Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-24
SEES GOOD AND
BAD IN PLANS
Of SOCIALISTS
DR.. Butler Analyses
Theories
In an Address Delivered at Berkeley,
President of Columbia University
Presents Arguments Of
Great Interest
BY Assoelatcd Press.

| BY Associated Press.
BERKELEY, cal, March 23.-The
forty-seventh anniversary of the found
ing of the University of California was
observed here today. Despite the rain
Il great crowd thronged Harmon gym
nasium, where the exercises were held.
The charter day address was delivered
by DR.. Nicholas Murray Butler, pres
ident of Columbia university, New
York, who spoke on True and False
Democracy"
Dr. Butler said in part:
"The socialist propaganda, never
more seriously or more ably carried on
than now, is an earnest and sincere
Iattempt to escape from conditions that
are burdensome and unhappy. Despite
it's most imperfect interpretations of
the economic significance of history and
its ringing the changes on a misleading
theory of class consciousness, this prop
aganda makes an appeal TO our favor
able judgment because its proclaimed
motive is to help the mass of mankind.
Doesn't Approve Program
mo just man can quarrel with it's
aim, but few readers of history or
students of human nature can approve
it's program. What is 1t that Socialism
aims to accomplish by restricting lib
erty in order to promote economic
equality? 1t seeks to accomplish what
| i conceives to be a just economic and
political condition.
| without special reference to imme-
date concrete proposals Socialism
would substitute for individual initia-
! tive collective and corporate response
bility in matters relating to property
and production, in the hope of thereby
correcting and overcoming the evils
which attach to an individualism run
wild. :.
But we must not lose sight of the
fact that the corporate or collective
responsibility which it will substitute
for individual initiative is only such
corporate or collective responsibility as
a group of these very same individuals
could exercise
"Therefore Socialism is primarily an
attempt to overcome mems individual
imperfections by adding them together
in the hope that they will cancel each
other. This is not only bad mathemat-
les, but worse psychology.
Facts Lost Sight Of
I'm pursuing a formula Socialism
fails to take account of the facts. out
of the people it would constitute a
mob in forgetfulness that the mob,
led or unled, is the most serious foe
|
The Roman republic conquered
every enemy but it's own vices. With
| the warning written large across the
page of history what is the lesson OF
| Rome for America?
THE United States is in sore need
today of an aristocracy of intellect and
service Because such .an aristocracy
does not exist in the popular conscious
ness we are bending the knee in wor-
10 ha calf Of
"The form of monarchy and it's pomp
offer a foil to the worship of money
for it's own sake. A democracy must
provide itself with foil of its own
and none is better or more effective
than an aristocracy of intellect and
service recruited from every part OF
our democratic life. We must put be-
! hind us the fundamental fallacy that
| equality is demanded by justice. The
contrary is the case. Justice demands
| inequality as a condition of liberty
and as means of reWarding each, ac-
cording to his merits and deserts.
True Democracy
"True democracy, while seeking by
all possible means to improve the
quality of its Legislators and to make
them representative of principles and
| ideas rather than of special and local
| interests, will strengthen the executive
arm and protect it from legislative ac-
tion in matters purely administrative.
1t will through constitutional forms
and by limitation of term hold the eX-
ecutive strictly answerable for the dis
charge of his duty and for the bearing
of his responsibility.
"a free state built upon free labor,
with liberty for it's watchword and
justice as it's guide, is the ideal of a
true democracy-that form of society
| which Lowell characterized so suggest
ively if incompletely, as one in which
every man has a chance and knows he
has it. To the hectic, emotional radi-
calism which clamors for the eXaltation
of the mediocre and unfit, and upon
which false democracy builds, true de-
mocracy will oppose healthy, intel
lectual radicalism that will seek to see
life steadily and to see it whole; a
radicalsm that will aim to redress old
wrongs, without inhcting new ones
This radcalism of true democracy-if
fected indiVdualsm not in selfishness
but in service, not in isolation but in
fraternity.
"In a very real sense the popular will
in the United States has no other repre-
sentative for political purposes than the
president. The president is chosen by
the whole people, with a view to his
personality, his temperament, his prl-
Vate convictions and his political prin-
ciples; when chosen he owes no respon-
+ sibility to congress but to the people of
the United States alone.
:MENTS