Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-12-19

ny IllS COnnlcl. GerHlany is SeetnlnS
with the struggle between the two groups
of opinion. And no authoritative voice
has been heard declaring that the tyranny
of the majority is as indefensible as the
tyranny of the minority.
The Russian proletariat leaders who
have climbed up into the seats of the
mighty are exercising the oppressive and
autocratic power of the deposed autoc-
racy. Whoever protests against their
tyranny is denounced as an enemy of the
state and stood up before firing squad.
History is repeating itself, for Robes
pierre followed the same tactics in the
French Revolution-Robespi as gen.
tie a soul as ever condemned to death a
man who disagreed with him. He knew
no better way to produce unanimity of
opinion than to kill all dissidents.
Now and then a sane mind protested
against the crimes done in the name of
liberty, but the protests were unheeded.
The revolutionists had suffered under a
reign of intolerance, and they applied to
their former masters the lessons which
they had been taught so WE'LL
The Russian revolutionsts are doing
the same thing, and they are doing it
crudely and without skill because they
are inexperienced in the art of suppress
ing those who oppose them. The polit-
ically suppressed in Germany are not
going to the same extremes, but they are
doing their best to deprive every one who
had anything to do with the old regime
of power to interfere in the new.
In France and England there are large
| groups demanding such vindictive treat
ment of the defeated enemy as the
Russian proletariat is infiicting on the
former ruling class. They are like a
horse with binders on or like man who
shuts out the sun with a penny before
his eyes. They either do not see or they
see only narrow course straight ahead
with none of the dangers and pitfalls on
| both sides.
No world charter constructed to meet
only the conditions which they compre-
hend will be worth making. 1t will leave
out the broad tolerant principles of JUS
tice, the disregard of which in the past
has brought the nations to their present
sad state. We do not mean to imply that
the crimes of Germany must be con-
doned but merely that way must be
| left open for a new, repentant and regen-
Grated Germany to live its life in perfect
freedom tolerated by the enlightened
opinion of mankind.
Intolerance at Versailles will destroy
the ends it seeks, for it is the law of life
that the intolerant will ultimately reap
what they SOW. 1t is one of the compen-
sations which the divine order provides
for equalizing things.
1t was intolerance which created the
American republic, and the descendants of
the British kings who disregarded our lib
critics are now so powerless that they
cannot enlarge or contract the freedom of
a single man.
1t was intolerance which brought about
the French Revolution with its benefits
and its excesses, and the French aristoc-
racy against which the people revolted
exists now only in name, with all its
power and privileges gone. There were
reactions in France toward aristocracy
because of the early intolerances of the
people, but they were followed by the
reassertion of the rights of men to govern
themselves until now France is as fret
as America.
In the long historical view one can Sc,
that in the conflict of intoerances the,
slowly wear themselves out, and ther,
takes their place spirit of liberation fol
differing points of view.
But they have not yet worn themselves
out completely, even in America. TIL,
fight of those who have had a vision O.
freedom must be kept up, and we mus
remember that Liberty is an ancien
warrior, armed to the teeth, with on,
mailed hand grasping broad shield an,
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