Elementary community civics

Preface

It is generally agreed to-day that the main reason for the existence of schools is to help our pupils to become good citizens. Our schools teach the three R’s because every¬ body needs these tools in order to act intelligently in his re¬ lations with his fellow men. It is no less important for the pupil to learn that his life must be lived in close association with his fellow men and to profit by the experience of human beings in regard to these relations.

President Wilson, in sounding the slogan, “The world must be made safe for democracy,” set people to thinking deeply about the elements which make the world unsafe.

In spite of the wonderful and gratifying increase in the number of pupils who go on to our high schools, it is un¬ fortunately true that the great majority of school children never get beyond the grammar grades. If an intense civic consciousness is to be developed in our children, we must be sure that those below high school age have a chance to think and study about their social relationships. And, if they do go into the high school or beyond, these early lessons will serve them well as a foundation for further study.

So this book has been written with the hope of appealing particularly to our pupils of junior high school age—the years just below the high school. Extensive use has been made of outlines and courses of study prepared by experts in this field throughout the United States. To the makers of these outlines, the author is indebted for countless help¬ ful suggestions.

iii

IV

Preface

Some teachers may find it convenient or desirable to take up the topics in an order differing from that followed in the book. The arrangement of topics allows ready adjustment to any desirable changes. If the community civics course is to be followed by a course in vocational or economic civics, teachers will doubtless prefer to omit some of the topics of Chapters VII and VIII of this book.

The author hopes that this work will help our younger pupils to get started along lines of sound thinking and ef¬ fective action in all the matters that concern our common life. Teachers who are engaged day by day in inspiring high ideals and lofty impulses in the hearts of the young folk whom they meet will feel that they have a task calling for the best that is in them and promising results of infinite worth. Theodore Roosevelt said: "We, here in America, hold in our hands the fate of the world, the hope of coming years. And shame and disgrace will be ours if in our eyes the light of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men.”

Pittsburgh, iy23.

