Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1914-09-26

ium and France. There being then no
lack Of martial spirit in these two peo-
pie, it is an instructive phenomenon
that power to conquer is not their ideal
Of national greatness. Much the same
thing may be said of some other self
governing constituents of the British
Empire, such as Australia, New Zea-
land and South Africa. They, too,
have a better ideal of national great
ness than that of military supremacy.
What are the real ambitions and
hopes of the people of the United
States and the people of Canada in
regard to their own future? Their ex-
pectations Of greatness certainly are
not based on any conception of irwin
chile military force ar desire for the
physical means of enforcing their own
will on their neighbors. They both be-
lieve in the free commonwealth admin
istered justly, and with the purpose of
securing for each individual all the
freedom he can exercise without injury
to his neighbors and the collective
well-being. They desire for themselves
each for itself, a strong government.
| equipped to perform it's functions with
dignity, certainty, and efficiency; but
they wish to have that government I'M
der the control of the deliberate public
| opinion of free citizens, and not under
the control of any Praetorian Quart,
Oligarchic Council, or General Staff,
and they insist that the civil authority
should always control such military
and police forces as it may be neces-
sary to maintain for protective pur-
poses. -,
They believe that the chief object of
government should be the promotion OF
the public welfare by legislative ana
administrative means; that the pro-
cesses of government should be open
and visible, and their results be inces-
sanity published for approval or disap-
prevail. They believe that a nation be-
comes great through industrial pro-
ductiveness and the resulting internal
and external comerce, through the
Gradual increase of comfort and ger-
eral well-being in the population, and
through the advancement of science,
letters, and art. They believe that ed
! ucation, free intercourse with other
nations, and religious enthusiasm and
federation are means of national great
ness, and that in the development and
use of these means force has no place.
They attribute national greatness i'll
others, as we'll as in themselves, not
&c the possession of military force, but
to the advance of the pople in
/ freedom, industry, righteousness, and
goodwill.
They believe that the ideals of fight
ing power and dominion should be
replaced by the ideals of peaceful com
! petition in production and trade, OF
generous rivalry in education, sciea-
tific discovery, and the fine arts, of CO.
operation for mutual benefit among ma
tons different in size, natural abilities,
and material resources, and of fedora
| ton among nations associater geo.
graphically or historically, or united in
| the pursuit Of some common ends AMI
in the cherishing of like hopes and as.
plratlons. They think that the peace
of the world can be best promoted by
solemn public compacts between peo-
ples-not princes or cabinets-com-
pacts made to be kept, strengthened by
mutual services and good offices, and
watched over by permanent Interna-
| tional Judicial Tribunal authorized to
call on the affiliated nations for whac-
ever force may be necessary to induce
obedience to its DEGREES.
VIII not the civilized world learn
from this horrible European war-the
legitimate result of the policies of
Bismarck and his associates and dis
ciples-that these democratic ideals
constitute the rational substitute for
the imperialistic ideal of fighting force