How we are governed in Virginia

Preface

In the preparation of this brief text to meet the needs of pupils in the schools of Virginia at the sixth or seventh year of their work, the author has been inspired by a twofold purpose.

In the first place he has long held the opinion that the elementary teaching of so-called "civil government" will always be a bugbear and a failure unless its chief purpose is to relate the child in an intimate and personal way to the activities of government. To the average pupil of less than high school age the* powers and the functions of the state auditor or the organization of, and proceedure in, the civil courts of the state are very dry subjects indeed, and very naturally so. But if he lives in a city, he probably takes a lively interest in the fire department, in the police, in the many things the city undertakes to do for the health of the community — things, such as a sewerage system, which he knows about but has perhaps never thought to ascribe to the government. Or if he lives in the country, he is doubtless vitally interested in what his county is doing to improve roads or to consolidate schools. It has been the conscious purpose of the author in the first half of this book to make the child see the government as a real, active thing about him, a thing of which he is a part.

It is only after the pupil's interest has been thoroughly aroused to note the many operations of the government that the effort is made in the latter half of the book to show him how the government is supported, organized and operated. This is done in as simple language as possible.

4 PREFACE

Here, too, the child mind has been kept constantly in view, and emphasis has been laid upon the actual operation of the machinery of government rather than upon elaborate details of its organization.

To each chapter are appended questions to be used for discussion in class. For the most part they aim to localize the text, to draw the pupil's attention to conditions in his own community and their bearing on what he has been reading, to create a spirit of inquiry and investigation.

This setting up of a definite relation between the child's life within the school and the political activities of community life about him is in harmony with the fundamental principles of modern educational aims. School life must more and more reflect and embody community life. And the author believes that this is especially true in the teaching of government, if w T e are to instill any .principles of good citizenship into the minds and hearts of that vast majority of our children who leave school before reaching the high school age.

The author desires to express a grateful sense of obligation to Doctor J. A. C. Chandler, Editor of the Virginia Journal of Education, and to Mr. Lee Bidgood, Professor of History and Government in the Virginia Female Normal School, both of whom have read the entire proofs and have made many helpful suggestions ; and especially to Miss Edith A. Winship, of Boston, for invaluable editorial assistance. Howard Lee McBain.

The George Washington University, Washington, D. C.

Foreword To The Teacher

In presenting a civil government text drawn along such wholly new lines, the author feels that a word of suggestion to the teacher may not be inappropriate. Teachers will probably agree that the subject is inherently difficult to teach in the grammar grades. But a subject is not usually difficult to teach if the pupil is interested. The arousing in the pupil's mind of a spirit of interested inquiry in the affairs of government is of far greater value to him than the knowledge of many unimportant details of governmental organization. Formal question-and-answer recitations should, therefore, be used sparingly. Informal and spontaneous discussions of the text and of the questions appended will prove far more successful in the class-room. It is of transcending importance, however, that the teacher first of all be thoroughly familiar with the spirit, the purpose, and scope of the w r ork.

It may be impossible in some cases to answer the localized questions suggested, but a question which cannot be answered, or which can be answered only partially is not necessarily without value. It may create both interest and investigation. The teacher should encourage the pupils to study the questions and to gather all possible information in regard to them from their parents and others in the community who would be likely to know. The real essence our teaching should be the creation of this interested attitude of mind toward things political.

The author has not felt that it was either necessary or desirable to append to this work the text of the Virginia

6 FOREWORD TO THE TEACHER

Constitution. Our State Constitution has become so detailed and complicated and has grown to such enormous length that for the purposes of an immature pupil it is of small value. For personal reference it would perhaps be well for the teacher to have a desk copy of the Constitution, which can be secured from the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth at Richmond.

H. L. McB.

Contents

CHAPTER PACE

I. What we mean by Life in a Community . . 9 II. What the Government does to protect our

Life and Health 19

Chapter I What We Mean By Life In A Community

1. What a community is. Most of you have doubtless read the fascinating story of Robinson Crusoe. You remember how, after being shipwrecked, he was thrown upon a deserted island, and there lived for a time separated from all other human beings. Most of you have heard, too, of hermits — those strange men who withdraw themselves from their fellowmen and live in loneliness and solitude. Moved by some odd fancy, they usually seek out a cave or a rude hut in the mountains, and there, far away from other people, spend their miserable lives.

