The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1912-05-08

Can you imagine the Northwestern
railway run as pure democracy
Every time there is to be business
move the stockholders called into
council, the college professor who in
vested Ills small savings, the widow
the minor heirs, all called into sol
emn conclave to decide on freight
rates. Business is not done that way
The stockholders elect directors, the
directors select the major officials
heads of departments select their
helpers and the big concern is ready
to do business. The stockholders
have surrendered no rights and they
do not feel themselves aggrieved. They
have simply delegated their powers to
representatives whom they have chos.
en- on account of their fitness and
whom they expect to hold accountable
for the success of the enterprise.
Now, this does not mean the estab-
lishment of governing ''class" either
on the part of the railroad company
or on the part of the government.
There are few things more democratic
in this regard than big corporations.
| The ,magnate who has not risen from
the ranks is the exception and not the
rule.
There have been mis-managed cor
porations, there have been dummy d.
rectors, railroads have been looted by
their own officials, but in spite Of
these facts there is no thought in the
business world of changing the meth.
DDS by which corporations are con-
Quoted. The stockholders simply ex-
ercise more care in the choice of d.
rectors and the directors keep sharper
watch upon the officials. There have
been mistakes, mismanagements and
dishonesties in our government, but
these do not demand change in the
system, although they do demand
strict attention to the selection of pub
| lie servants.
America is often likened to a great
melting pot. 1t is. But the melting
process is not nearly completed. There
are more than 100000 Italians in New
York City, nearly 100000 Austrians,
| 100000 Russians and other nationali-
ties are numbered by the tens and
hundreds of thousands. We have
naught to say against them. We would
not deprive them of their rights as
citizens, nor of their right to become
citizens. These people largely retain
their native ways, their native Gus
toms and mannerisms, their native
point of view. They are in the melt
ing pot, to be sure, but they are still
unmelted. The distinctive American
type has not yet arrived Not until
we approach much more nearly to
national type, to more perfect unity
of ideals and thoughts and purposes
and point of view will we be ready
for experiments in pure" democracy
Again our country is too large, too
varied, not only in population, but in
interests, in climate, in environment
of every kind for the pure democ-
racy" ever to be successful The eX-
pertinent failed in the little state of
Athens centuries ago. 1t must surely
fail in country so large and SO varied
as the United States.
!. 4 =
The successor of the weak demOc-
racy is always the strong autocrat, at
first the idol, then the ruler of the peo
pie Athens had it's tyrants, Rome it's
Caesars, France it's Napoleon, Mexico
it's Diaz-is America to have it's
Roosevelt?
Among the latter day preachments
is that it is a good and patriotic thing
to ignore party ties. Heretofore we
have had party government and for
many years we have had but two
major parties. We must have either
government by parties or government
by groups as in Germany. The group
government is only possible when the
executive is either figure head as
in England, or a non-combatant as in
France. When the executive is dis
tinctly a partisan and especially