Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-06-04
UNREST.
Causes For Present Dissatisfaction In
the World.

Causes For Present Dissatisfaction In
the World.
The fresh postal strike voted last
night in Paris, brings home to us that
of no time In the history of the world
are 80 many signs Of general unrest
recorded as those which seem to con-
front us today. At former periods,
when novel theories or actual revolu-
tions disturbed the accustomed order
Of things, their energy was either con-
fined altogether to particular states or
groups Of states, or else 1t affected
different countries and different peo-
Piles in succession. This was the case
with even the greatest among them.
Christianity itself permeated the Old
World very slowly, and II the rise OF
Islam was more rapid, 1t was restrict
ed to the lands open to the aggression
Of the Prophet and his followers. The
conception OF modern nationalities
and Of the sovereign national state
spread quickly among the sovereigns
and the statesmen Of western Europe
when once 1t had been evolved, but 1t
was slower in reaching the minds Of
the people.
The Reformation never really got a
grasp Of the minds Of the Latin races,
and the French Revolution had at all
times more enemies than friends
among the populations upon whichit
imposed its yoke. In 1848 the fer
ment in the minds Of men was more
widely diffused than 1t had been in
1880. but still 1t was limited to GER
tain number Of western European
states. It did not materially stir this
country, and It had no perceptible re-
suits upon the Russians. None Of
these movements after the birth of
Islam made itself felt directly In Asia
Indirectly the French Revolution
helped to change the face Of South
and Central America, but the anarchy
which long prevailed in the republics
carved out Of the ruin Of the Spanish
monarchy did not for the most part
react upon either Europe or North
America, save perhaps In some de-
gree as warning. Now for the first
time the signs Of social and political
restlessness are discernible not only
throughout Europe, but over a great
part Of the "unchanging east" They
are not so common In some lands as
In others. They are not in all lands
affected equally grave. But they are
visible everywhere, from the shores
Of the Atlantic to the shores Of the
Pacific, and the causes of this phc-
nomenon are not altogether clear.
The spread of education" in the
popular sense Of that much-abused
word, is no doubt one of those causes.
Improved methods Of communication.
which make effective organisation
possible, are another. The cheap
newspaper and the political tract SOW
the seed. Much Of 1t falls upon un-
productive soil. The nations bred In
constitutional traditions possess an In
herited political instinct and an ac-
quired experience which render them
comparatively immune from subyers-
i've doctrines. But among populations
who are new to liberty -these doctrines
in many cases find ready credence.
The advanced" reformers Of China,
Of India, Of Persia, or Of Russia are
far more uncompromising In their de-
votion to extreme democratic doc
trines than are the bulk Of the work.
ers in Germany, in France, in Eng
land, or in the United States. They
are still under the spell Of abstract
principles. and they still lack the
practical wisdom to adapt those prin-
cirles to the realities Of society as 1t
exists and as 1t always has existed.
The decay Of old beliefs, traditions.
conventions and customs Is, without
doubt, a main reason, II q reason Of
a negative kind, foi the general un-
settlement which pervades the masses
Of mankind in 80 many different lands
and under conditions which so widely
vary. That decay is common to all.
Of the communities In which unrest
exists, and It is most conspicuous in
the men who consciously promote the
feeling Of vague dissatisfaction and
who endeavor to organize 1t for po-
litical, social or Socialistic ends. Not
all Of these traditions and customs
are in themselves admirable. 1t may
be well that not few among them
should disappear. But It is very dam
gerous for civilization and for all the
classes, from the lowest and the weak
est to the highest, that they should
disappear suddenly and leave nothing
in their place. 1t Is they which have
nodded the sense of duty In the pop
ulations where they are entertained,
and If they are violently overthrown
the feeling Of duty may but too easily
go with them.
Enlightened reformers whose real
aim Is the good Of the people, and not
the satisfaction Of their personal as
pirations, would do well everywhere
to bear in mind that they are at
tempting to raise up multitudes far
less instructed and intelligent than
themselves. They should endeavor to
Judge their projects not upon their
abstract merits in an ideal society
composed exclusively Of the tntelli-
gent and the unselfish, but as they
seem likely to work among average
men and women, with all the natu-
-al weaknesses and defects Of average
men and women. II they did this,
they would hesitate long before they
threw down, until they were quite
convinced not only that they could
build up, but that the new building
would meet the needs Of the tenants
much better than the old.-London
Times.
ARSENTMlNDED