The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-09-25
w. A. Funk Gives Some Excellent Ad-
vice to the People
What Constitutes an American Citizen
Is Described BY Speaker.
Appeal TO Young Men to Live Lives
of U~prightness.
From Fridays Daily.

terdaY afternoon:
Mr.. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:
When | chose my topic for today, Amer
lean Citizenship, l had in mind more
than the legal requirements and quail
tcatiOns for such citizeship, as prescrib-
ed by the constitution of the United
States and of the state of Minnesota.
The constitution of the United States
provides that "All persons born or nat
uralized in the United States, and sub
ject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citi-
zens of the United States,' The sever
al states have the power to prescribe the
qualifications of legal voters within their
boundaries, not inconsistent with the
Federal constitution. Our own State
Constitution provides that male persons
born in the United States, or who have
become citizens of the United States by
naturalization three months or more be-
fore an election, and who lave resided
in the state six months, and in the vot-
ing precinct thirty days are entitled to
vote. I regret to say that many of our
people, native and foreign born, look
upon these statutory and constitutional
requirements, as containing the meas
ure of qualification for American citi-
zenship. Especially in those states
which require property and educational
qualifications in their legal voters. But
American citizenship, in its better,
broader sense, means Tor should mean)
vastly more than this to you and me,
and to every dweller in this great land
of ours. Citizenship, in this Land of
the Free. and Home of the Brave"
should stand for sterling manhood, yea,
and perfect womanhood. Should stand
for right living and upright dealing with
every creature. The law of the and
can prescribe certain requirements which
we must possess in order to exercise GER
tain privileges. But the law of God,
alone, and its proper observance, can
make a good, acceptable American citi-
zen. The national and state laws can
deal only in generalities. Some states
have tried different methods in order to
raise the standard of their citizenship.
Some have encouraged thrift, and aimed
to enforce their view of justice, by re-
quiring a small property qualification in
order to vote. Others have tried land
are still trying the more commendable
qualification of a certain degree of edu-
cation, on the part of their electors.
But neither of these qualification are
otherwise than hollow mockeries, based
upon the g~rossest injustice and wrong,
when they make any distinctions of race
or color, so long as the fundamental
law of the land recognizes the members
of that race as citizens. But at best
these qualifying laws are but general
in their nature and application, and are
futile and powerless in matters of de-
tail. Under them, the minister, phil
~anthropist and all good men must walk
to the polls shoulder to shoulder with
thieves and thugs. We must look for,
and place our hope in other influences for
the making and moulding of a citizen
ship worthy of the name. The intelli-
gent. conscientious voter and citizen is
made so. not by the law of the land, as
to his qualifications, but by the environ
ment and influences surrounding him,
the proper exercise or neglect of which,
are to make or mar the lives of til
children of men. 1 leave out of this
discussion, the question of heredity, with
a simple acknowledgment of its ire
mendous influence upon our lives. But
it is the environment and the influences
other than heredity, environment and
influences which we can utilize, direct,
change or eliminate, with which we are
1lOSO uol III IN
| shall make on this occasion, L shall try
to avoid all discussion of political prin-
ciples, which separate us into parties or
factions. For it is not my purpose to
aggravate our political differences, polit-
ical partisan though L be. There is a
broad common ground upon which the
members of all worthy parties may
stand. And many principles there be,
:. Iz-1I LolI -, on,map And
it is my desire to discuss the principles,
conditions, methods or theories which
will, irrespective of party, make us more
patriotic citizens, and better men.
If I may be %pardoned for my pre-
sumption, 1 hal mention some of the
qualifications and characteristics (which
should be possessed by the true Ameri-
can citizen, and when | say citizen" L
mean to include males and females, as
far as my remarks are applicable to both
sexes. | am not quite satisfied with
that qualifying word male" as used
in our laws, in relation to the franchise.
[ am one of those who believe a woman
is as good as a man, as long as she
behaves herself. l also believe women
as intelligent as most men.
First of all, the American citizen
should be patriotic. Aside from the fer
vid love of country, which all OF us
should cherish in our hearts, no man
has a right to claim the protection OF
our country, and enjoy the blessings
which she guarantees him, without being
willing to obey her laws and defend the
honor of her flag. The protection of a
country is no light thing to her citizens.
When Paul, one of the leaders of the
hated sect of Christians, stood In Old
Jerusalem. bound with thongs, before the
executors of his cruel sentence, he eX-
claims: rs it lawful to scourge a
Roman?n-and the thongs of the deadly
scourge dropped lisp and harmless before
him. When he told them he was born
over wonder in Tarsus, a free Roman
citizen, they asked no certificate OF. his
birth. The magic name OF Rome, ana
Rome's we'll known protection OF her
citizens. were safeguards to him, and
the imperial court of Rome, with a
mighty Caesar as Judge, was the only
tribunal high enough to pronounce sent
ence upon him. So may the name, the
power. the majesty of our country be,
in the protection of the humblest of her
citizens. And such, indeed, is our coun-
try today. Daniel Webster, in one of
his finest bursts of eloquence, in his
great speech in reply to Hayne, said of
his native state: Il shall enter on no
encomium upon Massachussets-she
needs none. There she is-behold her and
Judge for yourselves. There is her hist