Chapter I. The Citizen In The Community Page

Ourselves and Other People. 1

The First Community We Know. 4

Other Communities Closely Related to Us. 5

The Beginnings of a Pioneer Settlement. 8

How Communites Grow.13

Political Communities.20

Things Necessary in a Political Community.21

Who are Citizens?.23

How a Foreigner Becomes a Citizen.24

What the Community Does for Its Citizens.27

What the Citizen Owes His Community .28

CHAPTER II. GUARDING THE PEOPLE’S HEALTH Conditions Necessary for Good Health.31

Why Health Must Be Guarded.32

How Pure Air Is Obtained.33

Where Our Water Comes From.35

Purifying Water.35

Drains and Sewers.37

Where Our Food Comes From.40

Helping the Farmer Feed Us.41

Feeding a City.44

Living Conditions at Home.47

How People Regard Disease.49

How Disease Is Controlled.50

Promoting Individual Health.52

“Prohibition” Laws.54

Caring for the Health of Workers.55

Keeping the Community Clean.58

What Our Government Does for Health.60

What Private Citizens May Do.61 v

Contents

Chapter III. Protecting Life And Property Page

Making Us Feel Safe .65

The Awful Cost of Carelessness.66

How Fires May Be Prevented.68

Putting Out Fires.71

Fire Insurance.73

Dangers to Life and Limb . •.74

Protecting Travelers.75

Preventing Fraud and Dishonesty .79

Protection from Natural Misfortunes.81

Catching Law-breakers.83

What a Policeman Does.84

Managing Police and Fire Departments.85

Unusual Disturbances.86

Protection from Foreign Enemies.87

Our Army and Navy.87

Movements for Peace among Nations .90

Public Agencies to Protect Life and Property.91

What the Citizen Can Do.92

CHAPTER IV. TRAINING THE GROWING CITIZEN Why We Should Want to Be Educated. 97

Why We Have Public Schools.98

How Our Schools Are Organized.100

Laws about School Attendance.102

How the Schools Are Supported.104

School Buildings—Good and Bad . 105

Making the Schools Most Useful.106

What Should We Teach in the Schools?.108

How They Do It in Other Countries ..Ill

Private Institutions for Education.113

Educational Agencies Outside the Schools?.117

Libraries and How They Are Maintained.117

Newspapers and Magazines.120

Public Educational Agencies. 124

The Responsibility of the Citizen ..124

Contents vii

Chapter V. Providing Recreation Page

What Is Recreation?.130

Who Needs Recreation? .131

Places to Play . •.133

Parks and Their Services.137

The National Parks.138

Recreation for the Mind.138

Private Agencies for Recreation.139

Travel and Its Value.141

The “Movies” and Their Effects.142

Social Settlements.143

Using Our Leisure Rightly.144

Who Shall Be Responsible? .149

CHAPTER VI. PLANNING THE COMMUNITY Cities Planned and Not Planned*.152

The Objects of Community Planning.154

Planning in Smaller Communities. .155

Difficulties to Overcome.156

Civic Centers.158

Constructing Streets and Highways.159’

Street Lighting.164

“The City Beautiful”.166

Trees and Parkways.167

Unsightly Places.168

Buildings and Their Appearance.171

City Zones.171

Locating Railroads and Bridges.172

Unnecessary Noise.175

Smoke Regulation.176

Who Is Responsible?.177

CHAPTER VII. TRADE, TRAVEL, AND NEWS Conveniences Our Forefathers Did Not Know.182

What Modern Facilities’Have Done for Us ...... 182

The First Real Highways.187

Sailboats and Steamboats.188

Canals .189 viii Contents

PAGE

The Railroads and Their Expansion.190

Improvements in the Railroad.191

Street Railways and Interurban Lines.193

Keeping Railroads as Our Servants.195

Problems of Public Utilities To-day.197

The Passenger Car and the Motor Truck.201

Travel in the Air.202

Opportunities for Water Traffic. ..203

The Postal Service.205

The Telegraph and Telephone.209

Collecting and Distributing News.211

Responsibility of Good Service.213

The Movements of Our People.215

Incomers from Abroad.217

CHAPTER VIII. LAYING UP WEALTH What Does It Mean to Be Wealthy?.221

Why Do We Want Wealth?.222

Public Wealth and Private Wealth.223

The Process of Getting Wealth.224

Community Organizations to Encourage Industry .... 226

Conveniences of Trade.235

Restrictions on Workers.238

Problems That Wealth Brings.241

Relations of the Employer and Employee ...... 245

The Farmer as a Wealth Producer.248

Saving and Spending ... *.260

Responsibility for Prosperity.264

Preparing for Usefulness.267

CHAPTER IX. CARING FOR THE UNFORTUNATE Those Who Need Help.271

Why Some People Are Poor.271

How Shall They Be Helped?.272

Private Agencies for Relief.274

Public Agencies for Relief.276

Contents ix

PAGE

The Blind and the Deaf.278

The Sick and the Crippled.280

The Insane.282

The Feeble Minded .283

Those Who Are Unwilling to Work.284

How the Responsibility is Distributed.284

CHAPTER X. PROMOTING RIGHT LIVING What Can the Community Do Through Its Government? . 289

