The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-07-19
WAR AND DEMOCRACY
By Henry Dwight Sedwick Of the
Vigilantes

Before America entered the Wa,
Mr.. Sedgwick was writing articles
for the Atlantic Monthly" He is
now writing principally for the
VIGILANTES and hundreds OF
thousands, if not millions, of men
and women from all over the coun-
try find his messages at their break.
fast tables every week.)
War is not democratic in its me-
thods. War is no time for long de-
liberation, for quiet argument, for
threshing out differing opinions.
War requires prompt action; it COM
pels nation to entrust great powers
into the hands of the President, and
reduces the functions of Congress
to enacting laws that carry out the
Presidents will. A nation at war,
like man attacked, must be able
to strike it's hardest on the instant,
and ward off blows instinctively. All
the national actions that in time of
peace are rational actions, the fruits
Of deliberation, must in time of war
become instructive, automatic.
It is difficult for a peace-loving
people suddenly to adjust itself to
this novel situation. The country
would like to have time to think
what it had better do about this and
that, about anti-submarine defense,
about steel and wooden ships, about
sending great army to France,
about wise policy towards Russia,
about how to convince the German
people that we really are their
friends and wish to help them to
democracy for their own sake as
we'll as for the safety Of the world.
But there is no time to collate the
opinions of 2o,000,00O men and
20,00O,00O women; neither is there
time for Congress to listen to the
elaborate arguments Of the pacifists
among its members. The President
must have immedi-te power to act
for the whole country.
Undemocratic as this seems, we
may hope that it will lead two great
democratic achievements. The first,
of course, is to induce Germany to
overthrow her military class and be-
come a republic. The second applies
practically to 1he democratic affairs
of this country; we believe that
there will be far greater equality in
sharing the wealth Of the country,
Par greater equality between the
rich and the poor. This will be ac-
complished in this way:
The .axes will be enormous. The
country will spend 10 billions of dol
lars a year. That sum of wealth,
whether it is all raised by taxes, or
in part by loans, will be consumed
each year. The problem before Con-
gress is how, to make taxes fall on
Injuries, or, in other words, to turn
all the labor now employed in pro-
ducing luxuries for the luxurious
class into producing all the things
needed for war-ships, armament,
munitions, supplies, etc, etc.
The country would overwhelming
ly agree to such plan. Even the
luxurious would, for the most part,
gladly agree. The problem itself is
for the labor that goes in
to luxuries is divided into thousands
Of branches, and often luxury lis but
some necessity or reasonable COM
fort carried to excess; and often it
is very difficult for workers engaged
all their lives in producing Injuries, !,
suddenly to abandon q familiar job
and take up work in munition fac
tory. Nevertheless, that is the fun
damental question to be dealt with.
Let US suppose that every country
sees clearly that this is its chief
problem, and insists that taxation
shall fall on luxuFies 80 that labor
shall be transferred from the pro-
duction Of .uxuries to producing the
necessities Of war. Then after the
war there will be this great number
Of laborers released by peace from
their labors and ready to turn to the
works of peace. Here is the great
democratic opportunity.
This released labor must not 60
back to the production Of luxuries;
t must then be employed to produce
comforts for the poorer
classes. There must be more schools
Ind more teachers in the schools; |
here viii b more public buildings: |
'or example, public swimming bath
n every town; IN ample play
Iro6nd for school children should be |
Ittached to every school; there |
hould be free public doctors and
|ent1Sts, ETC., etc.