Show OBLIGA I 1 ut U AMERICANS BY atad uto of Is sure hur cure cine vm for national ills says sah soldier points wity to austing Yu stIng if f grutt graft itoh as and letl BY LEMUEL DOLLES BOLLES editors note lemuel bolles national adjutant of tile the american legion talks like 1110 it a soldier fights straight from ho he shoulder the following should give food for sober re to all american citizens who desire to see our nation purged of all that la Is evil lit in its civic and political life lie ile handles the gravo grave questions that face our nation without gloves and draws conclusions as sharp and distinct as is possible tor for any man mail re gard lefas less of his opportunities or abilities it if america the united states ev or goes crumbling away to political and eco economic ruin tho the fault will lie not from froin the without but the citizens within not guilty of crime commission but guilty of as grave a fault om mission of the very duty that gave them choln their freedom if all tile blood and tears all the groat great efort effort and unselfish love and devotion that has gone tuto into tho the erection ot of tile the united suites la is to he be wasted the fault will lie at tho the door of you and your neighbor and history in ili the centuries to come will point a pitiless finger at you and ana yours and declare that the greatest advance in human government the world ever aver know knew was lost because you and yours tailed failed to do your duty a simple easy duty that should bo be a joy and a matter mattea of untold pridy pride america today stands in the path of a destructive force not a whirlwind to tear and tend lend but it a blow creeping ci coping insidious force that attacks tile the very heart of your country drains the strength and power and hopes unit and dreams ot of their being an aal I 1 will never pause lu ili its ts blight uni you and yours have been aroused today in ili the tha united states where popular government has reached its highest development a large portion of OUT our have abandoned the effort to any of their political rights so in itic measure tile the need exists for bringing homo home to every individual his own tor for self assertion lit in political life in war the qualified man who falls to tako take arm aims in defence of his fits country becomes abhorrent lit in the eyes of ills his decent fellows the obligation to tako take arms at such auch a time Is no greater than the obligation of peace in fit the ufa lite of any good citizen it if the necessity arises lie ho renders readers this service in tile tho discharge of hla his civic duties ditties but this is not true of all every country has fias its bergdoll and every ago age its sl ackers they occupy an ail unenviable place ili u public opinion their child ren will live five to blush at mention of their names but with the political sl slack ackels eia many ol of thorn them are respected citizens we find them in ili every community the business man mail who Is too busy to register the working man mail who will not taro tako from hla his task to cast ills his ballot tile who thinks that a dumana place Is in homo the society woman who cannot be mothered pothered po Wt hered tile the average of tom dick and harry who dont oke enough litterest interest in tho the of their coni imn iti aties to limp Into nned of tile tho ano and place macci of tho elections all of these constitute an ail alarming proportion ot of our adult citizenry wiio lave a to eA exorcise a blikre in ili the ili direction or of out our political destinies but do not ihmie Is not an III in fix american Ameil can life today which cannot bo be cured and cured promptly if each cacti voter voler will lit in foria 01 in himself as to issues with the means illeana at hla his immediate diato disposal buie Is not it a weakness in out our social tuio which cannot ile bo bolstered it ir individually and conscientiously wo we try to discharge tile tho obliga obligations tiong and exercise th privileges granted gi anted us lis by ane constitution of our united states political bosses machine rulo rule and gratt graft aio aie impossible in ili that ty ly tho the citizens aio aie awake to gieir tit litie 6 where they up to tuo tile obligation resting upon tho the individual ili every com uleie is ia taut anut element always tit iii t tiiu luino but bound to getner ill iby Y thriving upon cur ur or public officials unit special I 1 tile very existence of which iti in at a monaco to democratic in tile the lowest liatses ur of lucity aut ity is a criminal over ever crotie ned to spring at wa initial UL oi duce decent iii lucity a to ianuzi sibun euw tile me lodilla ul of nut wd veil organized governments govern menta aro are licit to curb cheso eio eie stinia iney illey have haft but bui little chupo of u bag uy oy an all open beeach of tile the drion to cover and cowed to a or of tho the inore more ob vidus lorms of 0 law and order older they to bung bring about weir ends by muio lauio devious boates lOil tes these hardy haidy sana are present in force at tho the pulls they are never too busy to cast their ballots they are nover never too busy to lavish and effort for or tile tiit candidate who will best servo serve melr needs they are aie clamorously in ill line daou tile the rewards aio being its dis ci lutted unfair attucks attacks mado tile tho responsibility of tile the individual does doea not however cease with tile alio tasting of his ballot nor dues doos it begin thero there it begins first in ili development of a proper attitude toward our public und and toward our dutille representatives office holders in ili tile the united states have borne such attack and misrepresentation and have become tit th of cucil sucil destructive that it Is almost impossibly impossible to gut get th right kind of af men luell to list hat for office or to accept public appointment political calliP campaigns algas though forced foicey to in ili lecont years are aio yet too coo frequently perfervid competition lit in personal A man 0 of lueada offering himself tor for public office must lust oe 00 unhesitant to withstand to havo ills rno ives to nave tile tho most tit in ouidio tt etalia of his personal and private lite stripped and distorted to tile ot of that breed ol of politician to whom nothing is iii clean its AS individuals wo we can force whole 1 su wu in ili Amo rican lit to 0 by flatly to ass ivus anu A alti political following in ill willell such buch debased tactics are countenanced 1 llen the successful candidate has attained public office officio lie he then ceases to lo 10 in ill the minds of many of us ua an ail honorable patriotic citizen years of honest life among us are aio discounted unit and wo we begin to look upon him too otte often with suspicion whatever lie he dous appears tinged with improper Impi oper 0 consideration dono not wholly tor lor tile tho public good and despite all tile tho ruall man in public lite today alio dues docs not spend each waking haur buur in ili sincere sincero and endeavor to lo serve ills hla city his state and his country is tho the exception to the rule tile tho greater of mistakes made by nion men in ill public offices are error errora of heart and nd not of head how flow many public servants having tile tho iest 1 bet that was in them to the attlee which they held have hern ean returned to their neighbors broken in health sick nt at heart r stood aller honesty smirched smirch ed left to finish ther their barren days daya reflecting on oil tho the acrid ingratitude of tile tho public staled liy by officials individually wo we can call correct condi condition by standing steadfastly by tho the officials wo we have elected to public I 1 office doubtless wo we elected them be causo cause wo we lial ha I 1 faith in their judgment wo selected them from among their fellows because of their fitness for tho the task and because of 0 their particular qualities as aa american wo cannot expect a human being to bo be right all of the time wo we can call expect him to bo be humanly honest and sincere antl and humanly fallible america is secure against assaults from without it that majestic wre ture which has been roared reared by lint dint of so BO much buffering and sacrifice ever crumbles it will be but tile result of tile the carel les le s indifference of the in divid ual american into choso whoso keeping has como come this greatest erea glea iest test of all re 10 |