Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1914-09-11
THE CITIZENS DUTY

Political corruption assumes many forms.
Graft in various guises. the misuse of power
for personal and private ends, legislative
bargains and loe-rolline in the interest of
bills for local purposes at the expense Of
the general welfare. the inattention of Off
Gals to their duties or their inefficiency in
the discharge of them. and the constant
efforts of certain classes of politicians to
befoe and distort important issues, are all
manifestations of corruption Of which we
complain every day and which we bemoan
throughout our lives. With respect to them
we are constantly demanding reforms and
as constantly passing laws. with no appre-
cable improvement Of conditions and no
easement of our anxiety for the welfare Of
the State
These visible signs of disease in the body
polite are not. however. the only maladies
which affect the political and moral health
Of the people of a nation. More insidiOus
and fatal are those shortcomings of the
whole body Of the people, which afford
the opportunities for the misbehavior above
referred to. A century and a half ago
Montesquieu pointed out that, in a repub
lican or democratic form of government,
indifference on the part of the people is
the worst form Of corruption. Reflection
will convince us that Montesquieu was
right, and that Jeifersons Eternal vigil
lance is the price Of liberty" is but para
phrase of the French publicists dictum.
In democratic republic such as ours
abundant evidence has been furnished in
the century and third of its existence,
that much Of the discomfort and discord
which have appeared from time to time
could have been avoided if public interest
had been sufficiently arouseA n a Vance
Of aa election, mtla fhau alter Y and
found expression in iatei6sen, decision az
the polls rather thaa Ia helpless criticism
Of conditions which the votes 81 stay-at.
home citizens might hase ayerted
We condenin the activity and the ques-
ti1nehle practices Of the politician whose
interest is based upon the chance Of victory
AMI the spoils that viii be gathered from
f. but is his motive less high than that of
o. citizen VINO stays away from the polls
because he may lose temporary profit il
he takes the time to vote2 Each is in
fluenced by sordid hope Of gain, and the
one Injuries the State and his neighbors as
completely by his failure to do his duty
as the other does by his pernicious activity
But the blame lies heavier upon the man
guilty Of the neglect. He knows that the
other is not actuated by a sense of obliga-
ton to the public veal and that the con-
sequences Of his triumph will be costly and
humiliating. yet he permits him to triumph
without making the protest which genuine
patriotism prompts and the plainest duty
demands. He knows, also. that his example
would have good effect upon those around
him, and the forces necessary to combat
evilmen and evil tendencies can be aroused
and organized in no other manner than by
the appeal which good example always
makes to manly public sentiment
All of this is very trite and in one form
or another has been repeated thousand
times from the days of Aristotle to our own.
Still 1t bears repeating. for each generation
must learn the alphabet of public duty.
And it is especially appropriate to empha-
size the lesson now, because new regis
tration of the voters of the State is bringing
this matter of the public duty of the citizen
home to each one Of us in a very real way
Ii is like call for enlistment for the de-
Tense of the republic. and none should
shirk the duty to enlist or desert the firinl
lines on the day of election.