The sun., 1908-01-12

dinary power Of sensational newspapers in
working up popular Mysteries and In maSni.
flying petty incidents Of warfare.
In a final chapter Dr. Hart comedies
that the history Of the United Stated abounds
in proofs that democracy has made some
lamentable failures. From John Adams's
-Discourses on Davila' to the discouraged
concentrations OF Lecky the world has
heard Of democracy's changeableness. Of
its contempt for tradition and experience,
Of its impatience Of authority, OF its love
Of the batteries Of the common demagogue.
OF its dislike Of really great characters. oH
its effort 20 pull everything down to its
own level Our author finds the lack Of
discrimination between high things and
low reflected in the confusion and the dirt
Of many phases of American government.
Why. he asks, should a rich and inventive
people suffer riffs both in the street pave
ments and in the public oonscienOep Why
should city governments be 80 much less
profitable from the business point Of view
TO their stockholders, the public. than are
railroads and insurance companies tn
their stockholdersP Why should people
put up with rapid transit commissions that
are ten years coming to a decision? Dr.
Hart thinks that one explanation may be
the national tradition that the affairs OF
government can be directed by any in
teligent man, which OF course. is the
transfer Of the ideals OF the town meeting
and the county convention to the Affairs
Of a nation. To admit that lifelong ex-
perienoe makes q man a better legislator
or Governor seems to many Americans q
denial Of the doctrine OF equality. On
the whole. therefore, American democracy
is pronounced fairly open to the charge that
it tolerates mediocre men in public life.
Contempt Of the expert. confidence in the
untried and a willingness for party ad-
vantage to put the lesser man in the larger
place are acknowledged to be real faults
Of democracy.
Our author admits further that demoo-
.racy must also meet the current belief
that it's ideals do not exclude the most
scandalOus corruption. We are reminded,
however. that corruption is no monopoly
OF popular governments; that never was
there fOuler public service than under
the French Second Empire. or. we may
add, than under the autOcratic regime
Of Russia.
II is, nevertheless, DR.. Hart's conviction
that democracy may make many failures
and yet not be a failure. He is not one
Of those political observers who think that
ruin is the future portion OF American
democracy and that its cherished ideals
doom il TO shipwreck. In spite OF what
De Tocqueville, Macaulay, Edward A. Free
man, Henry Sumner Maine and Lecky
have said. the author OF this book believes
that there is still hope of the permanence
OF American democracy, because thres
centuries Of experience have shown that
there are national ideals stronger than
any destructive forces. James Bryce has
pointed out the intense faith which Amer
leans have in the soundness OF their institu-
tions and in the future OF their country
Nor will democracy endure simply because
OF tho peoples faith in it. 1t will live be-
cause no rival system can take it's place.
Monarchy 10 as impossible as theocraoy;
even the one man power Of a military die
tator is too far away TO be even a specious
dream. On the other hand, communism,
or even collectivism, is impossible; first,
because there is no such thing as putting
a hundred million people back where the
Indians began; still more because 30 many
OF the voters possess more now than they
could ever get under any system OF collective
ownership or distribution. There is, finally,
a national reverence for the Federal Con-
stitution akin 70 that Of earlier generations
for the Scriptures. The spirit Of the people,
their written Constitution and the temper
Of mind OF their public servants ars all
against sudden and violent changes. Hence
the United States 10 likely not only TO
endure but to endure free,