residing judge.[41] Fair Play men became
justices of fair play in the county courts.

Concerning other county offices, the key position of sheriff was held
continuously from 1779 to 1785 by members of the Fair Play
community.[42] Here again, it appears that the proper administration of
justice could be expected from Fair Play men.

Locally, the rotational system of the Fair Play tribunal and the
frequent changes in the composition of the Committee of Safety give rise
to the conclusion that political democracy, in the sense of active
participation in public office, was truly a characteristic of the Fair
Play territory. Nine different men served on the three-man Committee of
Safety from February of 1776 to February of 1777, three new members
being elected semi-annually. Except for the two or three years following
the Great Runaway, the three members of the Fair Play tribunal were
elected annually.

In conclusion, then, what can be said regarding the leadership of the
Fair Play settlers? Except for the dangers from Indian hostility, which
were compounded by the settlers' limited manpower, the leadership was
more than adequate, one might say eminently successful, in meeting the
needs of the frontier. It enacted law, interpreted it, and saw to it
that the law was carried out on every political level with which the
West Branch pioneers had contact. In short, it gave them a government
of, by, and for themselves. This was _real_ representation by spokesmen
of a small community, very different from _virtual_ representation in a
distant Parliament, from which their independence had now been
declared.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Edwin MacMinn, _On the Frontier with Colonel Antes_ (Camden, N. J.,
1900). This book is a mosaic of primary and secondary sources dealing
with the entire area, rather than a standard biographical treatment of
its particular subject.

[2] Merle Curti, _The Making of an American Community: A Case Study of
Democracy in a Frontier County_ (Stanford, 1959), pp. 417-441. This
entire fifteenth chapter is devoted to both a quantitative and
qualitative analysis of "leadership."

[3] Wealth, i.e., liquid assets, was not necessarily a criterion on this
agrarian frontier, where a man's assets were not easily convertible into
cash. Hence, property was the main economic source of value.

[4] The records of the first State and county officers are found in the
_Pennsylvania Archives_, Second Series, III, 768-772, and Joh