men who are
leaders. But be sure to make one condition to your fealty--require
them to be honest.

"I have no time for politics," said a business man; "it takes all my
time and strength to attend to my business."

That means that he has no time for free institutions. It means that
this "blood-bought privilege" which we call "the priceless American
ballot" is not worth as much to him as the turning of a dollar, or
even as the loss of a single moment's personal comfort.

"Come down to the club to-night; we are going to talk over the coming
campaign," said one man to another in an American city of moderate
size and ideal conditions.

"Excuse me," was the answer; "we have a theater party on hand
to-night."

Yes; but while the elegant gentleman of society enjoys the witty
conversation of charming women, and while the business man is
attending to his personal affairs and nothing else, the other fellows
are determining nominations, and under the direction of able and
creative political captains shaping the policies of parties, and in
the end the fate of the Nation.

Of course that is all right if that is your conception of American
citizenship. But if this is going to be "a government of the people
and by the people," _you_, as one of the people, have got to take part
in it. That means you have got to take part in it _all the time_.

Occasional spasms of violent civic virtue amount to little in their
permanent results. They only scare bad men for a day or two. Their
very ardor soon burns them out. The citizen has got to do more than
that--he has got to take an every-day-and-every-week interest in our
civic life. If he does not, our brave and beautiful experiment in
self-government will surely fail and we shall be ruled not even by a
trained and skilful tyrant, but by a series of coarse and corrupt
oligarchies.

In ancient Israel a certain proportion of the year's produce was given
to the Temple. In like manner, if popular government means anything to
you, you have got to give up a certain portion of your time and money
to _being a part_ of this popular government.

Just this is the most important matter in our whole National life.
Recently there died the greatest master of practical politics America
has produced. Firmly he had kept his steel hand upon his state for
thirty years. A dozen times were mighty efforts made to break his
over-lordship. Each time his resourcefulness, audacity, and genius
confounded his en