The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1905-09-08
WKLcOrE ALLIES.

during the Jennings administration has
attracted the attention and invoked the
aid Of the ladies' Of the city, one Of
whom sends US the following excellent
article on the subject, which we gladly.
reproduce, with thanks to our fair friendF
for her thOughtfulness:
CIVIC RIGHTEOUSNESS.
From the Sunday School Magazinel
The good citizenship of our nation has
been shocked Of late in an extraordinary
degree by the revelations which have
been made of corruption in the manage
ment of municipal and other corporation
affairs. The new word graft" has
come into a sudden and widespread pop
ularity. 1t imports the practice Of Sc
cret taxation, the old-fashioned name
for which would be a conspiracy to steal
an extent wholly undreamed of by the
trusting citizens Of numerous munich
palities and the stockholders of various
corporations. To what extent it really
now obtains in regions where the light
has not yet been turned on is question
which awaits anwer in many quarters.
Just how far the spirit of civic right
eousness will carry the impulse to in
vestigate, it is impossible to tell. An
element of doubt Is brought in by the
exceeding purchasability of many Off
Gals in places Of trust. There is in
nearly every situation a key man, whose
ability TO block investigation and throw
the citizens off guard is we'll nigh Pile
nipotent. When such men fail the pub
lie and go over to the enemy at price,
the situation is indeed a difficult one.
The only good which we can see as
possible outcome of this iniquity is the
arousing Of such widespread and uni
versal suspicion as will lead to a new
system of guards upon all public off
Gals, making it so difficult to practice
official rascalties as to render success
rare. Over against this
stands the fact that in banks, corpora
tions and municipalities, the element
which has made these malfeasances pos
sible and even easy is the trust of men
n each other. The destruction of this
trust is a hateful thought to upright
men. But if it leads to guards which
will remove the hope of success, it will
at least result in a degree of formal
honesty, which will make safer the shek-
els of the taxpayer, even if it does not
make essentially better the official who
wonld like to steal but who cannot.
We leave all such questions of process
TO the politicians, the statesmen and the
business men of the land There is an
other side to the subject, however, in
which we of the Church are directly
and inevitably involved. There are two
functions which the Church has to per-
form, which have in themselves the So
luton of all such problems. One Of these
is the production of honest individuals.
and the other is the right regulation Of
public sentiment. These dishonest off
Gals all come from the homes of the
and they come with moral
readiness for the unholy work which
they do. They then succeed or fail in
as public sentiment against
these iniquities sleeps or is awake and
active. The main thing is, in reality,
the condition Of the home rather than
the attitude of public opinion. If public
opinion be the chief influence, then the
matter becomes largely game, and he
who plays best wins. If it is truly a
matter of conscience and character in
the individual, the process Of corruption
is a really more difficult one. Character
is at last the only hope. The dishonest
man will sooner or later succumb to the
pressure of selfishness. The truly hon
est man will not. This is the difference,
and this difference is, as a rule, meas
dICN ny Vic oIdllldluo lIlIuGnCG OF
the home We have had the privilege
Of looking into some of the methods
used to prevent losses by the dishonesty
Of officials. Some of these schemes an
pear TO be faultless, but there comes a
time in the operation of the best ar
ranged plans when there is but one alb
solute safety, and that is the uncompro-
missing honesty of the individual.
1t is worthy of note that, while the
Church and the home are busy with the
work of establishing the young in the
notion and habit of honesty, the State
is just as busy in running seminaries of
vice for the paltry revenues to be de-
rived from them. Almost everywhere
are to be found slot machines, shooting
galleries, throwing, and various other
devices which appeal to the chance ele-
ment, but under the forms of personal
skill. All this is intended to foster the
spirit, and to cultivate the
habit Of getting something for nothing.
or next to nothing. In addition to this
there is much loOseness in the home
the right of corporations TO
have their interests respected. These
false notes in the home and community
education Of children and youth are re-
sponsible for much Of the disRraceful
outcome in the business and political
world.
The hope Of a general reform lies in
the recognition and right use or the fact
that all thpRa civic md b,,s;nooo -