local community in these states (town, village, orsmall city) has its board of health and health officer; but thesecommunities are grouped into HEALTH DISTRICTS (8 in Massachusetts,20 in New York), each district being in charge of a health officerappointed by the state commissioner or board of health. In NewYork the district health officer, who is there called the SANITARYSUPERVISOR, has the following duties:

To keep informed regarding the work of each local health officerwithin his sanitary district.

To aid the local health officers in making health surveys of thecommunity 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 publichealth regulations.

To inspect Indian reservations and to enforce all provisions ofthe sanitary code in them.

To secure the cooperation of medical organizations for theimprovement of the public health.

To promote the information of the public in matters pertaining tothe public health.

EXAMPLE OF NORTH CAROLINA

Another type of local health organization and of cooperationbetween local and state authorities for health protection andpromotion has been developed in North Carolina, where 85 per centof the population is rural. Here the county has been taken as theunit of local organization. Health conditions had been very bad inthis state, hookworm disease, tuberculosis, malaria, and otherdiseases being prevalent. The state board of health, assisted bythe Rockefeller Sanitary Commission (see above, page 320, andreferences below), began an investigation and an educationalcampaign among the people, with the result that many of thecounties of the state now have an organization for healthcooperation unsurpassed, perhaps, in any other state. Each countyhas a health department, which is controlled jointly by the stateboard of health and a county board of health. The county board ofhealth consists of the mayor of the county seat, the chairman ofthe board of county commissioners, the county superintendent ofschools, and two physicians of the county elected by the otherthree members. The work of the health department is directed by acounty health officer, who is appointed by the state board ofhealth of which he is also a member. He has a staff of trainedassistants.

In this plan note the cooperation between state and localcommunities, between town and county officials, and between theschool authorities and the health organization. Note, also, theleadership of specialists in health matters.

Topics for investigation:

Organization of the department of health in your community (bothcounty and town): the board of health; the executive healthofficer or officers; the kinds of work done.

Amount of money spent by your local health department for allpurposes and for each purpose separately. Compare with the amountsspent for roads, for schools, and for other work of the localgovernment.

The interest shown by the people in your community in publichealth 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 governmentin health matters.

The more important local and state laws relating to health in yourcommunity.

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 thesoldiers during the recent war. Volunteer agencies that cooperatedin 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 publichealth.

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 materialrelating 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 Educationtreating of health matters are the following:

1910, No. 5, American schoolhouses.

1913. No. 44, Organized health work in schools. No. 48, Schoolhygiene. 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, Therural school and hookworm disease.

1915, No. 4, The health of school children. No. 21, Schoolhousesanitation. 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 NorthCarolina, Rural Child Welfare Series No. 2, and Baby-SavingCampaigns. A Preliminary Report on What American Cities are Doingto Prevent Infant Mortality, Bureau Publication No. 3. See list ofpublications 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.

SOCIAL, AESTHETIC, AND SPIRITUAL WANTS

HAPPINESS THROUGH SERVICE

Several times in the preceding chapters reference has been made toour national purpose "to transmute days of dreary work intohappier lives." This does not mean to get rid of work; forhappiness can be attained only IN work and THROUGH work. HappinessIN work depends largely upon our freedom and ability to choose thekind of service for which we are best fitted, and upon the extentto which we prepare ourselves for it. It also depends to a largeextent upon good health (p. 309).

SATISFACTION OF HIGHER WANTS

But there never was a truer statement than that "all work and noplay makes Jack a dull boy." In return for his work every citizenis entitled to enough compensation to enable him to provide notonly for the bare necessities of life, such as food and shelter,but also for the pleasure that he derives from the satisfaction ofhis higher wants, such as social life and recreation, an educationthat will give him a richer enjoyment of life, pleasantsurroundings, religious advantages.

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY LIFE

All these things have much to do with our national well-being andour citizenship. Our nation is democratic only in proportion tothe equality of opportunity enjoyed by all citizens to satisfythese wants. Moreover, the efficiency of each citizen inproductive work and as a participator in self-government dependsmore than we sometimes think upon his opportunity to "enjoy life"in pleasant surroundings and in wholesome social relations. In thepast the citizen has been left largely to his own resources and topurely voluntary cooperation to provide for these wants.Government has not even adequately PROTECTED his rights of thiskind, to say nothing of positively PROMOTING them. At present,however, community team work through government is being organizedas never before both to promote and to protect the interests ofall citizens in the fullest possible enjoyment of life.

RECREATION AND SOCIAL LIFE

THE VALUE OF PLAY

Children enjoy play because it satisfies physical, mental, andsocial wants. But it is also the principal means by which theyprepare for the more serious duties of later life. It builds uphealth, trains the muscles and the senses, and sharpens the wits.It gives practice in team work, develops leadership, and teachesthe value of "rules of the game." Every child is entitled to anabundant opportunity to play, both because of the happiness itaffords him and because by it he is trained for membership in thecommunity. It is to the interest of the community to afford himthe opportunity. It is largely for this reason that most of thestates protect children by law from being put to work for a livingat too early an age.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAY IN CITIES

In large cities thousands of children live in crowded districtswhere there is no place to play except in the public streets. Solittle appreciative have we been of the importance of play in thedevelopment of young citizens that great numbers of city schoolshave been built with no provision whatever for playgrounds. Thismistake is slowly being corrected, often at great expense. No cityschool is now considered first-class if it does not have an ampleand well-equipped playground, with competent directors to teachchildren how to get the most out of their play. Most cities arealso establishing public playgrounds apart from the schools,sometimes under the management of the school board, but oftenunder that of a special playground or recreation commission.

PLAY IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

Play for the children of rural communities is as important as forthose of cities, but even less attention has been given to it.Many a country school has no playground, and if it has one it islikely to be small and not equipped with play apparatus. Whyshould there be playgrounds when there is all outdoors in which toplay? Why should there be expensive play apparatus and playdirectors when boys and girls can get all the "exercise" they needat home or on the farm? "Play" means more than mere physicalexercise, and must be pleasurable if it is to have value.Organized play is as truly a means of education as any schoolinstruction, and must have competent leadership or direction. Inrural districts, where the children live far apart, there isparticular need for a common meeting place for organized groupplay, 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 thebest arguments for school consolidation, for it brings togetherlarger numbers and makes possible the employment of a competentplay director and the proper equipment of the playground. Teacher-training schools now make a point of training play leaders as wellas teachers of arithmetic and geography.

MEANING OF RECREATION

As children grow older, an increasing part of their time must begiven to work—school work, tasks at home, remunerative employmentoutside of the home. After leaving school and throughout adultlife, work absorbs the major part of one's time and attention. Buteven then, "all work and no play" will continue to "make Jack adull boy." We now call play "recreation," for by it body and mindand spirit are refreshed, renewed, RE-CREATED, after closeapplication to work. That is why school work is broken by"recesses." Recreation is necessary as a means of providing forphysical, mental, and social wants; for the pleasure that itaffords. But it is also important in its relation to work, forwithout it body and mind become "fa*gged," people grow "stale" attheir 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 especiallydifficult to form the habit in adult life if it has not been donein youth. People often become so absorbed in work that there seemsto be no time for recreation. In such cases not only is theenjoyment of life narrowed, but there is a risk of damaging thequality of one's work and even of shortening one's life ofproductive activity, or of service.

LEISURE A REQUIREMENT

Every worker is entitled to opportunity for recreation, both forhis own sake and for the well-being of the community. This means,first of all, that he must have LEISURE for it. When people haveto work hard for ten or twelve or more hours a day, year in andyear out, as was once customary in industry, there is neither timenor energy for wholesome recreation. That such conditions existed,and still exist to a considerable extent, is due to grossimperfections in the industrial organization of the community. Oneof the evidences of progress toward "transmuting days of drearywork into happier lives" is the reduction in the hours of toil inmany industries, and the consequent increase of leisure for theenjoyment of life and for self-improvement.

One of the things for which labor unions have struggled is theshortening of the working day. Through their efforts, and throughthe awakening of public interest and knowledge in regard to thematter, the working day is now fixed by law at eight hours in mostindustries, often with a half holiday on Saturdays. Experience hasshown that this change has in no way reduced the product ofindustry. There are still some industries, however, in which mentoil 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 isan income from one's work sufficient to provide more than the barenecessities of life. Before the war, it is said, more than fivemillion families, or about one fourth of the families in theUnited States, were trying to live on a wage of $50 a month, orless. During the war, wages of skilled and unskilled labor shotupward; but so, also, did the cost of living. It is not easy todetermine just what share of the proceeds of industry should, injustice, go to the laborer in wages. But it should be enough toprovide not only for food and clothing and shelter, but also fordecent family life, for healthful surroundings, for education forthe children, and for wholesome recreation.

Labor unions and others interested in a fairer distribution of theproceeds of industry have long been working for the enactment of"minimum wage laws," that is, laws fixing the least wage that maybe paid for each class of labor, this to be enough to provide areasonable satisfaction of all the wants of life. Some states havealready enacted such laws, and during the recent war the federalgovernment in some cases fixed rates of wages, and appointed laborboards to adjust wages to the rising cost of living.

THE WISE USE OF LEISURE

Neither leisure nor income, however, suffice for recreation unlessthey are wisely used. Mere idleness is not recreation; and manypeople 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 havecome to understand the word "dissipation," however, to meanexcessive indulgence in pleasures or amusem*nts that are wastefulof time, energy, or health, or all three, and we call the person"dissipated" who is addicted to such indulgence. Any amusem*nt,even though harmless in itself, may become dissipation if indulgedin 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 lifein rural communities is the lack of opportunity for recreation. Itpartly explains the difficulty of obtaining an abundance of farmlabor, and is one of the obstacles to inducing young people toremain on the farm. Unfortunately, too, the women on the farm haveoften been the chief sufferers from close confinement to thedrudgery of housework, with little opportunity for recreation andless chance than the men have to enjoy the companionship of otherpeople.

The very nature of farming entails hard work and long hours,especially at certain seasons. Under existing conditions it ishard to see how the farmer's working day could be limited to eighthours 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. Hemust pay taxes and insurance and repairs and veterinary fees. Hemust work often sixteen hours, seldom less than ten, and he mustbe on duty day and night, ready always to care for his independentplant—all this, and yet in order to receive a labor income equalto that of the soft coal miner … the farmer must not only workhimself as no professional laborer ever works, but he must alsowork 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 onthe farm as they have been in the past and still are in manycases, much improvement has taken place. Improvement ofa*gricultural machinery and methods has brought a greater measureof leisure to the farmer, while better means of transportation andcommunication have both saved him time and made easier for him andhis family association with other people and the enjoyment ofentertainment in the neighboring village or city. The farm womanhas benefited by the introduction of labor-saving devices andbetter management in the household, and by the development ofcommunity cooperation in such matters as dairying and laundry work(see pp. 106, 107). In fact, better team work in every phase ofthe business of agriculture means greater opportunity for theenjoyment of living, and the efforts of the national and stategovernments to encourage such team work and to improve the methodsof agriculture have for their purpose not merely the increase ofthe agricultural product, but also the greater happiness of therural citizen.

FACILITIES FOR DISSIPATION

When leisure may be found for recreation, the facilities for itare often inadequate. The city, and even the village, affordsfacilities for amusem*nt and social enjoyment that good roads,automobiles, and trolley lines have made more accessible thanformerly to the country round about. While the urban communitynaturally affords greater opportunity than the rural community forsocial recreation, its opportunities for dissipation are equallygreat. "Going to the movies" may be a real recreation, or it maybecome a dissipation when indulged in to excess withoutdiscrimination as to the merit of the performance. Almost everyvillage has its well-known "loafing places," and the saloon usedto be a favorite meeting place for certain classes of people.Amusem*nts that are especially harmful are more or less regulatedby law. Even moving pictures are "censored." Saloons have now beentotally abolished.

FACILITIES FOR RECREATION

The most effective preventive of dissipation is ample provisionfor wholesome recreation. Various agencies in urban communitiesseek to supply this need, both for their own residents and forvisitors from outside. Men's clubs, such as chambers of commerce,afford social and amusem*nt advantages for the business men of thetown, and for visiting farmers who formerly met only at the storeor courthouse, in the saloon or on the street corner. Publiclibraries, often with the cooperation of women's clubs, provide"rest rooms," arranged for the comfort and entertainment ofvisiting women, and afford means of profitable and enjoyablerecreation for young people. Town churches sometimes maintainsocial rooms, open during the week for similar purposes. The YoungMen's and Young Women's Christian Associations have performed agreat service by providing entertainment and social life for youngpeople. One of the more recent developments is the "communitycenter," usually at the schoolhouse, where there are offeredlectures and concerts, social entertainments, dances, games, andsports. In some large cities such "recreation centers" are of thegreatest value in the crowded districts.

OPPORTUNITIES AFFORDED BY THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL

Rural communities have suffered from a dearth of recreationalfacilities of their own, especially of a SOCIAL type. One of themost promising influences to supply this deficiency is theCONSOLIDATED 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 ruralschools is going on rapidly in many parts of the country.

Iowa affords a striking example of this. In that state more than2000 one-room country schools have been consolidated intosomething more than 300, and consolidation is still going on. Someof these consolidated schools have five acres of land, whereprovision is made, not only for gardening and farming activities,but also for picnic grounds and for fields for athletic sports andcontests. The buildings contain assembly halls, gymnasiums, andkitchens where food is prepared for social entertainments as wellas for school lunches and for the teaching of cooking.

NEED FOR LEADERSHIP

One of the chief obstacles to the development of rural communityrecreation has been the absence of leadership. The consolidatedschool helps to remedy this. Other agencies, however, are doingsomething to provide such leadership, among the most active ofwhich is the county work department of the Young Men's ChristianAssociation, which has organized county-wide athletic associationsand rural play festivals and field days in many localities.

KNOWING HOW TO USE OPPORTUNITIES

There are agencies, or organizations, in almost every communitythat could and should serve recreational ends. The trouble withmany of us is not so much the lack of time or of the means forrecreation, but a lack of knowledge of how to get the most out ofour recreational opportunities. Hence the need for leadership.Hence, also, the need for an education that will open up to us newavenues of enjoyment. Recreation may be obtained not only fromathletic sports and social entertainments, but from the fields andwoods, from books and music and pictures, even from VARIETY IN OURWORK, if we only knew how to find it. The school is under as greatobligation to provide us with an education that will teach us thisas 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 andleadership.

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 inyour community.

Leisure on the farms of your locality: for men; for women; forchildren.

Could an eight-hour day be applied to farming in your locality?
Why?

Length of the working day for different employments in your townor 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 isfather 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 aroundthem. "Having eyes, they see not; and ears, they hear not." Thosewho live in the open country are surrounded by natural beauties ofwhich city dwellers are largely deprived. Too often, however, theyare unconscious of them or indifferent to them. To the hard-working farmer a gorgeous sunset may be little more than a sign ofthe weather on the morrow, and the beauty of a field of wheat orcorn 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 ruraldweller whose toil and isolation are tempered by an appreciationof the beauties of the natural world about him!

ITS CULTIVATION

Love for and appreciation of that which is beautiful may becultivated. It is a part of one's education. The schools now givemore attention to it than formerly; but many of them do not yetgive enough. Appreciation of beauty is cultivated not merely byinstruction in "art," but also by those studies that increaseone's knowledge of the common things about us. The teaching ofa*griculture and of science has a very practical purpose; but itspurpose is only partly accomplished if it teaches us how to raisecorn or cotton without opening our eyes to the wonders of natureinvolved in the process.

An appreciation of beauty may be cultivated, also, by associationwith it, as it may be destroyed by constant association with thatwhich is ugly. People who live in unkempt and slovenlysurroundings are likely to become indifferent to them. It is theduty of every one to have a care for the appearance of hissurroundings both because of its effect upon himself and itsinfluence upon others.

IMPORTANCE OF APPEARANCES

A stranger who visits our school is likely to judge it, first ofall, by its appearance. He will note whether or not the buildingis in good repair, the condition of the grounds and fences, thepresence or absence of flower beds, shrubs, and trees. Inside, hewill observe the cleanliness and orderliness of the room, thedecorations on the walls, the presence or absence of pictures andflowers and plants; yes, and also the care the pupils and teachertake of their personal appearance. These things are signs to thevisitor of the interest taken by pupils, school authorities, andthe community in their school. They are also signs of thecharacter of the work done in the school, and of the happiness ofthe pupils.

A COMMUNITY JUDGED BY APPEARANCES

In a similar manner, the visitor to your community will form hisfirst opinion of it by its appearance. He will note, first of allthe appearance of the homes, and then, probably, the cleanlinessand state of repair of the streets or roads. He will observe thecondition of the fences, and whether or not the weeds are cutalong the roads. He will notice, also, the extent to which thepeople love flowers, and care for trees and vacant lots. All ofthese things will be signs to him of the prosperity, thehappiness, the "community spirit," of the citizens. They willdoubtless enter into his decision as to whether or not he cares tolive, or establish a business, or educate his children, in thatcommunity.

COMMUNITY INTEREST IN BEAUTY

In cities a good deal of attention is usually given to suchmatters, and laws exist, with government officers to administerthem, for the protection and promotion of community beauty. Inrural communities these matters are left more largely toindividual initiative and voluntary cooperation. It becomes amatter of public interest and spirit on the part of the individualand the family. It is true that some things are done throughgovernment authorities, as in the improvement of the roads and thebuilding of bridges and culverts that are of pleasing design aswell as serviceable. In some New England "towns" there are "townplanning" boards, which carefully plan for the laying out ofstreets and their improvement, the proper location of publicbuildings and the style of architecture to be used, the locationand development of parks and playgrounds, the enactment ofsuitable housing laws, and other matters pertaining to the beautyof the community as well as to the well-being of its citizens.

COMMUNITY PLANNING

Systematic planning of rural communities with a view to makingthem beautiful has not been carried very far in this country. Infact, as one travels over a large part of the United States one isimpressed by the monotonous and unattractive character of thetowns and villages. This is not true everywhere, for in some partsof the country, usually those that have been settled longest, onesees beautiful villages that fit harmoniously into the landscape.But over large areas of the country it seems that wherever man hasgone he has marred the beauty of nature.

INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE

There is nothing in which the influence of example is so quicklyseen as in matters relating to appearance. People are prone tocopy their neighbors in matters of style, whether it be in dressor in architecture.

In one rather wretched community a few boys who were studyingcivics sought permission to lay sod in the dooryard of a tenementhouse. Having obtained permission and laid the sod, it was notlong before some one else in the neighborhood did likewise, andsoon people all around were sodding their yards or sowing grassseed. Then they began to repair and paint their fences andotherwise "tidy up" their places, until the whole neighborhood wastransformed in appearance. It is interesting to note, also, thatas the community improved in appearance, it also became lesslawless than it had been.

This is one phase of community life in which it is easy toestablish leadership, and in which young people can performvaluable 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 morebeautiful.

What impression a stranger would get of your community from itsappearance.

The features in the appearance of your community of which you areproud. 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 morebeautiful.

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 theRussian church. In our own country in colonial times, no citizenwas permitted to vote in the New England town meeting who did notbelong to the Puritan church of the community. This religiousqualification for participation in government was in the course oftime dispensed with, and one of the fundamental principles of ourdemocracy is that every citizen shall have complete liberty ofreligious belief. Our government exercises no control over thereligious life of the people other than to guarantee this liberty."Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ofreligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" (United StatesConstitution, Amendment I). State constitutions contain similarguarantees. 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 arean important means of community control. They do not exercise thiscontrol through government, but through the influence of their ownbeliefs and organization upon the conduct of their members. Ifeverybody should live in accordance with the Golden Rule, therewould be no need for government as a means of repression, but onlyas a means of performing service.

RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES AN OBSTACLE TO TEAM WORK

One of the unfortunate things about the church has been the factthat more or less important differences in religious belief havetended 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 theirreligious differences to prevent united action in other matters ofcommon interest to the entire community. In some cases communitieshave been broken up into rival, or even hostile, factions becauseof this. There is, however, a growing tolerance of one religioussect or denomination by others, which is in accord with theChristian spirit, and is necessary if community life is to be welldeveloped. It often happens that there are more churches of thesame denomination in a community than it can support. In suchcases, at least, there is need for church consolidation similar tothe consolidation of schools, and for the same reason.

SOCIAL SERVICE OF THE CHURCH

The church may be, and often is, an important agency in thecommunity for the performance of services other than that ofministering to the religious wants of the people. Or, to speakmore correctly, it has realized more or less fully that thereligious wants of the people are closely bound up with theirother wants, and seeks to minister to these other wants as a partof its religious duty. Thus, we find the church growing moreactive in looking after the health interests, educationalinterests, and social and recreational interests of its membersand others.

Investigate and report on:

The number of religious denominations having churches in yourcommunity.

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. Hanmerand Howard W. Knight; Department of Recreation, Russell SageFoundation, New York (1915).

THE PLAYGROUND. A monthly publication of the Playground andRecreation Association of America, 1 Madison Ave., New York ($2 ayear).

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 (Therural 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 andsocial center development." Bulletin No. 474, University ofWisconsin.

"Beautifying the Farmstead," Farmers' Bulletin No. 1087, U. S.
Department of Agriculture.

Proceedings First National Country Life Conference (address DwightSanderson, Secretary, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.); "Playand recreation in rural life," p. 95; "Religious forces forcountry life," p. 83.

Jackson, Henry E., THE COMMUNITY CHURCH (Macmillan).

Numerous "surveys" of rural communities have been made by variousagencies. Among them are those made by the Department of Churchand Country Life of the Board of Home Missions of the PresbyterianChurch, 156 Fifth Ave., New York. Extensive surveys are being madeby the Inter-Church World Movement, 45 West 18th St., New York.

Bulletin No. 184 of the Agricultural Experiment Station, IowaState Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa, contains a social surveyof Orange Township, Blackhawk County, Iowa.

Write your State Agricultural College or State University forpossible materials of a local character.

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'sprogress (see Chapter V and Chapter XI).

WHO CONSTITUTE DEPENDENTS, DEFECTIVES, AND DELINQUENTS

The very young and the very aged come within this group. Both arepeculiarly dependent upon others, though the aged may, by thriftin earlier years, have acquired a competence with which to meetthe needs of old age; and the young are expected, in later years,to compensate the community for the care they have received fromothers during childhood.

There are those, also, of all ages, who are incapacitated forself-support and for service by disease, or by physical or mentaldefects such as bodily deformities, blindness, or feeble-mindedness. In addition, there are some who, though physicallyable to perform service, deliberately prey upon the community inone manner or another without giving anything in return. Thelatter 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 physicalor mental defects, are provided for by the family. It frequentlyhappens, however, that the family is unable to perform thisservice. It may be entirely broken up. Children may be leftwithout parents, and the aged without children. The naturalsupporters of the family may be stricken by disease, or byaccident, or by financial misfortune. Moreover, the proper careand treatment of many defectives require better facilities andgreater skill than can be provided even by well-to-do families.Thus a class of DEPENDENTS is produced—dependents upon thecommunity as a whole. They may or may not be DEFECTIVES, physicalor mental. Dissipation and thriftlessness are two of the chiefcauses of dependency.

