Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-10-15
THE DUTY OF
GOOD CITIZENSHIP
Thouehtfu1 Though Pessimistic Address by ExPres-
ident Grover Cleveland Delivered at Chicago
Last Night.

|of our success. Unsharing content
ment is enjoined upon the masses of
our people; and they are invited in
the bare subsistence of their scanty
homes, to rejoice in their country's
prosperity. This is too unsubstantial
an enjoyment of dement's to satisfy
those who have been taught American
equality; and thus has arisen, by a
perfectly natural process, dissatis-
fled insistence upon better distribu-
tlon of the results of our vaunted pros
perity, We now see it's worst mani
festations in the apparently incorrig-
ible dislocatlon of the proper relations
between labor and capital. This, of it.
self, is sufficiently distressing; but
thoughtful men are not without dread
of sadder developments yet to come.
There has also grown up among our
people a disregard for the restraints
of law, and disposition to evade its
limitations-while querulous structures
concerning the action of our courts
tend to undermine popular faith in the
source of Justice; and last. but by no
means least, complaints of imaginary
or exaggerated shortcomings in our
financial policies, furnish an excuse
for the fiippant exploitation OF all
sorts of monetary nostrums.
If good men are to interfere to
make political action what it should
be, they must not suppose they will
come upon an open field unoccupied
by an opposing force. On the ground
they have neglected they will find a
host o fthose who engage in politics
Tor personal ends and selfish purposes
and this ground cannot be taken with
out hand to hand conflict. The at
tack must be made under the banner
of disinterested good citizenship, by
soldiers drilled in lessons of patriot
ism. They must be enlisted for life
and constantly on duty.
l am by no means unmindful of the
extent to which the American people
are in certain sense, governed by
parties; and am quite willing to con-
fess a strong party allegiance. l
speak tonight of something broader
and loftier than party-of a higher
law under whose; sanction all parties
should exist and by whose DEGREES all
parties should be judged. | would
have the mass of our voters so con-
stantly impressed by this law, and so
insistent upon it's observance, as to
force upon the managers of party or
ganizations the necessity and expe-
diency of it's recognition. Within the
limits of this law of patriotic Ameri-
can good citizenship there. is abund-
ant, room for intelligent party activity,
but this activity must be clean and un-
rupted-sincere in it's intentions,
frank in the declaration of it's pur-
poses and honest in the affairs of the
people.
1t is as clear as MONDAY that, If the
patriotism of our people is to be ag-
gressively vigorous, and equal to our
national preservation, and If politics is
to subserye a high purpose instead OF
degenerating to the level of cunning
! game, our good men in every walk OF
life must arouse themselves to con-
sciOusness that the safety and best in
terests OF their country involve every
other interest; and that by service in
the field of good citizenship they not
only do patriotic duty, but in a direct
way save for themselves the share OF
benefits due them from our free insti.
| tutions.