Morality and Efficiency 61 



Finally, there is one other matter which the man 

 who tries to wake his fellows to higher political 

 action would do well to ponder. It is a good thing 

 to appeal to citizens to work for good government 

 because it will better their estate materially, but 

 it is a far better thing to appeal to them to work 

 for good government because it is right in itself 

 to do so. Doubtless, if we can have clean honest 

 politics, we shall be better off in material matters. 

 A thoroughly pure, upright, and capable adminis- 

 tration of the affairs of New York City results in 

 a very appreciable increase of comfort to each citi- 

 zen. We should have better systems of transporta- 

 tion; we should have cleaner streets, better sewers, 

 and the like. But it is sometimes "difficult to show 

 the individual citizen that he will be individually 

 better off in his business and in his home affairs 

 for taking part in politics. I do not think it is 

 always worth while to show that this will always 

 be the case. The citizen should be appealed to 

 primarily on the ground that it is his plain duty, 

 if he wishes to deserve the name of freeman, to 

 do his full share in the hard and difficult work of 

 self-government. He must do his share unless he 

 is willing to prove himself unfit for free institu- 

 tions, fit only to live under a government where 

 he will be plundered and bullied because he de- 

 serves to be plundered and bullied on account of 

 his selfish timidity and short-sightedness. A clean 

 and decent government is sure in the end to benefit 

 our citizens in the material circumstances of their 