TREATMENT IN EARLY TIMES

In the lower stages of civilization it was not uncommon for thefeeble and the helpless to be put to death, even sickly childrenand persons infirm from old age. This was done in the name ofcommunity interest. The struggle for existence was so severe thatthe presence of non-producing or non-fighting members endangeredthe entire group. Besides, it was the belief in most cases thatthe sacrifice of the helpless simply hastened their passage into ahappier 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 andeducation, the diseased and defective may often be restored tohealth or fitted for some form of self-support that makes themhappier and of use to the community. The wastage of human life hasbeen greatly reduced in recent years. Many of the soldiers whor*turned from the war in Europe so broken in body or mind that informer times they would have dragged out the remainder of theirlives a burden to themselves and to others have, by surgical skilland special forms of education, been restored wholly or partiallyto the ranks of the self-supporting and useful members of thecommunity. This REHABILITATION of the dependent and defectivemembers of the community, whether their misfortune is due to waror other causes, is the chief aim of the treatment given them bythe community at the present time.

RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH COMMUNITY

It is an accepted principle that each community should, so far aspossible, care for its own unfortunates, and the effectivenesswith which it is done varies. But everywhere it has taken a longtime to change from the old policy of mere RELIEF to the newpolicy of REHABILITATION (see above).

THE LOCAL ALMSHOUSE AND ITS DEFECTS

In New England and in a few other states the town, or township, isthe unit for administering "poor relief," but elsewhere it is thecounty. The "almshouse," or "poor farm," or "county infirmary" isthe usual local institution for this purpose. Unfortunately it hasbeen, as a rule, badly managed. Men and women, old people andchildren, healthy and diseased, blind and crippled, moral andimmoral, even the insane, have been housed together, oftenmingling with one another with little restriction. The evils ofsuch a system are apparent.

SHORT-SIGHTED POLICY

Moreover, the policy of the typical almshouse has been merely togive shelter and food and clothing to those who appeal for it,rather than to remedy the causes of dependency or to restore theunfortunate to a basis of self-support and usefulness. Medicaltreatment is of course given, but the means do not exist to givespecial 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 isseldom of a character to train for self-support or to createhabits of industry.

REMEDIES PROPOSED

To provide this special treatment requires elaborate equipment andexpert service, which cost a great deal of money, more than mostcounties or towns feel that they can afford. Communities must cometo realize that they cannot afford to neglect their unfortunatemembers, no matter what it costs to care for them. But the costneed not be so great as it seems. A great deal of money is nowWASTED on almshouses without adequate results. This can largely beremedied by insisting upon more expert supervision in suchinstitutions, and by a system of regular inspection by expertstate officers. Greater care should be exercised with respect tothose who are admitted to the institutions. Only the deservingshould be allowed to live on the public funds. It is not uncommonfor some classes of shiftless people to make a practice of seekingshelter in the almshouse during the winter, where they live incomparative comfort and idleness at the public expense, only toleave in the spring for a life of aimless indolence, imposing asbeggars upon kind-hearted people.

PURPOSE OF STATE INSTITUTIONS

Moreover, the county almshouse should be only a temporary place ofdetention for many of the people who now are kept therepermanently. Those who need special treatment or training shouldbe passed on as quickly as possible to special institutions thatare equipped to care for them. Since most local communities couldnot well afford to maintain such special institutions for thecomparatively few who would need them, the state should maintainenough of them at central points to provide for the needs of alllocal communities.

The states do maintain such institutions—hospitals andsanitariums for various types of mental disease, homes for orphansand for the aged, and for persons with incurable diseases, asylumsand schools for the blind and the deaf-and-dumb, industrialschools for boys and girls. The problem of the state is, first, todevelop such institutions to the highest possible degree ofefficiency for the REHABILITATION of their patients or inmates,and, second, to secure effective cooperation on the part of localauthorities and institutions in transferring those, and onlythose, who are entitled to state assistance.

COOPERATION FOR "OUTDOOR" RELIEF

When dependents are cared for in institutions, it is called INDOORRELIEF; when they are cared for outside of institutions, in theirhomes, it is called OUTDOOR RELIEF. Outdoor relief requirescommunity organization and cooperation and expert leadership quiteas much as indoor relief. The lack of these has often resulted ingreat harm both to the community and to the needy person.Promiscuous giving of charity by well-intentioned persons oftenresults in giving to the undeserving as well as to the deserving.There are lazy and shiftless individuals who find it easier tolive on charity than by honest work, and whose lack of self-respect permits them to do so. Sometimes they do so by fraudulentmethods. Giving to such persons encourages pauperism and fraudinstead of curing it. Kind-hearted people often say that theywould rather be cheated occasionally by dishonest applicants forcharity than to fail to help the really needy by too greatcaution. The answer to this is that by proper communityorganization and cooperation the needy will be found with muchgreater certainty, the fraudulent will be detected, and the aidgiven to those who should have it will be much more effective. Thecitizen who turns an applicant for aid over to an effectiveorganization in a great majority of cases performs a much greaterservice both to the applicant and to the community than byattempting to give aid directly. A few pennies or a few dollarsgiven even to a worthy applicant may not reach the root of thetrouble at all, and may be the innocent cause of perpetuating thetrouble.

VOLUNTARY AGENCIES

Many voluntary organizations exist for charitable andphilanthropic purposes. The church has always been one of thechief agencies to care for the poor and unfortunate; but there aremany others, especially in our large cities. Sometimes theymaintain hospitals and other institutions for the treatment ofthose who need indoor relief. They have done a great deal of good.But they are subject to the same difficulties that individualsencounter in dealing wisely with particular cases. They have oftendevoted themselves too exclusively to giving temporary reliefinstead of seeking to cure causes and to rehabilitate theunfortunate. They are frequently deceived by impostors. Seldom dothey have expert investigators to follow up individual cases andto prescribe the most effective remedy. They frequently duplicateone 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 CHARITYORGANIZATION SOCIETIES. Such societies do not as a rule givedirect relief, but act as a "clearing house" for existingcharitable agencies in the community. That is, they organize theeffort of the various existing agencies. They have a corps oftrained investigators who look into each case reported by anyindividual or charitable agency in the community, make a carefulrecord of it, and prescribe the proper treatment. The case isusually turned over to one of the existing agencies that isproperly equipped to handle it. Philanthropic persons may turn tothe charity organization society for advice as to purposes forwhich money is most needed. The aim of charity organization is toremedy 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 thecommunity's unfortunate and to root out the causes of dependency.Such organizations should, however, work in cooperation withgovernmental agencies. There are state boards of charities whichusually have supervision over the various state institutions fordependents and defectives. Every large city government has itsdepartment of charities, sometimes combined with the department ofhealth. The "overseer of the poor" is one of the oldest of townofficers. The care of dependents and defectives in small, orrural, communities has, however, been very poorly organized.

RELATION BETWEEN STATE AND LOCAL ORGANIZATION

An effective attack upon the public welfare problems of a state istwofold: (1) by a state welfare board and state welfareinstitutions, and (2) by town and county welfare boards andinstitutions… .

Public welfare work calls for a state board of public welfare,statewide in authority … and for state institutions that arelarge enough to care for the delinquents, the dependents, thedefectives, and the neglected who cannot be better cared for bylocal authority and institutions. …

But, on the other hand, it calls for county boards of publicwelfare with county-wide authority and trained executivesecretaries. … Many of our ills bulk up so big that they can besuccessfully attacked only in detail by local interest, localeffort, and local institutions. Tuberculosis and poverty arecapital instances of social problems that are beyond thepossibilities of state institutions, and that necessarily waitupon organized county efforts of effective sort. … We do notknow the deaf, the blind, the feeble-minded, the epileptic, thecrippled, and the neglected or wayward boys and girls—theirnumber, their names, and their residences in any county of thestate … because there is at present no local organizationcharged with the responsibility of accounting for suchunfortunates. …

[Footnote: E. C. Branson, "County responsibility for publicwelfare," 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 defectivemembers of the community for whom the community must care. Theirnumber, however, may be greatly reduced by creating conditionsthat will remove their causes. It has been reported from manylocalities, for example, that the prohibition of the sale ofintoxicating liquors has resulted in the emptying of the "workhouses" which communities have sustained for the confinement ofvagrants and persons convicted of petty misdemeanors. Muchdependency has resulted from the crippling of wage earners byindustrial accidents and from "industrial diseases" arising fromwork in unwholesome conditions. These causes may be removed by themaintenance of wholesome working conditions, by the installationof safety devices, and by the exercise of greater care by workersand employers. The "safety first" movement strikes at the root ofmuch dependency. Inability to read signs and to understandinstructions on the part of illiterate and foreign workers is thecause of many accidents.

SOCIAL INSURANCE

Some states have passed "employers' liability laws," designed tohold employers responsible for accidents resulting from failure toprovide safe working conditions. Others have "workmen'scompensation laws" which provide that an injured workman shallreceive a portion of his wages during incapacity from accident orillness. In some countries various forms of COMPULSORY STATEINSURANCE have been adopted. Germany, for example, has long hadlaws requiring employees to take out accident insurance andinsurance against sickness, both employees and employerscontributing to the insurance fund. Pensions for the aged and forwidows are also provided for, the government itself contributingto the fund for this purpose. At the close of the year 1919, 39 ofour 48 states had laws providing for aid by the state to motherswho were unable to provide properly for their children.

The aim in our community life should be as far as possible toPREVENT dependency and not merely to relieve suffering after itoccurs. We shall find that the problem will tend to disappear inproportion as we develop in our communities adequate provision forhealth protection and physical development (Chapter XX), forvocational and general education (Chapter XIX), for wholesomerecreation (Chapter XXI), for the cultivation of habits of thrift(Chapter XIII); and as we are successful in producing a rightattitude toward the problem of earning a living and wholesomerelations 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 casessheltered there; its cost to the community; the methods oftreatment employed.

Other local institutions for indoor relief in your community.

State institutions for the care of dependents and defectives inyour state. Their kinds and location.

The difference between "poverty" and "pauperism."

The extent and kind of "charity work" done by the church which youattend (get accurate information).

The voluntary organizations of your community that give "poorrelief." The kind of charitable work done by each.

Charity organization in your community. Its results and the needfor it.

The causes of dependence in your community.

The extent to which voluntary charitable work in your community isdirected to removing the causes of dependency.

The organization of your county or town government for the care ofdependents 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 UnitedStates who make their living by crime, and there are many more whocommit crime on occasion. It is said, also, that to support andcontrol this criminal class costs the people of the United Statesnot less than $600,000,000 per annum, or as much as is expendedfor the entire educational system of the country.

WHAT CRIME IS

Crime is the violation of law. The criminal is a member of thecommunity who refuses to cooperate with others in accordance withthe law. The conduct of an individual may be wrong and harmful tothe community without being criminal; it becomes criminal onlywhen the law actually forbids it. A given act may be a crime inone state and not in another state, because the laws of the statesdiffer in their definition of crimes. They also differ in thepenalties imposed for the same crime.

EARLY METHODS OF TREATING CRIMINALS

The methods of dealing with criminals have changed greatly withthe progress of civilization, and especially in recent years sincethe causes of crime have become better understood. In the earliermethods two ideas were prominent: the infliction of punishment,and the deterrence of others from committing the same offense. Thepenalties inflicted were therefore very severe. The death penaltywas inflicted not only for taking human life but also for minoroffenses, such as stealing. Even in our own country in colonialtimes bodily mutilation was not uncommon, such as branding with ahot iron, or cutting off the ears. Prisons were vile and loathsomeplaces.

REHABILITATION OF CRIMINALS

Humane feelings have caused the abandonment of such treatment. Thedeath penalty still remains for the worst of crimes; but even ithas become more humane in its methods. Many believe that it shouldbe entirely abandoned. The eighth amendment to the Constitution ofthe United States says that "excessive bail shall not be required,nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishmentsinflicted." Moreover, a new idea has entered into the matter. Itis the same idea that controls the modern treatment of dependents,namely, that of REHABILITATING the criminal. It is now recognizedthat crime results in most cases from diseased conditions eitherin the individual or in the community. Some individuals commitcrime merely because it seems to them the easiest way to make aliving or to gain some other end; but even such individuals areMORALLY diseased. Much crime is due to temporary mentaldisturbance, as from the use of intoxicants or other drugs.Sometimes it is the act of persons who are actually insane orfeeble-minded. Very often it is committed under pressure ofpoverty.

In view of these facts, while the deliberate violator of lawshould doubtless be punished, it is even more important that thecauses of crime should be removed, and that the criminal should,in as many cases as possible, be restored to a useful and anhonest manner of life. The proper treatment of dependents anddefectives, and the removal of causes of dependency anddefectiveness, are essential steps toward the lessening of crime.

THE LOCAL JAIL

The county jail and the town "lock-up" are the usual localinstitutions where persons suspected of having violated the laware detained while awaiting trial in the courts, and also wherethose convicted of petty misdemeanors are imprisoned forpunishment. The jail and the "lock-up" are as notorious as thealmshouse for unwholesome conditions and mismanagement, thoughconditions have greatly improved under the influence of anawakened public opinion. They have often, been unsanitary in theextreme. Prisoners have often been treated more like cattle thanlike human beings. Young and old are thrown together, the hardenedcriminal with the youthful "first offender," and with those merelysuspected of crime, many of whom will be proved to be innocent.The result is demoralizing. Our jails have sometimes been said tobe "schools of vice and crime."

NEEDED REFORM OF THE JAIL

Two reforms, at least, are needed in local jails. First, theyshould be made as wholesome as possible, both physically andmorally. They should be perfectly sanitary, and the food should atleast be clean and nourishing. Arrangements should be made to keepthe different classes of inmates separate, especially the hardenedand vicious criminals from youthful transgressors and suspects. Inthe second place, the local jail should be merely a place ofdetention for those awaiting trial or, after trial, transfer toother institutions. Those found guilty by the courts should betransferred as quickly as possible to institutions where they mayreceive treatment fitted to their needs.

FITTING THE TREATMENT TO THE OFFENDER

Of three persons who steal ten dollars, one may be a deliberatethief who prefers to make his living this way; another may bedriven by hunger; and the third may be mentally unbalanced. It isobvious that the treatment accorded to each should be determinedby these facts rather than by the mere amount of the theft. Thefirst doubtless needs punishment; but he should also havetreatment designed to change his attitude toward the community andto fit him to make an honest living. The second needs to berelieved of his want and to be given an opportunity for self-support. The third needs hospital treatment. We are only beginningto see that punishment is only a part of the treatment necessary,and that the treatment should be made to fit the criminal fully asmuch as to fit the crime.

STATE INSTITUTIONS FOR DELINQUENTS

Proper treatment for all the various classes of cases cannot wellbe given in the county jail; nor can the local community as a ruleafford to maintain separate institutions for them, as the numberin each class is very small in a given community. Hence thenecessity for state institutions to which those convicted in thelocal courts may be sent. Such institutions exist, although notalways adequate to the needs of the state. They include statepenitentiaries, reform and industrial schools, hospitals for theinsane, special schools for the feeble-minded, and others. Theseinstitutions have been steadily improving in their efficiency. Thegreater difficulty seems to be in the local communities, insecuring the assignment of offenders to the proper institutions.

ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PRISONS

Great changes have occurred in recent years in the methods ofadministering state penitentiaries, especially in some states.Under old conditions convicts were either confined in isolationand idleness or condemned to hard labor, punishment being the soleidea in both cases. The most rigid and arbitrary discipline wasenforced. Modern penitentiaries keep prisoners employed inoccupations that are of use to the state, that are designed totrain the prisoner for useful service, and that yield him somecompensation that will help to make him self-supporting when heleaves. They also maintain schools for the instruction ofprisoners in at least the common branches of knowledge and invocational subjects. Great care is taken of the health. In somecases the prisoners are graded according to their conduct andtheir ability to assume responsibility, certain privileges andfreedom and participation in the administration of the prisonbeing bestowed upon them so long as they show a sense of theirresponsibility. The period of imprisonment may be shortened as areward for good conduct.

JUVENILE OFFENDERS

One of the most important reforms that have been made is that inthe treatment of juvenile offenders. The main feature of this isthe establishment of a JUVENILE COURT, where the usual procedureand publicity of a criminal court are avoided, and where the judgetakes a fatherly attitude toward the accused. Each case iscarefully investigated to discover the cause of trouble and toarrive at a wise conclusion as to the treatment to be given. Inthe case of first offenders, or where other conditions justify it,the prisoner is released ON PROBATION. That is, he is given hisfreedom on his honor, but under the supervision of a PROBATIONOFFICER to whom he must report at regular intervals. In the caseof more serious offenses, or of repeated wrong-doing, or ofviolation of parole, offenders are sent to reform schools orindustrial schools. The entire effort is to set the young offenderon the right road to honest self-support and good citizenship.Unfortunately, however, this machinery for the treatment ofjuvenile delinquency is so far found almost exclusively in cities.The problem of juvenile delinquency in rural communities is onethat requires more attention than has been given to it. It is aproblem that the young citizen himself can greatly help to solveby the cultivation, in himself and in his friends, of rightconceptions of citizenship.

Investigate and report on the following:

The organization of your county and town governments to protectpersons and property against criminals, to apprehend lawviolators, and to bring them to justice.

The cost to your county or town of this organization.

The desirability or undesirability of differing definitions ofcrime in different states, and of different punishments for thesame 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 yourcommunity.

The number of prisoners confined in your county jail during thepast year, why they were there, and what it cost to keep them.

The meaning of "fitting punishment to the criminal rather than tothe 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 "indeterminatesentence."

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 boardsof state institutions.

Publications of the Children's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor.Send for list from which to select. Two valuable publications ofthis Bureau are:

Bureau Publication No. 32, "Juvenile Delinquency in Rural New
York."

Bureau Publication. No. 60, "Standards of Child Welfare." Thiscontains among other valuable material, discussions of child laborand legislation relating to it, of the care of dependent anddefective 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 thischapter:

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.

TEAM WORK IN TAXATION

THE DISLIKE OF THE PEOPLE FOR TAXATION

People have never liked to pay taxes. Their repugnance to it islargely a survival of the times when an autocratic ruling classimposed taxes upon the people for its own selfish purposes.Struggling for the bare necessities of life, the people had to paythe bills of the ruling class who lived in luxury. The longstruggle for liberty in England and in the English colonies was astruggle against the power of rulers to impose taxes without theconsent of the people. The habit of mind with respect to taxationformed under such conditions has to a considerable extentpersisted 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 thepeople" should put the paying of taxes in a very different light.We decide upon a service we want performed for us, we provide thegoverning machinery to perform the service, and the service mustbe paid for. We do not object to paying for having our housebuilt, 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 thatthe value of the service rendered by government is, as a rule, farin excess of what it costs the individual citizen. In Chapter XVIIwe saw that a Virginia farmer, the value of whose farm wasassessed at $3000, was taxed $19.48 for road improvements. Inreturn for this he acquired the use of a system of roadsthroughout the county that cost at least $173,000. This localsystem connected him with the transportation system of the entirecountry, gave him a market for his produce, greatly increased thevalue of his land, brought better school facilities, and enrichedhis life in many ways.

The recent war imposed an unusually heavy burden of taxation uponus. But when we think of the millions of people who paid for thewar with their LIVES, and of the fact that the war was fought forthe most precious of all things,—human liberty,—the money taxthat each citizen had to pay in some form or other seems veryinsignificant.

BENEFITS OF TEAM WORK IN TAXATION

In Chapter IV we read how Benjamin Franklin secured the servicesof a man to keep the pavements of the neighborhood clean "for thesum of sixpence per month to be paid by each house." By this bitof cooperation, each householder was relieved of a burden, and hadthe benefit not only of having his own pavement cleaned, but alsoof knowing that those of all his neighbors would be equally clean,and thus of having a pleasanter neighborhood, and the cost wasinsignificant. This incident illustrates the underlying principleof taxation in a self-governing community. The poorest citizen ismade rich in the benefits that he may enjoy, while the cost ismade proportional to his ability to pay.

MISUSE OF TAXES

Like the rest of our governing machinery, however, our system oflevying, collecting, and paying taxes does not always workperfectly, and there is more or less ground for dissatisfactionwith it. In the first place, the people do not always get fullvalue for their taxes. While it is true that the farmer receives,in return for his road tax, vastly more than he could purchaseprivately with the same amount of money, yet, if the roadimprovements are poorly made, he gets less than he should. Itusually costs as much to employ an inefficient road supervisor, orschool teacher or superintendent, or sheriff, as to employ anefficient one—in fact, in the long run it costs more. Sometimesmore persons are employed in government offices than there is anyneed for, or some of those employed are shirkers, or otherwiseinefficient. There is wastefulness in the methods by whichappropriations are made for the expenses of government. Sometimesthere is "graft," by which public money is diverted to the privateuses of officials, contractors, or others.

A CAUSE OF DISSATISFACTION

Such abuses as these are, of course, not faults of the TAXINGsystem, but they naturally make citizens reluctant to pay taxes.People want to know that their money is spent for the purposes forwhich it was paid, and that it is used economically andeffectively for these purposes. Nothing else will do so much toremove the dislike of taxation as assurance on these points. AsFranklin said with reference to his successful experiment instreet cleaning, it "raised a general desire to have all thestreets paved, and made the people more willing to submit to a taxfor that purpose."

TAXATION MUST BE JUST

A system of taxation must be JUST if it is to meet with popularapproval. It is not easy, nor indeed possible, to devise a systemthat works with absolute justice in every case; for the assessmentof taxes is a complicated process, and reliance must be placed toa considerable extent upon the honesty and conscientiousness ofindividual citizens. The people are satisfied, however, if theysee that every reasonable effort is made to secure justice.

The first essential in a just system is that EVERY CITIZEN SHALLBEAR HIS SHARE of the burden. Therefore the paying of taxes iscompulsory by law. It is also just that each citizen shall payonly IN PROPORTION TO HIS ABILITY. These two principles oftaxation are similar to those applied in the selective draft forwar service. It is in assessing taxes according to ability to paythat one of the principal difficulties appears. But an effort hasbeen 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 thegovernment. Each year, therefore, the heads of the variousbranches and departments of government make an estimate for thecoming year, based on their knowledge of past expenditures andpresent and future needs. Such estimate can be made intelligentlyonly when there is an accurate and businesslike system of keepingaccounts and records, and a well-planned BUDGET SYSTEM.Unbusinesslike methods of keeping accounts and the lack of abudget system have been among the chief weaknesses of ourgovernments, equally characteristic of local, state, and nationalgovernments. Efforts are being made to remedy these defects andare described in Chapters XXV, XXVI, and XXVII.

TAXES ON PERSONS, PROPERTY, AND PRIVILEGES

The second thing to be ascertained is the ability of each citizento pay. In some states a uniform POLL TAX is assessed upon everyadult citizen. This is a tax upon the PERSON and usually amountsto about two dollars. Only those are exempt who are incapable ofself-support. But the chief reliance is upon a property tax. Stateand local governments depend principally upon a GENERAL PROPERTYTAX, for which purpose property is divided into two kinds: REALESTATE, which includes land and buildings, and PERSONAL PROPERTY,which includes furniture, tools, livestock, money, and valuablesof various kinds. In addition to the general property tax theremay be taxes upon INCOMES and upon INHERITANCES. There are alsoLICENSE TAXES, such as dog and automobile licenses. Finally thereare taxes upon certain PRIVILEGES which are bestowed upon theindividual by the community and have a money value. Of such anature is the license tax imposed upon a peddler or upon a personwho maintains a market stand on the public street. Such, also, arethe taxes placed upon corporations for the privilege of using thepublic highways for car tracks, water mains, or telephone poles.

