Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1888-01-05
DUTIES or CITIZENS.
why Public OhaigAsssss Should Be Dis
charged Faithfully and Chserfnlly.

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charged Faithfully and Chesrfsiiy.
Periodically the officers Of courts
complain of the disposition Of men Of
business. wealth and standing in tho
community TO shirk jury duty. and Ct
the expedients of evasion and escape
to which some of them rcsor' go'ra
so far even as TO subject themselves 70
tho liability Of being proceeded against
for contempt of court In view Of the
importance Of having only good men
and true" on our grand juries and our
petit juries. and Of the vital issues that
are often involved In their indictments
and vcrdicts. Including property In
terests and the guilt or innocencs Of
persons charged with crimes and mis-
dcmcanors. It 10 remarkable that any
citizen Ct for such honorable duty
should be unwilling to take his turn
when drawn a. juryman.
The efficient administration of jus-
tice depends In great part upon the
character Of our juries and tho courts
should not be embarrassed or sub
jected to needless trouble or delay by
efforts Of good citizens to evade such
service. Tho turn Of each individual
citizen to act as juryman comes only
once in a great while--not more than
once or twice IN lifetime. perhaps
and the term OF service Is generally
so brief that even the busiest OF mon
can afford the time, IL they only
choose to think 30. At all events. in
order to do each his duo share as q
member Of the community toward in
suring and maintaining Justice and
protecting the interests of society.
every good citizen should be willing 10
give q portion Of his time to this
class of public duties occasion ally.
even though it be at some individual
sacrifice. It should be deemed priv
ilege rather than hardship; for II the
good citizens shirk such service tho
probability is that bad citizens will be
found who will be only too eager of
tho opportunity. and we all know what
the consequences would be-conse-
quences that tho better class Of people
are directly interested In preventing.
There is something almost inexpli-
cable in the reluctance with which
some otherwise reasonable men con-
sent to perform public duty. however
brief the time required. They shrink
from jury duty. from political duty. or
from any other duty that calls them
out Of their off ces. stores, factories or
shops for few hours each year or
each decade Of years. rs II they owed
nothing to the community but every
thing to themselves This Is not
good citizenship-it is equal to bad
citizenship. 1t indicates lack Of pa
triotism and of public spiiit It indi-
Gates a degree Of indifference to the
interests of the public and Of society
that is only degree short Of treason.
Every citizen Of a free country that
is ruled by law and In which so much
depends upon the disposition Of citi-
zens to conform to the requirements Of
the law and to cooperate with those
who are intrusted with its administra-
tion. should be prompt to respond
to the call of public duty at all times.
He should be willing to serve as del
egats to a convention. as an officer at
elections. at inquests. on juries. when-
ever called upon to do so. 1t is his
dutv to do it-s duty which. II he re-
(. = perform. and will in all prob
shn. be performed by one who is
Is -. Competent or less faithful That
disposition which causes men to
shrink from and to evade this class
of public duties is not commendable
or creditable. Il Is q sign of weak
ness on the part Of the shirker. and an
element not only Of weakness but of
danger to the community. Each and
all OF us owe something-owe much,
II not every thipg-to the State. to
society, and 10 the maintenance Of
justice and tho common welfare. and
the better element of the population
can not afford to give over the
work .of administering Justice and
carrying out the forms Of
law and government TO the disreputa-
Bile and the untrustworthy. no more
than any Of us who have a proper re-
gard for their individual interests can
afford to transfer our homes or our
private business to other hands. In
brief. every man should bear in mind
that as faithful citizen. he has pub
lie duties and obligations 10 discharge
rs well as his private interests to look
after. and that those public concerns,
being closely related to his private In
terests, can no more be neglected
without serious consequences. sooner
or later. than his private affairs can
be left to take care Of themselves
Chicago Journal