Evening star., 1909-06-12

belief that the republic of the west tas
some of them called the United States.
bit Sneeringly, too) has failed That's
the usual expression they use in this con-
neCtion-'failed.'
They believe, that is. that oar system
of government has broken down under
it's own weight 10 quote another express
SION commonly used by Europeans who
take up this topic; that our constitution
has proved "A iiZZle; that the individual
states are fighting the federal govern
ment tooth and nail: that over here were
virtually the verge OF another civil
war. that our ship of state is nearing the
rocks, and all that sort o. twaddle.
Incredible as il may seem. that 'rumor
that spread over Europe last year that
the American people intended 10 crown
Mr.. Roosevelt the King of the United
States found its myriads of believers.
They didn't take that humorous PROPOSE
tion az joke at all. They accepted it
az forerunning suggestion Of fact
soon to be accomplished. The arguers for
the theory that there can be lasting
government that is not ruled by some
sort of crowned head took up the ab-
surd rumor. masnified its Importance,
treated il with the greatest seriousness
and then became platitudinous with their
wearisome we-told-you-so comments.
''ln so presumably enlightened a coun-
try as England they'll swallow bouses of
that sort with respect to the United
States. English writer's are forever scrib-
bing homlies for and about us.
For example they often quote In
England that careless and certainly not
profound observation made by Macaulay
some time in the latter fifties to the ef-
feet that the United States government
most probably would perish by the proc
cSs of breaking under its own weight
tifnp when
came into conflict with capital or some-
thing To that general essence. They're
very snIug and complaisant. and, ]
might add. pleased in England with all
of these predictions as to what this
country inevitably is coming to.
1T is utterly useless for an Ameri-
can travelling abroad to enter into any
sort OF an argument with the folks who
entertain such beliefs as I mention.
Why? We'll. because the people who
believe these things have derived all
of their information about the sta.e
of things on this side of the Atlantic
from American publications That's
the main reason.
If you undertake to convince a Euro
pcan that he's wholly mistaken in sup
posing that the American government
Is ON the verge of smash he calmly
produces for your inspection lot of
wild articles copied from American
undertaking publications
Reading such stuff. the Europeans
nave, OF course, no means or knowing
that the source of such knocks Is any
thing but authoritative; that the pubii-
cations that print them are more or less
dyed with the yellow, that the munici-
pal or state or federal sores dissect ed
in these articles are not the rule in the
United States, but the exception.
You see. the average European has no
conception whatever of the immense
size OF the United States much less of
its form OF government. So. the Euro
pean reading terrifically worked-up
story about graft and rottenness In San
Francisco jumps to the prompt conclu-
sion that the conditions in San Fran
cisco are merely an instance Of the SINH
lar state OF things everywhere in the
United States.