Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-04-04

: BCCTGIIy pFann0d uUFlIUate the W0TI0,
proceeded te carry out the plan without
regard either to the sacred obligations
of treaty or the long established prsc-
tiees and long -eherlsted principles Of IN
power Is not the German nam people Il s
the ruthless master OF the German peo-
pie. \ Is our business to see TO
II that the history Of the rest OF the.
world Is no longer loft to lts handlnu."
President Wilson, August 27, 1917.
DEMOCRACY VERSUS AUToCRACY
1t is commonly said that this war
is one in which America was forced
to take part in order to make the
world safe for democracy" What
does the phrase mean?
The theories and acts of the Ger
man military autocracy definitely deny
the right of the people of a state to
rule themselves. The German people,
in spite of forms of government that
make pretense of popular control,
have no such actual control over their
governors as exists in democratically
organized nations. In those nations
the governors can be removed by
vote of the people in general cleo
tton; in Germany the people have not
this power.
The aristocracy of Germany under
stand this difference, and are afraid
Of the spread Of democracy in Ger
many The whole, much-admired "effi-
cheney" of Germany is primarily due
to desperate and constant effort by
Germany's rulers to divert the German
people from thoughts Of self-govern.
ment, by offering them material pros
perity. And the rulers have sue
ceeded. One of the causes OF this
war was the necessity, by still fur
ther glorious acquisitions Of terri
tory" to hush the murmurings Of
political discomfort in Germany Vic
tory in war, every so often, is nee
essity Of the German system. "It is
for social as much as for national
and political reasons that we must
fix our minds incessantly upon war"
Success is necessary to gain influ-
ence over the masses" wrote Bern
hardi; and General Won Bissing, Just
before his death, wrote a Political
Testament" since largely circulated in
Germany, in which he argued for the
retention of Belgium, because, 0aIeSs
1t 10ere dnAeeed, the prestige of the
1sS1itcry GatocrGcv toouId receiVe
fatal bEoto.
I Are we-are the Allies-then fight
ing to impose upoAV Germany a diff
ferent system; is that the meaning Of
making the world safe for democ-
racy?"
Elihu Root says that American
democratic ideals include liberty not
for themselves alone but for all who
are oppressed" Lloyd George asserts
that if all countries had been demo-
cratfcally organized, this war would
not have taken place; that this war
will determine not merely interna-
tional relations, but will affect the
lives Of peoples toitbiR their otDn ma
tions, for generations to come; that
this war is to end in international
democracy" l. e., in liberty, equal
lty, and fraternity, betaceen' nations,
great and small. General Smuts, for
merly soldier against Great Britain
in South Africa, says that the essence
of this war is the question whether
governments should be founded on
military might or on principles of
equity, justice, fairness and equality"
Various writer's have depicted this
war as a test Of democracy, to de-
termine whether. democracy can ad-
just itself to an emergency so that by
sheer efficiency it shall at least equal
the efficiency of military autocracy
and assert that on this ground alone
the future government of all the ma
tions of the world Is at stake VIII
Crooks, the British labor leader, says
this war 'is a peoples war. We are all
In it, the man at the village pump and
In the fields, the blacksmith, the car
penter and joiner, the shipwright, and
the man Of leisure. We are standing
together because TOE are fighting for
liberty"
Yes, this war ia one in which ideals
of government, Of individual liberty.
of civilization Itself are in conflict
Democracy is lined up against autoc-
racy. The war is in absolute fact
war Of i5eals. But we are not fight
ing to impose our ideals upon any
nation What we are fighting for
in making the world safe for democ-
racy," is to prevent military dHtoc
rdcy from imposing its authority and
its ideals upon as. We are ready to
keep on minding our own business
and to let other nations do the same
A military autocracy that proposes
to conquer the world must be de
feated, to the point where it renounces
meddling with other nations, great or
small, or there is no peace in the
world. That is the issue at stake.
and in It rests our safety and the
safety Of the world.
This Is the fifth Of series Of ten
articles by Professor Adams