It is necessary, therefore, for the government to ASSESS THE VALUEof the property (or privilege) of each citizen, and it has itsorganization for this purpose. Each local community The assessmentof (township, county, or city) has one or more TAX ASESSORS, whoendeavor to ascertain by inquiry values or inspection the value ofeach citizen's property. The sum of the individual assessmentsconstitutes the assessment valuation for the town, or county, orcity; and the sum of the valuations of these local communitiesconstitutes the valuation for the entire state.

THE RATE OF TAXATION

The third step is to ascertain the RATE of taxation. This is foundby dividing the total amount to be raised by taxation The rate ofby the total property valuation of the county or taxation state,as the case may be. If the amount to be raised is $500,000, andthe property valuation is $10,000,000, the rate would be 5 percent, and the tax is levied against each citizen at this rate. Acitizen who owns twice as much property as another should paytwice 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 toget a just result. The difficulty lies chiefly in the assessmentIt requires a good deal of intelligence to assess property fairly,even with the best of intentions. Assessors are not alwayscompetent. Two assessors may differ in their judgment, so thatassessments in one part of the community may run at a lower levelthan in another part. Thus assessments vary in their fairness indifferent townships of the same county, and in different countiesof the same state. An attempt is made to avoid this by means ofcounty and state TAX EQUALIZATION BOARDS, which seek to adjustdifferences of this sort. But their efforts are only partiallysuccessful.

RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPERTY OWNERS

Property owners are themselves, however, more responsible thananyone else for the inequities of taxation in our country. It is acommon practice of tax assessors to accept the property owner'sown statement of the valuation of his property. In anastonishingly large proportion of cases he gives a valuation farbelow the real one. Even when the assessor inspects the property,it is easy to conceal from his eyes certain forms of personalproperty, such as money, stocks and bonds, and jewelry. Land andlivestock cannot be concealed; and for this reason farmers arelikely to pay a heavier share of taxes than others whose propertyis 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 ofsale," a study in one township showed that "the average TAX valueof farm land in the open country … is $7.89, while the averageMARKET value runs around $20. The 73 largest taxpayers give intheir farm holdings at values ranging from $6 to $20 an acre. Thusthe burden of state and county support falls three or four timesas heavily on one acre of farm land as on another—on farms lyingside by side.

"When we look at suburban farm land the tax values range from $17to $2220 an acre.

"But the most amazing 'jokes' appear in the values put by theirowners on improved town lots. In the same end of the town we foundthree handsome town properties worth around $15,000 each, the taxvalues were $550, $4400, $4950. In another neighborhood, twoadjoining homes about equal in value were listed at $500 and$3400; one at about 50 per cent and the other at about 8 per centof the actual value."

With regard to personal property in the same township, thewealthiest private taxpayer in the township lists household goodsand utensils, work-stock, vehicles, money, jewelry … at $216.The next wealthiest private taxpayer covers all these propertieswith $105. He's a farmer and well-to-do, but his householdfurniture, farm animals, vehicles, implements, and the like, areworth 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 anotherwith $2272. The differences lie not so much in the properties asin the consciences of these big landlords."[Footnote: 1 E. C.Branson, A Township Tax-List Study; in North Carolina Club YearBook, 1917-1918, pp. 66, 67 (The University of North CarolinaExtension Series No. 30).]

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HONESTY

Such inequalities as these may be found in almost every tax listin any community. One of the strange things about it is thatcitizens evade taxation who would not think of being dishonest orunfair in a private business transaction. The reason is not easyto understand. Doubtless it is partly due to the feeling that aslong as "everybody does it" it is justifiable. Of course this isnot true. One taxpayer is reported as saying, "I feel dog-meanwhenever I give in my taxes; but I'm doing as well as the rest anda little better than most."

GOOD SENSE AND GOOD BUSINESS

Dishonest returns by one taxpayer defraud the citizen who ishonest, because they place a heavier burden of taxation upon thelatter. Moreover, the dishonest taxpayer and good cheats himselfalong with others, for the lower the business valuation ofproperty, the higher the rate of taxation, or the poorer theservice received from the government. "It is good sense and goodbusiness for a state to show up with large tax values and low taxrates. It shows a brisk and lively prosperity that is attractiveto outside capital and enterprise." [Footnote: E. C. Branson, ATownship Tax-List Study]

INTELLIGENCE AND PUBLICITY NEEDED

To secure fairer taxation and better returns from taxation thereis need of improvement in the organization for tax assessment andtax equalization. It is especially important to make it moredifficult for the "tax dodger" to evade his responsibility. Itwould seem, however, that there would be fewer "tax dodgers" ifthe people once got "the right idea" of what taxation really meansin a democracy. Great improvement would doubtless result, evenunder present conditions, if honest citizens would take moreinterest in the results of assessments as shown in the tax lists.The writer quoted in the paragraphs above asserts that, next tothe Bible, "the most important book in any county is the Tax List,and it is the one book that the people in general know leastabout."

Everybody knows in a vague, general way that something is wrongwith our tax system … but what everybody does not know is whatthe facts are in concrete, accurate detail. There is no cure likepublicity for wrongs in a democracy. Give the folks the facts,whatever they are, and the folks will do the rest. … But atpresent nobody knows the facts. That is to say, nobody but the taxlisters, the registers, and the sheriffs. And they are dumbbecause 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 dothey give?

The cost of your town government, your county government, and yourstate government per year.

The purposes for which most money is spent by your towngovernment, 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 assessedat its full market value? If not, at what part of its marketvalue?

The tax rate in your county. Is it high or low? Reasons why it ishigh or low.

The tax list of your town.

The sources of revenue in your county and state, and the amountraised 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 histaxes?

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 ratesattract outside capital and enterprise".

TAXATION BY THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

We have been speaking so far of taxation, for the purposes ofstate and local governments. But Congress also has power by "tolay and collect taxes … to pay the debts and provide for thecommon defense and general welfare of the United States"(Constitution, Art. I, sec. 8, clause i). State and localgovernments raise most of their revenues by DIRECT taxation uponthe property of citizens. The national government, on the otherhand, has always relied chiefly upon INDIRECT taxation. Congresslevies DUTIES ON IMPORTS. These duties are paid in the firstinstance by the importer. The latter, however, adds the tax to theprice of the goods, so that it is paid finally by the consumersand not by the importer. In a similar manner Congress leviesEXCISE TAXES, which are taxes upon products manufactured in thiscountry. The principal excise taxes have been those levied onalcoholic liquors and tobacco. But here again the tax is paid bythe 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 certaintywith which they may be collected by the government. the citizenpays them whenever he buys the articles on which the tax islevied. The retail dealer passes them on to the wholesaler, and sofinally the importer is reimbursed. The government collects thetaxes at customs houses at ports of entry, or at the tobaccofactories and, formerly, at distilleries. Prohibition has deprivedthe government of one of its chief sources of revenue. Indirecttaxes are also less objectionable to the people, for they areseldom conscious of paying them when they buy goods upon whichthey 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 reasonsstated above, and partly because the Constitution provides that"no capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless inproportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed tobe taken"; that is, in proportion to population. It has been founddifficult in practice to make such apportionment. Various attemptsby Congress to levy a direct tax on incomes have been declaredunconstitutional by the Supreme Court because it was not soapportioned. The Constitution has now been amended, however, togive Congress the power "to lay and collect taxes on incomes fromwhatever source derived, without apportionment among the severalstates, and without regard to any census or enumeration"(Amendment XVI).

A large revenue is now derived from the national income tax. Thelaw at first exempted from it single persons whose income was lessthan $3000, and married persons whose income was less than $4000.As a result of the war, only those are now exempt whose incomesare less than $1000, if single, and $2000 if married, with anadditional exemption for each dependent child. The tax isPROGRESSIVE: that is, the larger one's income, the higher RATE onepays.

WAR TAXES

In ordinary times of peace, state and local governments togetherspend much more money than the national government. In war timethe reverse is true. Enormous sums of money were required for theconduct of the recent war. As a result the rates of import,excise, and income taxes were greatly increased, and unusual formsof taxation were adopted. A war tax was placed upon many articlesof common use, an inheritance tax was imposed similar to that insome of the states, and the EXCESS PROFITS of businesses which thewar made unusually prosperous were taxed heavily. The effort inevery case was to distribute the tax so that every one should dohis share, while the burden should rest most heavily upon thosewho could best bear it.

GOVERNMENT LOANS

A large part of the money necessary for war purposes, and forpermanent improvements in time of peace, is raised by borrowing.Governments, whether national, state, or local, borrow money bythe sale of BONDS, the purchase price with interest being returnedto the purchaser after a stated period of years. The nationalgovernment borrowed more than 22 billion dollars during the war bythe sale of "liberty bonds," and an additional large sum by thesale of "war savings stamps". These loans made by the people areultimately paid off with funds raised by taxation. The people to-day advance money to the government, which the people of to-morrowpay back by taxation. This is justifiable because the war wasfought for the benefit of future generations as well as of thepeople to-day. For the same reason, the cost of permanentimprovements, such as roads and public buildings, is distributedover 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 prohibitionof the liquor traffic.

Compensating financial gains to the nation through prohibition ofthe 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 paymentof 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).

HOW WE GOVERN OURSELVES

Early in our study we considered the question WHY we havegovernment (Chapter IV). We saw then that it is the people'sorganization for teamwork in protecting and promoting their commoninterests. Succeeding chapters contain evidence that this is so,although they also show that the results achieved by governmentare by no means perfect. Now we are to consider HOW we haveorganized to get teamwork and how well our organization is suitedto its purpose.

GOVERNMENT AS A PROTECTOR OF INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE

"American experience indicates that what men do for themselves, ontheir own initiative, is better done than what paternalisticgovernment attempts to do for them." [Footnote: Editorial,SATURDAY EVENING POST, February 12, 1921.] Americans have alwaysdisliked PATERNALISM in government, which means an attempt on thepart of government to control the personal affairs of the peopleas a father (Latin, PATER) controls the affairs of a small child.Democracy is founded on faith in the ability of the people tomanage their own affairs with due regard for the equal rights ofother people. We look upon our government chiefly as an instrumentto ensure an equal opportunity to all to exercise initiative andto manage their own affairs; or, to use the terms we have usedbefore, not so much to do things for us, as to secure teamwork indoing things for ourselves. We have had numerous examples of thisprinciple in preceding chapters, one of which was the extent towhich private initiative and enterprise were depended upon for thedevelopment of our public lands.

GOVERNMENT AS A PERFORMER OF SERVICE

As our community life has become more complex, and as ourdependence upon one another has become greater, we have graduallycome to expect government to do many things for us, and to controlour individual conduct in many ways, that were not thought of atan earlier time. We have had illustrations of this, also, inforegoing chapters. For example, whereas roads were at first builtand controlled almost entirely by private enterprise, now they aremostly PUBLIC highways, maintained by state and local governmentswith the cooperation of the national government. Proposals toplace railroads under government management have always met, andstill meet, with opposition; but government exercises a muchgreater control over them than formerly. Even education has onlygradually become compulsory by law, and the "public" high schoolis of recent origin. Until quite recently the people have beenleft 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 governmentshould manage practically everything for us. Such are theSocialists, who believe that the unequal distribution of wealthand the resulting inequalities in opportunity to satisfy wants aredue to the control of industry by a small and essentially selfishcapitalistic class. They believe that all natural resources andall capital should belong to the people jointly, and that thepeople's government should control both the production and thedistribution of wealth.

It has been objected to the socialist scheme that, sincegovernment would still be in the hands of imperfect human beings,it would not be wise enough to accomplish the desired result; thatpolitical motives would enter into government management, as theydo in government enterprises to-day, and would prevent theachievement of the desired results; and that, the opportunity forprivate initiative and enterprise having been removed, there wouldbe lacking one of the chief inducements to human progress.

Socialism has made considerable progress in some nations of theworld, but it is by no means popular in the United States,although it has many advocates. We adhere in the main to theprinciple that government should do things for us only when theycould not be so well done by private enterprise, and shouldcontrol our conduct only so far as to secure equality of personalfreedom. The fact remains, however, that an increasing amount ofservice is being performed for us by government, and an increasingcontrol exercised by it over private enterprise.

ORGANIZATION FOR SERVICE AND FOR CONTROL

Insofar as government performs service for us, it must have anorganization for that purpose, with competent leadership. And ifit is not to interfere unduly with freedom of action or personalliberty, the people must have an organization by which to maintaincontrol over it. Thus there must be an organization to ensureefficient SERVICE, and there must be an organization to ensuredemocracy, or POPULAR CONTROL. If both organizations areeffective, we have an EFFICIENT DEMOCRACY, toward which we havebeen striving through all our history, but which we have not yetcompletely attained.

A government may be efficient in performing service for the peoplewithout being democratic. In fact, it may be easier to getefficient service under an autocratic government. Germany beforethe war illustrated this. But we believe that a government may beboth efficient and democratic. This depends upon competentleadership and popular control; and both of these depend uponeducation (Chapter XIX).

In the remaining pages of this book we shall consider both theorganization of our government for service and that for popularcontrol. In this chapter we shall examine some of the methods bywhich we seek to control government, or to be SELF-governing.

DIRECT SELF-GOVERNMENT

The people of a community may govern themselves by direct actionor indirectly through representatives, just as a group of farmersmay build their own schoolhouse or church, or employ someone to doit 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 frequentlyat the meetinghouse to discuss matters of community concern and toagree upon, rules, or laws, to regulate them. This localgovernment 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 forthe purpose of MAKING the laws only. When it comes to theenforcement of these laws, it is necessary to delegate theauthority to someone. The town meeting could make a law againstpermitting hogs to run at large, but it chose someone, a "hogreeve," to see that the law was observed. When the community islarge it is found more convenient to choose representatives alsoto make the laws. Thus each Massachusetts town had itsrepresentative in the lawmaking assembly of the colony as a whole.This representative system of government now prevails in ourcities, 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 orless direct control over lawmaking. In the first place, the"fundamental law" of the states and nation found in theirconstitutions, which determine what the form and powers ofgovernment shall be, has been adopted by more direct action of thepeople than most other laws. The Preamble to the federalConstitution asserts that "We, the people of the UnitedStates…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the UnitedStates of America." Neither state nor national constitutions canbe altered except by special action by the people themselves,either by direct vote at the polls or by conventions ofrepresentatives chosen especially for the purpose.

DIRECT LAWMAKING: INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM

It has long been the practice in many communities to submitimportant local questions to popular vote for decision, such asthe question of issuing bonds for public improvements, or oflicensing saloons. Within recent years in a number of states thepeople have gained direct control over lawmaking in regard to anysubject whatever, both in local and state affairs, by means of the"initiative and referendum." The "initiative" is the right of thevoters themselves to "initiate," or propose, legislation. This isdone by means of a petition signed by a specified number ofvoters. The legislature may then act upon the proposed law; but ifit does not do so, the law is submitted to the people for theirvote at the next election. On the other hand, if the legislaturepasses a law that is objectionable to some of the voters apetition signed by a specified number of voters requires the lawto be REFERRED to the people for their approval or rejection. Thisis 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 andReferendum," Bulletin No. 6, submitted to the ConstitutionalConvention of Massachusetts (1917) by the Commission to CompileInformation and Data, p. 10.] The movement to increase popularcontrol over government has always been stronger in the West, aswe shall see in other connections.

For the most part, however, our laws are made by ourrepresentatives, over whom we exercise more or less control. Someof the more important means by which this control is exercised aredescribed in following chapters; but first of all we exercisecontrol by CHOOSING our representatives at frequent intervals. Letus 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 theirrepresentatives, though it is more nearly true today than everbefore. The right to a voice in this choice is called theSUFFRAGE. It is bestowed only on those citizens who possesscertain qualifications. The constitution of each state fixes thequalifications for those who live within the boundaries of thestate, the national government having exercised no control overthe matter except in two cases. After the Civil War, the FifteenthAmendment to the Federal Constitution was adopted, providing that"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not bedenied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, onaccount of race, color, or previous condition of servitude"; andrecently Congress has enacted another amendment to the federalConstitution which, when approved by a sufficient number ofstates, will bestow the suffrage upon all women of the nation whopossess the other necessary qualifications.

EARLY DISTRUST OF THE PEOPLE

The founders of our nation were far from democratic as we nowunderstand the term. They believed that the government should becontrolled 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 trueeven in the New England town meeting, which we are in the habit ofconsidering as the most democratic of institutions. For instance,no one could vote in colonial times who did not belong to thechurch. Religious qualifications were soon abolished however, andproperty qualifications have almost completely disappeared, thoughin some states voters must be taxpayers.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE SUFFRAGE

Today no citizen may vote in any state who has not reached the ageof 21. The reason for this is clear and just, but it excludes fromthe suffrage about 30 million young citizens. Persons of unsoundmind are denied the suffrage, and citizens may be disqualified bycrime. In some states illiterates are denied the right to vote. Inmost states foreigners must have completed the process ofnaturalization, which requires five years before they may vote.All states require residence in the state and in their localdistricts for specified periods prior to voting. But with theseexceptions, the suffrage is now possessed by practically all malecitizens who are 21 years of age or over, and is rapidly beingextended to women on equal terms with the men.

WOMAN SUFFRAGE

There are instances in our early history where women werepermitted to vote—in New Jersey, for example, prior to 1807. In1869, Wyoming, while still a territory, extended full suffrage towomen, and has been an equal suffrage state since her admission tothe Union in 1890. Woman suffrage has rapidly gained ground inrecent years, most rapidly in the West, and at the present writing(1919) 15 states have granted women equal suffrage with men, allbut two of these states being west of the Mississippi River. Thewomen of Alaska also have this right. In many other states theyhave the suffrage at certain elections. Moreover, nearly all ofthe 36 required states have ratified the suffrage amendment to thefederal Constitution.

Why may an autocratic government perform more efficient servicethan a democratic government?

What is a "benevolent despotism"? What is a "paternalisticgovernment"?

Why do we consider an imperfect democracy better than an efficientautocracy?

Do you have direct or representative self-government in yourcommunity? Explain.

What voluntary organizations are there in your community (such asfarmers' cooperative organizations, business corporations,churches, clubs, etc.) that have direct self-government?Representative self-government?

Does your county or town have representatives in state andnational governments? What are their names? How long will they beyour representatives?

Does your state have the initiative and referendum? If so, explainin detail how they are used. Give instances of the use of either.

Give instances (if any) of the use of the referendum in yourcommunity to settle a local question.

From your state constitution ascertain the exact qualificationsfor 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 suffragein your state should be removed? Why?

Do you think any further restrictions should be placed on thesuffrage in your state? Why?

MAJORITY AND MINORITY RULE

One of the important principles upon which democratic governmentrests is that the will of the majority should control. It is theonly 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 powerin government, whether it is a majority or a minority, governswithout full consideration for the interests of other parties orof the community as a whole. We shall try to get some idea of howthis happens, and also of methods proposed to prevent it; for aslong as it happens we cannot lay claim to a full measure ofdemocracy in our government.

If the pupils of your class or school are voting on the kind ofentertainment to be given, and a difference of opinion arises, canyou think of a fairer way to decide than by a vote of themajority? How else might the matter be decided?

If the majority decides the question, should the minority yieldgracefully to the decision? Why?

After the majority plan has been adopted, have the minority anyrights in the matter?

Is the majority always right in its decisions? Give illustrationsto prove your answer.

If your community takes a vote on the question of roadimprovement, or of school consolidation, is it right that themajority should decide?

If the majority rules in such a case, is it right that thecitizens of the minority party should be taxed for the improvementas well as those of the majority? Why?

If your class president is elected by a majority of the class, ora county supervisor by a majority of the voters of the county, towhat extent is it the duty of this officer to consider theinterests 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 actingindependently of one another cannot exercise much influence. Theremust be teamwork in political matters as in everything else. Apolitical party consists of those voters who think alike and acttogether on questions of government policy, or in electing theirrepresentatives in government. It is a voluntary organization,entirely outside of the government and not recognized in ourconstitutions, but exercising very great influence upongovernment.

In his Farewell Address to the people, Washington said:

The spirit [of party] unfortunately is inseparable from ournature, having its root in the strongest passions of the humanmind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more orless stifled, controlled, or repressed; but in those of thepopular form it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is trulytheir worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction overanother, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to partydissensions…is a frightful despotism… The common and continualmischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it theinterest 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 arebound to be political parties, as Washington knew, and they havealways played an important part in our government. But necessaryand useful as parties have been, the events of our history haveshown that Washington's warning was exceedingly wise, the "partyspirit" having often proved the "worst enemy" of our democraticgovernment.

VALUE OF MINORITY OPPOSITION

When some great question is before the country, like that of theadoption of the Constitution, or that of slavery, the people areusually divided into two great parties. The party that marshalsthe greater number of votes constitutes a majority and gainscontrol of the government. The defeated minority usually acceptsits defeat in a sportsmanlike manner and loyally supports thegovernment. Nevertheless it does not cease its opposition to theprinciples of the party in power. One of the chief values of theparty system is that it keeps important questions in constantdiscussion. The opposition of the minority serves as a check uponthe acts of the party in power, which is anxious to avoid arousingtoo much opposition. This is one means of control over thegovernment enjoyed by the minority party. A defeated minority atone election may become a victorious majority at the next. Thefact that a party is in the minority does not necessarily meanthat it is in the wrong.

HOW MINORITIES MAY GAIN CONTROL

Minorities, however, sometimes win elections. If more than twoparties are contesting the election, which often happens, that onewins which has the greatest number of votes, though this numbermay be less than the combined votes of the opposing parties. Noother arrangement seems possible. President Wilson won his firstelection by a minority vote, the opposition being divided betweenTaft and Roosevelt.

A minority may win through better teamwork. There are always somevoters who, through indifference or other causes, do not casttheir vote. This is especially likely to happen in localelections, in which there is almost never as large a vote cast asin the same district at a general election. It is one of the chiefobjects of a party organization to keep its members informed andinterested and to see that they cast their votes. The party thatis best organized for these purposes is very likely to win overits opponents even though the latter are more numerous.

ORGANIZATION OF PARTIES AND ITS CONTROL

The organization of the national political parties is verythorough. Each party has a managing committee in every localdistrict, the local organizations are united in a stateorganization, and the several state organizations in a nationalorganization. The shrewdest men the party affords are madechairmen of committees and chosen for other positions ofleadership. Such organization is necessary and proper; it is onlycommonsense teamwork. But unfortunately it has frequently falleninto the hands of designing men who have used it to promoteprivate 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 ofgovernment, leaving no choice to the voters themselves. This makesof our government a real autocracy, and the worst kind ofautocracy, because the autocrat (the "boss") acts in secret, andis in no way responsible to the people. It is the "frightfuldespotism" of which Washington warned his countrymen (p. 385).

CAUSES OF SOCIAL UNREST

Political "bosses" are often allied with powerful businessinterests which seek legislation and governmental administrationfavorable to themselves. This has given rise to the chargesometimes made that our government is a "plutocracy," a governmentof the people by a small wealthy class. It is the feeling thatthis is so that has caused much of the social unrest at thepresent time, and that explains in part the growth of thesocialists, and of other groups that would go much further thanthe socialists in their proposed changes, such as the I.W.W.(Independent Workers of the World) in our country, the Bolshevistsin Russia, and anarchists everywhere.

