The sun., 1901-03-18
CITIZENSHIP VERSUS OUT

Citizenship in this country is product
of law-of law establishing and project
ing individual and community rights. 1t
follows that good citizenship is obedience
to the law. An evident fact of the law
is that community rights are hrst-the
great or general community first, ana
the smaller or subordinate ccmnunites
in the order of their legal sequence Inc
State is product of the law. Its well
being and perpetuity, dependent upon
the law, it is obligatory that the people
the administrative and legislative forces
of the State-obey perfectly the law OF
which the State is a product. Otherwise
the State. as contemplated by the law, IS
DESTROYED. So with citizenship, failure,
To obey the law, of which citizenship is.
product, destroys that citizenship
DESTROYS the quality Of it as contemplated
by the law. No amount OF sentiment
about it, and no amount of devotion 10
purposes invol, ing violation of the law
iustifes that violation, or makes the
violator of the law a good citizen. IN
establishing citizenship and making
States, there is an assumption OF fuhul-
mental principles which must he OBJ
served, and of which the law is the eX
pression. as citizenship for the individual
and Statehood for aggregations of III
diyiduals is the product. The Dasi'
principle Of citizenship is equality befor
the law; and of Statehood the basic prln
ciple is that the majority opinion, ascer
tained by provided methods, is the law
The citizenship that presumes to Great
an inequality Of citizenship in its ow
behalf, is not good citizenship. Th
citizenship that denies the authority OF
majority opinion, ascertained and d'
clared according to law, is not good cit
doing these things in the rules of goo
citizenship. At the recent election,
which was involved the election of tw
United States Senators, the majorit
of the States citizens voted the Repul
lican ticket. That was a decision tn;
the two Senators, the election of who
was necessary to preserve the State
status as a State, should be Republica
The majority of the State Legislatu
elected by the Republican majority we
Union Republicans, and to that majorit
under the law, written and unwritte
was delegated the right, the privile
and the duty of naming the candidat
for United States Senators. The, den
a denial Of the principle of mai,li
rule, upon which the government
founded and violation of the law pl
viding for the perpetuity Of Americ
governmental institutions. There
nothing in the principle or practice
government based upon the consent
the governed, nothing in the law govel
ing the practice of governmental
cisions, executive, judicial or legisati
that demands, or in legal sense, perm
the surrender of the majority to I
minority. The minority right is alwa
subordinate to the right Of the majori
Whenever it transcends that limit
encroaches upon the general right, V
lates the statutes, and ignores the pr
ciple of the law-becomes outlaw
That is the position the boilers assun
in the legislative Senatorial conte
They put themselves beyond any pos
bic concession which law or equity wo
justify. The good citizenship dema
for the election of two Republic
United States Senators was dema
for obedience to the law, and was
for Il concession to outlawry.