The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-03-05
Democracy and Minorities
(By David Starr Jordan.)

Democracy is not merely govern
ment by the people. 1t is the recog-
milton OF the welfare OF the people as
the purpose for which government
exists This purpose involves lndl-
yidual freedom, individual o5edl-
ence to the laws or agreements
which save freedom from anarchy,
with Justice as the final aim OF both
freedom and obedience. In deIhoc-
racy the minority bows to the will
of the majority, but not TO its opln-
ions. 1t is essential 10 freedom that
personal opinion should be safeguar-
ded. for it is the backbone OF democ-
racy. 1t results therefore that the
tombstone of democracy is found IL
its treatment of minoritieS. a repub-
lie, no more than a monarchy, can
claim infallibility or lmpeccablllty-
So the will of the majority IS always
subject to revision. The Will OF
democracy is the compost OF the
will of all its sovereign people. Inc
aims of these may not always be wise
or righteous. Their motives are sure
to be mixed; hence democracy can
not suppress adverse opinions by
force-only by Cancellation and ar
gument. Only despotism can make
a desert of opinion land call II
peace" A democracy without toler-
ance is a contradiction of terms. In
a democracy each voter is ruler, and
each one must be 'conSclentlouS
obiector" to something. Every NIL
nority is held together by the hope
that it may some time become ma
iority. Even one, with right on his
side, may become a majority. His
soul goes marching on"
When a minority represents folly,
it soon evaporates in free air. Under
forcible repression, folly becomes
dangerous. Suppression of thought
and speech is the discredited weapon
of autocracy. That the land of free
dom should be secure in its mlnorl-
ties as well as in its majorities, our
fathers wrote into the Federal Con
stitution those articles which guar
antee freedom of the press, OF speech
and assembly They valued free
dom more highly than we do because
they knew what it was to be without
it. They had lived under a Prusslan
King of England Wrong action may
be put down by law, but wrong opln-
ion never.
acts certain duties as well. Not ev-
cry act which is legal can be defen-
ded as wise. Wisdom OF utterance in
time of stress should have a definite
and defensible purpose behind II. Al
the present moment our Nation is IN
the strain of a gigantic world war.
Our people as a whole believe that
their entrance into this war was
v0rd n
have no military or economic ends to
serve. They use the potential forces
of the Nation TO assist the self-gov-
erning nations of Europe to resist
the aggressions of a conquering dy-
nasty. The questions as to whether
we could or should have held aloof
are no longer pertinent. We are IN
the war, and in so far as any war
may be righteous we are on the right
side.
1t is our duty as good citizens to
look forward and not backward IN
these days. and the more intelligent
our conception of the restoration OF
Europe, the more effective will be
our share in the great work of the
century.
Whatever our opinion as to what
OUT COuTS6 oCSh VI
have been, we can not change it now.
We are already in the grasp of his
tory. There is no chance of recess
sion, no gain in obstruction, no poll
cy to be altered this side of the end.
Old issues are dead; if we influence
the future, it must be along lines
still living. The one great aim is
Just and lasting peace. Every detail
of war is wanIon destruction unless
this proves in fact war to end
wars" And the only visible road in
this direction is along the lines the
President has indicated. We have no
selfish ends of our own to serve, we
will serve the selfish ends of no one
else. We have no quarrel with any
people. But there are hands too
bloody for US to clasp, and theirs
is diplomacy too serpentine for us
to meet And both these are insep-
arabic from irresponsible autocracy,
the government of the Dark Ages.
In these days it seems to me that
nothing is gained by mass meetings
of protest of whatever sort. They
will not change the popular will;