The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1918-12-27

of this country and run it after the
war is over. And you won't be able
to do that unless you think and think
straight
"'Weve never been taught to
think, was the illuminating reply.
"'And if we do think, we've never
been educated to express ourselves
same as youn shouted another man.
'I'm here to help you educate
yourselves, said the lecturer But
first let's hear any ideas you may
have on the question l asked you
There turned out to be plenty Of
ideas after all.
AS we walked homeward through
the fog continues Winston Church
i'll, 81 talked to him of Professor
Dewey's work and its results, while
he explained to me the methods of
the Reconstruction Department. Out
of every audience like that we get
group and form a class, he said.
We have a great many classes al
ready started, and we see to it that
they are provided with text books
and teachers oh, it's not propa
ganda,' he added in answer to my
inquiry. All we do is to give them
facts in such way as to make them
able to draw their own conclusions
and join any political party they
choose, just so they join one intelli-
gently"
Could there be a more thrilling il
lustration of the Forum and Recon
struction? of making a free in
stitution" serve toward bettering the
life and conditions of the soldiers
of the battlefield and of industry?
England is making the education
of adults the cornerstone of recon
struction. 1t is in recognition of
the fact that such education is
preparation for intelligent citizen
ship. In the last analysis, the sta
bility of reconstruction work in any
country rests first on the under
standing and then on the satisfac-
tion of the great majority of citi-
zens who will ultimately cast their
vote, in approval or disapproval of
any reconstruction program.
President Wilson, in The New
Freedom"
Let me quote something very per
tinent here, from "The New Free
DOM" written by a man who has
made himself the exponent of demo
cratic thought the world over:
"One of the valuable lessons Of
my life" says Woodrow Wilson, was
due to the fact that at a compara-
lively early age in my experience
as a public speaker l had the
privilege of speaking in Cooper
Union in New York. The audience
in Cooper Union is made up of every
kind of man and women, from the
poor devil who simply comes in to
keep warm up to the man who has
come in to take a serious part in the
discussion Of the evening. l want
to tell you this, that in the ques-
tions that are asked there after the
speech is over, the most penetrating
questions that l have ever had ad-
dressed to me came from some Of
the men who were the least well
dressed in the audience, came from
the plain fellows, came from the fell
lows whose muscle is daily up
against the whole struggle of life.
They asked questions that went to
the heart of the business and put
me on my mettle to answer them.
l felt as if those questions came as
a voice out of life itself, not a voice
out of any school less severe than
the school Of experience" Presi.
dent Wilson here illustrates pro-
cess of democracy in crystallizing
public opinion for which the Gov
eminent should have grave concern.
Continued on Page Three)