The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-02-13
DIR. CALISCH ON Home RULE
LET The Government Of The People Be in
Their Own Hands.
URGES INDIYIL UAL RESPONSIBILITY.
The Ideal of tho Jewish Iaith Is iha'
Each Soul is Its own ssvior-The Pow
err of individual self-Consciousness
the Great Lesson to BE Learned

: u
Rule" taking for his text Exodus xviii
Is to 2i-JethrO's advice 10 Moses to
l. appoint judges for minor causes. lie
said:
The incident apparently commonplace
but IL involves the principle OF nome
rule which is the basis Of strength ana
OF progress. 1t encourages the industry
the independence, the self-reliance OF the
| individual, and all nations and states
can only be what their individuals are.
This fact is evidenced by book which
recently appeared entitled Concerning
| the Superiority of the Anglo-Saxon Race.
| and written by Mr.. Edmond Demolins,
| an eminent French professor OF SOCIOLOGY
| The fact that the writer Is a frenchman
! lends additional piquancy and effect to
| the statement VI. Demolins prefaced his
| book by large map Of the world where
| on those portions held or occupied By
! Anglo-SaNons were marked In red
glance gives Immediately the impression
| OF the dominant power Of the English
speaking peoples. and the statistics Of
| population and commerce Intensity the
! impression The Anglo-Saxon race has
! spread out from its tight little island or
! the west coast Of Europe and has taken
| possession Of two continents, North
! America on the west and Australia in
| the east IL is found nj the Cape Of Good
| HOBO II tUIAlOls 1fUAf I4daN <AAlANA
! India: its influence is spreading In South
| America. and over all the islands of the
| seas-and what is most significant is that
| not only does this power possess. but II
| civilizcs that of which it becomes pos
| sessed.
INDIVIDUAL INDIFFERENCE.
Our interest Is conferred in the eXplana-
ton which VI. Demolins gives Of the
cause Of this superiority. win this.
| the possession Of greater individual inde
| pendence, self-reliance and initiative. lie
| divides nations into two classes. "col-
| lectionist' and "particularist" In the
former the individual depends. for his
! maintenance and advance. upon the so
! cial organism of which he IS an integer,
/ I'm the latter the individual is self-con-
/ scious and reliant upon his own efforts
/ and initiative. France is put in the
former class, England in the latter.
Here we can see the wide difference
| between the ruling social ideas of the
| two nations. says a reviewer, a difference
so profound that IL modihes every phase
| of life. and produces a striking divergence
| Of national character. VI. Demolins Is
not content TO state his thesis in gem
| eral terms. lie illustrates and onforces
! IL by patient and exhaustive eXamina-
! ton Of the respective condition OF the
! two peoples as revealed in their methods
Of education. statistics Of births and mar
riages domestic economy. public finance,
the personnel Of their politics, their ideas
Of patriotism, and their attitude toward
! socialism. Everywhere he finds support
for his argument. French education aims
at the training Of young men for the
public service. The natural consequence
is that the school is subordnated 10
this end, and the teachers aim is not
10 draw forth the native powers Of the
pupil. to give him grasp of the realities
of life to cultivate in him the spirit Of
self-help and independence, but TO enable
him TO scramble past examinations which
are the portal through which the promised
| land OF official employment is reached.
Notwithstanding tLat the list Of function
aries is enormously swelled there is af-
ter all only limited number of places,
and the great majority of candidates fail
They betake themselves to other occu-
patiOns for which they have not been
fitted by previous education or early
training. They furnish an unstable and
revolutionary element TO society corrupt
ing public life and impartng IL TO vio-
lence and passion.
What is here said Of the French nation
applies almost equally as well 10 every
European nation, but especially TO Ger
many where if anything the lesson IS
accentuated Germany suffers from "a
paternalism that is the fruitful source
of sOciaistic agitation. as Russian des-
potism gives birth to Anarchy
IN THEIR OWN HANDS.
The point that / wish 10 bring forward
is that this truth demonstrates the value
of Jethro advice TO Moses. 10 let the
government of the people be in their own
hands as much as possibe-to appoint
God-fearing men as rulers of thousands
Of hundreds, of ffties and OF tens-not
TO concentrate all government I'm a single
head. There should be a central and
supreme authority OF course. but il
should be only court of last resort"
This truth might also be an argument
in favor OF the contention that the An
glo-SaXOn people are the ten lost tribes
of Israel. a feather on the stream which
shows the direction in which the cur
rent Of human progress has run. The
ideal of the Jewish faith IS that of in
dividual responsibility. Each soul ds it's
own savior mediator and messiah: it
leans upon no church organism 10 stand
between IL and the court Of its last re-
sort its source and centre God. 10
were an impressive thought TO behold
how here the strength OF a spiritual les
son were making itself felt through
commercial and material conquest-to
facilitate the progress of humanity II
IL a Ioblt conception TO consider now
thus the doctrines of faith arc being
made effective. even though subconsci-
ously and unwittingly. God moves I'm a
mysterious way His wonders 10 per-
form"
But 70 turn from this mighty specula-
ton TO apply the lesson TO ourselves. It
can be said that we would be better of
did we realize the value Of home-rule
@. sef-rue individual initiative and
the power Of individual sef-conscious-
ness.
To touch It in political way for just
a moment, II may be said that we are
threatened with a loss OF that individual
ism. which has been the strength of the
English speaking people In the United
States and here in our own State Of
Virginia, people are beginning 10 ask too
much Of the government They want to
correct all wrongs by legislation. than
which there never was greater folly. You
can never erect righteousness nor make
a man good by law. nor by the statute
book control the mighty engines Of ma
tural law and human progress, and our
doing a vain thing when they seek 10
control public commerce or private con-
duct. In any other way than by punish
ment of wrong doing
The source and centre of all strength.
commercial or national. political or
moral, material or spiritual. is I'm the in
dividual. Let the individual soul be
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