Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1918-04-19
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.
Ing Because 1t Is Not
Fixed by Law.

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 1t the world
must be chaos.
There would be no stable govern
ment In the world were it not for the
loyalty of the people to their gov
ernment. There would be no success
full business enterprise on the face of
the globe were it not for the loyalty
IOf the men and women who are con-
tnected with 1t. No church could ex-
list for month were it not for the
ness of the home would be a myth
were it not for the loyalty Of the
members Of the family group.
The loyalty Of people to its gov.
iernment is based partly upon senti-
ment and partly upon the recognition
of an obligation that a people owes
to its government. A people that has
the benefit of good government owes
duty to that government. Those who
do not recognize this duty and per-
form 1t 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 ac-
cumulate property, must pay taxes on
that property to help maintain the gov
ernment which has protected him or
her. In time of war the government
has the right to call upon It's 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
ligation which that entails, but in the
ordinary affairs of life, loyalty is a
moral rather than q 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 it's money. Likewise the
stability of a government depends
more upon the loyalty Of It's people
than upon the laws which compel them
to fulfill their obligation to the gov
ernment.
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 an obligation to his COM
munity, and the obligation is moral
as well 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 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 way as to
help his community.
Prosperity Worth Protecting.
Anything worth having is worth pro-
tecting, and II the prosperity of
Icommunity Is worth anything to the
Ipeople living in 1t 1t is worth protect
ling. If the chance for man to earn
Ia good living, to live well, to give his
lchildren a good education, Is worth
Ianything, 1t is worth protecting.
There is just one way to protect
the prosperity Of a community, and
that is to keep the community from
Ibeing drained of it's cash-working
Icapital. The only way to do that is
for the people of the community to
keep their money at home. Every
time the citizen of a community sends
money away from home to mail Or
der house instead of spending it in
his home stores he is disloyal to his
community. 1t is disloyalty to the mer-
chants only indirectly. 1t is disloyalty
to the community of which the mer-
chants are only small but a very
aimportant part.
This is the moral obligation that
every citizen owes to his community,
just as the payment of taxes and the
loyal support of his government are
his legal obligations. Disloyalty Of
q large body of the citizens spells dis
aster to any government and dislOy-
atty of any large part of the people
to their community is followed inev-
itably by the downfall of the cOmmu-
nifty. Self-interest, if nothing else,
should convince every citizen Of the
advlsability of fulfilling his moral OBJ
legation to his community.