Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-04-19
ELIMINATE THE
|. SELFISH SPIRIT
TO ATTAIN END
- Johu H. Randall OF New York
Makes Plea Before Liberty
Loan Workers.
.yrISES WORLD DEMOCRACY
Ssvs II VIII Only Come When Peo-
pie of Nation Work Together
i'm the Service.

/ The world cannot be made safe
ar democracy. as the United States
6 sighting now TO do. until selfish
,ess OF the people Of this Iation is
,.nIaced by the spirit of coopera-
/ .sou and service.
This was the message given to
re Liberty loan workers gathered
1 - the luncheon at the Rock Is
4 ard club at noon today. when John
y Randall Of New York spoke
rpon Making Industry Safe for
nemocracy." MIR. Randall is spe-
| dai representative OF the national
industrial conservation movement
IN part. Dr.. Randall said:
1 Democracy is the great word
Il that has come to enshrine the
deals Of humanity in this modern
age. To many il is merely a word
10 conjure by: TO others it is like
A tome Frankenstein monster. to be
4 dreaded and feared; to thoughtful
4 men it means the next step for
yard in civilization; while to the
i vsst majority it is vague and nebu-
ous, though wonderfully alluring,
Is ii seems to promise d greater
degree of liberty and larger meas
IRE Of happiness for mankind.
Never before has this great
word dominated so largely the
/ worlds thinking. never has it been
heard so frequently on human lips,
nor appeared so often in print, in
editorial. in sermon. in lecture as
today, When in April. 1917, Presi-
dent Wilson set forth the reason
for the entrance Of the United
States into the great world con-
iict, summing it all up in that now
classic phrase make the world
safe for democracy" he took the
great word once and for all out of
the realm Of academic theory and
4 political opinion and established it
forever as the practical ideal for
human striving the whole world
round
From that hour, all the prodig-
ious saCrif,ca Of men and money
involved in the world war took on
new and higher significance. and
in countless hearts there was born
the conviction that at last. in the
ideals Of democracy we had dis
covered something worthy of the
best We had TO give. But what IL
the great thing for which we are
Wiling TO give our all, if need be?
4 WHAT do We mean by democracy?
Il What is the true content Of the
word that towers above all other
words in our speech today To the
question: What is democracy? p
most people can give no definite or
coherent answer: while those who
sttempt q reply usually employ
some glittering general statement,
which really explains nothing.
| The Real Meaning.
| The time has gone by. however.
when any intelligent person can
longer afford. either as an Ameri-
can or member OF humanity, 10
be content with high-sounding
| Phrases. while he remains in prac-
Teal ignorance OF the real meaning
o. democracy and all that 1t In
wolves. Our sacrifices TO make the
world safe for democracy will be
glorious or ing1orious according TO
he context we put into the great
word. The actual progress Of hui
nality after the war depends upon
4 NE depth and breadth of our in
sgnt into the true meaning of
democracy now. Let us confess It
frankly at the outset, II democracy
means nothing more than the poll
ueians say It means, then it is a
lailie thing and our sacrifices will
4 ~ -
Afger, broader. deeper and more
UNIVERSAL conception Of democracy.
iG which the world expectantly
waits today.
We may think Of democracy as
theory of government or as a
PARTICULAR form Of government, but
Tue democracy is vastly more than
aay mere external thing.
The compartive failure-or shall
We say-the. limited success Of de-
nocracy in the world thus far.
considered as an outward form of
government is due not TO the idea
q the spirit that lies at its heart.
aat rather 10 the primary emphasis
having been placed upon external
lsaifestati0ns rather than upon
Eaeir inner sources. Real democ-
Eacy is not a thing of mechanical
brofms-it is a thing of life; and
ne life must come first and create
10 own appropriate forms; else
nave an imperfect and dead ma
reality.
Real democracy, for which we
e eontending. is in the first place,
great idea; and secondly, a great
spEh The idea is contained in that
assslc phrase of our declaration Of
dependence, all men are free and
4aaL But what do these words
mean for US today?
we know from experience that
~ man is ever born free in the alb
sosute sense; every life comes into
- word under a lien of all man
er OF obligations. Not even a
~ or Napoleon or a kaiser is
Tree 10 do as he pleases. Free
III never means license, though IT
Wten Interpreted as such No
It-minded man ever wishes 10
Hee IN this sense He is glad
~. oWn the bond Of human solidar-
- whereby he suffers and enjoys
~ al other men. What is the
tssaom them. which we are all
- 70 inherit as a natural birth
ssAtF II is simply q mans free
~ % grow and become every inch
seh Il does not yet fairly ex-
ior il cannot be realized fully
.s.,1 brutal or selfish society 1t is
rsrsan ideal to be attained out
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