The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1900-01-19
orr STANDARDS CT POLITICAL MOI.
kL;TI

rested !E the faCt thai liz has WRITER
srycr" af Baedrser. hHnAhao<s ha
rscertly published the opirion hat III,
standalri Of personal morality in Amer
ira Is decidedly higher thar ;u tn.ias&
that Of commercial morality lsnbaiiy +
little lower and that OF pnIiriral moral
itv quite distinctly lowtr Tfanr i@Ie9s
Oh 10 think that IN this view tr repre-
sents Il consensus Of opinion + we'll in
formed observers on both SIDES of I'll,
Atlantic The causes for this condition
OF things demand serious attention, 4
failure to carry into politics the same
kind Of ethical standard which is aV,
piled il matters Of personal morals i'm
plies, as = rule. that there III something
in II peoples political conditions tc
whose III derstanding il has not fully
grown UP Such failure implies de
feet in pgblic Judgment rather than in
individual character. II indicates that
we DO not know what virtues must bs
exercised for the maintenance Of organ
lied society as well as we know what
virtues are necessary to the haTmGni
ons LIVING Of individuals among their
neighbors
The difference between standards Of
poitica morality and of personal nor
alty attracted attention as long ago us
the days of the Greek philosophers,
From that time onward every moluII-t
who has really studied the s1ihjert has
recognized that there We're certain dis
tinctive political virtues, elements su.
perlatiyeiy necessary in the coEdurt of
good ruler or member OF the ruling
class. which might have been relatively
less important in matters outside OF no.
itics What is to be regarded IS p7"rE
cellence the virtue Of the ruler and the
freeman lisa question which iSHuswerad
different!yju different stages Of sp"ietr.
In the earliest Developments Of civil
zation stress is chiefly l&id on courage
to maintain authority; in a i"5er stage,
greater Importance is attached TO the
virtue Of seIf-TeStraint to submit in per
sou to the authority imposed On uthsrS;
while in a still later development, at
least equal prominence must he given
to public spirit, to use for collective
or unseihsh end the measure oi authori
ty bestowed on each individual. Amer
lean society has witnessed the passage
from the first STAGE to the second; much
must be done before we have attaiuel
to the third
In the beginnings of civilization the
virtue OF courage is necessary prore
Qriete for any and all government,
When people 50 far emerge from super
stit;aa that they begin to d-tru-t the
authority OF the priest, Il strange and
fearless hand is needed to create a
recognized police authority which can
represS license and disorder WhOeygr
has this courage will have authority, for
without it there is no authority at ali
If it is possessed by but few, we shall
have an oligarchy: the more widely it
Is ditiused, the more nearly shall we
apprcach democracy. We can have no |,
social order. oligarchic and democratic, |.
without the personal c0nr2%@ and .
physical force to mNntain it. |
So fundamental ale these things that .
there il a disposition in certain .
stages Of society to condone in the pos,
SCISSORS Of courage and ti%htiHG ctiirien~
cy the want Of many other virtues, to .
let them yiDdicate the najpsty Of the
law by hanging the wrong m"u if tine
right man is not to BE- found; TO lei
them assert their authority to make
MNS tN tit "So'''iPli'i! va 'h N'lt t'iltN (.
in their own person TO break the laws
wbic' they have made to despse and
suppl ~ the base mecnaDicmiS' who
would protest against this arbitrary in
fraction Of legal principle.
But base luechanicalS, however un-
Justly despised in nation beginnings,
prove necessity Cor its progress be
yond those beginnings. The stats, as
Aristotle says having begun ~
means OF making life possible, coutin-
,les 4s I, Ineaus Of Ina6iug HE prosper
ous. When once the Necessary basis Of
authority is established, that authority
becomrs with each generation more
impartial ana more absolute, protecting ,
the laborers as well as the soldier or !
poltcian, The brave citizen can in t
these later generations best serve the /
:. Use Of his country. not by III excess ,
of personal zeal in behalf Of his nation. {
hut by Il readiness to submit his Claims
to the arGitrament of tribunals which
have been established for the determine. !
ton of Justice. This change from the ,
virtue Of tOHHHidO to that of frGtDCr0HiIQ .
is manifest in every department of hu \
mar activity as soon Us it advances be t
yond certain rudimeutary stage !
Fighting ceases to be matter Of per !
sonal coinage. and becomes Il matter 2
of discipline so that the ideal soldier :
il no Logger thc leader of cavalry s
charge. but the organizer Of victory, !
who can give aud take orders rs part !
of a larger whole. Success IN business {
is no lon ger the perquisite of the ven !
turesOine trader who starts on n voyage
of eypioTaTim but Of the paiIstakiuC 3
W nc understands the laws OF t
uuppir and demand, ana c1u regulate +
his c0uiIrt by those laws. Ia snort, We -
whole icndli organization OF society a
where Authority rests on courage ard Il
service given in return for personal e
protection. gives place to q newer and e
larger oi,ler. where the authority Of
permanent principles is er0+Oi&ed a. +
hyperion to that of any person and +
where that man serves the world u
best who caN best take his share both h
in WELDING rni in recognizing this n
authority, /,
Through these two stage which 1t r.
has taken Europe centuries to accom- e.
Dlish America has been passing in i,
! colnparatively briei period, First We =
have the Iawless frontier community, Il
where men have such rights rs they Gan r,
1efend with their own rerolrcrs; where h
n case of emergency. the yigilante. who 4
axes the law into his own hands. is the T
most necessary of citizens; wher1 the /,
necessity Of the presence Of jude +,
lynch is so sharply recognized that his u
occasional mistakes are cond0ned; and Il
where absence of power to insist on S,
,nes rights. is almost AS bad az having q,
10 rigts at all With the. necessity rr
'or more regnlar investment and en y
,loynent OF capital and the establish u
nent or the police authority which Is h
.o,ncident with the employment, the f.