And what excuses do men give?  Often the most trivial.  One man says that he had some work to do and could not spare the time—­as if any work could be more important than voting in a Republic.  Another was visiting his wife’s relatives and a family dinner made it inconvenient for him to return in time to vote.  A few years ago I met a man on the train who told me that he had not voted for ten years.  When I asked him why, he explained that he had voted for a neighbour for a state office—­he declared that the neighbour could not have been elected without his help—­and yet when the election was over the successful candidate failed to invite him to a dinner given to celebrate the victory.  “And,” he added, “I just made up my mind that if I could be so deceived by a man who lived next door to me I did not have sense enough to vote, and I have not voted since.”

We are all liable to make mistakes, but a mistake at one election is no justification for failure to vote at other elections.  We must do the best we can; and we must not be discouraged if the men elected do not do all that we expect of them.  The government is not perfect and never will be, no matter what party is in power.  When the Democrats are in power I can prove by all the Republicans that the government is not perfect; when the Republicans are in power I can prove by the Democrats that the government is not perfect.  Governments are administered by human beings; we must expect honest men to make mistakes and we must not be surprised if, occasionally, an official embezzles power and turns to his own advantage the authority entrusted to him to use for the public good.  We should punish him and try to safeguard the people.  The initiative and referendum are valuable because they enable the people to protect themselves from misrepresentation.

But even if the government could be made perfect to-day it would be imperfect to-morrow.  Times change and new conditions arise that make new laws necessary.  As the remedy cannot precede the disease and cannot be applied until the public becomes acquainted with the disease and has time to choose the remedy, there is always something that needs to be done.  If Christians do not make it their business to understand their government’s needs and to propose laws that are necessary, others will.  Are any more worthy to be trusted than Christians?

Even constitutions must be changed in order that our government may be in the hands of the living rather than in the hands of the dead.  Those who wrote our Constitution were very wise men and yet the wisest thing they did was to include a provision which enabled those who came after them to change anything that they wrote into the Constitution.

Jefferson thought a constitution should be brought up to date by every generation.  Nineteen changes have been made in our Constitution by amendment since the Constitution was adopted and four of these have been adopted within the last ten years.  I venture to call attention to the later ones for two purposes; first, to show how long it takes to amend the Constitution and why; second, to remind you that these four great amendments have been adopted by joint action by the two great parties.