The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1917-03-23
THE UNITED STATES
OF RUSSIA.

THE UNITED STATES
OF RUSSIA.
'Four score and seven years ago our
fathers brought forth upon this cont.
nenent nov nation, conceived in liberty
and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal. We are engaged
in great civil war, testing whether
that nation-0r any nation, go con-
ceived and SO dedicated, can long en-.
dure."
''The world will little note nor long
remember what we say here, but can
never forget what they did here.'
That this nation shall, under God,
have new birth of freedom and that
government Of the people, by the people,
for the people shall not perish from the
earth. ."-LIncoln's Gettysburg Address.
Surely the spirit Of prophesy almost,
it not altogether divine, moved these
words. All listeners and all renders of
that wonderful address agreed then that
it was masterpiece of the language,
but as time has gone on we all now rea.
lize that the full significance was not
then, and perhaps even now is not fully
comprehended.
We have indicated by full faced type,
three expressions, which to the casual
reader would appear of but little moment,
and thrown in perhaps for euphony, but
the history of the succeeding half CEN
tury has shown that Lincoln in these
added phrases was including the whole
world. That on the issue of the Civil
War then still in the balance, depended
the cause of liberty and freedom sol
any nation" and that government by the
people ''should not perish from the
EARTH"
In his personal modesty Lincoln made
little of the words we say here" but in
this he was wrong and the association of
those prophetic words and what they
did here' has never been forgotten and
have never "perished from the earth"
Instead "the proposition that all men
are created equaP' has been spreading
all around the whole world.
Since that memorable Fourth of July,
1863, governments of the people, by the
people and for the people have been mul.
tiplying rapidly, of which perhaps
France, Brazil, Norway and China are
the most conspicuous examples. But in
all other countries the sentiments of
liberty for the people and the opposition
to supposed God-given or Divine rights
of rulers, has been rapidly and certainly
developed.
In some cases directly and in others
indirectly. this spirit has been the un-
derlying motive of the great European
war. 1t is equally certain from present
developments that when peace comes
that kings and kaisers will have found
that the people have learned their own
power and that the world will hereafter
use them If at all, just as figureheads.
In the discussion of this subject, it
has been claimed that the entente allies
represent this sentiment and that is
what they are fighting for. This is of
course denied by the sympathisers Of
the central powers. To us we think
that the outcome. whether SO intended
or not, will be in accordance with Lin.
oln'sprophesy.
But when one mentioned that the en-.
tente powers were more democratic than
those Of Germany and Austria, the OPP
position pointed the finger Of scorn to
autocratic Russia as representative of
q sentiment Of liberty and Of a govern
ment Of the people
But by what seems but little less than
. miracle. for the last four. days, as we
write, that autocratic country has be.
come the United States Of Russia" with
10 complete democratic form Of govern.
'ment. And this almost without blood.
shed, almost entirely BY the pressure Of
public sentiment and this has been done
while engaged in ascritical period Of the
greatest war of history. e
This Is one Of the unexpected things
caused by this war. Perhaps there are
still moro surprises Of this nature To-
come. II the kaiser had been success.
tul il bis endeayors to create second
Roman empire 81 the world, he would
have probably given the theory of the
"divlne right Of kings" longer term,
but defeat may bring the great r0publio