Under this constitutional guaranty the people have the right to assemble peaceably at any time or place, to talk over their troubles, and to draw up a petition to the government seeking relief from unjust burdens. Where they assemble peaceably there is no officer of the government and no court that can interfere with them; and when they petition the government they cannot be reprimanded or punished in any way. Of course under our representative government where the people themselves select those who make the laws, the necessity for assembling and drawing up petitions is not so great. Yet in Congress and in the legislatures of the various States nearly every day petitions come in from some body of people urging the adoption of a certain law or objecting to a certain proposed law. If you were in Congress or in the legislature you would probably see some member arise and say, “Mr. Speaker, I present the petition of the people of my district objecting to the passage of Bill No. 781, which I desire to have made part of the record”, and the Speaker, who is the presiding officer, would respond in substance, “the request of the gentleman will be granted and the petition will be made part of the record”.

What I desire especially to impress upon you this morning is the value of this right and the failure of our people to take advantage of the privilege granted. This being a government by the people and the laws being made by their agents, these agents of the people, members of Congress and of the State legislatures, cannot carry out the will of the people unless they know what the people want. Ask your father when you go home whether or not he has ever written to the member of Congress from this district telling him about some law he would like to have passed or about some proposed law he would like to see defeated. The truth is that [pg 081] there are large numbers of people in this city who do not even know the name of their congressman, or representative in the legislature of the State. They do not pay any attention to such things, yet when the legislature or Congress passes a law they are always ready to criticise and condemn, despite the fact that before it was passed they did not take interest enough to give an expression of their views to those who were trying to follow the wishes of the people. From time to time the people should assemble in every community to talk over government matters, their matters, the things that come most close to them in life. You will find men and women meeting every month in their lodges and clubs, discussing all sorts of things, music, art, and literature, but we find hardly any organized meetings for the discussion of the big things in life, our liberties, our rights, and our duties as citizens of this free republic. I hope to see the time when there will be community centers and regular assemblies, not for amusement but for serious discussion, serious thought, and earnest coöperation in the affairs of the city, State, and Nation. There is so much complaint in these days that it would be of great value at these assemblies to allow every person who has a grievance against the government or any branch of the government to present it for discussion. The rights and duties of each individual in government are of importance to every other person, and there should be frankness, honesty, and earnestness in every discussion of grievance and remedies, so that public sentiment may be developed. Government in a democracy is government by the sentiment of the people; and the sentiment of the people can only be created and manifested by talking over the things in which all people are interested—the problems of life, liberty, and happiness.

ELEMENTARY QUESTIONS

1. Which colonists came to America to avoid religious persecution?

2. Why do people fight and die for their religious beliefs?

3. In what ways were people persecuted for their religious beliefs?

4. Where was the first statute granting absolute freedom of worship passed?

5. Why is it a good thing to have freedom of speech?

6. Name some famous Americans who have been outspoken in saying what they thought.

7. Can you publish in the paper a statement that Mr. X is a burglar? If so, can you be punished if your statement is not true? If so, how can you have freedom of speech?