GOVERNMENT IN THE INTEREST OF ALL CLASSES

Unquestionably selfish groups representing great wealth have oftenexerted undue influence in governmental affairs without regard forthe public welfare. We have seen how the public lands and thenation's natural resources have in some cases fallen into thehands of wealthy individuals and corporations to the injury of thenation and of those who want to use them for productive purposes.On the other hand, it is natural that men who have been successfulin managing their private business affairs should also beinfluential in managing public affairs without necessarily havingunworthy motives. Nevertheless, when government falls under thecontrol of ANY particular class or group, whether it representswealth, or labor, or any other interest, if it has not due regardfor all classes, and if it denies to the members of other groupsthe voice in government to which they are entitled, it establishesa despotism and overthrows democracy.

WHY THE PEOPLE SUBMIT TO "BOSS RULE"

Why do the people submit to "boss rule"? In the first place, theydo not always submit to it. Occasionally, when the "bosses" go tounusual extremes, the people give way to "fits of public rage," touse the words of former Senator Elihu Root, "in which the peoplerouse up and tear down the political leader, first of one partyand then of the other party." It is thus possible for the peopleto escape the despotism of "boss rule." But two things seem to benecessary to bring it about: first, the people must besufficiently INTERESTED in the management of their public affairs;and, second, they require LEADERSHIP. It takes close attention topublic affairs to enable a citizen to make wise decisions forhimself; and the average citizen looks around for guidance. Theabsence of RESPONSIBLE leadership gives the irresponsible "boss"his chance.

THE SHORT BALLOT

One difficulty encountered by the citizen who wishes to voteintelligently is the large number of persons to be chosen. Therehave been cases where the names of several hundred candidatesappeared on the same ticket. In a small community a voter may knowpersonally all the candidates, but in larger communities this isnot so. It was once thought that to make as many of the governmentoffices as possible elective was a step in the direction ofdemocracy, and that it gave the people direct control over them.But it has not worked out this way. It is impossible for theaverage voter to choose wisely among so many candidates, and hetherefore falls an easy prey to "boss rule." The SHORT BALLOT isnow quite generally advocated to meet this situation. By this planthe number of officers to be elected is reduced, and includes onlythose who are responsible for determining the policies ofgovernment, such as members of legislatures and the chiefexecutive officers. These few important officers andrepresentatives are then made responsible for the appointment ofall other subordinate officers whose business is to carry policiesinto effect. This really gives the people better control overtheir government by fixing responsibility in a few places, and istherefore no less democratic than the older plan.

Do you have a long ballot or a short ballot in your county ortown? In your state?

How many offices in your county government are elective? How manyof the men holding these offices do you know? Consult your parentsas to the number of these officers they know personally. How manydoes your teacher know?

At the next election, get a copy of the ballot used in yourcommunity 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 onlocal questions? If so, what are some of these questions?

Investigate the organization in your county (or town) of thepolitical party of which your father is a member. Who is chairmanof its local committee?

Investigate the work that a party organization does in yourcommunity during an election campaign; on election day; in thetime 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 theaffairs 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 wellas responsible" to the people?

THE SECRET BALLOT

Various schemes have been adopted to ensure to every voter a freeexpression of his choice for representatives, and to the majoritytheir right to govern. One of these is the SECRET BALLOT. At thepolls each voter enters a booth by himself to mark his ballot, orto operate the voting machine, and need have no fear that apossible "watcher" may cause him to lose his job or otherwisesuffer for voting as he thinks best. The secret ballot alsoreduces the likelihood that votes will be bought, for there is noway of telling whether the man who sells his vote will vote as hehas agreed; and the man who sells his vote is not to be trusted.The only voters who are embarrassed by the secret ballot are thosewho cannot read their ballots. These have to seek help, and arethus open to influence by agents of the "boss."

THE DIRECT PRIMARY

Another device to ensure to the voter a voice in his government isthe DIRECT PRIMARY for the nomination of candidates for office. Bythe older method candidates were nominated by party conventions;but under "boss rule" they were in reality determined upon inadvance by the "boss," the nomination by the convention beinglargely a matter of form, the delegates voting according toinstructions. The ordinary voter had nothing to say about it.Under the direct primary plan any voter possessing the necessaryqualifications for holding office may become a candidate by merelysecuring the signatures of a specified number of voters to apetition. Then a PRIMARY ELECTION is held at which the voters ofeach party go to the polls to express their choice for one amongthe several candidates who have been announced for each office tobe filled. The candidates receiving the highest number of votesbecome the nominees of their party. The direct primary is now usedquite widely throughout the United States and is believed to be agreat improvement over the old method, though it does not alwayswork as well as was expected of it. The truth is that ANYorganization is open to abuse by clever people who wish to abuseit, and NO political organization will work effectively unless thevoters are intelligent and eternally vigilant.

PREFERENTIAL PRIMARIES

The President and Vice President of the United States are stillnominated by national party conventions. But in some states thereare PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENTIAL PRIMARIES. These are directprimaries at which the voters ex press their PREFERENCE for thepresidential candidates. This is intended to be a guide to thenominating convention, but there is nothing to compel theconvention to follow the guidance.

THE RIGHTS OF MINORITIES

Democratic government demands certain rights for minorities. Wehave seen how a minority party may exercise a wholesome check uponthe party in power by constant opposition. We never have aCongress or a state legislature in which the members are all ofone party. This is a good thing, for it results in discussion anddebate in the legislative body by which the people are keptinformed.

The initiative and referendum (p. 380) are also weapons in thehands of a minority; for, as we have seen, a small number ofvoters may compel the legislature to consider, or reconsider, anypiece of legislation, or to submit it to the people for theirdecision. Minority parties may thus keep prominently before thepeople measures that have been adversely acted upon by themajority.

THE RECALL

Another device that has been introduced in some states and localcommunities is the RECALL of officials. By means of this aspecified number of voters may demand that an officer ofgovernment who is displeasing to them be brought before the peoplefor their vote as to whether he shall be removed from office ornot. A small minority may thus call an elected officer to account.

PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION OF PARTIES

One plan strongly advocated by some students of government toinsure to minorities an actual voice in government is that ofPROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION of parties in legislative bodies. Bythis plan each party would be represented in proportion to itsstrength. If two parties were of about equal strength they wouldbe represented equally; if one were twice as strong as another, itwould have twice the representation. The plan is actually in usein very few localities. In Illinois, however, the CUMULATIVE-VOTEplan is in use, by which each voter is permitted as many votes asthere are places to be filled, and to distribute these votes amongthe several candidates or to cast them all for one candidate.Thus, if there are three representatives to be elected from hisdistrict, he may give one vote to each of the three, or he maygive three votes to one of them. A minority may thus, byconcentrating all of their votes upon a single candidate, bereasonably sure of representation. But it requires good team workto get this result.

DIFFERENT BASES OF REPRESENTATION

Representation in our government is on a TERRITORIAL, ORGEOGRAPHICAL, BASIS. That is, each representative represents thepeople in a given territory or district. Thus, in many countiesthe board of supervisors is composed of representatives from eachtownship, the members of state legislatures represent districts ofthe state, members of the United States House of Representativesrepresent congressional districts in each state, and United StatesSenators represent states.

In each district under our present system, however, therepresentatives are ELECTED BY A MAJORITY, though they aresupposed to REPRESENT ALL the people when elected. If proportionalrepresentation were adopted, it would be necessary to increase thenumber of representatives from each district, in order that eachparty should have at least one. Then we should have REPRESENTATIONBY 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 ofrepresentation than either of the above. Soviet government isgovernment by "workers" and each representative represents a TRADEOR OCCUPATION. It is as if, in our country, all the farmers in acounty, as a group, should elect their representatives to theboard of county supervisors, all the carpenters theirrepresentatives, all the merchants theirs, and so on. It would be,as it is in Russia, REPRESENTATION BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS, insteadof by geographical districts as now. It would differ fromproportional representation by parties, as described above,because each political party is made up of representatives of alloccupations. Only in a few cases have political parties in ourcountry 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 theprocedure of voting, and report. Get sample copies of the ballotused.

Who are the different persons on duty at the polling place, andwhat 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 itsexercise do you know, and what were the circ*mstances?

What advantages and disadvantages can you see in representation byoccupational groups as compared with representation bygeographical districts?

READINGS

In Foerster and Pierson's AMERICAN IDEALS:

Contributions of the west to democracy (F.J. Turner), pp. 72-97. Acharter of democracy (Theodore Roosevelt), pp. 114-132. Candemocracy be organized? (E.A. Alderman), pp. 158-174. Thesovereignty of the people (A. de Tocqueville), pp. 257-260.General tendency of the laws (A. de Tocqueville), pp. 261-266. Theactivity of the body politic (A. de Tocqueville), pp. 267-272. TheGerman 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 inpolitics (James Russell Lowell), pp. 241-243. Liberty isresponsibility, not license (McKinley), pp. 254-255. The right ofthe 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, Theparty system; and Part V, Chapters, XCVII-XCIX, The faults andstrength of democracy.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, under the several topicsreferred to in this chapter.

Teachable Facts about Bolshevism and Sovietism, Institute for
Public Service, 51 Chambers St., New York City.

OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

When the first colonists of America undertook to organizegovernments for their local settlements, they naturally adoptedforms with which they had been familiar in England. There were twosuch forms which met their needs, the TOWN, OR TOWNSHIP, AND THECOUNTY. These have remained to this day the chief units of ourlocal government.

THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN

Geographical conditions were such in New England that thecolonists settled in compact communities. There the township, ortown, was adopted as the more convenient unit. It included acentral village and the neighboring farming region with irregularboundaries. It is still the unit of local government throughoutrural New England, and in many communities that have grown to theproportion of cities. It has been said of the New England towngovernment that it is "the fullest and most perfect example oflocal self-government either then or now in existence … . Thestate might fall to pieces, and the town would still supply allthe wants of everyday government." [Footnote: Henry Cabot Lodge, ASHORT HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES IN AMERICA, p. 414.]

THE TOWN MEETING

The chief feature of the New England town government is the TOWNMEETING, which is an assemblage of the voters of the town at thetown hall (formerly often at the church), the regular annual townmeeting being held in the spring or autumn, and special meetingsas necessary. These meetings are called by the SELECTMEN (seebelow) by means of a WARRANT which contains a statement of thebusiness to be transacted. At the annual meeting, reports areheard from the officers of the preceding year, officers for thenew year are elected, by-laws (town laws) are enacted, taxes arelevied and appropriations made for the various purposes ofgovernment. 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 townproperty and are responsible to the town meeting for the conductof the town's business; a town clerk, who keeps the town records,issues marriage licenses, registers births and deaths, andperforms other clerical services; an assessor of taxes; atreasurer; several constables, who have police duties, executewarrants 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 otherboards for public service. In some of the New England states thejustices of the peace, who are not strictly town officers, areelected by the town meeting.

THE TOWN WARRANT

There is here given a copy of portions of a warrant for a specialtown meeting. This warrant is very brief as compared with thoseissued for a regular annual meeting; but it gives an idea of thevariety of business transacted.

Town Warrant

MIDDLESEX, SS.

To Henry Atchison, one of the constables of the Town of Framinghamor to either of them,

GREETING:

In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are herebyrequired to notify and warn the inhabitants of the Town ofFramingham, qualified to vote in elections, and Town affairs, tomeet 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 thefollowing articles, viz.: Article I. To hear and act upon suchreports of any of the officers of the Town or Committees of theTown as may be then and there presented, appropriate money tocarry out the recommendations thereof, or any of them, pass anyvote or take any action relative to any of said reports, or anypart thereof.

Art. 2. To hear and act on the report of the Committee directed toinvestigate school needs in the Apple Street District. …

Art. 3. To see if the Town will vote to instruct the TownTreasurer to place to the credit of the Park Department … forthe care and maintenance of parks and playgrounds, any and allsums of money which may be received by him … on account of saidDepartment, and authorize the use of the same by said Department. …

Art. 4. To see if the Town will grant or appropriate a sum notexceeding twenty-five hundred dollars ($2500) for the purchase bythe tree warden of a new tree spraying machine. …

Art. 5. To see if the Town will authorize its Board of ParkCommissioners to sell and dispose of two of the unusedschoolhouses placed in charge of the Park Commission some yearsago. …

Art. 6. To see if the Town will appropriate the sum of fifty-fivehundred dollars … to be expended under the direction of thefollowing committee … for the purpose of selecting a site,location and erection of a temporary memorial tablet, and cause tobe inscribed thereon the names of the Framingham soldiers,sailors, marines … and nurses, who gave their lives in the latewar. …

Art. 8. To see if the Town will vote to install and maintainincandescent 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 acommittee to petition the County Commissioners to relocate MarbleStreet. …

Art. 12. To see if the Town will vote to appropriate a sum … toreimburse Wellington H. Pratt for expenses incurred in theconstruction of a sewer and laying of water pipes. …

And you are directed to serve this warrant by posting an attestedcopy of the same at each of the Meeting Houses and Post-Offices insaid Town, eight days at least, including two Sundays, before thetime of holding said meeting.

Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, with yourdoing thereon, to the Town Clerk at the time and place of saidmeeting.

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 andeducating debate; for attendants on town meeting from year to yearbecome skilled in parliamentary law, and effective in sharp, quickargument on their feet. Children and others than voters areallowed to be present as spectators. In every such assembly, fouror five men ordinarily do half the talking; but anybody has aright to make suggestions or propose amendments, and occasionallyeven a non-voter is allowed to make a statement; and the debate isoften very effective. [Footnote: Albert Bushnell Hart, ACTUALGOVERNMENT, p. 171.]

Another writer says,

The retiring officers present their reports, which in the largertowns have been previously printed and distributed. Any citizenpresent is free to express any criticism or ask any question. Nobetter method of checking the conduct of public officers has everbeen discovered than this system of report in open meeting. Keenquestions and sharp comment rip open and expose to view the trueinwardness of the officers' behavior.

At its best, the New England town meeting has never been equaledas a mechanism for local government. No mere representative systemcan give the opportunity for real participation in governmentwhich a town meeting affords. Even the small boys who come toenjoy the fun from the gallery are taught that government is aliving reality. By grappling first-hand with their own smalllocal problems, men are trained to take part wisely in the biggeraffairs of state and nation. [Footnote: Thomas H. Reed, FORM ANDFUNCTIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, pp. 218, 220.]

WEAKENING OF GOVERNMENT BY TOWN MEETING

Changing conditions, however, have tended to bring about changesin town government. In the early days the town meeting was amatter of great interest, and everybody attended, including thewomen and children. Many of the towns have now acquired largepopulations, 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 from300 to 500 at the business sessions. In Hyde Park, Mass., with2500 voters… from 500 to 600 attended the annual appropriationmeeting. In Leominster, Mass., with 1400 voting, the normalattendance 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 smallgroup of persons not only narrow the choice for officers, butoften arrange the other business to be determined at the townmeeting. Sometimes every thing is "cut and dried" before it comesup for popular discussion; and that discussion thus becomes a mereformality. [J.A. Fairlie, LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN COUNTIES, TOWNS ANDVILLAGES, 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. Conditionsin large towns are likely to favor this. The questions that haveto be acted upon are more complicated than formerly, and ofteninvolve the expenditure of large sums of money. The candidates foroffice are not known to many of the voters. There may be aconsiderable number of uneducated people in the town, and perhapsa foreign population that is unfamiliar with the English languageand 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 whichare brought for consideration questions involving the expenditureof money. This committee holds hearings, at which citizens maypresent arguments for and against proposed measures. Thusimportant matters are sifted out by the committee which thenreports to the town meeting. The town meeting usually votes inaccordance with the recommendations of the committee. While thisarrangement tends to secure careful consideration of financialmeasures, and to result in wise decisions, provided the committeeis composed of reliable men, it tends, on the other hand, toprevent discussion in open town meeting, to make the vote in thelatter a mere matter of form, and to destroy interest in it. Inother words, while it tends to better SERVICE, it reduces thevalue of the town meeting as a means of EDUCATION FOR DEMOCRACY.

TOWN PLANNING

Another arrangement that has been adopted in a good many towns isthe TOWN PLANNING BOARD. This is a committee which, after carefulstudy of existing conditions and tendencies of community growth,formulates a definite PLAN for the promotion of the community'sinterests during a period of years. It considers such matters asthe laying out of new roads and streets and the improvement of oldones, the location of parks, playgrounds, and public buildings,the construction of sewers, water works, and lighting systems, thestyle of architecture for public buildings, the enactment ofhousing laws. While town planning boards usually deal primarilywith matters pertaining to the physical development of the town,they may also plan with reference to the improvement of theeducational system, the promotion of public health, and of socialneeds generally.

The town planning board is usually composed of trained men, suchas engineers, architects, and physicians, and it may call inexpert advisers from other communities or from the stategovernment. The advantage of having such a board is that itprovides the town with a program of action carefully worked outfrom the point of view both of continuous community needs and ofeconomy. It affords expert leadership.

NEED FOR CITIZEN COOPERATION

As has been said many times in these pages, government is thecommunity's official organization to secure cooperation; but it iseffective only to the extent that the people COOPERATE. It is amachine that is valuable as the people USE it. The weakening oftown, government, or of any other government, is due largely to alack of interest and of actual participation by the people. Manypeople think they have done their share toward good governmentwhen they have helped elect their officers and have paid theirtaxes. But when they take this view they are likely to lose bothinterest in their government and control over it.

VOLUNTARY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

In many New England towns the decline in popular control of towngovernment has been largely counterbalanced by COMMUNITYORGANIZATION FOR VOLUNTARY COOPERATION. Much community service is,and probably always will be, performed by private enterprise andinitiative rather than by government; and the efficiency ofgovernment depends to a considerable extent upon the efficiency ofvoluntary enterprise. Government must have the cooperation of thelatter, and to some extent work through it. In practically everycommunity there are groups of people organized to cooperate forone purpose or another; but they are often self-centered and actindependently of one another, if not actually at cross purposes.The situation that exists in many communities is illustrated bythe chart on page 402. [Footnote: This chart and the one on page403 are taken from Extension Bulletin No. 23, MassachusettsAgricultural College, by E.L. Morgan.]

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN MASSACHUSETTS

In a good many Massachusetts towns this situation has been verylargely remedied by means of community organization for which theleadership has been provided in many cases by the CommunityOrganization Department of the Extension Service of the StateAgricultural College. The organization varies in detail indifferent communities to meet local needs, but the main featuresare the following:

First: a COMMUNITY COUNCIL, consisting of representatives of thevarious community interests and organizations including the townofficials. This council serves at first as a sort of "steeringcommittee" to bring the various interests together and to plan theorganization and the work to be done.

Second: a COMMUNITY MEETING, the first one of which is called bythe community council to consider the questions: Is it possiblefor a community to plan for its future development? Do we care todo it? Is it worthwhile? How can it be done? The community meetingbecomes a sort of UNOFFICIAL TOWN MEETING, and is often morelargely attended than the official town meeting, partly because itis attended by the women of the community.

Third: a number of WORKING COMMITTEES, appointed as a result ofthe 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 thecommunity in their respective fields, and prepare plans andprojects, which are submitted to the community meeting in duetime.

Fourth: a COMMUNITY PROGRAM, which has been agreed upon by thecommunity meeting, is supervised by the community council, and iscarried out by the various community organizations represented,including the public officials.

OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL TEAMWORK

This organization is entirely outside of the official governmental 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 prettydefinitely cut out for it. It meets for a half-day or a day at atime, and its time is occupied BY THE VOTERS in passing laws,electing officials, levying taxes, making appropriations, anddoing other official business. The "community meeting," on theother hand, is attended by non-voters as well as voters, the womentaking an active part, and the young people being represented.Many matters are discussed that could not properly be taken up intown meeting.

A large part of the program of the community organization iscarried out by the voluntary agencies of the community. But agreat many of its proposals must have the approval of the officialtown meeting, require appropriations which can only be made by thetown meeting, and are finally executed by the public officials ofthe town. The organization naturally stimulates interest in theofficial government, and brings to its support all the organizedagencies of the community working together.

TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT OUTSIDE OF NEW ENGLAND

The township is found as a unit of local government in many statesoutside of New England, but in most of these cases its governmentis entirely representative in form. While the town meeting isfound in a few of these states, [Footnote: As in New York and NewJersey; and farther west in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, theDakotas, Illinois, and Nebraska.] it nowhere holds the importantplace that it does in New England. One reason for this is thelarger size and more scattered population of the township. In thepublic land states the congressional township, six miles square,is also the political township. At the head of the townshipgovernment in its representative form are TRUSTEES (sometimesthree, sometimes only one) who, with the town clerk, theconstables, the tax assessor, the treasurer, the justices of thepeace, and such other officers as may be required, are elected bythe people. The powers of the township government outside of NewEngland vary in different states, but are always quite limited,relating most commonly to the maintenance of roads, schooladministration, and the care of the poor. In these circ*mstancesthere is at least as great need for community organization tosupport and supplement the work of government as in the NewEngland 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 importantofficers to get a description of their daily routine, kinds ofservice 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 byconducting school meetings, club meetings, or occasional regularclass exercises, in accordance with parliamentary procedure.)

Why public discussion is a check upon the conduct of personsholding responsible positions.

The popular interest in public questions in your township.

If there is a finance committee in your township (p. 399), howdoes it serve the community? Does it hold hearings? (Attend andreport 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 page402, or by that on page 403?

The extent to which voluntary organizations in your community cooperate with and through the local government.

The extent to which your state agricultural college promotescommunity organization.

The feasibility of organizing your town (or community) by somesuch 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 encouragedin your state.

Procure and examine recently published official reports of yourtownship government. What do these reports tell you? What is thevalue of such reports? Are the reports of your township generallyread by the people of the township? Why? Discuss ways in whichyour township reports could be made more useful.

THE COUNTY

The other unit of local government with which the colonists werefamiliar was the county, which in England embraced a number oftownships. In the colonies of New York and Pennsylvania the countyand the town ship were developed together as in England; in thesouthern colonies the county was organized without the township.Today the county exists in every state of the Union, including theNew England states. In Louisiana it is called the PARISH.

TYPES OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT

There are two main types of county government. According to oneplan, as in New York, each township elects a representative to acounty BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, which is sometimes quite large.According to the other plan, as in Pennsylvania, the people of thecounty as a whole elect a small BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, thetownships not being represented as such even when they exist. Theboard of supervisors or commissioners levies taxes and makesappropriations for various county purposes, such as constructingand maintaining roads, bridges, and county buildings, paying thesalaries of county officers, caring for the county poor, andconducting the county schools. It is sometimes spoken of as thecounty 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 chiefguardian of the peace in the county, has charge of the jail, isthe chief executive officer of the county court (see p. 439), andsometimes acts as tax collector; the county prosecutor (alsocalled the prosecuting attorney, the district attorney, or thestate's attorney), who prosecutes all criminal cases in the countyand represents the public authorities in civil suits; the countyclerk, who keeps the county records; the register of deeds, whor*cords all transfers of property; the coroner, who investigatesthe cause of violent and mysterious deaths; the tax assessor; thetreasurer; the auditor, who examines the accounts of countyofficers; the surveyor; the school superintendent; the healthofficer. Some times there are others.

LACK OF INTEREST IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Although practically every citizen of the United States is also acitizen of a county, the people have as a rule shown surprisinglylittle interest in county government. As generally found itaffords a striking example of poor service resulting from a lackof teamwork. County government has the reputation of being one ofthe weakest spots in our whole system of government.

WILL COUNTY GOVERNMENT SURVIVE?

We seem to have gotten into the habit of not expecting muchservice from the county government. Where the township governmentis strong, as in New England, it takes the place of countygovernment. Where people live in cities, they look to the citygovernment to serve them rather than to the county government. Inrural districts the people have come more and more to look to thestate and national governments for such service as they expectgovernment to give. These facts might suggest the question whetheror not we really need county government.

