| Show A real patriot abstract of an address delivered sunday evening february at elko elka hall by superintendent howard V alston mr chairman and fellow citizens the subject of my talk this evening the good citizen A real P patriot is fa a subject as old as history myriads of speakers and writers have contributed to this chome theme no sentiments ments I 1 have road read seem to me to be continued 0 on n page page seven the good citizen iii A real patriot patrio t continued tram fram page one quite so fitting as words of 0 sam walter foss there are hermit souls that live withdrawn in the place of their self content there are souls like stars that dwell apart in a tellow less firmament there are pioneer souls that blaze their paths where highways never van but let me live by bir the the side of 0 the road and be a friend to man let me live in a house by the slits ot of the road where the race ot of man go by the ine men who wb are good the men who are bad A As good and as bad as I 1 I 1 would not lot sit in the scorners ners seat or hurl the cynics ban I rel iet et me live in my house housa by the side of the road and be a a friend to man I 1 see from my house by the side of the road by the side ot of the highway ot life the mien inen who press with the ardor ot of hope the men who are taint faint with the strife but I 1 turn not away from their smiles or their tears both parts ot of an infinite plan let me tive live in my house by the side ot of the road and be a a friend to man I 1 know there are brook gladdened meadows ahead and mountains of 0 wearisome height that the road passes on through the long afternoon atter noon and stretches away to the night but still I 1 rejoice when the traveler rejoice and weep with the strangers that moan nor live in my house by the side of the road like a man who dwells alone lot me live in a house by the side ot of the road its ils here the race ot of men go by they are good they are bad they are weak they are strong wise foolish so am I 1 then why should I 1 sit in the scorners ners seat or hurl the cynics ban let mo me live in a house by the side ot of the road and aad be a friend to man too often I 1 tear fear we are prone to think ot of a patriot as some wonder being we presume that he must be an horatius at the bridge a paul revere on a midnight ride a lawyer delivering a fourth of july oration prior to the evening or perhaps just the plain sap who yearns to die tor for a cause rather than to live and scrap for it the savior said it is not tie he who cries lord lord that will antei the kingdom ot of heaven but he who boeth the alil ot of my rather father lets be clear on that verb boeth it if we have a platform upon which to stand tonight it la Is upon this very platform ot of do our common sense conception of 0 the tha true patriot la is the plain everyday citizen who does something tor for himself his family his neighbors and the community at large now without making the problem appear too big or too tar far away let us ps here and now adalize our own daily conduct and see it we cannot all be plain good citizens and hence patriots in the sense of 0 this evenings theme FIRST each one ot of us can be honest each one con can dare to tell the truth no matter whom it hurts each one can assume in general that his neighbor is honest true we shall be mistaken occasionally but sn in the great mass ot of assumptions we shall be right dinst instance ance the case ot of high school hoys boys SECONDLY each one of us c can an be virtuous each man who is a man who really desires to he be a good citizen can respect the chastity ot of women lie ile can resolve to treat the other in mans ans sister with the same that he demands tor for his own sister I 1 THIRDLY rHinD LY each one ot of us can be industrious idleness loafing Is the i devils it la is a crime that belongs in tile the same category with selfishness and ignorance the great mass of everyday workers both men and women boys and girls are the i busy machine the dinner pat pau the sturdy table are expressions of patriotism tar far surpassing any beating ot of drums waving of 0 flags or singing ot of hall columbia AGAIN each one ot of us can be obedient each one can respect the rights ot of others and the ordinances ot of this community he can know that he is not a law unto himself for example the boy who wishes to play on the basketball bask etaU team must first submit to e standards ile he must learn to get along with his fellow players ile he must learn the me meaning aning ot of teamwork f fairplay a I 1 relay an and d sportsmanship sport manship he must learn to subordinate his own personal wishes and adea to the welfare ot of the team as interpreted by the coach and when in the game when acting on his own initiative he must play according to previously prescribed rules interpreted not by himself but by an partial impartial referee LASTLY each one ot of us can be tolerant each one can cultivate a love tor for confidence in his fellows we have said that a good citizen will be a good neighbor ile he will live in peace with his neighbor and bo be willing always to adjust any misunderstanding on a 50 50 basist basis ile he will be on hand to help privately in time ot of need our oily community Is filled with people who conform to this requirement for example last christmas christinas time one ot of our fraternal organizations without ostentation made happy every needy family in the city you good people have cared for or the sick comforted the poor and made good neighborliness a feature of your dally daily lives the good citizen will be a participant in the affairs of his community true his first duty Is to himself and to his family he must care tor for his hia own business and become self supporting self respecting unit ofa 0 1 the group but he must comore do more ha must help to improve the environment in a 0 small way he must be his brothers keeper and by this I 1 do not mean that he must be a nosy meddler neither do I 1 mean that his community interest should take the form of a mere gift to a worthy cause much the same as lie he might throw a bone to a dog the gift without the giver Is bare it he would indeed bo be a true patriot he must give some of his time some of himself to his hia community specifically what are some of 0 the ways in which the good citizen may participate in the affairs af of his community well he be may vote on election day lie he may do jury service it if c called upon he may have active membership in fraternal civic and religious organizations note that his membership should d be active rather than passive mere payment of dues or sending in the monthly offering ott ering does not constitute participation mr or mrs citizen must be present in person and make some personal contribution in order to quality qualify under this head again he be may interest himself in problems of the public safety in ed e d uca tion in boy scout work in the water supply in short he may interest himself in any one or all of the public activities that make tor for delicious refreshments foll followed awed by the welfare and advancement of hl hi community now do I 1 mean that each one of us shall do all the detail work for or which we elect our public servants not at all what I 1 do want to get across Is that