The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-04-29
MAKES P[EI For
EFFICIENT Men

heroism Of the sacrificed ambition
the heroism which for the sake Of
others welfare takes up and bears tho
burden that no ono else will lift! Who
will NIL me breach?
MY friends, the future Of this city.
in a moral and religious sense de-
ponds to very large extent on the
sind Of administration you give IT,
You cannot separate moral and re-
ligious from civic problems. II you
would keep Richmond moral you
must keep her government pure.
PatriO&ism First Duty.
THE first duty Of u Christian citi-
zen is patriotism. He must love his
city. He must be proud Of Its his
tory, its achievements, its progress.
He must be an optimist, believing that
sts future Is bright with the promise
OF greater things to be. The ''knockcr"
or chronic kicker" has no place in
the Christian scheme OF things. On
the other hand. true patriotism does
not signify indiscriminate praise. The
true patriot Is not blind to the faults
of his city any more than the father
is blind to the faults OF his children.
The spirit of Christian citizenship In
not that OF the Fourth Of July orator
ALI pyrotechnics and superlatives. It
holds itself free to criticize, and at
tack wrong and injustice whenever
found. 1t keeps its eyes open to the
faults and failures Of the society with
which 1t Identifies itself, and refuses
to cry. Peace, Peace" when there Ia
no peace.
In the second place the Christian
must take an intelligent interest In
the social and moral governmental
conditions OF his city. He should know
mis- city from the inside. He should
know where it stands in the matter
Of birth and death rates. He should
know Its general health conditions and
what Is being done TO remedy them.
He should keep himself informed to
some extent at least on such matters
Of the housing Of tho poor in longest
ed areas: the administration Of the
city charities; the ratio Of crime to
population; the enforcement OF Law
by tho parties responsible therefor.
Especially keep in touch with the
legislative and administrative ma
ehinery Of his city 80 that he may de-
tect any attempt on the part OF de-
signing politicians to advance them
selves to the detriment of the public
interest He should read the reports
OF Council meetings and know how his
alderman and councilman vote on
all important public issues.
Must Get Busy.
Nor is it merely enough that we
should know these things. we must
get busy about them. We must exer-
else as religious duty the right Of
suffrage. We must attend primary
elections as religiously--AndI use the
word with Its weight in it--as we at
tend prayer meeting. and cast our
t,,f1x
Bibles. ! cannot upderstand the
makeup of the nan--and there are
hundreds such--who never casts a
Nallot ard vet thinks ne has the right
to complain OF conditions when they
don't suit him; whereas, the truth IL
that he has no more right to complain
than the farmer has the right to COM
nlain OF healthy crop of weeds whe
he neglects to cultivate his land.
Granted that politics are corrupt
what makes them SO? Just your
apathy, your indifference, my non-vot-
ing friend; for 1t Is a notorious fact
| that there are enough good citizens In
Richmond to have exactly the kind
of government they want. II they will
only give to civic affairs half OF the
time. thought and energy that the pro-
fessional politicians give to them.
Should Enforce Law.
"Once more. the Christian mun
| stand for everything that tends to
raise the moral tone Of the COM
munity In which he lives, and must
set his face as a flint aGslnst every
thing that tends to low.r Is standards.
| Here we touch the all important ques-
| ton Of the enforcement OF law. 1t In
| quite true. Of course. that We cannot
make people good by legal enactment
| but 1t Is equally true that we cannot
keep neople good without 1t. Hence
| the Christian citizen must see to II
| that the executive and police arms Of
the government do not. by shielding
wrongdoers, cast contempt upon the
| law, and that temptations In the way
I of the young--such ~ the law-break-
! ing saloon. the gambling house. the
| house Of Ill fame-are. II not eradf-
. Gated, at least. reduced to a minimum
| by the rigid enforcement Of the laws
on the statute book"