The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-05-12
AsTORIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY.
PATRIOTISM AND GOOD CITIZENSHIP.

PATRIOTISM AND GOOD CITIZENSHIP.
Love of history tends to elevate citizenship The
man with an accute interest in the achievements Of
his country, the student of history and admirer of
great historical accomplishments, is never found in
Jail He is successful commercially, as rule; con.
sderate and essentially good citizen. Historical
pride, which is bound to follow historical research
makes good citizens.
In the far east two nations-the one old and well
established the other new to civilization-are at
war. The new nation is forcing back the old, de-
stroying her battleships and defeating her land
forces Our dispatches convey the surprising nfor-
nation that an army of 10000 men is now retreat
ing in order that it may be reinforced before it
makes a stand against the Japanese.
Long before Japan emerged from the period of
adolescence Russia was world power. Hers was a
mighty army, well trained well commanded and
superby equipped with the implements of war The
military policy of the nation has necessitated the
highest efficiency in her army yet today we find the
Russians retreating before an inferior nation Of me
in almost every respect-fnd them beaten at every
turn on land and on sea.
There is reason for this unusual condition of af.
fairs, and reflection win bring home to Americans
with striking force the cause of the disaster which
has all along attended the Russian arms. Briefly
the Russians do not know what they are fighting fol
except in vague way. On the other hand, the
japanese, sentmentay inclined and deeply studious
Of their country's history know exactly for what
they are striving, and count the cost with CORE
spending accuracy The Jap is a historian. He
knows of the progress of his country for ages past
He is proud of it and, therefore, will go to the
most extreme ends to advance its interests. When,
recently, Russian torpedo boats attacked japanese
vessels sent to block Port Arthur harbor the Rus
SLAMS, gaining !. he upper hand, called upon the
Japanese to surrender. With absolutely no hope of
result the doughty fellows declined, and with i'm
punty we're sent to the bottom by the Russians. The
incident may be cited in subsantation Of the state
ment that the japanese fanatics but it furnishes
better proof that the japanese are intensely loyal to
their beloved country; that each of them commend
ably aspires to become a history maker.
We never hear of an attempt to assassinate the
mikado His subjects love him with all the devotion
possible To the contrary the life Of the car is
constantly endangered He is hated, not because of
any personal villany but rather because Of the att
tude of the government towards its people. The
Russian citizen does not understand the policies of
his government because he is not historian there
FORE he is not real patriot In America we never
hear Of an attempt upon the life Of the president by
an American (the assassination of Lincoln being a
circumstance growing out of a four years civil
war; We criticise the presdent's policies, but there
is hardly an American citizen who would not gladly
give up his life to protect that Of the president who
is the highest representative Of the union. We may
not admire the personality of our president but we
always rever him as our official executive Political
IT, we love him, because we are historians, largely
for the reason that the stirring events in our national
life occurred only little more than a century ago.
We should all devote more time to history and his
torical associations We should surround ourselves
with those chips from our national block Of progress
that tend constantly to remind us Of the duty owe
our country We should gather our old relics, such
as the McTavish monument, and acquaint ourselves
thoroughly with the significance Of the momentos.
The deeper our historical research, the higher our
standard of citizenship, and necessarily the better
and more pure our lives.
A
WORSE THAN USELESS