New-York tribune., 1899-11-16
DEMOCRATIC IDEALS.
PRESIDENT JORDAN ON THEIR coNDl-
TION TO-DAY.

IMPERIAL, DEMOCRACY. a study OF trnot the Rev
lston OF Government r BY the rfnsts Of Democ,
rscS to the Demands OF Vigorous sGrelsn no,
pGSy nSD apS By 3snf paTd starr Jordan President Of
Leland Stanford. Jr,s EniVers'''
pp tx, 2sS. D. Appleton & CO.
The disapproving drift of President 'oruam
book is boldly suggested in its title II ono
Of Imperial democracy one is obviously mo-
eating a paradox and threatening sever
cism An alluson to yellow patr'o'is"
which contemptuous phrase the author oesie-
80 Tho natriotisn, Of whose who advocate
nolicv ~ territorial expansion serves 10 sho"
the degree Of judicial tone often Observer ou'
3, rrust he considered that the bulk OF TINS pooh
&c composed of public addresses. delivered pre-
sumablv under conditions that exci'eu anu
excused certain vigor Of utterance
President Jordan deals almost exclusively VII"
the Philippine question. and ms a'u'u
throughout is that which is succincty oe-
clared in these words II see no honor IN our
seizure OF the Philippines. nor prospect "a
iustice in our ultimate rule" The only Eish'-
eous thing for TO do. he says wouio 10
10 recognize the independence OF the rhIiip
mines under American protection. ana 10 iehu
them our Army and Navy and our wisest coui-
sellors, not our politicians, but our 1ur'S's'
our teachers. with foresters. electricians, manu-
various industries" This is certainly more
,s,h,a rronosition than that which is offered
as an alternative. thus: The only reasonaoie
,b,rv N do would be to pull out some dark night
md escape from the great problem OF 'he
or,apt as suddenly and as dramatically as we
cot into If" But the significance OF this pook
6oes not lie in the authors hypotheses as 10 'ne
solution Of the great question when mas pro-
voked his observations. 1t is to be fouho rdt"eI
IN his views on democracy. These whch appear
constantly to general principles, are neVer'heiesS
largely colored. we believe, by defective read
tng OF present conditions. President JORDAN Is
opposed to territorial expansion. He thinks 'ha'
those who believe in II are not only making
specifc mistake at this moment, but are pilhs-
ing about a subversion OF true democratic prlh-
cinIes substituting Imperial Democracy
hybrid and vicious thing for the democracy co"-
templated by the fathers Of the Republic
The function of democracy. he tells us. is not
TO make government good. 1t is to make men
strong" Elsewhere he explains that while. in
his opinion. the strength Of empire lies IN Oru'@
force alone. that Of democracy lies In the SELL
control and the self-respect of the fndiVloua
citizens" To these ideas he finds a curious
corolary Admitting that under republican
form Of government the people are bound 10 De
interested in all it's details" he still comes to
the surprising conclusion that the moral obliga-
tions of a nation belong to the people purely as
individuals" Nations, as nations. ne asserts
can only be bound together by legal obhgations'
financial obligations. the pledges OF treatles' ana
therefore, by some legerdemain which we con-
fess we cannot understand, the Individual is 10
help his nation by being good man, but never
by carrying his goodness into the sphere OF
actual government. In that sphere the goodhess
cannot be of any service. A nation, he protests
cannot be virtuous Why not? President Jor-
dan would seem to have found an answer SUM-
cient for himself in his Interpretation or BRUSH
methods which he takes as representative OF
those which must be pursued by any nation eH-
panding its territory He says: From beginning
10 end Of British colonial dealings with lower
races there has never appeared the word nor
the thought of justice in the sense in which our
fathers used the word--equality before the law
Law and trade constitute her sole interest in
tropical humanity. and law for trade Pat@rnai
helpfulness there has been in large store, but
the thought of human equality, in any sense OF
the term is foreign to British methods. To en-
nhasize and perpetuate inequality lies at the
basis of British polity" To these specious state
ments-to employ no stronger phrase--we VENT
ure to denur. A higher view Of British justice
than that held by President Jordan is we think
justified by facts which lie on the surface OF
English colonial history But even more mis-
taken is the assumption. visible throughout this
book that not only do the British follow In their
colonial methods line impossible to the indl-
vidual, but that IL we administer the Philip
pines as a colonial possession. will inevitably
take that line.
Here we see why democracy is to exalt the
individual and is TO avoid far as possible the
functions Of what the author regards as ma
ton. nation, gather from his discourses,
IS thing apart, a kind of academic fabric
which should restrict its activities to the last
degree since IL cannot be expected TO behave. in
its capacity as a nation with virtue. "Our
government is not organism which can think
and act as a unit. 1t is simply the reflex of the
people themselves: the mirror OF the mass, with
all its crudities and Inconsistencies" Is there
not discernible in this odd proposition a Social
istc note? Is democracy, then. so hopeless a
failure that its worst elements are beyond sup
preston. but must necessarily invadate what
ever is good in the people? This question
answers itself: and as for our government not
being an organism which think and act a:
a unit we only say that II this be true the
very name Of the United States is fa)sity
1.-THE day Of the nations as nations Is passing,
SAYS President Jordan. and with small respec
for what "Vaterland' means to the German, o.
"Ia Patyie" to the Frenchman. he confdentl!
assumes that without great armies the German
Empire would crumble. the French would. as
nation. suffer complete metamorphosis. Ever
England without her armaments, gives hin
pause. The English character, he admits
would be tremendous safeguard for law an
order. but this would be only at home. Tn
British Empire would collapse. To those grin
conclusions there is but one reply, and that ma,
be offered in the form of question. Is 1t no
possible TO take too seriously this question o