Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-29
MONDAY, JULY %, l4lS.
csson of Stephens. "PaciiiSt.

Lesson OF stephens a'hH''
The real usefulness and general "'l''l.
TO the country IN sending l'oia"
Stcpbons 10 the workhousc, and then 70
,bo uar must TIC found in the TACT that
even in Republic the welfare oi the whole
community must dominate thc wh'th@ or
the prcilldices of tho individual me
fundamental law nf our government Is the
rulc of the majority. and the cNactlon "i
,bc LOYALTY of Americans and Of those
who adopt America rs their home ana
arc benefited hy its opportunities and ''s
great privileges
In time Of peril. hike thus, the cour' haS
ruled. no individual can escape h'S r.
spnns,hiitics TO the country, whether
through fear. disinclination e undergo
the inconvcnienccs and hardsh'ps "t th'
trenches. ohstinacy. pcrvcrslty, or .gen'rRl
cusscdncss. or, indeed, through 'onsc"n-
,io,,s scr,lplcs against hoodshcd
The country has the power and thc
right 10 summon every man - the land
~ fight her foes, and t. collect all the
money in the country, if necessary !"
carr, on the war The nation can take
the widow only son, the husband one
horse COW. house or even ono hod ot
whatever II may regard as necessary e
aid in offcnsc or defense only hy Slch
control can our nation successfully pass
through such stress as Il now faces
The penalty for disrcRarding the y"
Of the land has been rghtfuiiv imposed
upon the Arden "raciiist' and n'nc
months in the workho,lsc may serve 70
purge him OF hs studied ohstina'N' or
whatever he may call il, and 70 ti hIm
n become a rcasurahly useful person IN
Khaki. one can hardly expect that an
individual gong to the front VIA the
warehouse will make 3 valorous soldieT'
and we bcspeak General FcTsh'nR to
utilizc his services in some capacity
where he will not he called upon TO kdI
tho nations opcn enemies, nor to hc .
target for their guns
One can sec tho injustice Of letting this
worse than Stacker dodge hs part N
the war-cven on the plea that he IS too
conscientious to fight, whlIe other Young
men. with doubtless = higher ethical
sense. arc offering their lives 20 break me
Bochc hold on civilization
The Young Ardcnitc has been reared
from the bottlng babe to his 2"th year
in an environment which probably IN
culcated tho false belief that there Is no
law | respect. or intend 10 respect. II II
interferes with my freedom to do exactly
what | choose 10 do and to do II when !
want to'-an atmosphere OF opposition
to everything that Is
In times of national tranquility, one
holding such view may not bc particularly
offensive. so long as ne does not actually
violate the laws he may simply be re-
gardcd as blatant nuisance When the
nation is at war. however, such person
becomes more intolcrabc than pro-
fesscd enemy. and the law recognizes lam
as a real menace and puts him behind haS
Mr. Stephens. TOO. has brought much
undeserved censure and criticism upon
the Arden community, a people whose
creed. as far as an outsider understands
IT. is to get as much sunshine out OF llif
as possible, and to attain that object II
the simple. unconventional lie IN com
munitv made attractive by the artlsil'
sense of It's members; and where are
gathered people of culture and academic
attainment, many Of whom stand mgh II
various learned professions and calings
They are drawn together, probably, b1
q unity OF tastes and interests. but y d
safe to say however, there are no Others
In the colony perhaps except one-Wht
share Stephens conscientlousness, wlnci
stands in the way Of doing Their duty
like men and Americans.
Delawareans viii be proud to know tina
40 native Of this State has been brough
before the Federal court on charg
s-rnilar to that which has sent Stephen
into retirement for nine months. Indeed
he il not even resident Of Delaware, bu
nominally-only part Of the year
But TO go back the lesson Of stephens
case would be lost did it not teach tina
our government is a wonderful bit 9
economic mechanism, and that its behest
are paramount; that it can do what ]
will, in such emergencies az the prcsen
one, always, Of course, within the Law
If Stephens imaglncs that hc viii cmerg
from Jail martyr he is mistaken; rathe
will he be held in contempt