The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-12
COMFORT IN HISTORY.
Ambassador Brice Offers Encourage
ment to American People.


Urbana, ILL.,, June 12.-At the COM
mencement exercises at the Univer-
sity of Illinois here today one of the
attractions was the British ambassa-
dor, Mr.. James Brice, who delivered
an address.
In his address Ambassador Brice
considered the relation of history to
politics and the value of history to the
citizens and statesmen, saying there
were two general conclusions which
public spirited citizens of the United
States, who wished to serve their city
or state or country might draw from
the political history of other countries.
lone is,' said he, that no one who
seeing the faults that belong to popu-
lar government and the difficulty of
bringing it up to the ideal which the
theory of democracy sets up, need be
disheartened; no, not even by repeat
ed failures, to effect the reforms which
good citizens desire. History has COM
fort for him. 1t will show him that
and oligarchy, have their faults also
and graver faults. You may find now
and then a wise and high-souled des-
pot who will do his best for his sub
jects but there is no security. there
is not even a probability, that he will
be succeeded by other despots of like
virtue. You may have a prudent and
skilful oligarchic government which
will extend the power of the nation in
the world. But it is certain to gov
that of the people at large.
1.-The other conclusion is that al
though the best institutions and the
best administrative system are worth
planning for and striving for, although
they make an immense difference to
the welfare of the country, there is
another thing even more important.
That thing is the participation in the
rrNr-ly lf 1eaW1% Of hn -Ir.1(
body of the people. Leaders, honest,
capable, courageous men, are neces-
sary, just necessary in a democracy
as in other forms of government. The
or them, must give, if their honesty
is proved, its confidence. But the
whole people must continue to watch
everything they do and never surren-
der its judgment, or its votes into their
hands. 1t was said by them of old
that eternal vigilance is the price of
freedom. 1t is the price of other
things also. 1t is the price of pure
government and efficient government.
No citizen in a free country can es-
cape or decline his responsibility for
the conduct of his government. He
ought to respect the judgment of those
whom he knows to be wiser than him
self. He must avoid the error of those
'cranks,' as you call them who set the
particular question in which they are
most interested above the general
lines of a sound national policy. But
the history of free governments shows
that when things go wrong it is not so
often from errors of judgment on the
part of the people, as it is from an
excess of party spirit which led them
to follow blindly an INSCRIPTIONS
leader, or from an Indifference and
negligence which has enabled un-
serupulous and selfish men to pursue
their own advantage at the expense of
the public good
1.-The most successful of all demo-
cracies. that of Switzerland, has been
in which the whole people have most
ly constantly exerted themselves to
watch and to take part in the conduct
of their government and the result
has been to produce in the mind of the
Swiss people an Intelligent compre-
hension of public affairs which 1t must
be hard to equal elsewhere"