New Britain herald., 1917-11-14
SHADE
 ON DEMOCRACY
High School Head Delivers Paper Showing Why Germany Failed

NOuAC4A y0SIoEudy Dy FT1uC1pal Lotus P. Slade of the High school. In the course of the paper, MT. Slade quoted President Wilson a number of times and showed that, in order to be a true democracy, a country must measure up to Wilson standards. Germany had failed. MT. Slade said, although apparently it had measured up to these standards in many respects. But selfshness was the frost that killed the tree at the root. Germany was happy: it was happiness Made in Germany but it was also happiness Made for Germany
 MT. Shades paper follows:
 Tn our consideration of Democ- racy it would be neglect of the most important of sources, were I to omit, at this time, to call your attention to certain paragraphs in the incompar- able war message of President Will son. Ever since the second of April every thoughtful American has been dwelling with inspiriting satisfaction upon these words:
 The world must be made safe for democracy. It's peace must be plant ed upon the tested foundations of po- litical liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no con- quests, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of man. kind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and the freedom of na- tions can make them.
 " Just because we fight without rancor and without selfish object, seeking nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all free people, we shall, I feel confident, conduct our operations as belligerents without passion and ourselves observe with proud punctilio the principles of right and of fair play we profess to be fighting for.'
 When President Wilson says we seek nothing for ourselves but what we shall wish to share with all free people, he suggests the length and breadth and height and depth of the democracy of his ideal. Nearly thirty years ago, while member of the faculty of Wesleyan University, in his book The State,' having defined so- ciety as 'an organic association of in dividuals for mutual aid to self development,' he added:
 'The hope of the society lies in an infinite individual variety, in the freest possible play of individual forces: only in that can it find that wealth of resource which constitutes civilization, with all it's appliances for satisfying human wants and mitigating human sufferings, all it's indictments to thought and spurs to action It should be the end of government to accomplish the objects of organized society.
 President Wilson's democracy must, therefore, be democracy that seeks to bring to all it's people and to all peoples who are free to enjoy them-that wealth of resource which constitutes civilization, with all its ap- pliances for satisfying human wants and mitigating human suffering, all it's indictments to thought and spurs to action.
 Such are the objects of the de- mocracy which we have been called upon to defend, Such will be the objects of the democracy referred to in this paper.
 By derivation, the rule of the peo- pie, democracy has a two-fold mean ing:
 "G) An organized state in which the people exercise, either directly or indirectly, all authority-legislativ executive and judicial;
 "(2) The system of government by which the people exercise such au- thority.
 "One important test to apply to a democracy thus defined lies in the meaning of the word people, Ac- cording as a larger or smaller num- Der of individuals is shut out from the peoples privileges does demo. cracy mean less or more. Slaves and freedmen had no part in the privi. leges of the Greek democracy. In the earlier period of our own history property qualifications kept many from the privileges of citizenship. IT Connecticut women do not yet exer else any considerable direct authorit, in political affairs. Minors will, in al probability, never be given politica authority.
 Another test has relation to tn, object which the people have in tn, exercise of their authority Does thu individual exist for the state or tn, state for the individual? The forme was the case in the democracies o ancient times; democracies of toda, seek the welfare of the individual.
 "A third test may we'll be the at titude of the majority of the people toward the minority. Does the ma jority voluntarily put upon itself linn itations to protect the interests of the minority? Only thus can the object: of our democracy be attained.
 ''If the democracy meets all the re quirements of our definition, if the people-and all the people-exercist all the power; and for the good of thu individual, are we bringing most sure ly and by the most efficient means
 that wealth of resource which con stitutes civilization, with all its appli ances for satisfying human wants am