One recent writer says,

There are some parts of the country where I can see that thecounty 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 ofgovernment and the services which it renders will have to driftaway from local control and be placed in the hands of somegovernment more fit and which will probably be further away fromhome.

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 recentelection, there were twenty-five different candidates for countyoffices on each of three party tickets, making seventy-fivecandidates among whom each voter had to choose. Township and stateofficers were also elected at the same election, bringing thenumber of persons to be voted for up to about fifty out of 150candidates. It is apparent that the average voter would havedifficulty in voting intelligently.

GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A HEAD

The long ballot has other results than the mere difficulty ofintelligent voting. One of these is a GOVERNMENT WITHOUT A HEAD.While the board of supervisors or commissioners is nominally atthe head of the county government, it has to work through thevarious administrative officers. These are also elected by thepeople, and may be of the opposite political party. At all events,they are independent of the board, not responsible to it, and mayor may not work in harmony with it. A former member of a countyboard in North Carolina says,

Most persons are under the impression that the board ofcommissioners, with its chairman, is at the head of the countygovernment. … The board does have authority to say how about 19cents of the entire tax levy may be spent, but its authority overthe balance of the levy, over any county official, such as thesheriff, clerk of the court, coroner, constable, county judge, orrecorder, is nil. The chairman of the board does have the honor …of smiling and trying to look pleasant when complaints aremade about bad roads, excessive tax assessments, or thedelinquency of some county subordinate, over whom neither he northe board has any control.[Footnote: M. S. Willard, North CarolinaClub Year Book, 1918, p. 87.]

THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE "BOSS"

Another result of the long ballot is the opportunity it gives thepolitical "boss" to control the selection of officers. It is notuncommon to hear rural citizens ask such questions as, "What's theuse of farmers taking off time for politics when the whole thingis run by political bosses anyway?"[Footnote: Graham Taylor, inRural 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 isrendered to the people is incidental to that other object."[Footnote: H. S. Gilbertson, Forms of County Government, in theUniversity of North Carolina Record, No. 159, October, 1918, p.37.]

BAD BUSINESS METHODS

Along with these defects, and largely because of them, badbusiness methods have characterized county government, resultingin poor service and wastefulness of the people's money. A faultysystem of keeping accounts is as unbusinesslike and disastrous inpublic business as in private business.

OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

When I was first connected with the government of my own county, Ibecame very much interested to know whether we were doing betteror worse in the management of our road finances; in the cost ofmaintaining our county prisoners; in the maintenance of our countyhome and numerous other county institutions, than were othercounties. I was anxious to find out what was being done in othercounties in the way of appropriations for hospitals and I selectedtwelve or fifteen counties and wrote letters to the countyofficials asking for information. In answer to probably two of myletters I received intelligent and satisfactory replies. Probablyhalf a dozen more gave me some figures which were of very littleuse for purposes of comparison, and to my other letters I receivedno replies, although the first request was followed up by a secondand a third letter. I then began an effort to secure copies of thenewspapers in which had been printed the financial statements ofthe counties. I succeeded in securing probably ten statements and,after a fruitless attempt to coordinate these statements so that Imight secure information which would enable me to know whether wewere doing better or worse than our neighbors, I became hopelesslylost in a jungle of statistics and reluctantly gave it up asuseless, and turned my attention to doing what I could to placeour own county affairs in such condition that they could beunderstood by those of our taxpayers who might be inquisitiveenough to want to know how the money was handled which they paidfor taxes. [Footnote: M. S. Willard, County Finances in NorthCarolina, in the University of North Carolina RECORD, No. 159,October, 1918, p. 80.]

THE FEE SYSTEM

The practice of compensating county officers from FEES receivedfor special services and of allowing them to retain the intereston public money is one illustration of extravagant businessmethods.

For many of the services performed by county officers fees arecharged, on the principle that the person served should pay forthe service. It did not occur to the people to inquire how muchtheir officers were getting in this way. In one county, in whichthere was a large city, investigation showed that the sheriff hada net income from fees and commissions of $15,000, the countytreasurer $23,000, and the county auditor over $50,000.

From the point of view of economy and efficiency it is better topay all officers an adequate salary and to require that all fees,commissions, and interest on public money be returned to thecounty treasury. It keeps the tax rate down and makes possible anincrease of service.

The county office fees and commissions in North Carolina amount tosomething like one and a quarter million dollars a year, if theyare collected according to law. The total is large enough to payall salaries in at least 58 counties of the state, and leave largebalances to apply to schools, roads, jail expenses, interest, andsinking funds. These large surpluses are being wasted in most ofthe salary counties. [Footnote: E.C. Branson, The Fee System inNorth Carolina, in the University of North Carolina Record, No.159, October, 1918, p. 69.]

Such faulty business methods are gradually being corrected by theintroduction of the short ballot, as in California and elsewhere,by businesslike methods of keeping accounts, by the appointment ofcounty and state auditors, and by giving full publicity to reportsof county business.

THE FAULT WITH THE CITIZEN

"But after all," says the county official quoted above, "a greatpart of the shortcomings of county officials and a great deal ofthe looseness which prevails in the management of county affairscan be charged to the citizen people themselves." Another studentof the situation says,

Among the country people themselves there is no demand for betterlocal government or almost none; they are satisfied or contentthemselves with grumbling about taxes and in fierce partisanpolitics. … The country people of America lack an adequate senseof civic and social responsibility, and the deficiency is risinginto critical, national importance. [Footnote 2: E.C. Branson,Report of subcommittee on local government, National Country LifeConference, Baltimore Proceedings, 1919, pp. 68, 69.]

Another says,

The first thing to be reformed in county government is not theofficers down at the courthouse, but our own attitude toward thecounty, 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, inthe University of North Carolina Record, No. 159, October, 1918,p. 38.]

There are those who advocate breaking up the county into smallerunits for purposes of local self-government, as in New England.Thomas Jefferson, living in Virginia where the county was the soleunit of local government, was a great admirer of the New Englandtown meeting, and said that "public education and the subdivisionof the counties into wards," or townships, were the "two hooks"upon which republican government must hang. On the other hand, wehave observed an opposite tendency to concentrate theadministration of schools, roads, health, and other matters, inthe county government (see pp. 294,325). The fact is that both theorganization for centralized, county-wide government, and that forthe government of local communities within the county, have theiruses. Neither can do its best work without the other. The problemis to deter mine what the business of each should be and toestablish a proper balance between them. One thing is sure,namely, that the government of the county cannot be effectiveunless the people of the various communities within the county areorganized to cooperate both for their local interests and for theinterests of the county as a whole. This may be provided for inpart through township governments, where they exist, and in partthrough such unofficial organization as that described for the NewEngland town (p. 402), or as that furnished by the farm bureauwith its local community committees (p. 30).

One of the most progressive states in the matter of countygovernment is North Carolina. One of the chief instruments bywhich this progress has been made is the NORTH CAROLINA CLUB,organized by the University of North Carolina for the study andpromotion of the interests of the state. The North Carolina Clubhas affiliated with it COUNTY CLUBS, each of which studies its owncounty and promotes its interests. In North Carolina they areworking in both directions suggested above: in the direction of aneffective central county government, and in the direction oforganization of all local communities for the study of needs andfor teamwork in providing for them. See references.

THE COUNTY AS A SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE

Another important factor in county government is the controlexercised over it by the state. The county is not only a localself-governing unit, but it is also a division of the state forthe administration of state laws. Its powers of self-governmentare given to it by the state, and along with these powers it hasimposed upon it certain duties for the state. First of all, thecounty is a STATE JUDICIAL DISTRICT. The most important buildingat the county seat is the courthouse. The COUNTY COURT is one ofthe state courts described in the next chapter. The county judgeis sometimes chosen by the people of the county, but he is reallya state officer. In New England the county is almost solely ajudicial district, and in all states its judicial purposes are ofsupreme importance.

But more than this, the county schools are a part of the stateschool system and must be administered in accordance with statelaws, though by county and township officers. County officers mustenforce the health laws of the state. County authorities not onlylevy and collect county taxes, but also collect state taxes fromresidents of the county.

THE NECESSITY FOR STATE CONTROL

Here again we have an illustration of the necessity for a carefulbalance between matters properly subject to local self-governmentand those properly subject to state control. Counties havesuffered both from too much state control in some respects, andfrom too little in others.

The whole state is injured … if one township lets itscitizenship deteriorate through ignorance or drunkenness, and sothe state has a right to say that at least six months school termmust be given in every township and that no whiskey-selling shallbe permitted. Or if one township is infested with cattle ticks,other townships are injured, and so the state may set a minimumstandard here …

It often happens that the citizens of one county pay more thantheir share of the state taxes because it has better methods ofassessing and collecting taxes and of keeping accounts than othercounties in the state. One of the greatest needs of counties, andone least provided for, is uniformity among the counties of astate in methods of keeping accounts (see example on page 410).Some states have established state systems of auditing countyfinances.

"HOME RULE" FOR COUNTIES

On the other hand, state governments often interfere in mattersthat might better be left to local determination. Usually all thecounties of a state have exactly the same form of government, withexactly the same officers who exercise exactly the same duties.Yet some counties within a state are almost wholly rural, some arealmost wholly urban, others are mixed in character. A form ofgovernment adapted to one may not be suited to another. So therehas arisen a demand for a larger degree of "home rule" incounties. In Illinois, counties have had the right to determinefor themselves whether the township should or should not be givenprominence in local government, and whether the "supervisor" orthe "commissioner" plan of government should be used. Californianow 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 ofthe government, and is framed by the people of the countythemselves, though it must then have the approval of the statelegislature.

THE GROWTH OF URBAN COMMUNITIES

We have noted how the growth of cities with their elaborateorganization for service tends to divert attention from the lessconspicuous county government. While probably half the counties ofthe United States contain no city, or "town," or village of 2500people, there is in almost every township at least one compactsettlement that has grown up around the trading center. Sometimesthere are several of them in a township and many in a county. Insuch compact communities cooperation becomes necessary to providefor needs that are not felt in more rural districts, such as pavedstreets, sewers, public water supply, fire and police protection,and so on. A separate government becomes necessary. The people ofsuch 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 indifferent localities for the same thing. The difference betweenthem and an incorporated town or city is principally one of sizeand corresponding complexity of organization.

GOVERNMENT OF VILLAGES AND INCORPORATED TOWNS

The chief governing body of a village, or borough, or incorporatedtown, is a small council, or board, elected by the people. It haslegislative powers in a small way, enacting ORDINANCES for theregulation of local officers and in the public interest.

In Michigan … they may prescribe the terms and conditions forlicensing taverns, peddlers, and public vehicles. They havecontrol of streets, bridges and public grounds; and have authorityto construct bridges and pavements, and to regulate the use andprevent the obstruction of the highways. They may establish andmaintain sewers and drains. They may construct and control publicwharves, and regulate and license ferries. They may establish andregulate markets. They may provide a police force and a firedepartment. They may construct or purchase and operate water worksand lighting plants. They may own cemeteries, public pounds,public buildings and parks.[Footnote: John A. Fairlie, LocalGovernment in Counties, Towns, and Villages, pp. 207, 208.]

The council also has limited power to levy taxes and to borrowmoney for public purposes.

There is a chief executive officer, sometimes called MAYOR,sometimes president, or by other names. Subordinate to him arevarious other officers, such as the police marshal, the streetcommissioner, fire marshal, tax assessor, treasurer, clerk, and soon. In larger villages boards of health and other boards andcommissions exist to administer various forms of public service.The village may also have its minor court presided over by ajustice of the peace.

CITY GOVERNMENT

When villages or towns reach a certain population usually fixed bystate law, they may be incorporated as cities. The change thattakes place is simply one of elaborating the governing machineryand giving to it larger powers to correspond with the larger needsof city life. The complex problems of city government we shall notattempt 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 beenmade in recent years. The latest plan of government to be adopted,and it has spread to a considerable number of towns and cities inthe United States, is the CITY MANAGER, or TOWN MANAGER, form ofgovernment. By this plan the voters elect a small council, orboard of directors, who in turn appoint a MANAGER who serves as asuperintendent over the affairs of the city or town. He is atrained specialist, often an engineer, and cities and townssometimes search the country over for the best man available forthe place. The manager appoints the heads of the variousdepartments of government, such as health, police, public works,etc., and is responsible to the council for their work. It is theapplication to town government of methods long used by successfulbusiness 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 yourcounty 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 ofyour 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 youunderstand them? Ask your father to explain them to you.

Extent to which your county board exercises control over othercounty officers.

Extent to which the farmers of your county interest themselves inpolitics.

Whether or not the experience of the officer quoted on page 410could 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 thesubdivision of counties into wards are the two hooks upon whichrepublican government must hang".

The feasibility of a "county club" in your county similar to thosein North Carolina.

The balance between county government and township government inyour 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 inyour county.

Organization of village, borough, or town government in yourcounty.

Difference between the "town" as referred to in the last part ofthis chapter and the "town" as described in the first part.

Services in incorporated towns and villages in your county thatare not performed by the county or township governments for ruralresidents.

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 thecity manager.

Hart, A.B., Actual Government, Part IV, Local government inaction.

Reed, T.H., Form and Functions of American Government, Part iv,
Local government.

OUR STATE GOVERNMENTS

SOURCE OF GOVERNING POWER

When the thirteen original states were colonies, they derivedtheir 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 statesubstituted a CONSTITUTION for the charter; the difference betweena charter and a constitution being that the former is given TO thepeople by some higher authority, while the latter is adopted BYthe people themselves. All of our states alike, whether createdbefore or after the Union was formed, are self-governing underconstitutions 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 nationalgovernment, also, may exercise only such powers as are given to itby the people VOTING AS STATES. Each state, on the other hand, isself-governing in its own right, and may exercise through itsgovernment any power whatever, excepting only those which itvoluntarily 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 issupposed to represent the direct voice of the people. Since theUnion was formed, state constitutions have been framed byconventions of delegates elected especially for the purpose, andin most cases have been submitted to the people for theirratification. Amendments may be proposed either by suchconventions or by the state legislatures, but they must also beratified by the people. Some of the states have completely revisedtheir constitutions several times, and amendments have been verynumerous.

CAUSE OF LENGTH OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS

State constitutions are long documents, containing a great deal ofdetail regarding the organization and powers of government. Inthis respect they differ from the national Constitution, which isbrief and speaks in broad, general terms. Recent constitutions arelonger than earlier ones, partly because there is a greatervariety of problems to be dealt with, but also because of agrowing tendency to limit the powers of legislatures andadministrative officers.

A REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT

After a DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, which all state constitutionscontain, the constitution is concerned chiefly with theorganization, powers and duties of the government. Each state mayorganize 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 representativeself-government.

SEPARATION OF POWERS

While the state governments differ from one another in matters ofdetail, the general plan is the same in all. Each consists ofthree branches: the legislative branch for lawmaking; theexecutive branch for law enforcement and administration; and thejudicial branch for the interpretation of the laws and for theadministration of justice in accordance with the law. These threebranches are organized on the principle of a SEPARATION OF POWERS,to prevent encroachment by one upon the powers of the others, andto make each a check upon the powers of the others.

In the government of this commonwealth, the legislative departmentshall never exercise the executive and judicial powers, or eitherof them; the executive shall never exercise the legislative andjudicial powers, or either of them; the judicial shall neverexercise 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 thefederal Constitution.

The principal parts of which your constitution is composed.

Number of amendments to your state constitution. When the latestamendments were adopted and why.

The declaration of rights in your state constitution.

Checks exercised by the legislature upon the executive andjudicial branches; by the executive upon the legislative andjudicial branches; by the judicial upon the legislative andexecutive branches.

THE GOVERNOR

The chief executive officer of the state is the governor, who iselected by the people for a term which varies, in the differentstates, from one to four years. It is his duty to see that thelaws of the state are faithfully executed. The constitution makeshim the commander-in-chief of the state militia, which he may callupon to enforce the laws or to quell disorders. It also gives himthe power to pardon persons convicted of crime, in the exercise ofwhich power he is sometimes assisted by a special board of pardonsand sometimes by the legislature; but the consideration of thepleas of such persons and their friends for pardon often consumesmuch of his time.

THE GOVERNOR'S VARIED DUTIES

A great deal of the governor's time is also taken up with dutiesdevolving upon him as the official representative of the state onceremonial occasions, as in the laying of corner-stones of publicbuildings, attending state fairs, and making speeches at publicmeetings of all kinds. By virtue of his office he is also a memberof 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 exceptNorth Carolina he has the power to VETO bills passed by thelegislature. This check upon the legislature is not absolute, forthe legislature may overcome the governor's veto by again passingthe bill, usually by a two-thirds vote. The governor may alsoinfluence legislation by means of his messages to the legislaturein which he recommends measures which he believes should beenacted into law. In case of opposition by the legislature, thegovernor often carries his proposals directly to the people, whoquickly make known whether or not they support him. The governormay call special sessions of the legislature to consider measuresof especial importance.

GROWING INFLUENCE OF THE GOVERNOR

The governor is a more influential officer today than he was inthe early part of our history. In colonial times he was the directrepresentative of the king, or of the colonial proprietor, and thepeople sought in every way to limit his powers. After the coloniesbecame states this habitual fear of the governor continued, and hewas 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 hisinfluence while it curbed that of the legislature.

WEAKNESS OF THE STATE EXECUTIVE

But the power and influence of the governor are by no means asgreat in relation to state government as are the powers of thePresident in relation to the national government. In fact, theexecutive branch of our state governments has been notoriouslyweak, and its weakness is of the same kind as that noted in countygovernment: the lack of an effective, responsible head.

COMPARISON OF STATE WITH NATIONAL EXECUTIVE

In our national government the executive power is concentrated inthe hands of one man. State constitutions seem to confer the samepowers upon the governor. The constitution of Indiana says, "Theexecutive powers of the State shall be vested in a Governor"; andthat of Pennsylvania says, "The supreme executive power shall bevested in the Governor." But the Pennsylvania constitution alsosays, "The executive department shall consist of a Governor,Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of the Commonwealth, AttorneyGeneral, Auditor General, State Treasurer, Secretary of InternalAffairs and a Superintendent of Public Instruction" (Art. IV, Sec.I). Four of these officers besides the governor are elected by thepeople.

BEWILDERING COMPLEXITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES

In all states the governor "shall take care that the laws befaithfully executed" (Pennsylvania constitution). For theexecution of the laws, however, he is dependent not only upon anumber of principal executive officers such as those named above,but also upon a large number of less important administrativeofficers. Governor Lowden, of Illinois, a few years ago said:

Administrative agencies have been multiplied in bewilderingconfusion. They have been created without reference to theirability economically and effectively to administer the laws.Separate boards govern the penitentiaries, the reformatories, andthe educational institutions. Several boards and commissions havecharge of matters affecting the agricultural interests.Administration of laws affecting labor is parceled out amongnumerous agencies, including several boards having jurisdiction ofmining problems and several free employment agencies, eachindependent of the other. Our finance administration is chaotic,illogical and confused.

The administration of the health laws is divided between boardsand commissions, with no effective means of coordination. Oureducational agencies are not harmonious. Over one hundredofficers, boards, agencies, commissions, institutions anddepartments are charged with the administration of our laws. Nosystematic organization exists, and no adequate control can beexercised … Under the present system the governor cannotexercise the supervision and control which the people have a rightto demand. [Footnote: Charles E. Woodward, "The Illinois CivilAdministrative Code," reprinted from Proceedings, Academy ofPolitical Science, July, 1918.]

GOVERNOR LACKS POWER TO MEET HIS RESPONSIBILITY

This condition of affairs is characteristic of state governmentsgenerally. Some of the numerous officers are appointed by thegovernor, but many of them are elected by the people or appointedby the legislature. Their terms of office do not coincide withthat of the governor, so that he finds in office many persons whomhe did not appoint, and whom he cannot remove. Often they may beof an opposite political party. Thus the very organization of thestate executive department is such as to make it impossible forthe governor to perform the duty, imposed upon him by theconstitution, of seeing to it that the laws are faithfullyexecuted. It must be remembered, moreover, that the execution ofthe laws is also dependent largely upon a multitude of localofficers over whom the state exercises little control. It isapparent how imperfect must be the teamwork of the people throughthis 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 alsoseen the influence of the political "boss," who thrives under thisconfusion. But among the causes is the desire of the people tomaintain control over government. They have attempted, in theirconstitutions, not only to say just what services should beperformed for them, but also to specify just what machinery shouldbe used for their performance. For every new service, they havecreated a new and independent piece of machinery. Then, to maketheir control complete, as they thought, they have made most oftheir new officers elective. Experience has shown that control ofthis kind has been gained only at the sacrifice of efficientservice, through failure to provide trained leadership andeffective organization. Moreover, experience has also shown thatcontrol of this kind is largely a delusion; for the people cannotkeep in touch with their multitude of officers, and in many casesyield their control, often unknowingly, to the political "boss."

EXPERIMENT NECESSARY TO PROGRESS

In noting these defects, it is not to be concluded that our stategovernments have been a failure in all respects. Far from it.Notable progress has been made toward the ideals toward which wehave been striving. We have tried one experiment after another,some of which have been highly successful, but others of whichhave 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 thedefects that we have just noted, and a good deal of progresstoward it has been made in some states. One of the mostprogressive states in this particular is Illinois, which hasrecently enacted a law for the reorganization of its executivebranch of government.

Under the new "Civil Administrative Code" of Illinois, theexecutive branch of government is organized in nine departments:the departments of finance, of agriculture, of labor, of mines andminerals, of public works and buildings, of public welfare, ofpublic health, of trade and commerce, and of registration andeducation.

At the head of each department is a director, who is appointed bythe governor, is responsible to him, and whose term of office isthe same as that of the governor.

Each department is organized into various bureaus, or othersubdivisions, with officers in charge who are directly responsibleto the director of the department. Thus, in the department ofa*griculture there is an assistant director, a general manager ofthe state fair, a superintendent of foods and dairies, asuperintendent of animal industry, a superintendent of plantindustry, a chief veterinarian, a chief game and fish warden, anda food standard commission of three members.

All subordinate employees in all departments are appointed under acivil service law which requires competitive examinations.

Associated with most of the departments are "advisory boards"consisting of citizens who serve without pay. Thus, the departmentof agriculture has a board of agricultural advisers composed offifteen persons, and a board of state fair advisers of ninepersons, not more than three of whom shall be appointed from anyone county.

The things aimed at in this reorganization are: (I) fixingresponsibility for the entire service-organization in one place—with the governor; (2) responsible, trained leadership in eachdepartment of service; (3) responsiveness of leadership to thepeople's wants, as provided for by the advisory boards; (4) asystem of accounting and records that will make for efficiency andeconomy, and that will inform the people as well as the officersof government.

Investigate and report on:

The name of the governor of your state, his political party, whenelected, 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 Illinoisto your state.

Any proposed reorganization of the executive branch of your stategovernment.

THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The legislative branch of government consists, in all states, of alegislature ("general assembly," "legislative assembly," or"general court") composed of two "houses" or "chambers," the houseof representatives and the senate. The senate is the "upperhouse," 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, eachhouse acting as a check upon the other, thus securing greaterdeliberation in lawmaking. The senate is supposed to be, andusually is, a more conservative, or cautious, body than the houseof representatives, partly because of its smaller size which makespossible a more careful consideration of business. Its members areelected from larger districts, thus increasing the opportunity toselect able men. A higher age qualification is required formembership in the senate than in the house of representatives; andonly a part of the senate is elected at each election, so that itis a continuing body, always containing members of experience,while the lower house may be almost entirely changed at eachelection.