How very different are the lives of most of us ! We are so accustomed to having our family, our friends, and many other people about us that we can only with difficulty imagine how anybody could tolerate so lonely a life. People are usually found living together in groups; indeed this seems to be the natural way for them to live. Sometimes, as in a city, a great many people are crowded together in a comparatively small space. Sometimes we find them in small towns and villages. In Virginia, however, a majority of the people live on farms. Yet they are close

IO HOW WE ARE GOVERNED IN VIRGINIA

enough to one another to enjoy life together and to have many interests in common. They have, for instance, common churches, common schools, common stores, common post-offices.

Now this is what we mean when we say that people live in communities. A community is a group of people living more or less closely together and having certain common interests. It may be a village or a town, a county or a city.

2. Why people live in community groups. The world is probably not large enough for every one of us to live like a hermit, completely separated from everybody else. Even if it were, most of us would not care for such a life. We enjoy being with people. We love to associate with the members of our family, our friends, and acquaintances. This is one of the reasons, then, why we nearly always find people living in community groups. But it is not the only reason.

You doubtless recall what a hard time Robinson Crusoe found in providing himself with such simple necessities as food and fire and clothing. This was because he was living entirely alone.

Suppose whenever one of us needed a new coat it were necessary for us to raise and shear the sheep, prepare the wool, weave it into cloth, and then cut and make the coat. What an endless amount of trouble, and what a poor looking coat we should have when it was finished ! As things are, one group of men raise the sheep, another group prepare and dye the wool, and still another group weave the wool into cloth. This cloth is carried to stores, where it is bought by tailors who make it into coats. When you or I desire a coat, we seldom think of sheep or wool or cloth. We go either to a tailor or to a shop where we can buy a

LIFE IN A COMMUNITY II

coat ready to be worn. Think how many different men have had a share in the making of the coat you wear.

You can readily see from this illustration that our wants can be supplied much more easily when we live near other people than they could if we lived alone. This, then, is another reason why we live in communities.

Have you ever stopped to think how many desires most of us have? All day long in one way or another we are busy satisfying our own desires, or else helping other people to satisfy theirs. Of course it is impossible for us to enumerate all the desires that any one person has ; but there are a few which nearly everybody has. Let us see what some of these common desires are.

3. Our desire for life and health. To most of us life is the most precious thing that we possess. A man will sometimes sacrifice his life for his honor, or for his country's honor, or for some one whom he loves. In general, however, he will sacrifice other things to preserve his life. In many ways we seek to protect our lives. We must protect them, in the first place, against the violence of others, and in the second place, against dangers such as result from fires, from accidents on the railroad or on the water, and in cities from the dangers of the streets. It is necessary for us also to use the proper precautions against disease. This indicates another of our desires — the desire for good health, which is closely akin to the desire for life. Most of us want a sound body, not only because it promises to prolong life, but because a healthy body is essential to our general well-being and happiness.

4. Our desire for liberty. Xo man who lives in a community can enjoy liberty without restraint. Robinson Crusoe could, indeed, have yielded to the wildest desire that might cross his fancy. There was no one to prevent his doing anything he wished. But the average man must live in his community with some regard to his fellowmen. He cannot wholly ignore the rights of others. By liberty in a community, therefore, we mean the freedom to do what we please so long as we do not come in conflict with the rights of other people. We are, of course, absolutely free to think what we please, but in our actions we must be considerate of others. Most of us are entirely willing, if it is necessary, to give up a part of our liberty of action in order that w r e may enjoy the other benefits of life in a community.

5. Our desire for wealth. It is natural for everybody to want to possess something. Boys and girls like to own things, and men and women enjoy no less the pleasure of possession. Lands, houses, implements, cattle, horses, furniture, clothes, books, money — all these are things which most of us desire to own. These we call property. Men seek to obtain property not only for the pleasure of possessing it but because of what it enables them to do. The ownership of property brings comforts and luxuries, and makes it possible also for a man to secure more property. It is this desire for wealth and property that causes men to seek employment — to become doctors, lawyers, farmers, manufacturers, shop-keepers.

