Evening star., 1926-06-05

their sources Tar Mr. StrohE
hack into history-that of the Greclah
and the Roman civilizations and the
annlication of those early fundamehtai
IDEAS Of citizenship by the Anglo.
saxon race, through hundreds OF
vaars Of stresses and StrainS-before
our forefathers chose the principles
of life, liberty and the pursuit OF
happiness' and established them IN
the Constitution of the United states.
TOO often we think of our citizen
ship as a thing of the present; 100
often we permit our ideals OF cltlzen-
ship to be influenced or changed by
the apparently violent distortions OF
current events; too often we ran 10
recognize the essential simplicity OF
the obligations Of citizenship.
Law Support First Duty.
""The first duty of citizenship is the
honest support of our country's laws
and an unfailing allegiance to those
principles which promote our coun-
try's welfare, but believe it is proper
to say that we must recognize in the
future the obligations of our citizen
ship which will contribute to the
moral and economic stability of
foreign countries from which we have
derived so much of our present state.
1.-The almost universal desire on the
part of all nations for world peace.
founded on sound social and economic
principles, can have no hope of full
tillment unless there shall be a grow
ing sense of an international COM
munity OF interest among the peoples
of the world. If this community OF
interest could be expressed in terms
of a world state, and that state had
no citizenship, it would not be diff
cult to demonstrate it's total inef-
fectiveness. If ever such an organi-
zation Of world affairs comes to exist,
even If it is only on economic
grounds, it will be because the people
of all countries, and especially the
So-called next generation give force
and effect to the idea Of world clti-
Zenship.
And, as I see it, this can be ac-
comp!ished without any depreciation
of the. ideals of citizenship as a ma
tional entity.
Granting, therefore, that this Is
the background Of our conception of
citizenship, what is our responsibility
for citizenship buildings, and, more
particularly, what is the responsible
ity Of the newspaper in citizenship
building?
Process of Citizenship.
Building citizenship is the process
not alone of making good citizens,
but also Of increasing the rights and
privileges of citizenship, Of making
citizenship more valuable to its pos
SCISSORS. Thus it includes the task OF
building good Government. The news
paper that is true to it's trust must
work tirelessly to build citizenship
by both these processes. 1t lives by
service or else it has no right to live
at all. 1t stands at all times as the
champion of order and the upholder
of order and the upholder of law.
LET us stand aside a moment and
look at this great institution-the
American newspaper. Can perma-
nent place be found in its crowded
columns for material, serious-minded
enough, but at the same time attrac.
tive enough to inspire the people or
this Nation to achieve better citizen
ship?
IA newspaper Is an ephemeral
thing. It catches the attention or
intrigueS the interest of its reader,
youthful or otherwise, one day and
plunges into the next almost before
the record Of today is written. 1t has
been said that there is nothing so
old as yesterdays newspaper. A
newspaper must seize upon the many
and complex events of life and make
them real and important in the ed
ucational processes of this age.
.'No one reads all of one issue OF the
newspaper of today. Only few peo-
ple have a definite purpose or pro-
gram in their newspaper reading. II
is important to remember, however,
that of the total newspaper readers OF
the 35 900 900 copies per day printed
in the United States the great major
itv read no other form of literature by
which they receive any contacts with
nurely cultural or educational ma
terial. Is this, then, not the measure
of the responsibility of a newspaper
ior citizenship building?
Activities Varied and Complex.
"To supply the base ball scores, to
catch the amusement interest irs car
toons and comic strips, to engage the
family interest in crossword puzzles
is only part Of the complex activities
of the newspaper necessary part,
but secondary always to larger de-
sign. a. purpose, founded upon the hon.
est and fundamental desire on the part
of the newspaper publishers of the
United States, more than ever before,
to contribute their share in upbuild-
ing citizenship, to arouse interest in
better things and. because it is an es-
sential part of this purpose, to give
true picture, for good or bad, of pub
lie affairs as they are today.
"In a time when profound political
and sociological changes are taking
place whether they involve political
or purely moral issues) It HS generally
conceded that we must look to youth