DEFECTS IN DISTRIBUTION OF REPRESENTATION

It is a theory of our representative government thatrepresentation should be proportional to population. To securethis result, each state is divided into election districtspresumably of as nearly equal population as possible, thesenatorial districts being the larger. In practice, however, thesedistricts do not always have representation proportional to theirpopulation. The county is often the unit of representation, or inNew England the town, and these districts vary greatly inpopulation. An attempt is made to equalize the difference byproviding that no district shall have less than onerepresentative, and often that none shall have more than a certainnumber. Inequalities nevertheless exist. In Connecticut, thirty-four of the most populous towns and cities have sixty-eightmembers in the lower house, whereas if the distribution were madeon the basis of population they would be entitled to 186 members.Again, four of the smallest Connecticut towns, with a totalpopulation of 1567, have five members; four of the most populouscities, containing 309,982 inhabitants, have only eight members,whereas on the basis of population they would be entitled toeighty-seven. [Footnote: C.A., Beard, America Government andPolitics, p. 521.]

Partisan influences often enter into the districting of states forrepresentation, the party in power trying to fix boundaries so asto ensure keeping their majority in the legislature.

Investigate and report on the following:

Number of members in the lower and upper houses of yourlegislature.

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. Locateyour own.

Whether representation in your legislature is proportional topopulation.

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 governingcontracts, real and personal property, inheritance, corporations,mortgages, marriage and divorce, and other civil matters. Itdefines crime; that is, it prescribes those actions of the citizenwhich are to be punished by fine or imprisonment or death. Ittouches the property of the citizen not only by regulating itsuse, 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 andprofessions, and in other ways restrains the liberty of thecitizen to do as he pleases. [Footnote 3: C.A. Beard, AmericaGovernment and Politics,, p. 516.]

ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE TOWARD THEIR LEGISLATURES

In view of this importance, it would seem that the people wouldhave the keenest interest in their state legislatures and thegreatest respect for them. This has not always been the case. Asone writer says, "it has become almost fashionable" to speakslightingly of legislatures and their members, and to talk of themas if they were wholly corrupt and dishonorable. If the very bestmen the community affords are not always chosen for the difficultand responsible work of lawmaking, the people have no one to blamebut themselves. Moreover, the members of our legislatures averageup very much like their neighbors, and most of them are sincerelydesirous of serving their state and do so to the fullest extentpossible under the conditions that exist.

It is indeed time that a different attitude should be assumedtoward these bodies. … Acquaintance with actual legislatureswill immediately reveal the fact that they are fairlyrepresentative of the American people, and that there is in them,a great deal of honest effort to grapple with the difficultproblems of legislation. … Before all, there ought to be asustained effort to support the men who are with honest purposestruggling 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 towrong intentions on the part of legislators, but to the difficultyencountered by a body of men of average intelligence and of littleexperience in dealing with public questions, in gettinginformation necessary to enable them to decide wisely with respectto the multitude of complicated problems that come before themduring the brief session of the legislature.

In the lower house of one typical legislature only 19 out of the252 members had ever been members of a legislature before, 123were farmers, 6 lawyers, 10 physicians, 48 merchants andmanufacturers, 3 bankers, 5 preachers, 6 insurance men, 2 hotelproprietors, 3 liverymen, 14 laborers or artisans, 6 "apparentlywith no occupation except that of general politician and office-seeker."

Of the thirty members of the senate of the same legislature, 9were farmers, 4 lawyers, 4 physicians, and 13 merchants. Seven ofthese had completed their education in "academies," while 13 hadnever got beyond the public schools.

These men had to decide, in the course of a few weeks, upon anastonishing variety of problems, some of them of the greatestcomplexity, and all of them affecting the lives of the citizens ofthe state in a multitude of ways. It is not surprising thatserious mistakes are sometimes made. [Footnote: C. A. Beard,American Government and Politics, p. 525 (from S. P. Orth, "OurState Legislatures," Atlantic Monthly, vol. xciv, pp. 728 ff.)]

The mere writing of a bill in language that will convey the exactmeaning intended, and that will not involve undesirable andunexpected results, is a difficult matter that requires the skillof men trained for it.

LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAUS

In a number of states an attempt has been made to meet thesenatural difficulties by the establishment of legislative referencelibraries, or bureaus, in charge of highly trained students whocollect all available information relating to every possiblesubject of legislation, keep records of legislation in otherstates, and place the material in convenient form at the disposalof the legislators. Sometimes they provide expert service in thewriting of bills in the proper form. It is said that suchlegislative reference bureaus have already greatly improved thequality of legislation in some of the states.

It would be impossible for a legislature, acting as a body, togive consideration to more than a small fraction of the bills thatcome before it.

It is said that it is not unusual for more than 2500 bills to beintroduced at a single session. Legislatures are in session from40 to 90 days. If the session were 60 days, and the working day 10hours, there would be but 15 minutes for each of 2500 bills. Thistime would be divided between the two houses. Besides, a greatdeal of business must be transacted other than the considerationand passage of bills.

THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM OF LEGISLATION

To make possible the handling of all this work, each house isorganized in standing committees. As bills are introduced, theyare referred to their appropriate committees, in which most of thework of lawmaking is done. Most of the bills so referred are neverreported back to the legislature at all, and those that arereported are in most cases acted upon by the legislature inaccordance with the committees' reports, with little generaldiscussion. The procedure followed in referring bills tocommittees and in considering them when they are reported back isdetermined by a complexity of rules that are confusing to theoutsider and that cannot be explained in detail here. But theirdeclared purpose is to save time and to enable the legislativebusiness to move smoothly. The small committees can work to betteradvantage than the large body of men in either chamber. The workis divided up so that the few members of each committee canconcentrate their attention upon a few subjects and gainexperience in handling special kinds of problems.

INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT

On the other hand, it is to this organization that we owe some ofthe bad lawmaking for which our legislatures are blamed. It tendsto remove legislation from the control of the people, and resultsin what is often called "invisible government," government that iscarried on out of sight of the people. It opens a door to partisaninfluences and to control by political "bosses" and self-seeking"interests." In the lower house the committees are appointed bythe speaker, who is the presiding officer, and who is alwayschosen by the members of the majority party in the house fromtheir own number. The senate committees are sometimes appointed bythe presiding officer of the senate, who is often the lieutenant-governor, and sometimes elected by the senate itself. But thechairmen and the majority of the members of all committees in bothhouses belong to the majority party, which is thus enabled tocontrol legislation for partisan ends if it so desires, and itoften does so.

EVILS OF THE SYSTEM

Bills may be "killed" in committee, or reported unfavorably, or soamended as to change their meaning entirely, merely at the will ofthe party leaders, or of "bosses" and interests outside of thelegislature. A large part of the work of the committees is carriedon in secret. Although "hearings" may be held at which citizensmay present arguments for and against proposed measures, these maybe mere matters of form. Influential interests may maintain alobby at the legislature, which means that they are representedthere by agents who seek to influence the members of thelegislature, and especially of the committees, sometimes bycorrupt methods. The lobby often works by secret methods, whereasthe "hearings" are public.

The party leaders in control, of whom the most important are thespeaker of the house, the rules committee, the chairmen ofcommittees, and the "floor manager," by dictating the procedure tobe followed, may at times make it practically impossible for amember of the minority party, or one who has incurred thedispleasure of the leaders, to gain a hearing. The followingdescription gives an idea of what may happen: [Footnote: From apamphlet issued by the Illinois Legislative Voters' League in1903, 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 whichlegitimate legislation, backed by him, may be blocked. The billgoes to an unfriendly committee. The chairman refuses to call thecommittee together, or when forced to call it, a quorum does notattend. … Action may be postponed on various pretexts, or thebill may be referred to a sub-committee. The committee may killthe bill by laying it on the table. On the other hand, thecommittee may decide that the bill be reported to the house topass. Then a common practice is for the chairman to pocket thebill, 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 beread a first time in its order. Then begins the advancing of billsby unanimous consent, without waiting to reach them in order. Hereis where the organization has absolute control. Unanimous consentis subject to the speaker's acuteness of hearing. His hearing issharpened or dulled according to the good standing of the objectoror of the member pushing the bill. If one not friendly to thehouse "organization" wants to have his bill considered over anobjection, he must move to suspend the rules. The speaker mayrefuse to recognize him, or may put his motion and declare itcarried or not carried as suits his and the organization'sdesires. So the pet bills are jumped over others ahead of them onthe calendar, while

[Footnote: From a pamphlet issued by the Illinois LegislativeVoters' League in 1903, and quoted by C. A. Beard, AmericanGovernment and Politics, pp 539, 540.] the ones not having thebacking of the house "organization" are retired farther andfarther down until their ultimate passage becomes hopeless. If thebill of the independent member reaches a second reading, it may bekilled by striking out the enacting clause or by tacking on anobnoxious amendment that makes it repulsive to its former friends. …To carry out the will of the organization, the speakerdeclares amendments carried or the contrary by a viva voce vote.Demands for roll-calls are ignored by him in violation of themembers' constitutional rights. …

EFFORTS TO CURB POWER OF LEGISLATURES

It is such practices as these that have brought state legislaturesinto bad repute, and that have resulted in measures to curb theirpower. Instead of leaving it entirely to them to make their ownrules of procedure, many of these rules are now prescribed by thestate constitutions. It was in order to restrain the legislaturesthat the veto power has been given to the governors of all statesbut one, and that sessions of legislatures have been limited tobrief periods of from forty to ninety days, and then only once intwo years. For the same reason state constitutions have taken awaypowers that legislatures once commonly abused, as in running thestate deeply into debt, or in legislating in the interest ofparticular localities or particular groups; and have provided ingreat detail for many things that were formerly left to thediscretion of the legislatures. For the same reason some stateshave adopted the initiative and referendum.

Investigate and report on:

Powers possessed by either house of your legislature not possessedby 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 mostcapable men of the state.

The vocations of the members of your legislature.

Number of bills introduced, and the number passed, at the lastsession of your legislature.

The purpose of some of the most important laws enacted by yourlegislature at its last session.

Why it is difficult to write a bill correctly.

The legislative reference library, or bureau, of your state (ifany).

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 oflegislative sessions in your state.

INEFFICIENT BUSINESS METHODS OF STATE GOVERNMENTS

Some of the greatest abuses of governing power have been inconnection with the appropriation of money. They have been due notso much to dishonesty as to bad organization and loose businessmethods, both in the executive and legislative branches ofgovernment. When the executive branch consists of a large numberof more or less independent parts, each trying to make the bestshowing possible, it is quite to be expected that each will seekto get from the public treasury all the money possible withoutreference to the needs of other parts or to the resources of thestate. When, in addition, there is no central executive authoritywith power to hold the heads of the various parts responsible fortheir acts, and no uniform or businesslike system of keepingaccounts, either of money expended or of work accomplished, it iseasy to see the opportunity for wastefulness and inefficiency.

WASTEFUL METHODS OF MAKING APPROPRIATIONS

On the other hand, the methods of making appropriations in thelegislature have been equally conducive to wastefulness.Appropriation bills pass through the same legislative machinery asall other bills and are subject to the same dangers. Moreover,they are handled by different committees that act as independentlyof one another as do the various executive departments. InIllinois, for example, until recently "requests for appropriationswere submitted informally by each office, department, or board;and separate bills were prepared by the several departments andinstitutions, and introduced by individual members of the GeneralAssembly," l[Footnote: John A. Fairlie, Budget Methods inIllinois, Annals of the American Academy of Political and SocialScience, November, 1915; quoted by W. F. Willoughby, in TheMovement for Budgetary Reform in the States, p. 45.] then beingreferred to different committees according to the subjects towhich they related. At the session of 1913, 94 separateappropriation acts were passed.

THE BUDGET SYSTEM

A number of the states have sought to remedy this defect ingovernment by the adoption of a budget system (see Chapter XIII).Illinois has perhaps made the complete reform in this matter. Wehave already seen how that state has reorganized its executivebranch of government, which is the first necessary step. In thisreorganization there was created a finance department, to whichall the administrative departments submit a careful estimate ofthe money needed for their various lines of work, together with adetailed statement of work done and money spent during the twopreceding years. The finance department considers all thesestatements and estimates in their relation to one another and tothe financial resources available for the next two years, andsubmits to the governor a comprehensive and detailed budget. Onthe basis of this, a single appropriation bill is prepared by asingle committee of the legislature. Public hearings are held, thepeople are given opportunity to know just what the government hasdone and intends to do, and the governor and his financedepartment may be held responsible.

No single change would add so largely to both democracy andefficiency as the introduction of proper budget methods.[Footnote: Foreword to Public Budgets, Annals of the AmericanAcademy of Political and Social Science, November, 1915; quoted byW. 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 asto how they apply in particular cases. To answer these questionsthe judicial branch of government exists, comprising a system ofcourts. The courts are sometimes called upon to decide whether alaw passed by the legislature, or an act of an administrativeofficer, is in harmony with the constitution, and if not, todeclare such law or act invalid. The judicial branch of governmentis therefore the people's organization to keep the other branchesof government within their constitutional powers.

CIVIL AND CRIMINAL CASES

In most cases that come before the courts, however, the law isperfectly clear when once the facts in the case are known. It istherefore the business of the courts also to ascertain the facts.There are two classes of cases that come before the courts, civilcases and criminal cases; and the law that applies to the twoclasses is known as civil law and criminal law. A civil case isone that involves a dispute between individuals, or an injury doneby one individual to another. Such would be a dispute over aboundary line between the properties of two individuals, or overthe payment of a debt; or a personal injury due to thecarelessness of some one, or an injury to property or to healththrough maintaining a nuisance of some kind. In such cases thecourt, after ascertaining the facts, merely sees that justice isdone, as by the payment of damages to the injured party by the onedoing the injury. A criminal case is one in which a person ischarged with having violated a law of the community. The injury isone against the community as a whole, and not merely against anindividual. It is the community that appears in court against theaccused person, and not merely one of his neighbors. In such casesthe court first ascertains the guilt or innocence of the accusedperson; and if he is guilty, imposes a PUNISHMENT upon him, suchas a fine, or imprisonment, or even death, according to the natureof the crime.

The judicial branch of government, then, is that part of thegovernmental organization that seeks to adjust, by peaceful andjust 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 arepresided over by justices of the peace. Only cases of small momentcome before justices' courts: civil cases involving very smallamounts, and cases of minor infractions of the law punishable bysmall fines or by short terms in jail. Persons accused of moreserious crimes may have a preliminary examination in a justice'scourt and, if the evidence warrants it, be committed to jail toawait the action of the grand jury (see below). Most cases in ajustice's court are disposed of by the justice of the peace alone;but a jury trial may be demanded in all criminal cases, and incivil suits "where the value in controversy shall exceed twentydollars" (Const., Amendments VI, VII).

COUNTY COURTS

More serious cases, civil or criminal, are tried in the COUNTY, orDISTRICT, courts before a judge and a JURY. Cases that have beentried in a justice's court may be APPEALED to the county ordistrict court, where there is sure to be a jury trial, and wherethe judge is more learned in the law than is a justice of thepeace. It is the business of the jury to decide on the facts inthe case on the evidence furnished in the trial, and in civilcases to award the amount of damages, if any, to be paid; whilethe judge sees that the procedure is in accordance with the law,instructs the jury as to the law in the case, and in criminalcases 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 COMMUNITYthat appears against the accused. The community appears in theperson of the district attorney, otherwise called the prosecutingattorney, state's attorney, or county solicitor. It is thebusiness of this officer to gather evidence of crimes committed inthe community and, in most cases, to submit it to the GRAND JURY,which is a body of citizens carefully chosen to consider suchevidence. If the grand jury considers the evidence against theaccused sufficient to warrant bringing him to trial, it brings inan INDICTMENT against him. The prosecuting attorney thenprosecutes the case for the community against the accused. It isof course his duty to secure exact justice; sometimes, however, heseems interested only in securing the CONVICTION of the accused.

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

Our state and national constitutions seek to protect carefully therights of a person accused of crime. He is assumed to be innocentuntil he has been proved otherwise. He is guaranteed a "speedy andpublic trial, by an impartial jury." He must be "confronted withwitnesses against him," and have "compulsory process for obtainingwitnesses in his favor," and "assistance of counsel for hisdefense" (Const., Amendment VI). He cannot be compelled to be awitness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, orproperty, without "due process of law" (Amendment V). "Excessivebail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor crueland unusual punishments inflicted." (Amendment VIII).

CIRCUIT OR SUPERIOR COURTS

In some states there is another set of courts immediately abovethe county courts, known as CIRCUIT, DISTRICT, or SUPERIOR,courts. The districts in which these courts have jurisdictioninclude several counties. The cases courts handled by them areeither cases of appeal from the lower courts, or cases of greaterimportance than those over which the lower courts havejurisdiction.

THE STATE SUPREME COURT

The highest court in the state is the SUPREME COURT, sometimescalled the COURT OF APPEALS, or the COURT OF ERRORS. In thesupreme court several judges sit together, and there is no jury.The cases that come before it are for the most part cases ofappeal from the lower courts, although there are certain classesof cases that come before it in the first instance. The supremecourt is the final judge as to whether acts of the legislature arein conformity with the state constitution.

OTHER COURTS

In addition to the courts named above there are sometimes othersto deal with special classes of cases. In cities there areMUNICIPAL COURTS and POLICE COURTS, both in the same class withjustices' courts. There are JUVENILE COURTS to deal with juvenileoffenders; PROBATE, or SURROGATE, COURTS to settle the estates ofpersons who have died; COURTS OF CLAIMS to settle claims againstthe state; and CHANCERY COURTS, or courts of EQUITY, whichadminister justice in cases that the ordinary law will not reach.

For example, the LAW will permit a man's property to be taken tosatisfy a mortgage; EQUITY requires that the property be sold andthe 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 thegovernors, or by the legislatures. With the movement toward moredemocratic forms of government, the states began to introduceprovisions in their constitutions for the election of judges bythe people, and they are now so chosen in most states, though in anumber they are appointed by the governor, and in a few by thelegislature. It is highly important that judges should becontrolled in their decisions solely by the desire to renderjustice, and that they should be removed as far as possible frompartisan influences. Popular election of judges is most prevalentbecause it seems to give to the people the most direct controlover their courts. On the other hand, it is opposed by manybecause it makes possible the election of incompetent judges, andbecause it does not necessarily remove the matter from partisaninfluences. In three states (California, Oregon and Arizona) thejudges are subject to recall by the people.

The terms during which judges hold office also vary greatly amongthe states. In three states they hold office for life(Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire). In the otherstates their terms vary from two to twenty-one years.

It seems to be the opinion of most students that the state courtswould be improved if their judges were appointed by the chiefexecutive and should hold office for life, or during goodbehavior, 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 inthe 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," "counselfor defense," "subpoena," "true bill."

Circ*mstances 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, compiledby 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, Stategovernment.

Hart, A. B., ACTUAL GOVERNMENT, Part iii, State governments inaction.

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

OUR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT

It was the necessity for team work in carrying on the War forIndependence that led the thirteen American colonies for the firsttime to unite under a common government. They had revolted toescape from an autocratic government, and they sought to avoidsetting up another in its place. Since it had been the king whomthey distrusted most, they endeavored to get along without anyexecutive head at all. Their new government consisted solely of aCongress of delegates from the thirteen states.

THE CRITICAL PERIOD

This form of government was continued for several years after theRevolution under a constitution known as the Articles ofConfederation. It was, however, unsuccessful in securing anythinglike real national cooperation. The Congress had no power to levyand collect taxes, it had little power to make laws, and it waswithout means to execute the laws that it did make. The realgoverning power during this period was with the several states.The result was a period of unutterable confusion which has beencalled "the critical period of American history." The question atstake was whether a number of self-governing state communitieswith a multitude of apparently conflicting interests could reallybecome a nation.

THE NEW CONSTITUTION

During the war Benjamin Franklin had said, "We must all hangtogether or we shall all hang separately." The states had "hungtogether" sufficiently to win the war; but the wise men of thetime now saw the need for a government so organized and with suchpowers as to secure effective cooperation among all the states andall 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 calledtogether at Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles ofConfederation. The result was our present Constitution under whichour present national government went into effect in 1789.

Investigate and report:

The nature and causes of the confusion during "the criticalperiod" 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 Constitutionwent 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 theConstitution (Art. V) that it could be amended only by methodsdesigned to give the people control over the matter—greatercontrol than they have over ordinary lawmaking. A great manyamendments have been proposed in the course of time, but onlyeighteen have so far been adopted,[Footnote: A nineteenthamendment is at this writing before the states for ratification—the woman suffrage amendment.] ten of these having been adopted inthe very beginning as a condition on which the states would acceptthe Constitution at all. None of these amendments changed the formof our government except with respect to the methods of electingthe President and United States senators (Amendments XII andXVII).

Explain the two methods of proposing, and the two methods ofratifying, amendments (Constitution, Art. VII).

Has there ever been a national constitutional convention called bythe states?

Which of the two methods of ratifying was used in the case of thelast amendment adopted? [Footnote: Ohio by a referendum in 1919submitted the eighteenth amendment to the people of the state fortheir vote, after it had been ratified by the legislature. Thiswas the first time in our history that an amendment to theConstitution 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, watchthe newspapers for the action of the various states.

OUR GOVERNMENT A GROWING THING

The Constitution adopted in 1787 has met the needs of our growingnation in a most remarkable way. It would be a mistake, however,to think that it has always met new conditions perfectly, or thatwe are governed to-day exactly as was intended by the framers ofthe Constitution. Although few amendments have been made,INTERPRETATIONS have been placed on the Constitution that wereprobably unthought of by the framers or by the people who ratifiedit; and PRACTICES have grown up in our government that have madeit quite a different government from that which was anticipated.Our government is a GROWING thing, and one of the chief merits ofour Constitution is the fact that it speaks in such general termsthat it has been possible, under it, to adapt our government tonew and unexpected conditions. In this respect it differs from thedetailed state constitutions.

DEFECTS INEVITABLE

On the other hand, conditions have arisen with the growth of ournation that our Constitution has not enabled us to meet with thegreatest success, and that we have not yet met by amendment. Insome cases we have tried to get around the difficulties by devicesnot provided for in the Constitution, sometimes with unfortunateresults. But a recognition of defects in our government should notcause us to lose respect for the Constitution. They are due not topositive blunders on the part of the framers, but to the mereabsence of provision for conditions that did not exist when theConstitution was framed and that could not be foreseen by thewisest men of that time. The wise course for all good citizens isto seek to understand clearly wherein our government fails to meetour needs, if it does fail, and then to seek to correct thedifficulty, under the existing terms of the Constitution ifpossible, or by amendment of the Constitution if that becomesclearly necessary. Amendment of the Constitution was purposelymade difficult, and this was doubtless wise, for it tends toprevent changes without full consideration of their needs andprobable effects. Radical changes in our form of government and inour established laws are always fraught with danger. Because ofthe extreme complexity of community life a change effected at onepoint to meet a particular evil may have consequences of the mostfar-reaching kind and in the most unexpected directions. A changethat corrects one evil may produce conditions resulting in evilseven worse than the first. Changes are necessary at times, butthey should be made only after the most careful consideration bymen of the widest possible experience.