Churches and Their Teachings.291

Churches and the Government.293

Other Private Agencies for Moral Betterment.294

Moral Teaching in the Schools .295

Why People Do Wrong.296

How the Courts Help to Assure Justice Between People . . 297

How. the*Courts Deal with Law Breakers.299

Wrong Doers Who Try to Escape.301

How Criminals Used to Be Treated.301

Modern Ideas about Dealing with Criminals.303

Young Criminals .306

Safeguards for Innocent People .307

Are There Different Standards of Right?.308

How Should We Act toward Other People?.310

How Should We Act toward the Government?.312

A Survey of Our Judicial System . 312

Executive Officers Who Aid the Courts.318

Your Responsibility and Mine.320

CHAPTER XI. SOME AMERICAN IDEAS ABOUT GOVERNMENT Majority.Rule.325

The Rights of the Minority.329

Government by Representatives.330

The Federal Idea .332

Making New States.334

Territories 335

X

Contents

PAGE

Possessions.336

The Departments of Government.337

Checks and Balances.338

The Importance of a Constitution. 338

What a Constitution Contains. 339

How Our Constitution Is Amended. 341

How Other Governments Differ from Ours.341

The Cabinet System.343

State Constitutions.344

Subdivisions of States.346

Special Problems of City Government.348

Our Relation to Other Countries.349

Arbitration.352

The League of Nations.352

CHAPTER XII. LAW-MAKING AND LAW-ENFORCING What Is a Law? .356

How Laws May Be Suggested.357

Our National Law-Making Body.360

The Part of Committees in Law-Making.363

Stops in Passing a Bill.364

Agencies for Enforcing Laws.366

The President’s Part in Government.369

The Cabinet.373

The Work of the Administrative Departments.374

Testing a Law.378

Kinds of Laws That Congress May Make.378

Laws That Our Constitution Forbids. ,380

Law-making in States.382

Administering State Laws.384

Maintaining the Nation’s Authority.385

Local Law-making.386

Administering Local Laws.388

Law-Making by the People.390

Removing Unworthy Officials.393

Getting Good Government.394

Contents xi

Chapter XIII. Voting Page

Why Voting Is Important. 399

Who May Vote.. 400

Voting by Ballot.401

Forms of Ballots.402

How Names Are Put on the Ballot.. 404

When Officers Are Chosen.405

Electing a President .406

How Parties Are Managed.410

Political Campaigns.411

Bad Effects of Parties.413

Making Parties Useful.414

The Short Ballot Idea.41 k

Getting Representation for All Parties.416

Non-Partisan Elections.417

Making Governments Really Representative ...... 417

CHAPTER XIV. SUPPORTING THE GOVERNMENT Kinds of Support That the Government Needs.422

