A VISION OF AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 259 



I come in?" As our society to-day is larger and more com- 

 plex, our fall— if fall there be — must be greater and with 

 more destruction than even that of the older society. The 

 heir to a dukedom had before him in those days "noblesse 

 oblige," and he was bound to live up to the traditions of his 

 order — he was like a general in command of his army; he 

 might be superior in rank, but he must endure the same 

 hardships and live the same life as his soldiers did. To-day 

 the heir to a railroad, or a steel trust, may live in New York, 

 London or Paris, whilst his operatives may live almost in 

 hell, for aught that he may personally care. 



It is just here that the duties of Catholics and of such in- 

 stitutions as the Knights of Columbus have the widest field for 

 their exercise. If the state is to be carried along on the high 

 plane of justice, it can only be by high moral aim and per- 

 sonal endeavor. Our Faith will supply the moral aim and 

 we can make the personal endeavor too. Every once in a 

 while we show what we can do in one way by the election 

 returns in particular localities. 



But we must needs go further; Catholics, now that they 

 have obtained perhaps a little more than an amiable recog- 

 nition, must not confine themselves merely to endeavors within 

 the platforms of political parties. That would be indeed keep- 

 ing our "light under a bushel." We have among us men of 

 almost every form of activity, but familiarly a Catholic is 

 heard of most frequently as a religionist and a voter. The 

 popular idea — a portion of the old prejudice that has not yet 

 been put away with the lumber in the attic — is that citizenship 

 among Catholics has not risen higher than mere going to 

 church and going to the polls. May we never forget these 

 two essentials ; they are the leaven which leaveneth the whole 

 lump. But there are other walks of citizenship in which we 

 can take large part also. The mere alignment of political 

 parties or the procurement of prominent office is not the 

 whole of the duties of citizenship. We must enter into the 

 greater civic life around us, until in every phase of it we 

 have as many representatives as our Catholic population bears 

 to the general population of the state. No civic endeavor 

 should be set on foot without its proportion of Catholics. 



There is work enough for all of us; the formation of a 

 healthy public opinion demands our best energies. There are 



