642 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



quoting a portion of the oatli which young men took in Athens, when 

 they arrived at man's est ate "I will do battle,"' they swore "for 

 our own altars and our homes, whether aided or unaided. 1 will 

 leave our country not less, but greater than she is intrusted to me. 

 1 will reverently obey the citizens, who shall act as judges. I will 

 obey the laws which have been ordained, and which in time to come 

 shall be ordained, h\ the national will." This is the spirit which 

 pervaded civic life 2,000 years ago, and in such a spirit is found the 

 true meaning of citizenship. 



Aristotle defined a citizen as one who participates in the legisla- 

 tive and judicial authority of the state; but he left the people in 

 utter darkness as to what was meant by a state. This is, in a strict 

 sense, not only indefinite, but untrue. It was during the time of 

 the Roman Republic that citizenship belonged only to those who 

 were inhabitants of a city and the citizen of one town were not 

 citizens of another town in the same county. These narrow political 

 and social sympathies of the ancients, prevented them from ever 

 uniting to form a single nation; thus the city was regarded as a 

 distinct self-governing state. A state may be regarded at the pres- 

 ent time, as the whole body of people united under one government, 

 whether they participate in the government or not. The city has, 

 to some extent, lost its supremacy, and now is regarded as part of 

 the state. Hence what could be said of a state in the time of Aris- 

 totle, could not be said of a state now. 



The true foundation of government is found in the fact, that every 

 person has natural rights, which every other person is bound to 

 respect. As civilization advances these rights become more nu.u r- 

 ous. It is not until a nation becomes highly enough civilized to 

 recognize these rights, that it institutes a government to protect 

 them. The number of rights of any people will be in proportion to 

 their wills, desires and ideas. We can, therefore, attribute our 

 higher and more 'complex forms of government to the advance 

 in civilization. 



It then becomes self-evident that citizenship will mean most 

 under the highest form of government, a right which is the most 

 important possession an individual can have. For the protection 

 of these rights, men have sacrificed their lives, pleasures, homes 

 and stained many a battlefield with their blood. In such actions is 

 found the true spirit of the citizen and on such actions depend the 

 strength of government. True it is, that American citizenship 

 means more to us, than any other citizenship; not only because it 

 lives and flourishes beneath the freest and best institutions of the 

 world, but because it has the perpetuity aid success of these insti- 

 tutions absolutely in its own keeping and control. 



In order that the duty and responsibility we owe to our govern- 

 ment, may be fully appreciated and faithfully discharged, it is 

 vitally necessary for us to be convinced, that we cannot delegate to 

 others the work required of us. Each individual must, with his 

 own hands, do his share. In this way was our government formed; 

 and in this way only, can it be kept in proper condition for the 

 'habitation of free Americans. It, therefore, follows that no one 

 can lay claim, in a proper sense, to true American citizenship, who 

 does not interest himself in matters pertaining to our own govern 

 ment, who does not inform himself as to its designs and purposes, 