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

One thing that stood out clearly after the Revolution was the fearof a strong national government. Some of the states refused toratify the Constitution unless amendments were added at onceguaranteeing the liberties of the people. The first tenamendments, known as the "bill of rights," were the result. Tomake sure that no important rights were left unguarded, the ninthamendment provides that "the enumeration in the Constitution ofcertain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage othersretained 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 whichthe people were subject should be exercised by the states, and notby the national government. The national government was toexercise no powers except such as were DELEGATED to it in theConstitution. These powers are important ones, but few in number,and are listed in section 8 of Article I. In order to make thislimitation of powers perfectly clear, the tenth amendment declaresthat "The powers not delegated to the United States by theConstitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved tothe states respectively or to the people." Certain powers werealso expressly denied to the national government in section 9 ofArticle 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 andforeign affairs, or to matters that the several states could notwell regulate without confusion or injustice. For example, it waschiefly the confusion in matters pertaining to trade in the periodfollowing the Revolution that made the new government necessary.Therefore power was given to it "to regulate commerce with foreignnations and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes."So, also, it was given power "to coin money, regulate the valuethereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights andmeasures," for varying systems of coinage and of weights andmeasures would be inconvenient. For similar reasons it wasempowered "to establish post-offices and post-roads," "toestablish an uniform rule of naturalization" for immigrants, and"to promote the progress of science and useful arts" by givingcopyrights and patents to authors and inventors. The states, onthe other hand, were expressly forbidden to exercise any controlover some such matters of national and international concern insection 10 of Article I.

Read section 10, Art I, and discuss the reasons why the powersthere mentioned should have been denied to the states.

THE SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES

Not only did the framers of the Constitution carefully limit thepowers that the national government might exercise, but they alsointroduced into the organization of the government various devicesto control it and to prevent any of its parts from assuming toomuch power. The most important of these is the system of CHECKSAND BALANCES. In our national government, as in the stategovernments, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers areSEPARATED. In early times in England, the king could make any lawshe wished, he could enforce them as he pleased, and he controlledthe courts of justice. In our government the legislature, composedof representatives of the people, makes the laws; the executivebranch of government sees to their enforcement; and the courts,which are responsible neither to the legislature nor to theexecutive, interpret the laws and administer justice in accordancewith the laws. This separation of powers is to prevent any oneperson or group of persons from exercising too much power, as theking did, and is a safeguard to the liberty of the people. But theseparation of powers IS NOT COMPLETE. Each branch of governmenthas A LIMITED CONTROL over the others. This constitutes THE SYSTEMOF CHECKS AND BALANCES, which still further protects the people'sliberties.

While the President cannot make the laws, he is given a check uponthe lawmaking power of Congress by his veto power. On the otherhand, he cannot, by an excessive use of his veto power, destroythe lawmaking power of Congress, because Congress may pass lawsover 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 hisexecutive powers until Congress votes him the necessary money.

If Congress passes a law that is contrary to the Constitution thecourts may declare the law void, and the executive cannot enforceit. The courts, on the other hand, are in a measure under thecontrol of both Congress and the President, for Congress maycreate and destroy courts (except those created by theConstitution), 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 governmenthave been very effective in accomplishing the purpose for whichthey were intended, namely, to protect the liberties of the peopleagainst despotic government. But they have also, at times, been anobstacle to team work and to effective service. It sometimeshappens, for example, that the President represents one politicalparty, while the majority of one or both houses of Congress are ofthe opposing party. The two branches of government may then enterinto a struggle on partisan grounds, each trying to defeat theprogram of the other. Such a situation was probably unforeseen bythe framers of the Constitution, although it again reminds us ofWashington's warning with regard to the dangers of the partyspirit.

THE IMPLIED POWERS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

With the growth of our nation, the national government has come toperform a vast amount of service, as we have seen in earlierchapters, and to regulate the lives of the people in a multitudeof ways little dreamed of by the makers of the Constitution. Thishas been possible because of the principle of IMPLIED POWERS inthe Constitution. This means that some of the powers expresslygranted in the Constitution have been broadly interpreted to IMPLYpowers not expressly stated. There are certain clauses in theConstitution that especially lend themselves to such broadinterpretation. For example, after the enumeration of the powerswhich Congress may exercise, in section 8 of Article I, clause 18of that section gives Congress power "to make all laws which shallbe necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoingpowers …" Another clause whose liberal interpretation has beenresponsible for much of the service performed by the nationalgovernment is that giving it the power to regulate interstatecommerce (Art. I, sec. 8, clause 3).

In the early days of our government the Federalist party, underthe leadership of Alexander Hamilton, proposed the creation of aNATIONAL BANK. The Republican party under Jefferson opposed thisbecause the Constitution did not expressly provide for it, andbecause it was feared that it would give the national governmenttoo much power. But the "broad constructionists" argued that anational bank was a "necessary and proper" means to enable thenational government "to borrow money on the credit of the UnitedStates" and to exercise other financial powers expressly grantedin the Constitution. The supreme court of the United Statessupported the latter view, and the national bank became a fact.

The building of roads and other internal improvements by thenational government have always been opposed by the "strictconstructionists," 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 thecommon defense," and also as a means "to regulate commerce amongthe several states."

Most of the work that the national government has done for thepromotion of the public health, such as the passage andenforcement of the "pure food and drugs act," the inspection oflivestock and of slaughterhouses, and the attempt to regulatechild labor, has been done under the authority of the clausegiving 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 todecide finally whether much of the new service undertaken by thenational government is in accordance with the Constitution or not,and this court has been responsible for most of the expansion ofthe service rendered, because of its liberal interpretation of theConstitution.

Why should the power to regulate interstate commerce also giveCongress the power to require the inspection of cattle in yourneighborhood? or to forbid the use of harmful substances in patentmedicines? or to forbid the employment in factories of children?

Find out what you can about the influence of John Marshall, ChiefJustice of the Supreme Court, in extending the powers of thenational government.

THE EXECUTIVE CENTRALIZED AND CONTROLLED

The Constitution vests the executive power in the President of theUnited States (Art. II, sec. I), and he alone is responsible tothe people for the execution of the laws. The people are protectedagainst abuse of this power in the hands of one man by variousconstitutional provisions. The President's term of office islimited to four years, though he may be reelected. In case ofimproper conduct in office, he may be removed by IMPEACHMENT. Theimpeachment charges must be brought against him by the House ofRepresentatives, and the Senate, presided over by the ChiefJustice of the Supreme Court, must act as a court to try the case.Moreover, even the President must act according to law, and in sofar as his duties are not prescribed by the Constitution they areprescribed by Congress. Congress must also create the machinery bywhich the President executes the laws, and it must appropriate thenecessary money. The Senate exercises a further control over thePresident in that it must approve all appointments and alltreaties made by him.

METHOD OF ELECTING THE PRESIDENT

The method of electing the President provided in the Constitutionwas intended to insure a wise choice, and also shows a lack ofcomplete confidence in the people on the part of the framers ofthe Constitution. He was to be elected by a body of ELECTORS,chosen by the several states "in such manner as the legislaturesthereof may direct," the number of electors from each state toequal the whole number of senators and representatives from thatstate (Art. II, sec. 2). These electors were originally chosen bythe legislatures of the states, but are now elected by the people.When voters "vote for the President" every four years, they inreality only vote for these electors who, in turn, cast theirvotes for the President.

DEPARTURE FROM THE INTENTION OF THE CONSTITUTION

In the method of electing the President we find one of the pointswhere the intention of the framers of the Constitution has clearlybeen thwarted. It was obviously the intention that the electorschosen by the states should use their own discretion in the choiceof the President. But in practice to-day, the entire body ofelectors from each state always represents the victoriouspolitical party, and casts its vote invariably for thepresidential candidate already nominated by the party machinery.We still elect the electors, and the electors go through the formof electing the President; but their part in the procedure is nowentirely useless.

THE VICE-PRESIDENT

The Vice-President of the United States is elected at the sametime and by the same method as the President. But he has noexecutive duties whatever so long as the President is capable ofperforming his duties. In order that he might have something todo, he was made presiding officer of the Senate, but even there hehas 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 differencebetween 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 organizationwhich was not ready-made by the Constitution, but which has beengradually created by acts of Congress under its express andimplied powers. The Constitution did not even create the greatadministrative departments through which the President works,although it implied that such departments should be created: "ThePresident … may require the opinion, in writing, of theprincipal officer in each of the executive departments, upon anysubject relating to the duties of their respective offices" (Art.II, sec. 2, cl. i). The heads of these departments are appointedby the President, are responsible to him, and may be removed byhim. Together they constitute the President's CABINET, meetingwith him frequently to discuss the affairs of their departmentsand matters of public policy.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS

Five of these administrative departments were created duringWashington's administration. These five have grown to cover amultitude of activities that were not at first contemplated, andfive other great departments have since been created.

The DEPARTMENT OF STATE maintains relations between the UnitedStates and foreign powers. The Secretary of State, acting for thePresident, negotiates treaties with foreign governments, and is inconstant communication with the ambassadors, ministers, consuls,and other representatives of our government in foreign countries,and with similar representatives of foreign governments in thiscountry. This department is the medium of communication betweenthe President and the governors of the several states. TheSecretary of State has in his keeping the treaties and laws of theUnited States, and also the Great Seal of the United States, whichhe affixes to proclamations, commissions, and other officialpapers. Through him the rights of American citizens in foreigncountries are looked after. He is first in rank among the membersof the cabinet, and by law would succeed to the Presidency in caseof the death or disability of both the President and the Vice-President.

The DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY has at its head the Secretary ofthe Treasury, who is the financial manager of the nationalgovernment. He prepares plans for, and superintends the collectionof, the public revenues; determines the manner of keeping thepublic accounts; directs the coinage and printing of money. Healso controls the construction and maintenance of publicbuildings, 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 andsuperintends the national defense. He also administers river andharbor improvements, the prevention of obstruction to navigation,and the building of bridges over navigable rivers when authorizedby Congress. He also has direction of the Bureau of InsularAffairs, which supervises the government of Porto Rico and thePhilippines.

The DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE has at its head the Attorney General,who is the chief law officer of the government, and represents itin all matters of a legal nature. He is the legal adviser of thePresident and of the several executive departments, and supervisesall United States attorneys and marshals in the judicial districtsinto 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, hascharge of the "construction, manning, equipment, and employment ofvessels of war."

The DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR was created to relieve theDepartment of State of work relating to internal affairs, and nowembraces a wide variety of duties. At its head is the Secretary ofthe Interior. Through many bureaus and divisions it administersthe public lands, the national parks, the giving of patents forinventions, the pensioning of soldiers, Indian affairs, education,the reclamation service, the geological survey, the improvement ofmining methods for the safety of miners, certain matterspertaining to the territories of the United States, and certaininstitutions 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. Itincludes in its organization the Bureau of Foreign and DomesticCommerce, the Bureau of Corporations, the Census Bureau, theBureau of Lighthouses, the Bureau of Navigation, the Bureau ofFisheries, and the Bureau of Standards.

The DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, under the Secretary of Labor, has for itspurpose "fostering, promoting, and developing the welfare of thewage earners of the United States, improving their workingconditions, and advancing their opportunities for profitableemployment." Among its important bureaus are those of Immigrationand of Naturalization, and the Children's Bureau, whichinvestigates and reports upon "all matters pertaining to thewelfare of children and child life among all classes of ourpeople."

OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES

In addition to these great administrative departments with theirnumerous bureaus and subdivisions, there are various boards,commissions and establishments that are independent of thedepartments.

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 ofnew administrative commissions and boards were created for theemergency. Most of these have been, or are to be, discontinued,though some of them may survive. Such were the Council of NationalDefense, the Committee on Public Information, the FoodAdministration, the Fuel Administration, the United StatesShipping Board, the War Trade Board, the Director General ofRailroads.

THE CIVIL SERVICE

The detailed work of this vast service organization is carried onby about 400,000 employees (not counting the army and the navy).These constitute the CIVIL SERVICE. The quality of service dependslargely upon the efficiency of these employees. The task offilling all these places is a large one. In Andrew Jackson'sadministration (1829-1837) the "spoils system" was introduced,which means that government positions were treated by thevictorious party as "the spoils of victory," to be given tomembers of the victorious party as rewards for party servicewithout much regard to fitness for the work to be done. Wheneverthe administration passed from one party to another, the army ofcivil service employees was displaced by another of new employees.Not only did this result in inefficient service, but the time ofthe President and the heads of the departments was largelyconsumed in considering the claims of those seeking appointment.

Moreover, since appointments could be made only "with the adviceand consent" of the Senate, senators were besieged by applicantsfor positions and their friends. The President, overwhelmed by themultitude of appointments to be made, came to rely almost whollyupon the advice of the senators, and even of members of the Houseof Representatives, for appointments in their states anddistricts. Thus, in effect, appointments were made by members ofCongress rather than by the President who was really responsible.No system could have been devised more wasteful of the time of theexecutive and legislative branches of the government, or moreconducive to inefficiency.

REFORM OF THE CIVIL SERVICE

The spoils system became a great offense to the nation, but it wasnot until President Garfield was murdered by a disappointed officeseeker that Congress, in 1883, passed a law for the reform of thecivil service. Candidates for many positions in the civil servicewere required to pass an examination designed to prove theirfitness for the work to be done, and a CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONwas created to administer the law and to conduct the examinations,which are held at stated intervals in different parts of thecountry. Those appointed under this system cannot be removedexcept for cause. Even at the present time, however, only abouthalf of the civil service is subject to this MERIT SYSTEM. Fromthe above description of the work of the several executivedepartments 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, especiallyin its work of sanitation in territories occupied.

Representatives of the United States Department of Justice in yourcommunity, 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 ofpeace.

The work of the patent office; of the bureau of Indian affairs; ofthe 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 civilservice?

Is there any reason why a mail carrier or a clerk in a governmentoffice should be a Republican or a Democrat?

What employees of the United States civil service are there inyour community?

RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP

Efficient government requires strong, clearly recognizedleadership. Democratic government requires that its leadershipshall be responsive to the needs of the people and under theircontrol. The problem of how to secure strong leadership andcontrolled 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 concentratingfull responsibility in the President. But did they expect him tobe their leader in the government as a whole; that is, informulating the policies of government that should serve as thebasis for legislation? We are in the habit of thinking of him asour national leader, but was he made so in fact?

LEADERSHIP OF THE PRESIDENT

In fact, the framers of the Constitution were apparently moreconcerned about maintaining control over the President than aboutclearly making him the nation's leader. About the only indicationthe Constitution contains that he was to be such a leader is thestatement that he "shall from time to time give to the Congressinformation of the state of the Union, and recommend to theirconsideration such measures as he shall judge necessary andexpedient" (Art. II, sec.3). He does submit recommendations toCongress at the opening of each of its terms and often at othertimes. If the President and the majority in Congress are of thesame political party, Congress is pretty likely to follow thePresident's lead; or, if the President has a commandingpersonality and is clearly popular with the people, he may forcemeasures through even an unwilling Congress. But if differencesarise between the President and Congress, especially when one orboth houses of Congress are of the opposite party from thePresident, his recommendations may be entirely ignored. By oursystem of "checks and balances" the President is "controlled," buthe ceases to be a leader when he does not have the "following" ofCongress, or of the majority of the people.

President Wilson began his second administration with a majorityin both houses of Congress of his political party, and apparentlyin popular favor. He was clearly accepted as leader andpractically all of his proposed measures were favorably acted uponby Congress. In the middle of this administration a congressionalelection occurred which resulted in a majority in both houses ofthe opposing party. This result might be considered as a popularvote against the leadership of the President, and his opponentsdid consider it so. It cannot be absolutely certain that this wasintended, for the people were not voting directly on thisquestion. Whether this was true or not, Congress refused to followhis leadership in many important questions, including the treatyof peace with Germany.

CONTROL OF LEADERSHIP IN ENGLAND

It will be helpful to compare this situation with the method bywhich England has worked out the problem of leadership and controlof leadership.

The real executive head in the English government is the primeminister. The king appoints the prime minister, but he alwayschooses for the position THE RECOGNIZED LEADER OF THE POLITICALPARTY THAT IS IN THE MAJORITY in the House of Commons (whichcorresponds to our House of Representatives).

The prime minister having been appointed, he then selects theother members of his cabinet, who are to be the heads of theexecutive departments, and WHO ARE ALSO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

The prime minister and the other members of the cabinet have seatsin the House of Commons, contrary to the practice in our country.THEY ALSO TAKE THE LEAD IN LEGISLATION, for most of the importantbills considered in the House of Commons are planned andintroduced by the cabinet. So the executive and legislativebranches of the English government are not separated as in ourcountry. The same group of men manage the service organization andlead in planning the legislation that makes the service possible.

It sometimes happens, however, that the cabinet introduces ameasure which, after discussion, a majority of the House ofCommons rejects. This means that on this question the cabinet nolonger represents the majority in the House. Then one of twothings happens. EITHER THE CABINET RESIGNS in a body to make wayfor a new cabinet that does represent the majority; OR THE PRIMEMINISTER ASKS FOR A GENERAL ELECTION FOR MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OFCOMMONS. If at this election a majority is again returned that isopposed to the cabinet, it means that the cabinet no longer leadsthe people, and it resigns. If a majority is returned in supportof the cabinet, it means that the old House was no longerrepresentative of the people, and the old cabinet retains itsleadership.

This system gives the English people MORE DIRECT CONTROL overtheir government than we have in our country; it is very much likethe method of RECALL that is used in some of our states. At thesame time, it assures a real executive leadership WITHIN THEGOVERNMENT, a leadership that is both responsive and responsibleto the people.

GROWTH OF IRRESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP

Not only does our Constitution fail to provide clearly forresponsible leadership within the government, but our system of"checks and balances," our party system of government, and theorganization and rules of Congress, all taken together, havetended to confuse our leadership, and to impose upon us anirresponsible leadership, OUTSIDE of the government as outlined bythe Constitution. To understand this it will first be necessary toexamine the organization of Congress.

THE CONGRESS

Congress, like the state legislatures, consists of two chambers,the House of Representatives and the Senate; this being anotherinstance of "checks and balances."

The creation of two chambers in the Congress made possible asatisfactory settlement of a dispute in the ConstitutionalConvention with regard to the basis of representation. The largerstates wanted representation proportional to their population,while the smaller states, insisted upon EQUAL representation forall the states. It was settled that there should be equalrepresentation in the Senate, and proportional representation inthe House of Representatives. This is one of a series ofcompromises that had to be made between the two parties in theconvention. In fact, the Constitution is a series of compromisesfrom beginning to end. Only thirty-nine of the fifty-fivedelegates in the convention signed the Constitution, and it isprobable that no one even of the thirty-nine was wholly pleasedwith it.

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The number of representatives in the first Congress from eachstate was fixed in the Constitution, and provision made for acensus in 1790 and every ten years thereafter, on the basis ofwhich a reapportionment should be made. At present there are 435members of the House, one for about every 212,000 of thepopulation. They are elected by direct vote of the people, onefrom each of the CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS into which each state isdivided, and for a term of two years.

THE SENATE

There are two senators from each state. The Constitution providedthat they were to be elected by the state legislatures, anotherevidence of distrust of the people. In 1913, the seventeenthamendment to the Constitution was enacted, providing for theelection of senators by popular vote, showing the growing spiritof democracy and the distrust of the state legislatures. Senatorsare elected for six years, but the term of only one third of themexpires at the same time, so that at least two thirds of theSenate have always had at least two years' experience. No citizenmay become a senator until he is thirty years of age, while onemay become a member of the lower house at twenty-five.

EXCLUSIVE POWERS OF EACH HOUSE

The House of Representatives has one important power not possessedby the Senate: it alone can originate bills for raising revenue.This is because the representatives were supposed to be moredirectly representative of the people than the senators. However,the Senate may amend such bills, and often succeeds in forcing theHouse to accept such radical amendments as practically to destroythe advantage possessed by the latter in its power to originatethe bills.

In addition to its lawmaking powers, the Senate was intended to bean advisory council to the President. Only with its "advice andconsent" 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 thenumber of the one you live in.

The names of your representative and senators.

The qualifications for election to the House of Representativesand to the Senate (Art. I, secs. 2 and 3). Compare with thequalifications for election to the two houses of your legislature.

The characteristics of the Senate that make it more conservativethan 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 hasbeen especially interested during the last session of Congress.

In England a member of the House of Commons is not required to bea resident of the district which he represents. Arguments for andagainst this plan.

Debate the question: RESOLVED, that our Constitution should beamended to provide for a "responsible cabinet government" as inEngland.

ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS

The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice-President of theUnited States, while that of the House of Representatives is aSPEAKER elected by the House. The Vice-President has no vote inthe Senate except in case of a tie, when he may cast the decidingvote. The Speaker, on the other hand, has all the rights of anyother member and has large powers by virtue of his position. He isalways elected by a strictly party vote, and therefore representsthe majority party in the House.

THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM

As in the state legislatures, and for the same reason, most of thework of legislation in Congress is done by standing committees, ofwhich there are about sixty in the House and about seventy-five inthe Senate. As in the state legislatures, these committees arechosen on party lines, the chairmen and the majority of themembers always being of the majority party. The procedure by whichlegislation is carried on in Congress is very much the same asthat in the state legislatures, and has the same advantages anddisadvantages. There is even greater necessity for the committeeorganization and for rules because of the vastly greater number ofbills introduced. In a recent Congress more than 33,000 bills wereintroduced in the House of Representatives alone. Whereas in thestate legislatures some of the rules of procedure are fixed by thestate constitutions, the rules of Congress are determined entirelyby each house for itself. The committee on rules in each house,the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairmen ofthe committees in both houses, may run things as they see fit.That this is done there is plenty of evidence, such as thefollowing words of a member of Congress:

You send important questions to a committee, you put into thehands of a few men the power to bring in bills, and then they arebrought in with an ironclad rule, and rammed down the throats ofmembers; and then those measures are sent out as being thedeliberate judgment of the Congress of the United States when nodeliberate judgment has been expressed by any man.

DIFFUSED LEADERSHIP IN CONGRESS

It is this procedure in Congress that causes leadership to becomediffused, hidden, and often to pass outside of the governmentaltogether into the hands of "bosses" and special "interests."There can be no well-conceived PLAN worked out by responsibleleaders and approved by Congress as a whole. There may be "plans,"worked out by leaders in Congress, but they are likely to be plansdesigned to serve party ends rather than to promote a well-thought-out program of national development. Thousands of bills ofthe greatest variety are introduced by individual members andhandled by different committees acting independently of oneanother and often at cross purposes.

