The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-05-31
SOCIAL REFORM AND GUARANTEE
 OF SECURITY
Do the New Movements in Gov. ernment and Industry Threat
 Civilization?

John Haynes Holmes, Church of the
 Messiah, New York.
 Exclusive Service The Survey Press
 Bureau)
 Amid such confusion of "chance and change as seems to be charac- teristic of our age in the various phas- es of it's social life, it. is not surprising perhaps to find that many persons. not over-given to ti1nidity on ordinary the course which events are taking; and are asking of the agitators and reformers of the time, in terms more and more insiStent, what guarantee they have to offer that their words and works do not spell destruction for the whole existing fabric of civlliza- ton.
 Those of us who feel the thrill of the new movement of social transfornta- tion, and hail the advent of the new day with an exu1tation which leaves little place in our hearts for any re- grets for the passing of the old, do not always realize, I imagine, how num- erous are the revolutions of ancient custom which are involved in the de- mandS which are being pressed upon every hand, and therefore fall to rec ognize the fears for the security of the nation, which are latent in many noble and devoted hearts.
 What with the indefinite extension of the machinery of our democracy by such devices as the initiative. the ref erendum and the recall, which may well seem eubversive of that whole form of representa- tive government which is at the bottom of our consti- tutional system, the multiplying as saults upon the integrity and authority of our courts. which have so long been regarded as the very buIwark of our institutions; the call for the active in- reference of the state with the ad- ncinistration Of industry in such mat ters as workmen's compensa ton, the eight hour day for women and chil- dren, the minimum wage, etc.: the ra- pidly growing sentiment of our people favoring the socialization of natural resources and the public regulation, if not ownership of all means of pro duction and distribution-the whole great movement, in a word, for an un- fettered democracy upon the one hand and an unlimited social control upon the other-What with all these start ling innovations sweeping down upon us at once, it is not surprising that many, an earnest soul is wondering IS to what the outcome of it all is to be and is seeking rather vainly for any evidence that these cures. which are being offered for our ills, do not mean the dissolution rather than the healing of the patient.
 
 amid the utter chaos in which we are involved, that there is any real security for the future?
 What assurance can you offer that this flood of reform which is certainly destined to bear us far,' will not break it's bonds and thus sweep us to destruction?
 What reasons can you present for be- lievtng that we may safely try these untested schemes of political and in- dustrial revolution, and still have any thing left of this great republic, which was founded in the blood and tears of the fathers, and was strengthened and extended by the undaunted labors- of four generations of valiant sons? Is there anything which may even par tfally persuade us that this new move ment really involves ..the strength and stability of the tineS?''
 These are the questions which are being asked today by many a rest less heart, and they are questions which challenge a respectful answer.
 There are some of us (of whom beg to be counted oneD who find our all sufficient reply to these inquiries in our a,bounding faith in humanity We believe that in a country where illiteracy is at a minimum, general education on the increase, caste bar riers unknown, freedom of speech, press and assembly granted and prac-
  joyed, the people can be trusted to control their own affairs.
 This does not mean that the voice Of the people is necessarily the voice of God in all places and under all conditions But it does mean that the people. if given the privilege of re- sponsibility and a due opportunity for se1f-knowIedge and self-instruction, will quite as often decide for the right as for the wrong; and that in the latter case will learn from eaeir ex- perience of error the certain way of avoiding similar b1unders in the fu- ture.
 Thus, by the very pra i ice Of their freedom do the people grow in wis dom and virtue Thus, by the very fact of it's operation does democracy perfect itself, as water puriftes itself. Thus does the voice of the people be- come in course of time as if it were the voice of God. Which is all we mean by the ancient maxim that the cure