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About The united American : a magazine of good citizenchip. (Portland, Or.) 1923-1927 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1926)
March 1926 I THE UNITED AMERICAN Page Nine ..V The Commonwealth of Oregon A Brief History of the Organization and Development of One of the Forty-eight United States of America, Submitted in a Series of Comprehensive and Interesting Letters, Written Particularly for Those Who Have Commenced Studying and Preparing Themselves to Pass the Examination for American Citizenship. By A. C. Strange, Oregon State Director i of Americanization Schools III T N MY last letter, I gave some of the more important 1 rights guaranteed to the citizens of Oregon by their Constitution of 1858. It is well that every man or woman living in Oregon know what’ their rights within the State are. It is even moré impor tant though that they always remember that no one can enjoy rights without also carrying responsi bilities, without also doing certain duties towards his government and toward other men. We must remember that rights and duties go hand in hand, that what is a right to us carries with it a duty on the part of other men. It is our right to say our thoughts freely; it is our duty to say nothing that will injure other men. It is our right to worship as we please; it is our duty to let other men do the same, that is, to be tolerant toward them if they think differently about religion. It is our right to be tried in an open court if charged with crime; it is our duty to aid in enforcing justice and to respect the law. One of the greatest of our civic rights is the right to vote. It is thus we take our part in government. We are thus made responsible for the kind of men we elect as our officers. If they prove to be bad and we get misrule and poor government, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We also help to make the laws. Through the referendum, we vote whether we want certain laws or not. If we vote for them merely because some one tells us to and they prove to be bad laws, we are at fault; we should have studied the laws we voted for. A safe rule is not to vote for the law if we do not know any thing about it or to vote against it if we have any doubts about it. A better rule is to study the pro posed law very carefully. Let us find out about this duty in Oregon. All elections are free and equal, that is, there can be no charge for voting, no one can lawfully pay you to vote a certain way, you cannot be lawfully kept from voting if you are a citizen, and all men, no matter how rich some may be, have equal power in an elec tion. You have a right to go and see the votes counted; you may examine and count them yourself if you want to. We have done all we can to make our elections fair and we believe that they are fair. If they are ever unfair, the citizens are to blame for allowing corrupt judges of the elections to be chosen. All citizens twenty-one years of age who have lived in the State six months are allowed to vote if they can read and write the English language. We demand that our voters be able at least to read and write the language. As a matter of fact, they should have much more education. Just reading and writing is not enough to enable the voter to learn who is the best man and what is the best law to vote for. He should be able to read newspapers, magazines and books; he should be able to write his questions to those who can answer them. So every citizen who can barely read and write should go to one of our adult schools and learn much more. There is no other way to become a useful citizen in the fuller sense. Men sent to the penitentiary lose their citizen ship. Men who try to bribe, threaten or reward other men to bring about their election to office are not allowed to hold the office. Voters on their way to the places for voting cannot be arrested, except for treason, felony or breach of the peace, The elections are held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years. The Constitution allows the state legislature to provide for proportional representation. This plan is in use in Portland in the primary or nominating elections. It allows each voter to give his first, second and third choices for any office. Then, if the first choice canditate does not have a majority, if a majority is required as it is now and then, the voter’s second choice candidate may receive the nomination. The recall of any officer who is not doing his work well or honestly is allowed. To bring about an election to recall an officer, twenty-five per cent of the voters must sign a petition for the election. In this petition ' they must give the reason why his recall is asked. In the election, other candidates for the place must be voted for, so that, if the officer is removed from his office, it will not be left vacant. Thus, the effort is made to make sure that our officers shall do their duties faithfully. No citizen should ever fail to vote. Even if he feels that he does not know enough about certain candidates or certain proposed laws to vote for or against them, he should vote as much of the ballot as he can. The real American is ashamed of the voter who stays away from the polling place on election day and he should be ashamed of himself. It is through the vote that we rule, that we make our laws and change our government when change proves best. If we neglect or. forget to vote, we prove our selves to be bad citizens and should, if this happens often, have our right of suffrage taken from from us. Some day we may make it possible to do this. I i LUCK Anon. Luck pictures a dollar, while work earns it. Hard luck is alniost a synonym for laziness, Good luck is the twin brother of hard luck, Luck walks, while. work rides in a carriage, Luck dreams of a home, but work builds one. Trusting to luck is like fishing with a hookless line. Luck is a disease for which hard work is a cure. Luck longs for dinner, while work goes out and earns one. Luck goes barefooted while work never lacks a pair of shoes. Luck takes a nap while brains and hard work are winning prizes. Luck needs a P before it to make it anything. Kg » ■ 1 ■’
