[1] The houses would be of wood, as local conditions make the expense of brick or cement prohibitive.
BOYS’ “PETITION FOR INDEPENDENCE”
A “Petition for Independence,” signed by representatives of the boys and girls of Ithaca, expresses the principles of the Junior Municipality organized in that city the latter part of June by William R. George, director of the National Association of Junior Republics. The object of the “municipality” is the practical training of younger citizens in their rights and responsibilities by the formation of a government of junior officials who shall act in matters of the public welfare in co-operation with the city officials. Already the mayors of Cortland, N. Y., and Jersey City have asked Mr. George to start like organizations.
“We, the undersigned, being the youth of Ithaca, N. Y., between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, do respectfully call to the attention of our elders that, although not of age, we nevertheless feel we have reached the point where we could and should actively participate in the government of our city.
“We regard as merely a legal fiction the assumption that we are infants in all matters relating to the government of the community.
“We respectfully call attention to the fact that in time of war boys between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one are sent to the front to fight for their country and are frequently as officers placed in positions of peculiar responsibility and danger. Is it not self-evident that if youths can thus honorably acquit themselves in time of war, they could and should assume the less dangerous and onerous responsibilities of peace?
“We find in the annals of history that from time immemorial youths of our age have, when placed in positions of trust, acquitted themselves creditably. Before the age of twenty-one Alexander the Great was not only the ruler of Macedon, but the dominant power in all Greece; Charles James Fox became a member of the British Parliament before he was of age, and the younger Pitt became Prime Minister of Great Britain when he had scarcely passed his majority. In short, there is abundant evidence both in the past and the present that youth can and will rise to responsibility when it is placed upon them.
“Such being the case, we do hereby resolve to accept the suggestion of William R. George, the founder of the Junior Republics, and the invitations of Mayor Reamer and the Common Council and organize ourselves into a Junior Municipality in order that we may at once actively serve our city as junior citizens and thereby prepare ourselves for more efficient citizenship as adults.
“We hereby pledge ourselves to assist in the enforcement of all the laws and ordinances of the city, particularly those directly relating to boys and girls and their interests.
“We further pledge ourselves that when elected to any office in the Junior Municipality we will give our full and faithful co-operation to the adult official holding the corresponding office in the city government and will discharge our duties solely with reference to the welfare of the whole city.”