Why We Spend Money.422

Kinds of Taxes.424

What Is a Good Tax?.425

Sources for Taxes Used by Nation, State, and Locality . 426

How Taxes Are Levied .428

Other Sources of Income.431

Borrowing Money.432

Public Land and Property .433

Budgets.434

Proposed Changes in Taxation .436

Supporting the Government in War.438

Traitors . . . 440

Supporting the Government in Peace.440

How We May Show Our Loyalty.442

The Good Citizen at Home.442

The Good Citizen at School.443

The Good Citizen in Later Life.445 xii Contents

CHAPTER XXIII. THE CITIZEN Importance of the Citizen.504

His Rights.504

His Duties.505

Index. 21

ILLUSTRATIONS

The National Capitol, Washington. Frontispiece

PAGE

1. The Power Plant. 2

2. Country Home in Winter . 4

3. The Kenmore. 5

4. What Passes for a Home in a Lumber Camp .... 6

5. The “Prairie Schooner”. 9

6. A New Frontier Town.11

7. The Harbor at San Francisco .14-15

8. A Western Village.19

9. A Certificate of Naturalization.24

10. Taking the Oath of Allegiance.26

11. An Attractive Concrete Bridge.28

12. Inspecting Meat.32

13. A Model Factory .34

14. The Chestnut Hill Reservoir, near Boston.36

15. A Crowded District of Boston.39

16. Cattle Grazing in the Far West.41

17. Mowing in the Old Way.42

18. An Exhibit at a Fair ..43

19. Result of Dry Farming.45

20. Filling Sacks with Flour.46

21. A Bad Street to Live On.48

22. Health Literature.50

23. Inspecting the Immigrant.52

24. One Way to Keep Healthy.53

25. Good Advice for Girls .54

26. Accident Prevention Poster.56

27. An Unusual Kind of Work for Women.57

28. Cleaning Up.59

29. Distributing Ice in a Crowded City District.62

30. Safety Lanes for Pedestrians.66

31. Dangerous Fire-traps .68

32. The Wrong Way to Dispose of Rubbish.69

33. A Fire Look-Out.70

34. How Not to Use a Fire Escape .. . 72 xv

XVI

Illustrations

PaOE

35. The Start of a Forest Fire.73

36. Caring for an Unlucky Y oungster.74

37. A Warning Sign.. . 76

38. Doing Away with Grade Crossings. 77

39. Tracks Leading to a Great Station.78

40. Filling a Signal Lamp.81

41. A Patrolman at a Signal Box.85

42. State Militia on Duty .86

43. Signal Men of the Marines.88

44. A Submarine Under Way.90

45. Inexcusable Carelessness.93

46. The Little Red Schoolhouse.99

47. A Consolidated Rural School.102

48. A Corridor in the High School, El Paso, Texas .... 103

49. An Excellent School Building in a Country Village . . . 105

50. An Outdoor School Room . 107

51. Practical Instruction.110

52. University Hall, Brown University.114

53. A Scene from a Famous Pageant.116

54. Reading Room in a Great Public Library.118

55. Getting the “Copy” into Shape.120

56. Making Up a Newspaper.121

57. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.123

58. Turning Waste to Good Account.126

59. A Good Time on the “North Dakota”.131

60. A Street and Playground Combined.133

61. A Fine Public Playground.134

62. High School Stadium at San Diego.135

63. A Flower Garden in a City Park at Denver .... 136

64. The Stage ni an Open Air Theatre . 139

65. Orchestra and Seats of the Open Air Theatre at the Uni¬

versity of California.140

66. Mt. Tamalpais, California.142

67. One Type of Moving Picture Theatre.143

68. Another Type of Movie-House.144

69 Unprofitable Habits.145

70. A Scene on Boston Common.146

71. A Recreation Place for Thousands.148

72. Setting-up Exercises at an Army Camp.150

73. The City of Washington.153

74. An Attractive Boulevard.. , , 154

75. A Wide Thoroughfare ., f 156

76. A Concrete Highway in the Country.157

Illustrations xvii

PAG*

77. San Francisco Auditorium.158

78. Wooden Block Pavement.159

79. Brick Pavement on a City Street.161

80. Road Construction in the Mountains of Colorado . . 162

81. An Attractive Street in a Suburban Village .... 163

82. Trouble for the Street Department.164

83. A Beautiful Residence Street.165

84. A Beautiful Water Front.166

85. The Common at West Brookfield, Mass.168

86. On the City Dump.169

87. Billboards on a City Street Corner.170

88. After the Garage Was Built.172

89. The Point, Pittsburgh .174

90. Unloading Freight.175

91. Back Yards Can Look Attractive.177

92. A Lesson in Cleanliness .179

93. One Means of Transportation.183

94. Luxurious Travel.184

95. The Grand Central Railway Station, New York . . . 186

96. The Aquitania. 188

97. The Old and the New.189

98. The First Locomotive Built in America ; 191

99. An Electric Engine Drawing a Transcontinental Train . 192

100. Long Distance Travel To-day.193