6. Our desire for knowledge. Most of us crave to know things. This is an instinct that we have all noticed in very young children when they begin to ask questions and inquire into things. When they grow older they are sent to school in order that they may learn many things while they are young. But we want to know more than what we can get out of books. We are interested in learning what is going on both in our own community and in other communities. We need, therefore, newspapers, letters, telephones,

•5 >

H and telegrams. By these means we satisfy our desire to know what is going on in the world. And our desire for knowledge helps us to attain many other desires. It also helps the community in which we live, for we cannot imagine anything more pitiful than a community in which nobody has any education and nobody desires it.

7. Our desire for progress. Most men desire to see the community in which they live become progressive. Of course this desire for progress takes many forms ; it would be impossible to mention all of them. The desire for education, of which we have just spoken, might be included as a part of our general desire for progress. The wish to see good rocds, strong bridges, and efficient railroads in our community ; if we live near the water, the wish to have harbors dredged, lighthouses built ; if we live in a city, the wish to see beautiful buildings, gardens and parks, clean and well-paved streets — these are some of the evidences of our desire for community progress.

8. Our desire for happiness. All these other desires that we have been discussing combine to constitute what is our chief desire, next to the preservation of our life and health — the desire for happiness. It may not be possible for us to define what this desire for happiness is. It varies in different individuals. Some find happiness by pursuing almost exclusively one thing:, as the desire for wealth, or for knowledge, or for science, or for art; but the majority of us find happiness by pursuing a combination of many desires.

9. The conflict of desires. When people live together in a community, it is very natural that their desires should sometimes conflict. In his desire for wealth a man may seize another's property, or he may commit acts injurious to the general health of the community, or offensive to

LIFE IN A COMMUNITY 1 5

other people's ideas of cleanliness and beauty. For instance, a man may maintain a factory in a part of the community where the smoke is annoying ; or the factory itself may endanger the lives or the health of operators by reason of unsanitary conditions. In his desire for unrestrained liberty a man may, in a passion, take the life of his fellowman, or burn his dwelling. Or again, in the pursuit of knowledge or science men may neglect their business and make debts which they are unable to pay.

It must be clear to you that in these cases the desire of one individual of the community conflicts with the rights or desires of other individuals. It is perhaps equally clear that there must be some means for preventing the rights of one man from being interfered with by the desires of another. There must be rules which the members of the community are forced to obey. There must be some peaceful way of settling disputes among them, and of securing justice to all. Xot only that, but there ought also to be some means by which the members of a community are helped to attain various desires which they are unable to satisfy alone. They should be helped, for instance, in the protection of their lives and health, and in •satisfying their desires for education and for progress.

10. What the Government is. What is the means by which this harmony and assistance are secured? In the first place, there must be rules of conduct which the individual must obey — things that he must do and things that he must not do. For example, all communities command that each man shall respect the lives and property of every other man ; and the community will punish any one who violates this command. These rules for the conduct of the people of the community we call laws.

In addition to the laws, there must be officers who make the laws and others who see that they are enforced. For instance, in your own neighborhood there are perhaps a board of supervisors, a sheriff, a constable, a justice of the peace. Or if you live in a city, there are a mayor, a city council, a body of police, and many other officers.

This body of laws and those who make and enforce them are what we generally mean when we speak of the Government.

You must bear in mind that the Government is established in. order to help the people living in a community. Some people have the idea that the Government deprives us of our liberty. We are perhaps inclined to feel this way when we come in contact with some particular law that prevents us from doing what we wish to do, or forces us to do what we dislike to do. There was a time, indeed, when the Government did trample upon the people's liberty, and in some countries this is done even to-day. You will recall that the reason why our forefathers freed themselves from Great Britain was that the mother country tried to oppress the colonies and to interfere with what they regarded as their liberties. For the most part, however, it is the Government that seeks to protect our liberties from being interfered with by others, as when the Government arrests the thief who attempts to steal from us. The people of Virginia have declared that "Government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection and security of the people, the nation, or the community. " Not only does the Government protect our liberties, but it also undertakes, as we shall see, to assist us in reaching certain of our desires and to add to our general welfare and happiness.

