The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-10
COULDN'T WORK IT
Rhodes Secret, English-speaking
League Condemned.
PERSONAL ELEMENT UNCERTAIN
Would BE Likely to Defeat
the Plan.

Neither Professor w. w. Folwell nor
Professor Frank l.. McVey Of the uni
Verslty department of political economy
considers Cecil Rhodes scheme of
world wide secret political society de-
signed to unite the English ma
lions feasible. Both believe that such
a society would be more likely to work
evil than good, and that instead of being
promtive OF peace it would incite war.
Men who have given the matter some
attention believe that the Jameson raid
affords an illustration of the practical
workings of such plan. Prior to that
RAID, they say, such secret society as
MI Rhodes has proposed, existed in
South Africa under the encouragement Of
Rhodes, its object being the unifcation
OF the country under British domination
but with home rule The failure of that
raid, they argue, shows the scheme i'm
practicable even on a small scale.
Said DR.. Folwell:
The world is still big place and hui
man nature is still weak. Because of
those two facts I doubt the feasibility Of
Mr.. Rhodes plan. The danger of NAL
administration in such a society as he
proposes would be too great to compen-
safe for possible advantages. The So
clety might have a good influence, but
When the occasion arose where it could
be used for personal advantage, am
AFRAID ethical motives might give way
before the opportunity for personal ag-
grandlzement. Certainly that is the les
son we should learn from history.
AS l understand it, this society would
resemble, in it's administrative features,
the society of Jesuits< Now the Jesuits,
Dominicans and other societies of the
Roman church have always had brilliant,
rlght-thinking men among their members,
and yet, as history shows, they have
yielded to temptation. The temptation
afforded by temporal power world wide in
Its extent is too much for most men. That
is one and great objection to the Rhodes
plan. a.~g -.-.-s
"Then again, there is too much race
hatred to make such plan feasible. And
there is also too much diversity of in
terest. The world is too big to be uni
he'd, and human nature is too weak to
accomplish that unification."
Said Professor McVey:
'Mr. Rhodes plan, as outlined in the
papers, makes it evident that he was
never student of History and that he
believes 1t possible, through the instru-
mentation OF a secret society to overcome
race prejudice, geographical position and
economic power. The whole thing is also
evidence of the notion of power which a
rich man thinks he possesses; Of his in
tolerance of delay and his evident desire
to force things rather than to let them
eliminate by natural laws. AS it oc-
ours to me off-hand, such a society would
he highly undesirable for the simple rea-
son that most en- Of wealth have never
been close to the real, true interests OF
national life, and that they are usually so
blinded by their power and position that
they come to look upon themselves as
| sources Of power rather than instruments.
1t is still further very serious ques-
ton whether the interests of America
| and England are identical. The plan is
simply the elimination of series of sug-
gestions emanating from the English side
of the waters and designed to unite the
interests of the United States to Great
Britain. You know certain scholars main
tain that. Americans are more like the
Germans than like the English
Professor McVey also. advanced the ar
gument made by Dr. Folwell, that the
danger of such society's being used for
| questionable ends would more than bal
ance its opportunities for good