101. The Sullivan Square Terminal, Boston.194

102. Old Style Street Cars.198

103. A Double Decker Street Car.200

104. Constructing a Concrete Road. 201

105. A De Haviland Airplane.203

106. Vessels at Anchor in the Delaware River.204

107. The Postman Collecting Letters.205

108. Distributing the Mails in a City Post Office .... 206

109. A Country Highway in Mid-Winter.208

110. In the Cable Room of a Great Telegraph Office . . 209

111. Wireless Station.211

112. The Village Post Office, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire . 212

113. Travel on the Mississippi Years Ago.215

114. The Coming of the Immigrants.21*8

115. The Village Store.222

116. Lifting Heavy Materials.225

117. A Room in the Ford Factory. 227

118. River Boats on the Allegheny. . 230

119. The Patent Office, Washington.232 xviii Illustrations

PAGE

120. Bessemer Converters .233

121. Weighing Gold.236

122. Operators in a Big Telegraphic Office.240

123. A Rich Man’s Residence.242

124. A Wealthy Man’s Gift.244

125. Port Sunlight.245

126. A Phase of Welfare Work.* . 247

127. A Truck Garden in Early Summer .249

128. Harvesting and Threshing on a Big Western Farm . . 250

129. A Fine Forest of Yellow Pine.252

130. One Example of Thrift or Wastefulness.254

131. The Roosevelt Dam .255

132. One Kind of Work for Women.256

133. One of America’s Scenic Wonders.258

134. Receiving Deposits in a School Bank.261

135. Profit in Waste Materials.263

136. An Attractive Outside View of a Great Department Store 266

137. Making Garments for Refugees.273

138. Distributing New Year’s Gifts.275

139. Blind Boys Studying.277

141. The Main Entrance of a Great Hospital.281

142. Epileptic Patients at Work.283

143. A Dormitory in a Day Nursery.285

144. A Country Village Church.291

145. A Great City Church.293

146. Under Arrest.296

147. Diagram of a Court Room .298

148. Taking Finger Prints.300

149. Prison Cells.302

150. The Dining Hall at Massachusetts Reformatory Prison

for Women.304

151. A Prison Workshop.305

152. The Children’s Court Building.307

153. A Workhouse Corridor.311

154. State Prison, Windsor, Vermont.313

155. The Most Powerful Court in the World.316

156. Pennsylvania State Constabulary on Duty .... 318

157. .A Boy Scout on Duty.321

158. On a United States Torpedo Boat ....... 328

159. Where the British Parliament Meets ...... 331

160. The State Capitol of Arizona.335

161. A United States Warship in the Panama Canal . . . 336

Illustrations xix

PAGE

162. Our National Capitol .343

163. An Appeal for Cleanliness. 347

164. New York from the Air.349

165. Signers of the Peace Treaty of Versailles, 1919 351

166. The Home of the League of Nations.352

167. The Capitol at Washington at Night.362

168. Interstate Commerce Commission in Session .... 367

169. President Harding and His Cabinet.372

170. United States Marines in Egypt.375

171. Clerks at Work on the Census.377

172. Hall of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives . 383

173. The Battleship “Connecticut”.385

174. All Sorts of Ships in Boston Harbor.388

175. An Example of the Referendum.391

176. The Municipal Building, New York City.395

177. Registering Voters.401

178. Part of a Pennsylvania Ballot.403

179. Part of an Oregon Ballot.406

180. A Presidential Nominating Convention.407

181. A Campaign Meeting.412

182. A Virginia Court House.415

183. A Massachusetts Town Hall.419

184. A Long Bridge in the City.423

185. An Unpaved City Street.425

186. Grading of a Street Completed.427

187. Correcting the Tax Lists.428

188. The Custom House at Philadelphia.430

189. Lilac Sunday, Rochester, N. Y. 434

190. A Chance for a Single-Tax Argument.437

191. Soldiers on Duty.438

192. The Arlington Amphitheatre.439

193. Buying Liberty Bonds.441

194. A Manual Training Class at Work .444

195. An Object Lesson in Patriotism.448

196. The Rush of the Settlers, April 22, 1889 451

197. Oklahoma City, April 26, 1889 . 454

198. The First Post Office at Oklahoma City.455

199. The State Capitol.460

200. Some of Oklahoma’s Woodland.465

201. A Well-Built Road.468

202. A Typical Oklahoma Residence.472

203. Loading Alfalfa.474

204. One of Oklahoma’s Farms.476 xx Illustrations

PAGE

205. A Typical Rural Scene.479

206. A Typical City Scene.482

207. A Modern Oklahoma School.484

208. The University of Oklahoma at Norman .... 488-489

209. Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College at Still¬

210. Stock-Yards.495

211. A Beautiful Scene—Crater Lake.505

ELEMENTARY COMMUNITY CIVICS

THE COMMUNITY IDEA