Studies in Civics. J. T. McCleary
of Contents
GOVERNMENT: WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT IS.
At the very beginning of our study, two questions naturally present themselves: First. What is government? Second. Why do we have such a thing?
These questions are much easier to ask than to answer. The wisest men of the ages have pondered upon them, and their answers have varied widely. Yet we need not despair. Even boys and girls can work out moderately good answers, if they will approach the questions seriously and with a determination to get as near the root of the matter as possible.
Beginning without attempting an exact definition of government, because we all have a notion of what it is, we notice that only certain animals are government-forming. Among these may be mentioned the ant, the bee, and man. The fox, the bear, and the lion represent the other class. If we should make two lists, including in one all the animals of the first class and in the other all those of the second class, we should make this discovery, that government-forming animals are those which by nature live together in companies, while the other class as a rule live apart. The generalization reached is, that only gregarious animals form governments. We would discover upon further investigation that the greater the interdependence of the individuals, the more complex the government.
Confining our attention now to man, whose government is the most complex, we may put our generalization into this form: Man establishes government because by nature he is a social being. This may be taken as the fundamental reason. Let us now proceed to trace the relation between cause and effect.
In order that people may go from place to place to meet others for pleasure or business, roads are needed. Some of these roads may cross streams too deep for fording, so bridges must be provided. These things are for the good of all; they are public needs, and should be provided by the public. But "what is every body's business is nobody's business." It follows that the public must appoint certain persons to look after such things. By the act of appointing these persons, society becomes to that extent organized. We see, then, that society organizes in order to provide certain public improvements, to carry on certain public works.
For his own preservation, man is endowed with another quality, namely, selfishness. Sometimes this is so strong in a person as to cause him to disregard the rights of others. By experience man has learned that every person is interested in seeing that conflicting claims are settled on a better basis than that of the relative strength of the contestants. In other words, all are interested in the prevalence of peace and the rightful settlement of disputes. That this work may surely be done, it is obvious that society must appoint certain persons to attend to it; that is, society organizes to establish justice.
Communities take their character from that of the individuals composing them, therefore communities are selfish. A third reason appears, then, for the organization of society, namely, the common defense.
But this organization of society is the very thing that we call government. We may, therefore, answer the two questions proposed at the beginning in this way:
Government is the organization of society to carry on public works, to establish justice, and to provide for the common defense.
The term government is also applied to the body of persons into whose hands is committed the management of public affairs.
To show that government is a necessity to man, let us imagine a company of several hundred men, women, and children, who have left their former home on account of the tyranny of the government. So harshly have they been treated, that they have ascribed all their misery to the thing called government, and they resolve that they will have none in their new home. They discover an island in the ocean, which seems never to have been occupied, and which appears "a goodly land." Here they resolve to settle.
They help each other in building the houses; each takes from the forest the wood that he needs for fuel; they graze the cattle in a common meadow; they till a common field and all share in the harvest. For a time all goes well. But mutterings begin to be heard. It is found that some are unwilling to do their share of the work. It becomes manifest to the thoughtful that community of property must be given up and private ownership be introduced, or else that the common work must be regulated. In the latter case, government is established by the very act of regulation; they are establishing justice. If they resolve to adopt private ownership, industry will diversify, they will begin to spread out over the island, and public improvements will be needed, such as those specified above. The conflict of interests will soon necessitate tribunals for the settlement of disputes. And thus government would, in either case, inevitably be established. A visit from savages inhabiting another island would show the utility of the organization for common defense.
Thus government seems a necessary consequence of man's nature.
In this country we have the general government and state governments, the latter acting chiefly through local organizations. For obvious reasons, the common defense is vested in the general government. For reasons that will appear, most of the work of public improvement and establishing justice is entrusted to the state and local governments.
These we shall now proceed to study, beginning at home.
QUERIES.—Would government be necessary if man were morally perfect? Why is this organization of society called government?
PART I.
GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE STATE.
CHAPTER I.
THE TOWN: WHY AND HOW ORGANIZED; OFFICERS; TOWN BUSINESS.
Necessity.—Now instead of a company going to an island to found new homes, let us think of immigrants to a new part of a state.
Like the people on the island, they will need roads, bridges, and schools; and they will desire to preserve the local peace. Hence they, too, will need to organize as a political body.
Size.—Since these people are going to meet at stated periods to agree upon the amounts to be put into public improvements and to select officers to carry out their wishes, the territory covered by the organization should not be very large. It should be of such a size that every one entitled to do so can reach the place of meeting, take part in the work thereof, and return home the same day, even if he has no team.
Basis.—Will anything be found already done to facilitate matters? Yes. Those parts of the state open to settlement will be found surveyed into portions six miles square. These squares are called in the survey "townships," plainly indicating that they were meant by the general government to be convenient bases for the organization of "towns." And they have been so accepted.
Draw a township. Subdivide it into sections and number them in accordance with the U.S. survey. Subdivide a section into forties, and describe each forty. Why do we have such divisions of a township? Locate your father's farm. What is the difference between a township and a town? [Footnote: In some states the terms "congressional township" and "civil township" are used.]
Corporate Powers.—A town is in some respects like an individual. It can sue and be sued. It can borrow money. It can buy or rent property needed for public purposes. And it can sell property for which it has no further use. Because a town can do these things as an individual can it is called a corporation, and such powers are called corporate powers.
When we say that "the town" can do these things, we mean of course that the people of the town as a political body can do them, through the proper officers.
Officers Needed.—The town needs one or more persons to act for it in its corporate