The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
TRUE CITIZENSHIP.

In his speech at DeS MONIES, Iowa, last
Friday night, Mr.. Bryan uttered great
truth when he said, "Grave are the re-
sponsibilities of citizenship" but he failed
to say that it is not all of citizenship to
enjoy personal liberty and the protection
of property and reputation. True citizen
ship stands for a government that is an
extension of the conditions of an ideal
family life, with the right of every men,
Der thereof to participate in all accruing
good, and with each one feeling it to be
incumbent upon him to resist the ap-
proach OF whatever IS calculated to give
one member advantages at the expense of
the community.
Citizenship in this country means that
the citizen is the sovereign and not those
who are chosen from time to time to ad-
minister the public affairs of the people as
whole. Citizenship also imposes the duty
upon the citizen to join with the other
citizens and choose and commission GER
tain ones from among their number to
make laws and otherwise supervise and
direct the operation of government
which stands for them collectively and
which protects them individually. Glass
legislation deprives the citizen of his SOW
ereignty and personal liberty IN proper
ton as ne is made to sustain a class with
out himself receiving benefit therefrom
But Mr.. Bryan has very different
standard by which to fix the duty of citi-
zenship. Assuming that he sincerely and
truly believes that his economic theories
are based upon the highest and soundest
principles of government it does not neces-
sarily follow that in practical application
they would benefit the people in any ave-
nue. of their social or business life. On
the contrary, it is a fact that is substan-
tiated by the experience of civilization
that Mr.. Bryan's theories of government
in application would encourage spirit of
sectionalism which would culminate in
the esta blishment of favored and unfa-
vored classes and the deprivation OF the
unfavored of the strength of their own
citizenship.
Mr.. Bryan's test of true citizenship
would be unhesiIating willingness on the
part of the citizen, no matter in what part
of the couHtry he might be, to exercise his
sovereignty in advancing the best inter-
ests of the interior States by unlimited ex-
penditure of the general public's money,
to the end that the States of the interior
might become the seat of the Nation s
wealth and political power. In that Mr..
Bryan does not differ materially from the
meaning of citizenship as taught by Cal
houn, Davis and Breckinridge, only that
he would locate his empire in the valley
of the Mississippi River, which river he
would transform into perfect water high
way at the expense of the whole country.
| Next to building up the Mississippi Val
ley by taxing the whole country, to help
on in the work of confirming the doctrine
of sectionalism, Mr.. Bryan believes the
| test of true citizenship to be the entire
| willingness of the sovereign to aid owners
of silver mines to oblige tie Government
to double the price of their product by
making about 80 cents worth of it the
standard dollar of the country without
guarding the interests OF the people at
any point. Mr.. Bryan believes acqui-
escence in a scheme to make few mine
owners rich at the expense of the 20, 900, :
600 people in this country is evidence of
| true citizenship. Silver monometallism
is what silver owners want. and to
do as they want is good citizenship, ac-
cording to Mr.. Bryan. The responsible
ties of citizenship are very great, as Mr..
Bryan says, and because citizens know
their responsibilities to be great they will
not lend the rights and power of their
sovereignty to Mr.. Bryan to establish an
oligarchy in the interior or in any other
sections, or to build up plutocracy OF
mine-owners.