[23]. Attention should be called to the inducement which in some schools is given to broad civic training by awarding to pupils a rank which is based upon proficiency in all their activities, scholarship, athletics, debating, good influence upon others, qualities of leadership, and so on. Student self-government may also be used in schools to afford training in the fundamentals of good citizenship.
[24]. In doing this they do not take editorials, resolutions, and letters too seriously. Some newspapers merely reflect the opinion of their owners, not public opinion. Societies often adopt resolutions without hearing both sides of the case. Congressmen sometimes receive several hundred letters in a single day, most of them saying exactly the same thing, which means that they have all been inspired from the same quarter.
[25]. The President of the United States is to all intents and purposes chosen directly by the voters although as a matter of form the choice is made indirectly (see pp. 288-290).
[26]. The appointment of officials is sometimes made by legislative bodies, although this plan is not common. In a few states the judges are named by the legislature. In some others the legislature elects the state treasurer, the secretary of state, the comptroller, or the auditor. Where the commission form of city government has been adopted all appointments are made by the commission. The general theory of American government is, however, that the choosing of administrative and judicial officers should not be vested in the hands of a legislative body. It is regarded as undesirable that the body which enacts the laws should have anything directly to do with the selection of those officers who enforce or apply the laws. But this principle ought not to be applied inflexibly; there are good reasons at times for making exceptions to it.
[27]. Washington was not a party man and cared very little about the political views of men whom he appointed to public office. His immediate successors, Adams and Jefferson, did not preserve this strict impartiality; on the other hand, they were disinclined to treat public office as a mere means of rewarding their own supporters. They did not remove office-holders in order to make room for their own political friends.
[28]. The story is often told, and it may well be true, that at a critical time in the war a visitor to the White House remarked to Lincoln that the responsibilities of the great struggle must be a heavy burden upon his shoulders. “No,” replied the President, “it is not the war that is giving me the greatest worry at this moment. It is the problem of filling that postmastership at Little Rapids, Indiana.”
[29]. No method of appointment will secure the best results, however, unless it is accompanied by a fair system of promotions. This has not yet been arranged for on any large scale. Appointments are to a large extent based upon merit, but promotions are still determined, in many cases, by personal or party favoritism. Rarely is there any examination or other test to decide who will be promoted when a vacancy occurs higher up. It is desirable, therefore, that the merit system of appointment should be supplemented by a merit system of promotions. Many capable young men and women will not enter the public service today because there is no certain chance of promotion on the basis of ability and industry. A merit plan of promotion would help to attract better candidates. The public treasury, moreover, ought to provide pensions for those who retire by reason of old age after many years of faithful service. Some large private institutions are now doing this. The nation, state, and city ought to adopt the same practice, not only because it is the humane way of treating aged employees but because it would make the public service more attractive as a career.
[30]. In a sense, however, the terms initiative and referendum are merely new names for very old institutions. The right of petition, which is the foundation of the initiative, has always existed in the United States. The referendum, in other words the submission of questions directly to the people, is as old as the New England town meeting; indeed it goes back to the time of ancient Athens. All early democracy, in fact, was direct democracy; the people decided things without legislatures. But as communities grew in size this system of direct democracy became impractical; hence they resorted to representative government. Now, when representative government fails to satisfy, we go back again in a roundabout way to the old method.
[31]. Only five of these states, however, lie east of the Mississippi River. Why is it that so many of these new movements, political and economic, originate somewhere in the West? Direct legislation, the recall, woman suffrage, popular election of senators, free silver, the single tax, Populism, the Non-partisan League,—the list would be a considerable one if given in full. It is often said that the growth of industrial communities, with large bodies of propertyless workers, tends to promote radicalism; but the West is still predominantly agricultural. What new political or economic movements have had their origin in industrial states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania during the past twenty-five years?
[32]. Here are some of the matters submitted to the voters of a certain Western city at one election: to pension firemen; to grant a street railway franchise; to abolish grade crossings; to exempt certain city officers from being citizens of the United States; to define the powers of the municipal court; to exempt certain officers from the civil service rules; to regulate the sale of bonds; to change the method of passing ordinances; to allow the city to acquire property outside the city limits, etc. Is the average voter likely, or unlikely, to know much about things of this sort?