lawmakers e of a city, called city E this sort known as lawmakers, us sections gether in a a individud together Eure. For oroughness Fork, such ivided into own as the of Repreembly. lawmakers ous states oup, they as United nd collecFor conhness in ngress is vhich are es as the te legisnate and atives. come topose-to its own ist work. nly local kes only il group cern the people have selected a group of officers that is known as the Executive. The Mayor is the head of the town and city law-enforcing body. Under the mayor are several chief city officers who in turn have under them men and women who administer the laws. In the states the executive consists of the Governor and a corps of chief officers, many of whom are elected by the people, but some of whom are appointed by the governor with the approval of the senate. For the nation the President is the chief executive. With him work the Vice President and a small group of men known as the Cabinet and selected by the President. The officers just named constitute the law-administrative group. The Judicial Division Beside the law-making group, and the law-administrative group, there must be a law-judging group. The meaning of the law has to be made clear. Questions continually arise. Some people claim that a given law means one thing, while other people say that to them it means just the opposite. Decisions must be reached and people must be compelled to abide by the laws, or to suffer the legal penalties if they disobey them. That part of the government which decides what the laws mean and which prescribes penalties for violation of the laws, is called the judiciary. The sep arate persons in the judiciary are as judges. A justice of the peace is a jud acts in a village or township. A trate is a judge in a city. Judge: State Supreme Court decide up meaning of the laws pertaining state. They are known as chief ] and associate judges. The nation its law-judging body—the federal with the United States Supreme at its head. They interpret the it applies to the United States, especially as it touches the Consti The preceding paragraph con a general description of the three functions of government: (1) to the law; (2) to administer the lay to interpret and enforce the law three working together promot best interests of the people. Government is intended to im living conditions. It compels us hold definite standards. It pro order and security. Through it v joy liberty, for it makes it possib us to carry on our chosen work w interference from the thoughtles the criminal. Government repr the system that we ourselves have Without it, as a people, we sho weak. It is our duty to do all power, as individuals, toward n these three divisions of govern the legislative, the executive an judicial-always work properly. "America is another word for opportunity."-Emerson. "The government is expressly charged with the duty of providing f general welfare."-Abraham Lincoln. 66 Of all the various modes and forms of government, that which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safet that is most effectually secured against the danger of maladministration. When a government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purpo majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable and indefensible to reform, alter or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most con to the public weal."-Section III, A Bill of Rights, The Convention of Virgini The game of life, especially in a great city, without rules or umpires or penalties, wo simply mean the trampling of the weak by the strong on Booth -s, would 1 66 Law and Government Law in a Democracy Grows out of Public Opinion, out of the View "K ILL THE UMPIRE; he's rotten!" Laws, rules, um- a States, do we lift our hats to the Why do drivers of wagons an mobiles in America use the rig of the road, but in England the habits are rules which have been These common every-day custo down through generations of from father to son, until today not even question them. They a A Command LAW is a command of Government which fishness would be supreme. There would of our dail so sharp that members of one of th groups cannot eat with the memb of another, cannot even touch the oth hand or garment without losing cas In India an individual is born into work, into his occupation, into a pla in life, and he can never move in another place, because he belongs to certain established caste. How different the United Stat would be if every citizen belonged a caste! If, because a boy's father wa make friends and will be more successful in GETTING A JOB. Working in with the customs of a country will make life go more smoothly and agreeably for him. It is also in the interests of the United States that all should live in harmony with its custame and laws. There is another reason why one a bookkeeper, he too, must be a bookkeeper queer country it woul daughters of carpen forced to marry only sons! This is just th of caste. In India the are obeyed more fully laws such as we ha United States. Alth may laugh at these India, we must reme every nation has its ov doing things and the c one race often seem f outlandish to another Do As the Roman There is an old saying in Rome do as the Ron This is simply another saying that one should the customs of others criticise those custom because they are from our way of doing If you go to another it is generally a goc to fit in with the cus the people living ther thus save yourself mu and avoid a great deal of This also applies to th come to this country. ing the customs of othe friends for you; makes sible for you to secu more easily. Working mony with the custon country makes life g smoothly and far more a in every way. Custom and Lav When the government necessary to back cust force, by political actic a custom becomes a law keeper. What a t would be if the carpenters were only carpenters' ust the meaning ia these customs fully than many ve have in the Although we hese castes of remember that its own way of the customs of eem foolish or Other race. people to follow, and must be changed by law. On the other hand laws may have to be passed to meet new customs created by new conditions. In the latter case, for example, the new conditions created, in 1922, by the wide use of the radio, have compelled the Secretary of Commerce, Herbert C. Hoover, to hold conferences to find out if the Government's wireless sending and receiving stations are being interfered with by the activity of the thousands of enthusiastic radio fans throughout the country. Without doubt new laws will have to be passed to regulate the operation of radios in the homes. Law is a command of government which says "THOU SHALT," or "THOU SHALT NOT," and imposes a penalty for its violation. It is the written will of the people with the force of the government behind it. Nearly everyone remembers being told about the laws of the Medes and the Persians which never changed. Today in modern democracies there are no laws of this character. Law should change as conditions of life change, in order to meet the new needs. Law in a democracy grows out of public opinion, out of the views of a majority of the people. A few houses located at a cross road grow into a village; this village grows into a city, and possibly may become a great center of population like Chicago or Philadelphia or New York. As the change takes place, new laws have to be passed in order to meet the many new needs and new problems. the homes. Law is a command of government v says, "THOU SHALT" and "THOU SHALT and imposes a penalty for its violation. |