The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-01-11
ANARCHY IN HIGH PLACES.

ANAkChY LIN HUI ILfAOiN
Professor Philip Marshall Brown, OF Prince
ton university, in an able paper published IN
one of the current periodicals discusses form
of anarchist uprising which is to his mlnd
prevalent and which is more dangerous than
the avowed opposition to constituted govern
ment and social regulations Of the anarchist
group allied to the Russian bolsheviki. PROBES
sor Brown finds evidence Of what he means in
the trend of thought and action OF men and
women prominent in politics, commerce, re-
ligion and philosophy he finds it in the publ
cations of our historians, our essayists, our So
cial scientists; he hears it from our pulpits and
our lecture platforms. In a general way it may
be described as a desire to set individualism
above democracy as a principle of thought and
conduct.
1t may not be apparent at once that such a
conflict exists between individualism and de
mocracy, or that the utmost of individual de-
velopment is contradictory to true democratic
welfare, but Professor Brown argues that there
is great danger of such opposition of interest.
He has patent evidence in the conduct of edu-
Gators, of men holding positions of high influ-
ence in the government; he can find almost as
convincing evidence in the writings of men in
thought in our churches, in our COM
mercial and social life. Democracy he rightly
says s obviously requires that men should have
strong sense of their mutual needs and in
terests It demands that men should have a
decent respect for the opinion of mankind. 1t
insists on the subordination of the individual
to the good of the WHOLE the willingness of the
individual to submit to restraints"
Plenty of men who would find it abhorent to
be classed with those who defy the laws of the
nation and of society are in their special avo-
cations continually voicing an individual con-
tempt for what they call convention although
they must be fully conscious that convention
using the term in its larger sense-is the crys
talization Of majority beliefs into action ano
accepted thought. Professor Brown finds thai
each of these men wants his own way about his
own special subject of thought. Moreover, he
finds in the heat of argument one universe
tenet among them: that of the desirability OF
overturning existing conditions and trusting tc
some future agreement for a reconstruction.
Now this is closely allied to anarchy; the diff
ference is that the anarchy to which we com
monty apply the term is that which seeks tC
overthrow political government and substitute
individual agreements. The very meaning OF
the term Flaw" is openly questioned. EXtrem
lists declare law as at present existing is simpl!
the dictate of ruling power and is not dictated
by individual rights. The fallacy here Is evi
dent enough when it is remembered that The
great mass of existing law has been wrung
from ruling powers by the battle of the peopl,
for their rights But this battle has beer
fought by democracies it is where rights arr
seen as common to all men that they enlist
armies, just as now they enlist the armies of the
allies against the German outlaw. The an
archy of which Professor Brown writes has
found place in the very vitals of our mora
structure. We no longer measure by stand
ards of right and wrong; we call crimes cruel
dastardly horrible-almost everything excep
wicked immoral. The strength of these word:
has gone out of them because their very mean
ing in the conventional sense is freely ques
toned. We have great need to hold fast to thu
good which is our heritage; so much need tina
to attack the basis of the law and order b,
which good people live is dangerous practice
only excused by the vision of great and practi
cal betterment
Those japanese troops coming by way o
Vladivostock to aid the cossacks against Ger
many and the bolsheviki look surprisingly Xix