Arizona republican., 1917-07-08

ulIIlCully III SupplylIlS all HIS IuHud- mental needs in harmony with his fel- lows and so be freed from the temp tation to anti-social action, we shall not require any "cracy" at all( any system of coercive decisions, majority or other.
 But as the date for the 1nau9ura- tion of that good time having not yet been decided on, poor humanity in the meantime is just doing the best it can. The vote of one half the commu- nifty plus one, we may as well admit, is not voX dei; but majority rule, in so far as rule at all is legitimate. is the most practical thing to go by, and on the whole, with all it's faults, the safest.
 And, of course, just as We have to admit that democracy is but very imperfect arrangement, so we have to admit that our democracy here is but a very poor version of democracy. A government of the people, by the peo pie, for the people, government seeking the just welfare and the full est liberty of it's citizens. does not exist, the New Republic writer tells us All right. Our system "automat- 'cally generates monopolies and priv ileges' Let's own up, and save argu- ment. Wealth through it's control of
  if through nothing else, does very largely control public opinion and so very largely controls the majority vote.
 Further, if it be true that the war is for the benefit of democracy abroad, it is evidently equally true that it is not going to be of benefit to democ- racy at home. The upholder of Amer ican democracy, though he may feel that he has got to take his medicine, can surely not help making Wry face when he is asked to swallow censorship bills and that sort of thing. He may not feel himself ln position to deny the necessity of con centrating a great deal of power in a very few hands in the meantime; but he recalls all the same that line of Walt Whitmans about the never ending audacity of elected persons. The bill passed a few weeks ago against anarchist and reasonable
 tions placing practically un- limited arbitrary power in the hands of the postmaster general to suppress all effective protest against the war policy, does not seem any too sa1e u the thinking citizen of a supposedly free country even though the word .seditious" was cut out by amend L. l been arrested; and although l am far from being a follower of his and do not know what he did say in his pa Der. vet 1 do think that Tom IS pret-
 ran specimen of an American ana feel uneasy at any regime which con- siders it necessary to incarcerate such a man for Americas safety The al e.. anu punsnment of the paclllsts who protested against registration which after all was not ratified by the decision of the majority of the people remind one unpleasantly of the sup pression of public protest in Germany. In what, the proGerman may ask us' does the arrest of Emma Goidlnan differ from the arrest of Lleoknecht
 The danger of Prussianism estab- fishing itself here while we are en gagged in the job of putting it down in Germany. does not seem to be al together an imaginary one.
 There is an old proverb which speaks about the pot calling the kettle black. If no one but he who IS With out sin is to cast the first stone, America is in a somewhat doubtfui uosttion as she hurls her first brick against Germany.
 But after all granted that none of us are without sin. even man Who swears. chews tobacco and has been guilty of a good many lapses frtfn virtue will not be condemned by most people because be interferes to pre- vent a murder. The fact that man yesterday disgracefully unkind in the way he spoke to his wife need not ston him interfering when he sees an other brute of a husband attempting to correct his wife with a hatchet- sn It does give his own spouse a chance to rub it in upon his callous conscience.
 If our attitude toward Germany ls to be that of the altogether superior person. our excuse is, as you hlne' something very much like bunk. Ihei is. however, still the possibility that the recollection of our own shortcom ings may have some little influence on our attitude; and if we approach this job with the humility which am sure a. realization of it's gravity shoulu impress upon us and with the reSolNe to clean up our own house ana wash our own linen just as soon as we can. I am inclined to thlnk that HIS tory in it's future judgment VIII ho' be too hard on us. The danger I can see, is being 1 somewhat diminished by the interna- , tional aspects of this war All the parties taking part in it-Germans | and all-are speaking contlnually 1 about democracy and freedom Ano "a decent respect to the opinions or mankind" will compel them all, l teel { sure to come along sooner or latei with at least some of the goods. As Russia has been induced to promise l freedom to Poland, and England + | evidently anxious in the extreme to ] get rid of any reproach in regard to i Ireland, so it may be that we Will ne | inclined to listen to the hint conveyed 1 from Russia that it would prefer us 1 to let the socialists have the pass ports they wanted and to have the old time Russian revolutionists, Elm ma Goldman and Alexander Berkman released.
 1 Woodrow Wilson is but the choice ! (out of only two really put forward, made by a minority of the inhabitants of this country, and good many peo pie were not satisfied. Some, while 1, ago, were calling him a pussillanl
 nous pedant; others now are protest ing that they voted for him just be cause he had Kept us out of th' war" I am not satisfied with him al ways myself. But I am quite positiv, that however much we may grumble i none not one of us. would exchange
 Wilson for William Hohenzollern. Will son is compelling some of us, withou too much democracy about the com i pulsiop. and some of us much agains J, our will and even against our con
 victionS, to go over and shoot Ger mans: but after all he has both bet tar than