The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-01-20
mighty strides. The story Of the past

| oTIui as these are IL comes from In
awakened conscience of the Who'll
people. 1t is the urge of the Worl,
Spirit, saying to every man that TIN
new order is here and that all he ha
to do is to help break away from
the shackles of the old,-shackle
that he himself has helped to forge
And men here. as all over the world
are listening eagerly to anyone wht
will voice the Spirit strongly ant
honestly, and are answering will
deeds as well as cheers. The power
| of Theodore Roosevelt lies in the
fact that he feels the underlying
thought of the people and speaks II
for them again with al 1.-The force and
enthusiasm of his big, magnetic per.
sonality. So long as he does this
and does it honestly, he may do with
them what he will. Once let him
substitute the utterances of personal
ambition, or stoop to the tricks of
the politician to gain control by turn
ing popular enthusiasm to his own
ends, and his great influence is a
tale that is told. The movement that
is sweeping the whole country is
greater than any leader or group of
leaders, greater than any policy or
party, and it is no idle boast to say;
woe to the man who gets in the way
of it.
So the impulse of this most con-
structive of all the. centuries goes
forward and the people of all coun-
tries move with it. If our own nation
marches in the van, it is because it
holds within itself the elements of all
the others and that thought here
finds quick and fearless expression.
Government by the people already
exists in one form or another, all
over the world, and now we stand at
the threshold of world federation. In
fact, as to the proven practicability
of its essential principles, it already
exists; all it needs is form that will
give the opportunity for worldwide
acknowledgment And the working
out of this form, to be presented for
consideration by the nations assemb-
led at the next Hague Conference, is
the making task assigned to
our new Peace Commission.
After all, this is not so revolution
airy as it sounds. 1t merely means
that the evolutionary process which
has brought nation after nation with
in the bounds of organized law and
order in the past, and is bringing
about universal representative gov
now and in the future, is
going steadily on its appointed way,
but with larger political structures
as its component parts. There are at |
in the civilized world fifty |
line nations, all claiming independ-
ance and for the most part enforcing
aw and order within their own
erritories. The proximity to
me another of certain groups
If these nations, and the COM
nunity of interests that under
modern conditions, has been de-
'eloped among all, have brought
bout a common understanding and
mutually helpful associations that
ven now are putting into practice
ne main principles upon which a
Worldwide political organization
or the preservation of peace
nd the further development of
and industry would
e formed. The old national
arriers are everywhere being
roken down by such natural agen-
les as the facilities of international
communication, the spread of COM {
lerce to all corners of the world, {
wing rise to degree of interde-
as to the necessaries of {
fe hitherto unknown in history, the
rowth on industries which bid fair {
} utilize all the energies of the peo-
e in constructive way. the unpre-
sdented volume of emigration from c
ne country to another and. above c
|, the increasing struggle for exist /
ice brought about by the higher /
andards of living and the increased i
'st of those necessaries upon @
hich life depends. The lust of bat
2 and conquest has vanquished be- t
re the imperative need felt every a
here for developing to the utmost |,
e natural resources upon which a
e wealth of each nation depends. "
r a fair share of that wealth is Ii
w being demanded by the people r,
10 produce 1T. In the days when b
lowledge of anything outside the q
re facts of everyday existence was Il
e exclusive property of the chosen tc