11. Our method of study. In the next few chapters we shall see some of the things that the Government in the

LIFE IN A COMMUNITY 17

communities of Virginia does for us in the way of protecting our life and liberty, and helping us to attain certain of our desires. (Chapters II to VI.)

After we have seen something of what the Government does for us, we shall then be able to understand more clearly how the Government of our State is organized and operated, or in other words, how all these things are accomplished. (Chapters VII to XVII.)

To the Teacher. The questions appended to each chapter are for the purpose of drawing out the pupil's interest in activities of government with which he is more or less familiar. These activities are, of course, more prominent in city communities than they are in the rural districts. The teachers of rural schools should, therefore, explain many of the city activities referred to. The questions are intended to be suggestive, not exhaustive. Many others will doubtless present themselves to the teacher.

1. What sort of community do you live in — county, town, village, city? Find out, if you can, how many people live in your community. In your neighborhood are the houses close together or far apart? Think of some of the ways in which you associate with the people of your community — when and where, for instance, do you meet them?

2. What are some of the pleasures you enjoy now that you would not enjoy if you lived like a hermit?

3. If you lived absolutely alone, how would you get your food? Your clothing? Furniture? How would you protect yourself from cold? What, then, are some of the advantages that you enjoy by living in a community?

4. What are some of the things that threaten people's lives in your community? Their health? Can you think of anything that is done to protect you from these dangers?

5. Mention some of the restrictions upon your liberty in the schoolroom — what are some of the things that you are not permitted to do? Explain how these things would interfere with the rights of others. Why are you forced to consider the rights of others? Why are they forced to consider your rights?

6. Mention some of the property that yon possess in the schoolroom. How does this property help you? Mention some of the property owned by the school. How does this property assist you?

7. Is money property? Why? What business is your father engaged in? Why does he engage in business? Mention some of the property in your home. To whom does it belong? How was he enabled to get it?

8. Why do you attend school? What desire are you satisfying? Mention some of the ways by which you find out what is going on in the world.

9. Who makes the rules of your school? Who enforces them? Could you speak of the Government of your school? What would you mean?

10. What- do you mean by the Government of a community? Why is it necessary? Mention all the laws of your community that you have ever heard of. Mention all the officers that you can think of.

Chapter II What The Government Does To Protect Our Lives Axd Health

12. Our personal responsibility, We have seen that

among all the desires that men usually have there is none more powerful than the desire for life. Now in most cases, as you all know, it is we ourselves who are personally responsible for the preservation of our own life and health. If we would keep our bodies in healthful condition, we must be mindful of the ordinary laws of health. We must take due precaution against disease. We must have plenty of fresh air and exercise. 'Moreover, we must refrain from recklessly running into dangers that we could avoid.

In the care of our health the family also is to some extent responsible. The home should be selected in a healthful location. It should be well ventilated, and the plumbing should be good. The housekeeper, too, should be careful of cleanliness. It is the duty of the family within their means to see that the home is maintained in such a manner as to insure the health of those who live in it.

In many cases, however, neither the individual nor the family can ward off the dangers which sometimes threaten life and health. It is here that the Government steps in to assist us. Especially is this true in communities where a large number of people live together as they do in cities, for in such communities the dangers to life and health are far more numerous than they are in the country districts.

13. Protection of life against personal attacks. One person is sometimes attacked by another because of some personal grievance. The Government of course makes such an attack unlawful and provides for the arrest and punishment of the offender. Special officers are appointed to protect the members of the community against such attacks upon their lives. In the counties we find constables and sheriffs, and in the cities there are police, whose duty it is not only to prevent such attacks whenever possible, but to seek out and arrest those who have been guilty of them. The Government also makes it unlawful for one man to threaten the life of another even though he may not actually make an attack upon him.

