The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-11-24
4 SUNDAY REFLECTION.

Our esteemed contemporary, the Ports
mouth Star, reproduces an article from
The Times on the duties OF citizenship.
Our remarks were based upon a sermon
recently preached by distinguished
New York clergyman, in which he said,
IF we go to perdition, either as a com
,nunity or as a nation, it will be because
YOU and and others like US are too line
or too lazy or too self-seeking to care to
make the protest and do the work and lie
the men and women who will prevent at :
Our comment was that many men are
q, busy with their own affairs that they
do not trouble themselves much about
government, ara we said that such men
were not good citizens, however good
they might be in other respects. The
Star adds the following:
Sermon and commentary present the
plain, 4nadultrrated truth. which. when re-
duced to its last analysis gives US this pain
fui fact, TO wit: the worst citizen is me
careless. indifferent, non-voting good citi-
zen To him can be traced all nisSoVern-
ment-national, State and municipal lie
is responsible for the rise and development
OF the American .boss- He IS respon-
sible for all bad laws and the Ineffective
ness of good laws.
AS the Times points out, the average
so-caIIed good citizen, though he negiects
TO take part in the nomination of men for
public position, and though he refuses to
leave his business long enough to exercise
one of the highest privileges known 10
civilized ,nan-to vote, yet he is the tlrst
to protest, in words. against bad govern
rnent His citizenship begins and ends IN
impotent growing.
Contrast the citizenship of the good
citizen with that of the ward boss and
the ward heeler. The latter are on hand
bright and early whenever and wherever
men are gathered together for political
purposes. They speak out in the meet
ings, They work, and work hard TO car
~ their ends, nine times out OF ten WIZ
brilliant success. On electior-daN they
are present at the polls. They make any
personal sacrifice in order to fuiili ms
duty They have their reward Their man
gets in. The good citizen does none of
these things He stays at home, depend
ing upon miraculous power to do for him
and what he represents, what he is too
lazy or too cowardly to do for himself
The so-cailed good citizens. in every COM
munity. are in the majority 1hey can
hay, things done or left undone, gust as
they elect If they deliberately refuse TO
demands of them deep silence in the face
of inefIiciency or rascality in public Of
flee.
This is no new doctrine, It is as old
as the republic. It is as old as the time
hnnored saying that "etrnal vigilance is
the price of liberty 1--WE have had a
great deal to say on this subject, because
it is, in our opinion. one of the most i'm
portant questions now before the AIneri-
caa people We are such a busy people
that we do not give the time that we
should give to public matters. Every
now and then the voters of Richmond be-
come alarmed at the way the public af-
fairs are being conducted. and then they
arouse themselves and organize a good
government league and go in for general
reform When they arouse themselves
they accomplish their purpose for The
time being, but after having won the Wig
tory they seem to think that further ef-
fort is useless. and so they turn away
from public matters and devote them
selves to their private pursuits and leave
the government to take care of itself.
But the government will not take care
ofsitself It belongs to the people. and
if the people do not take care of it, the
professional politicians will. Eternal
vigilance is the price of liberty as truly
SO to-day as ever.