Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-05-30

vate or home affairs is not enough
Good citizenship demands more. We
can be all this and yet be negatively
worthless to our government.
Still Room for Improvement.
There is no question that when men
are better governed, better regulated.
and their condition improved it has a
corresponding influence upon their
moral character and renders man him
self more just and ! do not believe
any thinking man will question that
humanity was benefited morally, as
well as politically, by the establishment
of our glorious republic but as history
only records one perfect being on
earth there was room for improvement
then and there Is room for improve
ment now, and the question for you
and for me to consider is whether we
will aid in the improvement.
I'VE frequently find men pointing
out evils that exist and severely con-
demning certain men for taking advan-
tage of conditions that prevail and
while I do not believe in defending the
evils, the men, or their methods, 1 can
not help but feel that the Individual
citizen is more to blame, for neglect
ing his individual duty, than is the
man who takes advantage of laws that
would not have been passed had the
individual citizen done his duty.
81 believe that 1t is not only proper
and right. but duty, for one to point
out evils and condemn wrong, and to
stand boldly for what We personally
believe is right, but unthinking men
are occasionally heard cursing the gov
eminent which, in effect Is merely
cursing themselves and the chances
are that this same man frequently
neglects to exercise his right of suf-
frage.
"On a par with this is the political
demagogue who is always seeking to
arouse class prejudice and class hat
red always tries to create the i'm
preston that there are no honest men
in public life but himself and his
friends; who does not hesitate to be-
smirch the character of those who OPP
pose him; who does not care how faith
full and honest an officer may be, or
has been, in the discharge of his du-
| ties: who ignores the record of an Of
ficer who has been tried and not found
wanting, who assumes that everyone
| who aspires to an office, but himself
will violate their oath of office; who
tries to arouse and prejudice one sec
ton against another when their inter
ests are one and the same; who does
not hesitate to misrepresent and fire.
quently lie about men and conditions;
no man, or community, is above his
attacks; our institutions and our fore
fathers do not even escape their at
| tack This type of men Is found in
all political parties, but, my friends,
IF you poison a stream at its source,
will you marvel II down through all
its courses the deadly element is pres
ent?' and hence every honest man and
every good citizen should do his part
toward correcting this evil. Remember,
my friends, that a government, under
any system, is, and will be, no better
than the people make it. A good officer
will be good officer under any sys-
tenn A dishonest or inefficient officer
will be dishonest or inefficient under
any system. 1t is not the system, but
the man. If the officers of the govern
| UleHt-Clty, county, STATE OF Ieueral-
are bad, remember that we selected
them. If they continue bad, remember
that we are to blame. But, fellow
citizens, there Is no question that when
we remain inactive and passive; when
we remain away from the primaries
and polls when bad men are seeking
control We to that extent become trait
ors to our government.
1T is noble to die for country, 1t
is noble TO live for her. To fall short
in either duty is treason to the living
and ingratitude to the dead
To Perpctuate Blessings.
"Since as a stream can rise no
higher than its source, neither can such
a government as ours rise higher than
It's component parts-its citizens
hence II we wish to improve. to extend
and to perpetuate the blessings received
from the hands of the revolutionary
heroes, and from you and your COM
rades gone before, 1t is essential, alb
solutely essential, for us to lend aid
to every movement that will purify
the home maintain the law and in
culcate in the minds OF the young love
of virtue because the continued great
ness of our nation rests in the sound