The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-05-30

has no claim upon my life and interest
Many persons so think, and in SO dong
they pervert the whole meaning of liberty.
We need new definition of liberty in
the light of the Christian law of life. True
liberty is a sacrifcial thing, and reloices to
subordinate self to the common good
Liberty in it's inner meaning is the power
and privilege of choosing the right of sub
hitting ones self voluntarily for the com
mon life Liberty does not mean the de-
liyerance of the soul from law; it does not
mean the privilege of making self the CEN
tire of the world it does not mean self sut-
ficiency and self assertion. The desire to
be independent, to be a law unto ones self,
to do that which is right in ones own eyes,
is the fountain head of all sin and tyranny
and wrong in the world. What we call sin
is selfshness, that is excessive individual
ism, the attempt of the individual to set up
himself as the lord of his little world and
to make his wish and will supreme. Any
man can assert his independer ce: Cain did
that: Satan does that. But it was reserved
for the Son of Man who pleased not him
self to show us the more excellent way.
Liberty in its negative aspects alone is not
q very noble and worthy quality. In the
Nay of Liberty a man says: No man may
compel my conscience or dictate my be-
liefs; that means that I am free to deny
and scorn all holy things. In the Nay of
Liberty man says: No man is better than
another and your mobiles and aristocrats
are common clay like the rest of us. In
the Nay of Liberty man says: No man can
buy and own me, and | am no mans SER
want and underling. / envy not the man
who knows only the Nay of Liberty. There
is a Yea of Liberty, and in the Yea of Lib
erty man says: am free from all other
lesser and lower masters that | may come
under the mastership of the King eternal
and may serve him with reverence and
love. In the Yea of Liberty a man says:
The other man is as good as /, and in every
way / shall honor his personality and seek
his good. In the Yea of Liberty mar says:
l am a man with mans freedom and man
hood that may do mans work i'll society
and may live for the common veal. The
Yea of Liberty needs emphasis in orr day
and land.
O. Again, we have laid the foundations of
popular governments; we must now COM
plete the temple. The movement toward
popular government as it has appeared in
history, has been the struggle of men to
emancipate themselves from the chains
that bound them and to be free from arti-
fetal restraint. This was necessary work,
but it is not by any means the complete
work.
The builders trowel and the settlers axe,
Are seldom welded by the self same hand.
Our fathers were the pioneers and with
OF fhpu alaQra6 the fnrpGto
and removed the hindrances. Ours is the
harder task, as Lowell reminds us, to COM
plete the temple of popular government.
Thus far Democracy has been almost Who'll
ly negative thing. Thus far the advocate
of Democracy has said that the other man
is entitled to no privilege and prerogative
which does not belong to all. All this is
purely negative work as any one can see,
though it is necessary 1t Is none the less
negative. The time has come for Demo-
cracy to become positive thing and to
build up fraternal and righteous society
in the earth. Nothing can ever live long
on negatives alone; only positive truths
are the real food of men and nations. The
world has heard the Nay of Democracy and
a great and glorious word it is. The time
has come for the world to hear the Yea of
Democracy, the still more glorious and
wonderful word. Democracy has tramp
led ON crowns and sceptres and has called
them nothings; 1t has repudiated titles of
nobility and privileges of estates; it has
RACED temples and palaces that men might
be free. Let Democracy now begin to
build new palaces and temples, for all the
people; let it now declare what things are
honorable and authoritative; let it define
and illustrate the true titles of nobility and
worth. Democracy has told us what things
are worthless and wrong, and we are CRATE
full to it; never again can these old rust
worn chains bind the limbs of our free
4. 1sNk yrI,r
what are the things that are worthful and
divine; we are free that we may live the
lives of freemen. Democracy has demon
strated that kings and mobiles do not reign
by divine right and do not merit human
worship; it must now demonstrate that
the voice of the people is the voice of God
and that the common man is klngly soul.
The Democracy of blank negations is play
ed out; we must have the Democracy of
human brotherhood and divine righteous
ness. The idea of Democracy is less
form of government than a confession of
brotherhood. Democracy when interpret
ed in narrow and selfish spirit becomes
principle of confusion and anarchy. Demo-
cracy to be staple and potent must have it's
foundations and guarantees in the mutual
sacrifices and services of the people.
s. And last of all, this principle of Demo-
crazy, which is the American Idea, must
be established in all the relations and
spheres of life. Our fathers interpreted
and indicated the principles of freedom;
it is for us the children to apply and realize
these principles, in all their reach and
meaning. Our fathers wrought nobly in
their time, how nobly the world knows and
history records. The men who suffered
and bied in behalf of the Union wrought
heroically, and we gladly pay our tribute
of honor. But no one generation can do
the work of another; our fathers laid the
foundations of this great republic; now it
remains for us the children to complete
the superstructure.
Among the more progressive peoples of
the world political democracy has been
gained and it is never likely that it will be
lost There is the recognition of the great
principles of brotherhood, liberty and
equality in political relations with the cor
related obligations of cooperation and
self sacrifice, But this is only half the
story. Now it remains for these same peo-
pies to gain industrial aud social democracy
as well. which is the recognition of the
principles of brotherhood, liberty and
equality with the correlated obligations of
cooperation and self sacrifice in social and
industrial relations. The Democratic prin-
ciple when once understood will be salts
fed with nothing less than industrial
democracy and SOCIAL brotherhood. Polti-
cal democracy is the confession of human
brotherhood in political relations Social
democracy is the confession of human
brotherhood in social relations. Industrial
democracy is the confession of human
brotherhood in industrial relations. In
all these forms of democracy men must be-
lieve who believe in democracy at ALL BE
not ye called Rabbi, for one is your Master,
even Christ and all We are brethren"
These words have been the source and
potency of many changes in the past and
they contain the promise and the potency