RELATION BETWEEN EXECUTIVE AND LEGISTLATIVE BRANCHES

The legislative and executive branches of government are eachextremely jealous of any encroachment upon its powers by theother. It is not always easy to decide just where the dividingline lies between the powers properly exercised by each. It ismaintained on the one hand that Congress is encroaching on therightful domain of the executive; and at least it is true thatwhile it denies the President responsible leadership indetermining the policies of the government, it has failed tosubstitute any other responsible leadership, and has even madeleadership obscure. On the other hand, it is maintained that theexecutive encroaches upon the powers of Congress. While thischapter was being written a member of the House of Representativesmade a speech in which he said:

This bill presents a fine specimen of bureaucratic legislation.[Footnote: "Bureaucratic legislation" here means lawmaking bybureaus in the executive branch of the government.] If theCongress ever intends, as it surely does, to regain the powersgranted it by the fathers, of which it is now temporarily deprivedby bureaucratic encroachment, now is the time to start upon such acampaign by defeating by a decisive majority the bill now offeredfor your consideration … Every time you weaken Congress by theestablishment of a bureau in which the authority of Congress islessened, you lay one more stone in the erection of the temple ofautocracy … These bureaus are not only legislating byadministrative processes but are usurping the power andprerogatives 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 towatch and control the executive. The great English philosopher,John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), thus stated the purpose of theEnglish House of Commons:

To watch and control the government; [Footnote: "Government" hererefers to the executive branch.] to throw the light of publicityon its acts; to compel a full explanation and justification of allof them which any one considers questionable; to censure them iffound condemnable; to be at once the nation's committee ongrievances; an arena in which not only the opinion of the nation,but that of every section of it, and as far as possible, of everyeminent individual that it contains, can produce itself in fullsight and challenge full discussion.

As we have seen, the English House of Commons has a way to controlexecutive leadership without destroying it. Even if we desired todo so, we could not adopt the English plan without changing ourConstitution. But there are ways in which the same result could ina measure be accomplished without such change. One of these is bya well-organized BUDGET SYSTEM.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR APPROPRIATIONS

The methods of making appropriations for the purposes of ournational 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 uponthe executive departments. Both are at fault; and the difficultyis that it is almost impossible to fix the responsibilityanywhere.

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 amultitude of bureaus and other subdivisions that are not wellorganized in their relations to one another. There is overlapping,duplication, and even conflict of work. The director of finance ofthe War Department said that in the recent war,

The War Department entered this war without any fixed or carefullydigested and prepared financial system. There were at thebeginning of the war five … bureaus each independent of theothers, each making its own contracts, doing its own purchasing,doing its own accounting, with as many different methods as therewere bureaus. As a result they were competing with each other in amarket where the supplies in many cases for which they werecompeting were restricted in amount … There was no centralauthority to prune, revise, or compare estimates submitted and tocoordinate expenditures, and that naturally resulted inoverlappings and duplications, and some of them of a large amount.[Footnote: Testimony before Budget Committee, quoted by WillPayne, "Your Budget," Saturday Evening Post, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 32.]

The responsibility is partly in the executive department; but itis also partly in Congress, for it creates bureaus, defines theirduties, appropriates money for them. And in Congress theresponsibility is divided among various committees.

One committee or subcommittee has supervision of building thebarracks at a given army post while another committee orsubcommittee has supervision of building the hospital at the samepost. One committee has jurisdiction of the guns, anothercommittee has jurisdiction of the emplacement of the guns. Allcommittees are jealous of their own prerogatives and sometimesmore 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 theTreasury an estimate of the amount of money they think they willneed. The Secretary of the Treasury puts these estimates togetherwithout revision and without criticism and submits them toCongress, together with an estimate of the probable revenuesavailable. While there is a committee on appropriations in eachhouse of Congress,

… one class of appropriations after another has been taken awayfrom this committee and intrusted to other committees until, as aresult, the work of preparing appropriations in the House ofRepresentatives is broken up so that there are now no less thanfourteen general appropriation bills prepared by seven differentcommittees … In the preparation of their bills the committee onappropriations and the other committees in charge ofappropriations are really compelled to work more or less blindly.Sometimes they hold extensive hearings endeavoring to get acomplete grasp of the multitudinous detailed expenditures forwhich they must provide. But, of course, it is impossible for theseveral committees, in the time at their disposal, to give evenminor matters the amount of attention demanded by sound publiceconomy. [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 ofgovernment, are that it should be prepared by the executive branchof the government, which is responsible for spending the money;that it should be prepared by an agency responsible directly tothe President, and with authority to revise and adjust theestimates of the several departments in the light of the needs andresources of the government as a whole; and that it should bebased upon an accounting system that will show clearly howefficiently each department and minor subdivision is doing itswork. As this chapter is being written, a bill is before Congresswhich, if passed, will more or less completely accomplish theseresults.

THE NEED FOR CENTRALIZING APPROPRIATIONS

It remains for Congress, however, to make the appropriationsrequested in the budget, with such modifications as may be shownto be wise. It is generally accepted that appropriations cannot bewisely made under the present system, and that responsibility forthem must be centered in one committee in each house.

This change will necessitate a change in the rules which can onlybe made by each house for itself. A resolution has been introducedin the House of Representatives recommending this change, but ithas not at this writing been acted upon.

In the English House of Commons, when the appropriation bill isintroduced, the House becomes in effect a court before which theprime minister and his cabinet are placed on trial to defend theirbudget. The whole House is in session. The minority party, whichconducts the opposition, employs counsel, and by its searchinginquiries compels the cabinet to explain and defend the budget atevery point. By this procedure the public is informed as to thework and program of the government, and the executive leaders heldstrictly to account.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CITIZEN

A budget system, however good it may be, like all othergovernmental 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 begood, bad or indifferent finally just in proportion to yourinterest in it and your expression of that interest at the pollsand elsewhere. If there is a good budget system—not on paper, butin actual practice—you've got to make it. If, when a budget billis finally enacted you say, "Well, that job is done," and dismissit 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 PUBLICOPINION and PUBLIC INTEREST. We may have any kind of government wewant, if we only want it badly enough, and only when we want itbadly enough. The blame for inefficiency and wastefulness on thepart of government at Washington, or at the state capital, or atthe county seat, rests largely with the people back home, who areeither selfish or blind to the fact that the interests of thenation are larger than their own or those of their own littlecommunity. The very people who talk most loudly about theextravagance of government, or about the burden of taxes, arelikely to be the ones who expect most from their congressmen forpurely personal or local advantage. They are likely to judge theirrepresentative's fitness for his position more by his ability toget funds from the public treasury for local gratification than byhis attitude toward great national questions.

Investigate and report on the following:

The present Speaker of the House of Representatives, and some ofthe 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 itis introduced to the time it goes into effect as a law of theland.

Bills introduced in Congress by the representative from yourdistrict. The purposes of these bills. (Consult at home, at yourpublic 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 ofthe Senate in connection with the discussion of the treaty ofpeace with Germany.

"Filibustering" in Congress.

Clause 2 of section 6 of Article I of the Constitution says, "Noperson holding any office under the United States shall be amember of either House during his continuance in office." Why isthis?

The privileges of members of Congress under clause I of section 6of 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 onehas 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 similarto that used by the House of Commons.

THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY

The judicial power of the United States government is vested bythe Constitution "in one Supreme Court, and in such inferiorcourts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish"(Art. III, sec. I). The number of judges in the Supreme Court isdetermined by Congress, and they are appointed by the Presidentwith the advice and consent of the Senate. At present the SupremeCourt 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 arenow nine, each "circuit" including several states; and districtcourts, of which there is at least one in every state, andsometimes several. In addition to these there is a court ofcustoms appeals and a court of claims, for special classes ofcases. The courts of the District of Columbia are also UnitedStates courts, inasmuch as the District is governed entirely bythe national government. The judges of all United States courtsare 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 jurisdictionover cases of a national or interstate character. Most cases thatcome in the first instance before the federal courts are tried inthe United States district courts, going to the higher courts onlyon appeal; but there are certain classes of cases that go to theSupreme Court at once (Art. III, sec. 2, cl. 2). A case brought totrial before a state court may be appealed to the Supreme Court ofthe United States when the Constitution, the laws, or the treatiesof the United States are involved, and its decision is final. TheSupreme Court may declare a law passed by Congress or an act ofthe President null and void if, in its opinion, such law or act iscontrary to the provisions of the Constitution. It has beenquestioned whether the framers of the Constitution intended theSupreme Court to have this power, but it exercises the power onthe ground that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land towhich even Congress and the President are subject, and that it isthe sacred duty of the courts to preserve it from violation. Wehave noted the influence exercised by the Supreme Court inextending the activities of the United States government by itsbroad interpretations of the Constitution.

Study the powers of the federal courts in Article III, sections 1and 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 ofthe 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, Partv, The National Government in Action. Bryce, James, The AmericanCommonwealth, vol. I, Part i. Wilson, Woodrow, CongressionalGovernment (Houghton Mifflin Co.). Haskin, F. J., The AmericanGovernment (Lippincott). Young, The New American Government(Macmillan).

PREAMBLE

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a moreperfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, andsecure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, doordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States ofAmerica.

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 ofmembers chosen every second year by the people of the severalStates, and the electors in each State shall have thequalifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branchof the State legislature.

2nd Clause. No person shall be a representative who shall not haveattained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years acitizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, bean inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

3rd Clause. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportionedamong the several States which may be included within this Union,according to their respective numbers, which shall be determinedby adding to the whole number of free persons, including thosebound to service for a term of years, and, excluding Indians nottaxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumerationshall be made within three years after the first meeting of theCongress of the United States, and within every subsequent term often years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The numberof representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,but each State shall have at least one representative; and untilsuch enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shallbe entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island andProvidence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, NewJersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six,Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, andGeorgia three.

4TH CLAUSE. When vacancies happen in the representation from anyState, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs ofelection to fill such vacancies.

5TH CLAUSE. The House of Representatives shall choose theirSpeaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power ofimpeachment.

SECTION III. THE SENATE.

1ST CLAUSE. The Senate of the United States shall be composed oftwo 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 inconsequence of the first election, they shall be divided asequally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators ofthe first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the secondyear, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year,and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, sothat one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancieshappen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of thelegislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporaryappointments until the next meeting of the legislature, whichshall then fill such vacancies.

3rd CLAUSE. No person shall be a senator who shall not haveattained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizenof the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be aninhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

4TH CLAUSE. The Vice-President of the United States shall bePresident of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they beequally divided.

5TH CLAUSE. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and alsoa President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, orwhen he shall exercise the office of President of the UnitedStates.

6TH CLAUSE. The Senate shall have the sole power to try allimpeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall all be onoath or affirmation. When the President of the United States istried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall beconvicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the memberspresent.

7TH CLAUSE. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extendfurther than to removal from office, and disqualification to holdand enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the UnitedStates; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable andsubject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, accordingto law.

SECTION IV. BOTH HOUSES.

1ST CLAUSE. The times, places, and manner of holding elections forsenators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State bythe legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by lawmake or alter such regulations, except as to the places ofchoosing senators.

2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall assemble at least once in everyyear, 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 ofeach shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smallernumber may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized tocompel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and undersuch 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 theconcurrence 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 asmay in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays ofthe members of either house on any question shall, at the desireof 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 threedays, nor to any other place than that in which the two housesshall be sitting.

SECTION VI. PRIVILEGES AND DISABILITIES OF MEMBERS.

1ST CLAUSE. The senators and representatives shall receive acompensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, andpaid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in allcases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, beprivileged from arrest during their attendance at the session oftheir respective houses, and in going to and returning from thesame; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall notbe questioned in any other place.

2nd CLAUSE. No senator or representative shall, during the timefor which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office underthe authority of the United States, which shall have been created,or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during suchtime; and no person holding any office under the United Statesshall be a member of either house during his continuance inoffice.

SECTION VII. MODE OF PASSING LAWS

1ST CLAUSE. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in theHouse of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concurwith amendments as on other bills.

2nd CLAUSE. Every bill which shall have passed the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate shall, before it become a law, bepresented to the President of the United States; if he approve heshall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections,to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enterthe objections at large on their journal, and proceed toreconsider it. If after such reconsideration two-thirds of thathouse shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, togetherwith the objections, to the other house, by which it shalllikewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of thathouse, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes ofboth houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names ofthe persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered onthe journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not bereturned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) afterit shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, inlike manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by theiradjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be alaw.

3rd CLAUSE. Every order, resolution, or vote to which theconcurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may benecessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presentedto the President of the United States; and before the same shalltake effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved byhim, shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House ofRepresentatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribedin 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, andexcises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defence andgeneral welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, andexcises 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 amongthe several States, and with the Indian tribes;

4TH CLAUSE. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, anduniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the UnitedStates;

5TH CLAUSE. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and offoreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;

6TH CLAUSE. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting thesecurities 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, bysecuring for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusiveright 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 committedon 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 ofmoney 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 ofthe land and naval forces;

15TH CLAUSE. To provide for calling forth the militia to executethe laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repelinvasions;

16TH CLAUSE. To provide for organising, arming, and discipliningthe militia, and for governing such part of them as may beemployed in the service of the United States, reserving to theStates respectively the appointment of the officers, and theauthority of training the militia according to the disciplineprescribed by Congress;

17TH CLAUSE. To exercise exclusive legislation in all caseswhatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) asmay, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance ofCongress, become the seat of the Government of the United States;and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by theconsent of the legislature of the State in which the same shallbe, 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 properfor carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all otherpowers vested by this Constitution in the government of the UnitedStates, 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 ofthe States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not beprohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eighthundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on suchimportation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

2nd CLAUSE. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall notbe suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion thepublic safety may require it.

3rd CLAUSE. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall bepassed.

4TH CLAUSE. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid,unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbeforedirected to be taken.

5TH CLAUSE. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported fromany State.

6TH CLAUSE. No preference shall be given by any regulation ofcommerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those ofanother; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, beobliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another.

7TH CLAUSE. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but inconsequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statementand account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneyshall be published from time to time.

8TH CLAUSE. No title of nobility shall be granted by the UnitedStates; and no person holding any office of profit or trust underthem shall, without the consent of Congress, accept of anypresent, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, fromany king, prince, or foreign State.

SECTION X. POWERS DENIED TO THE STATES.

1ST CLAUSE. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, orconfederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money;emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin atender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, EX POSTFACTO law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grantany 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 maybe absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and thenet produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State onimports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of theUnited States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revisionand control of the Congress.

3rd CLAUSE. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, layany duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time ofpeace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State orwith 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 ofthe United States of America. He shall hold his office during theterm of four years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosenfor the same term, be elected as follows:

2nd CLAUSE. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as thelegislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to thewhole number of senators and representatives to which the Statemay be entitled in the Congress. But no senator or representative,or person holding an office of trust or profit under the UnitedStates, 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 theelectors, and the day on which they shall give their votes, whichday shall be the same throughout the United States.

5TH CLAUSE. No person, except a natural-born citizen, or a citizenof the United States at the time of the adoption of thisConstitution, shall be eligible to the office of President;neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall nothave attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteenyears 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 powersand duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President; and the Congress may by law provide for the case ofremoval, death, resignation, or inability, both of the Presidentand Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act asPresident, and such officer shall act accordingly, until thedisability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

7TH CLAUSE. The President shall, at stated times, receive for hisservices a compensation, which shall neither be increased nordiminished during the period for which he shall have been elected,and he shall not receive within that period any other emolumentfrom the United States, or any of them.

8TH CLAUSE. Before he enter on the execution of his office, heshall take the following oath or affirmation:—"I do solemnlyswear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office ofPresident of the United States, and will, to the best of myability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of theUnited States."

SECTION II. POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT.

1ST CLAUSE. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the armyand navy of the United States, and of the militia of the severalStates, when called into the actual service of the United States;he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officerin each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating tothe duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power togrant reprieves and pardons for offences against the UnitedStates, except in cases of impeachment.

3rd CLAUSE. He shall have power, by and with the advice andconsent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds ofthe senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by andwith the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint,ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of theSupreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whoseappointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and whichshall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest theappointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, inthe President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads ofdepartments.

3rd CLAUSE. The President shall have power to fill up allvacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, bygranting commissions, which shall expire at the end of their nextsession.

SECTION III. DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT.

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of thestate of the Union, and recommend to their consideration suchmeasures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, onextraordinary occasions convene both houses or either of them, andin case of disagreement between them with respect to the time ofadjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall thinkproper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers;he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shallcommission all the officers of the United States.

SECTION IV. Impeachment of the President.

The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of theUnited States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for,and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes andmisdemeanors.

ARTICLE III. THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

SECTION I. The United States Courts.

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in oneSupreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress mayfrom time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of theSupreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during goodbehavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services acompensation, which shall not be diminished during theircontinuance in office.

SECTION II. Jurisdiction of the United States Courts.

1st Clause. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in lawand equity arising under this Constitution, the laws of the UnitedStates, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under theirauthority, to all cases affecting ambassadors, other publicministers, and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritimejurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall bea party; to controversies between two or more States; between aState and citizens of another State; between citizens of differentStates; between citizens of the same State claiming lands undergrants of different States, and between a State, or the citizensthereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects.

2nd Clause. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other publicministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be aparty, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In allthe other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall haveappellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with suchexceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

3rd Clause. The trial of all crimes, except in cases ofimpeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in theState where the said crimes shall have been committed; but whennot committed within any State, the trial shall be at such placeor places as the Congress may by law have directed.

SECTION III. TREASON.

1ST CLAUSE. Treason against the United States shall consist onlyin levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies,giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted oftreason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overtact, or on confession in open court.

2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall have power to declare thepunishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall workcorruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of theperson attainted.

ARTICLE IV. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

SECTION I. STATE RECORDS.

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the publicacts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. Andthe Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which,such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and theeffect thereof.

SECTION II. PRIVILEGES OF CITIZENS.

1ST CLAUSE. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to allprivileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.

2nd CLAUSE. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, orother crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in anotherState, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the Statefrom which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the Statehaving jurisdiction of the crime.

3rd CLAUSE. No person held to service or labor in one State, underthe laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence ofany law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service orlabor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whomsuch service or labor may be due.

SECTION III. NEW STATES AND TERRITORIES.

1ST CLAUSE. New States may be admitted by the Congress into thisUnion; but no new State shall be formed or erected within thejurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by thejunction of two or more States or parts of States, without theconsent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as ofthe Congress.

2nd CLAUSE. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and makeall needful rules and regulations respecting the territory orother property belonging to the United States; and nothing in thisConstitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims ofthe United States or of any particular State.

SECTION IV. Guarantees to the States.

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union arepublican form of government, and shall protect each of themagainst invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of theexecutive (when the legislature cannot be convened), againstdomestic violence.

ARTICLE V. POWERS OP AMENDMENT.

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem itnecessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, onthe application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the severalStates, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which,in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, aspart of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures ofthree-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification maybe proposed by the Congress: provided that no amendment which maybe made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eightshall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in theninth section of the first article; and that no State, without itsconsent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI. PUBLIC DEBT, SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION, OATH OFOFFICE, RELIGIOUS TEST.

1st Clause. All debts contracted and engagements entered intobefore the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as validagainst the United States under this Constitution, as under theConfederation.

2nd Clause. This Constitution, and the laws of the United Stateswhich 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 everyState shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or lawsof any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

3rd Clause. The senators and representatives before mentioned, andthe members of the several State legislatures, and all executiveand judicial officers, both of the United States and of theseveral States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to supportthis Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required asa qualification to any office or public trust under the UnitedStates.

ARTICLE VII. RATIFICATION OF THE CONSTITUTION.

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall besufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between theStates so ratifying the same.

AMENDMENTS

PROPOSED BY CONGRESS AND RATIFIED BY THE LEGISLATURES OF THESEVERAL STATES, PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE ORIGINALCONSTITUTION.

ARTICLE I. FREEDOM OF RELIGION.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ofreligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridgingthe freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the peoplepeaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for aredress of grievances.

ARTICLE II. RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS.

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a freestate, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not beinfringed.

ARTICLE III. QUARTERING SOLDIERS ON CITIZENS.

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any housewithout the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in amanner 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 uponprobable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularlydescribing the place to be searched, and the persons or things tobe seized.

ARTICLE V. TRIAL FOR CRIME.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwiseinfamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grandjury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or inthe militia, when in actual service in time of war or publicdanger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to betwice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled inany criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprivedof life, liberty, or property without due process of law; norshall private property be taken for public use without justcompensation.

ARTICLE VI. RIGHTS OF ACCUSED PERSONS.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right toa speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State anddistrict wherein the crime shall have been committed, whichdistrict shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to beinformed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to beconfronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsoryprocess for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have theassistance of counsel for his defence.

ARTICLE VII. SUITS AT COMMON LAW.

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shallexceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall bepreserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than according to therules 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 beconstrued 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 Statesrespectively, or to the people.

ARTICLE XI.

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed toextend to any suit, in law or equity, commenced or prosecutedagainst one of the United States by citizens of another State, orby 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 withthemselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted foras President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for asVice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all personsvoted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists theyshall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of thegovernment of the United States, directed to the President of theSenate; the President of the Senate shall, in presence of theSenate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates,and the votes shall then be counted; the person having thegreatest number of votes for President shall be the President, ifsuch number be a majority of the whole number of electorsappointed; and if no person have such majority, then from thepersons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three on thelist of those voted for as President, the House of Representativesshall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But inchoosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, therepresentation from each State having one vote; a quorum for thispurpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds ofthe States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary toa choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose aPresident 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 orother constitutional disability of the President.

2nd CLAUSE. The person having the greatest number of votes asVice-President shall be the Vice-President, if such number be amajority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if noperson have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on thelist the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for thepurpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number ofsenators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary toa choice.

3rd CLAUSE. But no person constitutionally ineligible to theoffice of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President ofthe United States.

ARTICLE XIII.

SECTION I. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as apunishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been dulyconvicted, shall exist within the United States, or any placesubject to their jurisdiction.

SEC. II. Congress shall have power to enforce this article byappropriate legislation.

ARTICLE XIV.

SECTION I. All persons born or naturalized in the United States,and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of theUnited States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shallmake or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges orimmunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any Statedeprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without dueprocess of law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction theequal protection of the laws.

SEC. II. Representatives shall be apportioned among the severalStates according to their respective numbers, counting the wholenumber of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. Butwhen the right to vote at any election for the choice of electorsfor President and Vice-President of the United States,representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officersof a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is deniedto any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-oneyears of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any wayabridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime,the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in theproportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear tothe whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in suchState. SEC. III. No person shall be a senator or representative inCongress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold anyoffice, civil or military, under the United States, or under anyState, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member ofCongress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member ofany State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer ofany State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shallhave engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, orgiven aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, bya 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 ofpensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection orrebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United Statesnor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurredin aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, orany claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all suchdebts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.

SEC. V. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriatelegislation, the provisions of this article.

ARTICLE XV.

SECTION I. The right of citizens of the United States to voteshall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by anyState, on account of race, color, or previous condition ofservitude.

SEC. II. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article byappropriate legislation.

ARTICLE XVI.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,from whatever source derived, without apportionment among theseveral States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

ARTICLE XVII.

SECTION I. The Senate of the United States shall be composed oftwo Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, forsix years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors ineach State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors ofthe most numerous branch of the State Legislatures.

SEC. II. When vacancies happen in the representation of any Statein the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issuewrits of election to fill such vacancies: Provided that theLegislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to maketemporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies byelection as the Legislature may direct.

SEC. III. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affectthe election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes validas part of the Constitution.

ARTICLE XVIII.

SECTION I. After one year from the ratification of this article,the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquorswithin, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereoffrom, the United States and all territory subject to thejurisdiction thereof, for beverage purposes, is hereby prohibited.

SEC. II. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrentpower to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

SEC. III. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall havebeen ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by thelegislatures of the several States, as provided in theConstitution, within seven years from the date of the submissionthereof to the States by the Congress.

ARTICLE XIX.

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States to voteshall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by anystate on account of sex.

SECT. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article byappropriate legislation.

End of Project Gutenberg's Community Civics and Rural Life, by Arthur W. Dunn