Evening journal., 1914-03-11


d,tions through which human society
will reach its highest estate an estate
in which poverty shall be unknown: in
which equal opportunity shall comc TO
all where rich and poor shall meet TO.
gcther; Were universal brotherhood
shall prevail; where nc laws OF nature
and OF the human constitution shall be
pCrfectly understood; where light shall
prevail; where. having light, men shall
not wall, IL darkness an estate IRON
which sin shall be eliminated for the
rea son tha. sin will no longer be com.
mitted: in which fear. whether Of God
or the hereafter. shall have no place. and
from which, without regret bv painless
and easy transition, men shall pass. as
through portals garlandcd with flowers.
into a future bright with promise and
IN whose skies is not a. single cloud
Take. for instance. the notion Of the
eovernmentalist- the man who believes
that man IS miserable. discontcnted. be.
cause he is not properly governed. What
has he to say?
First OF all. that man is not as wicked
as he has ever been represented: that
naturally. he is not dcpraved; that he
has suffered from bad governments from
oppressive laws; from the pressu of
the privileged classes: from centraliza-
ton Of power; from the deprivation of
natural rights; from the cxaltation of
the few at the expense Of the many;
from the lack OF truly liberal and pa
ternal government. DO away with these
things; enlarge the franchise: repeal
Your oppressive laws; strike down dis
D tnctions Of rank put the nobility at
work; distribute their fortunes; divide
their estates among the masses Of the
common peoples usher in larger lib
crty. a broader equality. a stronger fra
tcrnity-in short-govern as little as
you can, and YOU will remove the great
ost of the hindrances impeding. in the
past. the progress and happiness of the
race.
No. cries anotber-the advocate Of
centralized and powerful government
that will never do Liberty. equality.
and fraternity arc all right in their way.
but remember the terrible fruitage
springing from those teachings in the
sad days Of the Revolution. What weak,
erring man needs is the hand Of mas.
ter. Government must not be too le-
nient. Give us an autocratic will; a
more effective police; a prompter Judi
lciary; a severer. criminal code. q larger
army. a more powerful navy and. under
order and the reign of law, man will
reach tho rest, protection peae, content.
for which he aspircs So SAYS Kaiser
Wilhelm: so SAYS the Gar; so saws the
sultan of Turkey. So have said the
crowned heads of all ages and cline. So
savs Huerta. aud Huerta is right. Only
the strong arm will do for q country
where scven-eighths Of its people are
Absolutely illiterate. But what has come
oft all,
Grant that one form Of government is
better than .anothcr that the limited
monarchy Of George y is more desirable
than that Of Nicholas; that an aristoc-
lracy the government by the Aristoi.
the hest-is 10 Ice preferred over mon
iaichv Of either form that a democracy
isbetter than all combined. and yet
where IN the world todav Is there q gov
'ernment under which all are contented
land hanpvg ANe.haye had all sorts. we
.have tried all forms We have had mon
rrchies Of every grade; aristocraeies ike
those Of Venice and Athens; republics.
irancinr from the military order Of
Rome to that Of the simplest Of ALL the
Republic Of switzerland and yet the
story Of each is but the same. Greece
WIS as wicked under Pcricles as under
Phillip Rome. under Augustus Caesar.
~ nndcr Nero and Caligula. The code
of Naroleon was vast improvement
upon the lawlcssncss Of the republic
but France. under Napoleon. was as
irorrupt as wicked. rs under Danton and
Rcbespierre America boasts Of its
great republic but even here the cry of
complaint is heard--mcn today are or
ranizing for a life and death pranple
Government is not the Philosopher 3
Stone Take. again. the theory of the
nndevout social reformer. the man toll
ing today for the reconstruction Of
human soicty on lines Of purely human
evolution. the man who. as never be-
fore. has the floor: whose literature
crowds the columns of our magazines
whose strident clamor fills all the air;
whose wisdom. derived largely from
philosophic speculation rather than from
observation and experiment. is. as he SO
: fondlv imagines, the true philosopher
stone; the stone which IS TO make al
things new: whose elixir is TO prove the
panacea Of all human ills; what does he
say,
"Alan.r saws the social reformer. "i'
unhappy restless. discontcntcd miser
, able. because of his lack of proper en-.
vironncnt: hccause under present socia
conditions he has no chance. II vicious
, unhappy. disccntepted. Il is because Of
the general poverty of his surroundings
because ne has no chance for the at
tainment of the things which constitut,
the real olorv Of life and really make
u worth the living. Look at him as h,
burrows in the mines shut out for eight
hours of every dav from all the glory
> of the outward world. without possibility
! of enjoyment Of grasses waving ON th'
! hillsides. the murmuring Of brooks II
peaceful meadows. the lashing OF water
amid the silent g'oo7i Of the forest. thi
/. souq If happy birds in treetops. tn
CLINT Of sunbeams dancing in ethcrl
waves. and the shoiit Of JOYOUS childrcl
! playing in the streets; breathing an at
z M 16KfT3t N n .1DEzs