Now you may ask : " How does this protect our lives ? It rarely happens that an officer of the law is on hand to prevent an attack which is about to be made. May not a man's life be taken before the law can protect him?" You must remember, however, that in every case the one who breaks the law knows that in all probability he will be arrested and punished. It is the fear of this punishment that prevents him from any rashness to which his impulses or his violent temper may prompt him.

In spite of this fear of punishment for his misdeeds, a man fails sometimes to control his anger. He makes a sudden attack upon another individual who has offended him. There is no time or opportunity to call upon the police or the constable. The one who is attacked must act for himself. In such cases the law provides that the person attacked may defend himself. He may even take the life of the one who has attacked him if that becomes necessary in order to preserve his own life. He may afterwards be arrested and tried, under such circumstances, for having killed his fellowman, but if he is able to show that he was compelled to do this in order to protect his own life, he is freed from all responsibility.

Protection is given also to a person accused of crime. When an individual is arrested for an offense which he is supposed to have committed, it may not always be certain that he is actually guilty. The law asssumes that every man is innocent until it has been proved that he is guilty. It says too that "no man shall be deprived of his life or liberty, save by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers." The accused must be given, therefore, a fair trial in accordance with the law ; and the law lays down certain things which are necessary to make the trial a fair one. In the first place, the prisoner cannot be kept in jail indefinitely awaiting his trial. He has the right to demand that he be carried immediately before some officer of the law, and that he be shown the reason for his being kept in prison. If it appears that there is reasonable ground for suspecting him, he is then held until he can be brought forward for trial.

When the law says that he can be deprived of his life only by "the judgment of his peers," it means to grant the individual what is ordinarily called the right of trial oy jury. This is the right to have a number of his fellow citizens, usually twelve, determine whether he is or is not guilty of the offense of which he is accused. Those who are called to tell what they know about the circumstances of his case are known as witnesses. The law gives the prisoner the right to have these witnesses stand before him and tell what they know in his presence. He has the right also to bring witnesses of his own.

These are only a few of the many provisions which the law makes for the protection of the life and liberty of those unfortunate individuals who are accused of crime. But you can easily see how important they are. Without them cases would arise every day in which the innocent would be made to suffer unjustly.

14. Protection of life against accident: in the country.

Many accidents happen to most of us in the course of a lifetime. For some of these we have to thank only our own carelessness. The Government cannot usually be expected to protect us from accidents that result from runn

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IP*

———

A Triple Railroad Crossing

This unusual and costly method of preventing accidents is employed

at a point where three different railroads cross in the

city of Richmond, Virginia.

aways, falling, and drowning. These are dangers from which we must protect ourselves. In some ways, however, the Government does seek to protect us from accident. You of course know that it is the custom in your community for drivers to keep to the right of the road. You may not know, however, that the Government actually requires this by law in order that accidents may be prevented. Another protection which the Government affords is that against railroads. To avoid collisions the Government regulates the manner in which one railroad shall cross another. The railway companies are required to place signals and sometimes gates where the tracks cross a country road or a village street. Sometimes the railroad is even compelled to fence its tracks. It is customary also to regulate the speed of trains when they pass points at which accidents are liable to occur. Moreover the Government makes the railroads responsible for injuries done to employees. This is a most important protection, for railroads employ many hundreds of workmen, and the operations in which these workmen are engaged are necessarily of a dangerous character. Similar responsibility is placed upon other companies employing large numbers of workmen.

15. Protection of life against accident: on the water. The Government also makes many laws to protect the lives of those who spend much of their time upon the water. It regulates, for instance, the manner in which boats shall pass each other ; it provides that they shall signal each other by whistling and requires that they shall carry certain lights at night. On the seacoast where there is danger of shipwreck, the Government erects lighthouses to warn the seaman of his danger and provides life-saving stations, with crews of sturdy men ready at any time to assist vessels in distress.

16. Protection of life against accident: in the city. It is easy to see why the liability to accident should be much greater in the city than it is in the country. Where so many people are gathered together in one place, where the buildings are large and crowded close to one another,

^4 where everybody must of necessity pass through the streets filled with rapidly moving street cars and vehicles of all kinds, it is natural enough that dangers of one kind or another should frequently arise. It is in the cities, therefore, that the Government is forced to provide most often for our protection against accident.