Arizona republican., 1916-12-11
Governments.

We Americans, nine out of ten of us are mortified the thought of autocracy. We defy democracy without knowing why it should be deified The follow ing. therefore. for interest for our instruction ad to make the thoughtful is taken from the Oregon Voter:
 Perhaps new profession will be created n America Is continental Eslrope; the hirns 'rlned professional mayor finds his services in de- uand there. and regular grades of promotion have ecn devised beginning with the cities of 5000 and progressing to the greatest and populous cap- tals In time, such profession might take root and thrive in this country Are crossing the threshold of a era in municipal government?
 In time. yes but it vii take a long time In Ger many, the profession of mayor is established well that of high ability in any part of the German empire may be engaged to serve as mayor of Berlin. Capability is the prime requisite just it is when American industrial corporation or railroad needs man to be its general manager president.
 Germany is an autoeracy and America is de- mocracy In autocracy it is possible make the people live to the letter and the spirit of the laws In democracy this does not seem possible at least in the big cities. So far the city manager has been tried in municipalities of the third fourth grade The population of the larger cities made up princi pally of persons who want the largest measure of personal liberty and who not infrequently confuse liberty with license. They willing others obey the laws and ordinances, but they balk when they affected The mayor who rgidy enforces the law would be hurled from office. We have too many laws It is the testimony of the of search CTS into municipal evils that the corruption of the police can be traced to the citizens. The storekeeper who wishes to appropriate some of the sidewalk to display his goods rewards the policeman for ignoring the violation of the ordinance. The saoonkeeper follows suit by giving free drinks the man on that post. For generation the residents of Fifth avenue New York had courtyards that took up many feet of what should have been the public side walk They fought in the for years pre- vent the people from coming into possession Of what public property Many buildings down town en- reached on the sidewalks It took years get the to let the city have what belonged the city one Of the last to obey the law was great New York daily that is powerful preacher of civic virtue.
 In autocracies public service is vocation. In de- mocracies it Is avocation. Some persons make business of politics, and so do institutions Tam many for example but politics and public service not synonymous terms by any method of sound soning.
 This argument the foregoing showing may be offered It is necessary that should be governed preferably by themselves in a democracy. But if they incapable of governing themselves the pow CT to them should be delegated the state assumed by the
 The people in this country to be charged with much the shortcomings their officials who conduct the government. If we have bad governor or a bad policeman he permitted licensed by people to bad. He has right believe that whatever his con- duct be, the silence the people gives consent to it. Almost any man you meet is abstracty in favor of good government and obedience to laws rigid as obedience is in Germany. But almost any does not hesitate to violate wink the violation of a law that he does not honestly believe to be wise necessary law. He feels in his nnernost that majority had no right to impose such law To that extent the citizen is anarchist So the de- mocracy have. that Is, such described by the Oregon Voter with respect 10 municipal government and we know it is to extent with respect to the federal and state government is a form of anarchy.
 We have lately seen democracy at it's best and fta haet 1rh. democracy it the best form democracy the world in that the people more nearly govern themselves there mean that the laws closely served there than in this country The people discriminating and thoughtful In enactlng laws. A law is not enacted until there is very urgent for it's enactment and even then, if there is strong sentiment against 1t. it does become law. But when 1t is enacted it is observed by all except recognized criminal class. Such democracy should be efficient if any democracy may be-
 On the other hand Germany is an autocracy of the highest type We think that will hesitate to say which of these two forms of government has so far best -wthstood the fiery test We do not mean only the test in the trenches in the field but test the has given home. The failure of the democracy in Great Britain has been frequently and publicly admitted by the introduction of autocratic methods and by the proposal now to establish full autocratlc powers home we'll as in the direction of the war.
 We are not, however to despair Of the democracy The people have the whole matter in their hands They can make the Of themselves as good or as bad as they choose It hardly be expected that they will make it uniformly good or that the government will become steadily and progressively better It may be bad now and under reaction may become good. The reactions will become more fre- quent and finally we may have good democracy in tUhf oIoff may be as efficient as autocracy