our interest in their work shall be both Intelli intelligent geni and helpful lets take a concrete example most of us feel that we should have a more adequate water supply securing which we wa shall have more adequate nde guate fire protection all sorts of wild solutions are offered most of us indulge in idle faultfinding fault finding without with our public officials we presume that some how they should discover an immediate magical solution to the problem but what are you and the rest ot of us doing to intelligently help in the situation 9 knocking gets us nowhere cons constructive tr octive boasting may help move us toward our goal fortunately some of our good citizens eizens have discarded their hammers hammerst taken up the banner of patriotism la in this connection and are giving to our mayor and city council some genuinely constructive help to this enterprise we all can lend at least 0 our ur moral support by a pat on the back we can encourage these good citizens to continue their efforts how else may our patriot participate well there is little need of continuing the I 1 list each one present might evolve his own civic pro I 1 blem I 1 think thinh of two projects that i have recently been advocated by our citizens and taxpayers it is our duty individually and collectively I 1 to investigate the facts and then to decide the worthiness or unworthiness ot of these projects I 1 am think ing of the moments relative to play I 1 j grounds tor for your children and a new building tor for your high school 1 another proposition our prospective I 1 patriot should be a respecter ot of law and a lover of 0 order you and I 1 can first obey the law ourselves and then see to it teat others do likewise can we not assist the marshal tu punish lawbreakers breakers in our comman ity rather than adver adversely criticize him tor for doing his sworn duty cn can 71 we not as parents see that our c children are oft off the streets street s at night when the curfew rings rather than pass the buck to the police in short can we not by word woi d and act assist the officers in their commendable efforts forts to make of our community a wholesome place in which to conduct our business and rear our children i I 1 submit mr chairman that the man or the woman who learns the meaning of local pat patriotism patriots m through the actual living of a clean honorable industrious life giving of himself as well as of his substance ance to the betterment of his community ammu Y will in a most vital sense know the meaning of nt notional ional patriotism lie will understand the great message of the declaration ofin of independence lie he will know why there should be equality of opportunity for ill all men courageous himself he will appreciate the courage and self belt flee fice ot of the signers of that immortal document ile he will be a lover and a defender of the constitution he will obey and revere it because he has schooled himself in obedience and reverence ile he will know that respect tor for constituted authority is the paramount duty of every good citizen ot of every true patriot ile he will know that his rights as a citizen involve duties ot of his government he will champion camplon the square deal support integrity in public ottice office crush disloyalty 1 I W cism ku kit klux or any organized movement to undermine the dignity ot of the constitution lie cewill will read into the character ot of washington a deeper meaning ile he will know as did light horse harry lee that this man was first in war first in peace and first in the continued on dage cage seven A real patriot continued from rage page six hearts of 0 his countrymen second to none in the enduring scenes ot of private life pious just dignified and commanding his example was waa everlasting our good citizen will know knew lincoln not as a name merely but as the great savior of 0 the nand the emancipator 0 of the blach man in this homely man ot of sorrows he will see that type of 0 patriot who will it if I 1 necessary sacrifice tris his life to perpetuate american ideals ile he will hold communion with another great spirit ot of modern america this great spirit not only honored the sacred heritage of 0 freedom made possible by washington and perpetual by lincoln but dared to assert in prophetic terms that it if is the right ot of humanity throughout the world to enjoy the blessings ot of his heritage while addressing tae assembled congress ot of the united states april 2 1277 1877 this man woodrow ow wilson used the following language we are accepting the german challenge ot of hostile purpose because we know that in such a government following such methods we can never have a friend and in the presence of its organized power always lying in wait to accomplish we know not ent what purpose there can be ilo no assured security tor for the democratic governments of the world we are now about to accept gage of 0 battle with this natural toe foe to liberty and shall it if necessary spend the whole force of the nation to check and nullity nullify its pretensions and its power we are glad now that we see the tha facts with no veil of false pretense about them to fight thus lor for the ultimate peace of 0 the world and tor for the liberation of its peoples the german people included tor for the rights of nations great and small and the privilege of men everywhere to choose their way of alfo and ot obeal once ence the world must be made sate safe tor for democracy its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of 0 political liberty we have no selfish ends to serve we desire no conquest no dominion we seek no indemnities for ourselves no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall treely freely make we are but one ot of the champion ot of the rights of mankind we abali be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom ol of nations can make them 0 our ar good citizen will know the mis mission ton ot of the american doughboy he will see gee to it that those who sleep beneath the poppies in flanders fields shall not have died in vain his I 1 will lie be two of the ten thousand hands that will hold high the doughboys dough boys torch ot of freedom 1 aye mr chairman this good citizen this good neighbor this everyday man who does well his lob job and supports his community will be ba that real patriot who loves his home his fireside his god ile he will be that sort ot of true american who can subscribe to his creed to serve my country day by day I 1 at any humble post I 1 may to lionor honor and an d respect I 1 her ler flag ito to live the traits of which I 1 brag to ito be american in deed As ag well as in my printed creed to stand tor for truth and honest toll to till my little patch of soil to kel p in mind tile the debt I 1 owe to o them who died that I 1 might know my 0 country prosperous and free and passed this heritage to me I 1 must always in troubles hour de be guided by the men in power I 1 r for or cod and country I 1 must live my best lor for god and country give no act 0 of mine that men may scan 1 must shame the name american to do my best and play my part american in mind and heart I 1 to berve the flag and bravely f stand to guard the glory ol of my land to be american in deed god grant me strength to keep this creed |
