Evening journal., 1918-12-14

which the war has bequeathed the
United States, are too vast and wholly
new to be solved synthetlcally by any
body OF men, however wise. They
must, believe, be permitted TO work
themselves out In accordance with
natural law. II the resulting struc-
ture Is TO be healthy and enduring II
must be the product Of natural growth,
not Of artificial processes.
TO accept this truism, however, is
not TO deny the need Of assisting nature
by art Of making II easy for the laws of
social and economic progress. which
are recorded In knowledge born Of
experience, to work themselves out
beneflcently.
Once we have accepted the truth that
these laws win have their way in the
end, that we are their creatures, and
they not ours, and we have planned ac-
cordingly, we shall be well along the
road to economic prosperity and social
contentment.
Russia lies in ruins because she has
deAed the natural laws Of social and
economic life; Great Britain holds in
her hand the commerce Of the world,
and enjoys in greatest measure the
blessings OF security and liberty, be-
cause she has scrupulously observed
the laws which insure freedom.
wealth, power and happiness.
The more closely we in our turn fol-
low the teachings OF practical expert
ence, as expounded by practical men,
the fewer will be our disasters, the
more numerous our successes. We.
like Ulysses, are embarked upon a
perilous voyage To come again safe
into port we also must stop. our ears
against the songs Of the sirens Of the
ory. Whether the voices come from
the maelstrom Of Petrograd, or the
treacherous reefs OF a Germany turned
docile, or the alluring waters Of In
telectualia, babbling and shallow, our
safety lies upon one course only, that
which experienced mariners have trav-
ersed in security. The air is far too
full OF sweet singers, who strive to lure
off their course the destinies OF our one
hundred and five millions Of people,
upon an experimental voyage in search
Of a Utopia Of painless existence.
To consider the problems before us
we must divide our epoch into three
periods, that Of war, that Of transition,
that OF the new normal which un-
doubtedly will supersede the old. The
questions before us, therefore; are, |
broadly, two: How shall we pass from !
war 10 the new normal with the least
Jar, in the shortest time? In what re-
spect should the new normal be shaped
to differ from the old?
Some contend that we should first en-
visage the new normal, and carve the
measures Of translation TO suit It's re-
dulrements. Others believe that we
should cautiously feel our way through |
the period Of transition, and arrive at
what the new normal shall be- by the |
road Of experience. The first would at
tempt reconstruction by synthetic pro-
cess: the second would achieve II by
natural growth. Who shall say that a
new normal, artiflcially compounded at
this distance from the future, will
work Who shall say that a new nor
NAL patiently sought through trial |
and error, will not workP
So much for the opposing schools OF
thought which are intent upon shaping |
our passage from the state Of auto
cratic Capitalization, which was our
shield in war, 20 that Of democratic de-
Capitalization in which, we have grown
10 believe. resides our assurance OF lib
erty in peace.
There are those who now come for
ward TO challenge our distrust Of auto
cratic control in peaceable times. They /
OFFER us a new theory OF democracy, in
accordance with which men are 10 pass
the machinery by which they subslst
out of their own hands as individuals,
and thence into the hands Of centralized
authority. Several Of the rights Of the
individual. including that Of posses
sion. which men won from the SOW
ereign anointed Of ancient times free
men are now being asked 10 return to
the sovereign appointed Of modern
times. Is there then so much difference |
between emperor and president that
the one should be feared and the other
trusted? Both are men, vain and raw
enous for power, and as such, are,
alike, 10 be suspected and watched. The
more extensive their powers, the more
reason for dread.
A strange excursion, indeed, has dem
ocracy made II men, having gained |
their liberties, every one at the cost OF
their blood, they now supinely consent
10 surrender these liberties into any
mans hands, however specious the plea
upon which their surrender be sought |
Are. then, the days OF King John, at
Runnymede, and the days OF Lenlne TO
bound the gigantic experiment Of the
freeman's enjoyment Of his rightsf
Public ownership The railways and
express companies, the telegraphs tele-
phones, cables, and wireless, mines and
oil well, and water powers, the basic
Industries, thence to the common ma
chinery Of life. Public ownership In
Russia, IL extends TO wives-and chill
dren. What, let us ask, is the great
boon in exchange for which the hard
won right OF possession is to be surren-
dered for all time by the individual?