Mor^ity and Efficiency 57 



times, indeed, this may be his highest duty; but or- 

 dinarily this is not the case. As a general rule a 

 man ought to work and vote for something which 

 there is at least a fair chance of putting into effect. 



Yet another thing to be remembered by the man 

 who wishes to make his influence felt for good in 

 our politics is that he must act purely as an Ameri- 

 can. If he is not deeply imbued with the American 

 spirit he can not succeed. Any organization which 

 tries to work along the line of -caste or creed, which 

 fails to treat all American citizens on their merits 

 as men, will fail, and will deserve to fail. Where 

 our political life is healthy, there is and can be no 

 room for any movement organized to help or to 

 antagonize men because they do or do not profess 

 a certain religion, or because they were or were not 

 born here or abroad. We have a right to ask that 

 those with whom we associate, and those for whom 

 we vote, shall be themselves good Americans in 

 heart and spirit, unhampered by adherence to for- 

 eign ideals, and acting without regard to the national 

 and religious prejudices of European countries; but 

 if they really are good Americans in spirit and 

 thought and purpose, that is all that we have any 

 right to consider in regard to them. In the same way 

 there must be no discrimination for or against any 

 man because of his social standing. On the one side, 

 there is nothing to be made out of a political or- 

 ganization which draws an exclusive social line, and 

 on the other it must be remembered that it is just as 

 un-American to vote against a man because he is 



