The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1918-05-18
Every Citizen Owes Moral and
Legal Obligation to His
Government.
SAME IN COMMUNITY LIFE
People Have Duty to Their Home
Town Which Is No Less Bind.
inq Because II Is Not
Fixed by Law.

'"SS ~ .~
(cooyri-ht, 1917. Western Newspaper Union.
Loyalty is the foundation upon
which the whole structure of civiliza-
ton rests. Loyalty to ones country.
loyalty to ones state. loyalty to ones
city, loyalty to ones business asso-
ciates, loyalty to ones friends! 10y
atty is essential to the ordinary prog
ress of the world. Without it the world
must be chaos.
There would be no stable govern
ment In the world were 1t not for the
loyalty of the people to their gov
eminent. There would be no success
full business enterprise on the face Of
the globe were it not for the loyalty
of the men and women who are con-
nected with it. No church could ex-
list for a month we're it not for the
loyalty of it's members. The sacred
ness of the home would be a myth
were it not for the loyalty of the
members of the family group.
The loyalty of a people to its gov
eminent is based partly upon senti-
ment and partly upon the recognition
Of an obligation that a people owes
to it's government. A people that has
the benefit of good government owes a
duty to that government. Those who
do not recognize this duty and per-
form it voluntarily are compelled by
law to do so. The man or woman who
is protected by the government in the
pursuit of life and happiness, must con-
tribute in money and service toward
the support Of the government. The
man or woman who, under the prOtec-
ton of his government which pre-
serves law and order, is able to &C.
cumulate property, must pay taxes on
that property to help maintain the gov
eminent which has protected him or
her. In time of war the government
has the right to call upon its citizens
to take up arms in its defense.
Loyalty Moral Obligation.
In governmental affairs these things
are regulated by law. and the man
who receives the benefit Of orderly
government Is required to fulfill the OBJ
legation which that entails, but In the
ordinary affairs of life, loyalty is a
moral rather than legal obligation.
There are laws which prevent man
from stealing from his employer or
his business associates, but there is
no law that requires him to be loyal
to them. The success Of a business.
institution, however. depends more
upon the loyalty Of it's employees than
upon the laws which prevent them
from stealing its money. Likewise the
stability of a government depends
more. upon the loyalty of its people
than upon the laws which compel them
to fulfill their obligation to the gov
eminent.
It is equally true that the prosperity
and growth Of every individual COM
munity is dependent upon the loyalty
Of the people who live in it Every
citizen owes ar obligation to his COM
munity, and the obligation is a moral
as we'll as legal one. The good citi-
zen pays his taxes cheerfully and
willingly. He serves upon the juries
which administer the laws Of the COM
munity. He fulfills every legal obli-
cation that is imposed upon him by
his government, but there is a moral
obligation which is of still greater I'M
portance to the community. This
moral obligation consists In doing
everything that is in his power to
promote the prosperity and happiness
Of his community. The man who is
enabled to make his living in any COM
munity is under a moral obligation to
spend his money in such a way as to
help his community.
Prosperity Worth Protecting.
Anything worth having is worth pro-
tecting, and if the prosperity Of
is worth anything to the
people living In it it is worth protect
ing. If the chance for a man to earn
a good living, to live well, to give his
children good education, is worth
anything, it is worth protecting.
There is just one way to protect
he prosperity of a community, and
hat y 10 keep the community from
being drained Of Its eash-wofsius
capital. The only way to do that Is
~ the people of the community to
Keep their money At home. Every
inc the citizen Of community seads
money away from home to a man or
Ter house instead of spending it in
lis home stores he is disloyal to his
community. It is disloyalty to the mer-