The times., 1897-07-11

I UA W dfu ~ Us hh CiieSi toi'A
ing exposition in the easy and carrying
| form CT fiction of an original, economical
! Utopia Socialism was comparative
| youngster in the midst of the people and
the presentunrest, with existing conditions.
| was fcrmentinG.
Tic book was clever and agreeable read
ing, but its greatest virtue was it's np-
| port uncness That was the authors good
fortune, unless it was his sapiency w hich
led hin. 10 choose the moment for launch
! ing his work. 1t was seized upon with
aviciity countless editions were sold; peo
/ pie read ii, discussed it, admired it, aud
continued on in Leaten paths as if Julian
West Lad never had his dream Of the
year 1000 That was the sharpest criti-
ciSm of Looking backward" 1t proved
Iesu!thntly ineffective. 1t went up like
IA rocket, aud true to its metaphor!cal
flight, il caIBc down Ike rocket; else
it is still! up for it no longer agitates
| popular interest.
| 80 more was heard of Mr.. Pellamv until
this spring, when it was announced that
the silence of tie past few years had pro-
duced another work. Last month, last
week in fact, it was given TO the public
Equality is it's name
Equality is larger book than Look
| ing Backward" to which it is u sequel.
- Looking backward was a small book,
and / was not able to get into it all /
wished to say on the subject" says the
author. Since it was published what was
/ left out OF it has looined up as so much
more Important than what il contained
that / have been constrained TO write
another book =" Equality is this book
/ 1t begins where the other book left off.
! Julian West is at the house OF DR.. Leete,
| in the year 2O00, and the doctor, West and
| Miss Edith Leetc are the principal persons
! TO the Colloquial discussion which corn-
| priscs the alleged story. Mr.. Bellamy $
! method OF presenting his facts and his
arguments is easy and pleasing, but il is a
| fallacy to claim the book as story. 1t
! is, as Looking Backward an exposition
/ pure and simple of his communistic theory.
The matter OF the book is new in form,
in theory it is but corroliary TO its
| predecessor. 1t amplifies and explains the
! conditions ana suggestions of the earlier
| hook. Planning a Utopia is a pleasant
! process to a social st, and IL is quite
| natural that Mr.. Bellamy amuses him
| self, while lie amuses his reader, in ex-
! posing the var.orum Of the democracy Uf
! 1000.
! What is most interesting in the new
| book IS the authors account OF the transi-
! ton period, how we are to merge fromour
! present oligarchical and p!utocratic govern
| meut to the simon pure article of democ-
! racr 10 be existent in one hundred wears.
| Here he has a possible actual fact, and
not fancifUl second-rate toy, like the
] establishment of baths and the style in
| dress, TO engage his mind, as well as his
Imagination, and in these passages he dis
| plays more power in his ratocination than
! anywhere else in his elaborately spun
theorizing.
Dr. Leete is speaking and says: we
divide the history Of the evolution Of the
democratic idea into two broadly contrast
ing phases. The first of these we call
| the phase OF negative democracy.
The idea Of popular government, in the
case OF America rs in previous republican
| experiments in general, was protest
against royal government and its abuses
Nothing is more certain than that the
signers of the Declaration of Independence
had no idea that democracy necessarily
meant anything more than device for
getting along without kings. They con-
ceived OF it as a change in the forms of
government only, and not at all in the
principles and purposes of government.
They were not indeed without mis-
givingS lest it might occur to the sovereign
people that being sovereign, il would be
a good idea to use their sovereignty To
better their own condition In fact they
seem to have given some serious thought
to that possibility, but so little were they
yet able 10 appreciate the logic and force
of the democratic idea that they believe it
possible by ingenious clauses in paper CON
Istitutious To prevent the people from help
ing themselves even if they should wish
to
The first phase of the transmission he
calls that period during which democracy
was supposed to mean nothing more than
a protest against, or at least a substi-
tute for, ROYALTY, and he times it up 10
tie beginning of the twentieth century
He points out that though the people
had taken the reins from the hands of
monarchs they did not think to drive
the chariot of state out of the old ruts
The second phase III the evolution Of
the democratic idea, continues DR. Leete.
began with the awakening of the people
to the perception that the deposing OF
htilt5S, lilH'tCtt Vi DBliIE lIlt man eul anu
mission of democracy. was merely pre-
hminary to its real program, which was
the use of the collective social machinery
for the indefinite promotion OF the welfare
of the people at large. 1t is an interesting
fact that the people began to think OF ap
plying their political power to the improve
nIent of their material condition in Eu-
rope earlier than in America, although
democratic forms had found much less
acceptance there
Mr.. Bellamy prophesies this by virtue of
the perennial economical distress of the
masses in the old countries which prompt
ed them to think first about the bearing
any new idea might have on the question
of livelihood. By consequence, the more
favorable financial conditions in America
retarded the direction of attention thith-
erward.
Then he pays his compliments to the
present form of democracy. Regarded
as necessary steps in the evolution of
society from pure monarchy TO pure de.
mocracy, these republics Of the negative
phase mark stage of progress; but if
regarded as finalities, they We're a tyne
far less admirable on the whole than
decent monarchies. In respect especially
to their susceptibility to corruption and
plutocratic subversion, they wer ethe worst
kinds OF governments possible.
''Ihe nineteenth century, during which
this crop of pseudo-democracies ripened for
the sickle of the great revolution, seems to
the modern view nothing but dreary in
terregnum of nondescript, faineant gov
ernnent intervening between the deea-
dence of viril monarchy in the eighteenth
century and the rise of positive democracy