The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1918-05-23
liberty is a sadly abused
word; it is variously de-
fined in different parts

HEEMfS}N WORD; IL Is VarlOuSly Oe-
NSEsN&gH fined in different parts
gEgy of the world. In central
Europe the term is unknown in its
modern application; in Germany
and Austria liberty is an imperial
prerogative reserved exclusively
for the ruling class. In the near
eastern state of Turkish and Slavic
origin, the term liberty is synony-
NOUS with unlimited graft, i'm
munity from responsibility to the
people, and, in some parts, is a
form of syndicalism, which, when
stripped of it's mock-idealism,
stands forth red, bloody, merciless
anarcbism.
The art of imperial camoufage
is as old as the hills. Augustus,
one of the most terrible tyrants
history records, issued his laws in
the name of the people, though but
a very small minority, born to the
purple, had the right to vote. The
Greeks and Romans in their So
called republics, before the Chris
tian era, had the right to vote, but
not for whom they pleased.
To modern democratic peoples,
and especially to Americans, the
word, or term. Liberty" means
more than a mere phrase; it is an
evolutionary term wherein we in
clude the progress of three con-
stituent elements; these are political.
industrial, and social equality. No
other nation in the world can un-
derstand American ideals of liberty
because none other has fought such
hard and continuous fight to gain
that liberty. The fight for political
reform in America started in
Europe; our first immigrants fled
from European countries and came
to new land where their ideas of
what constituted national freedom
were put into action. 1t was not
an easy task our forefathers had in
those early days. Harassed by
many enemies, from land and sea-,
they blundered again and again;
but they gained experience through
their mistakes; and the final result
was the Constitution of the United
States, which for nearly one hun
dred and fifty years has been the
working basis of the most liberal
form of government the world has
ever known. Our enthusiasm in
the present war must be based up
on these truths-then, and then
only, will it sustain us through the
hard times to come. We must un-
derstand the value of liberty so
that we may fight for it supported
with the realization that we are
right in our claim that all mankind
should be given political freedom.
America has inherited the ideal
of Liberty; and this ideal has been
constantly kept alive by the bril-
liant minds of our leaders and by
those thinkers who came here from
foreign lands.
The political revolution which
convulsed Europe during the mid
die of the last century resulted in
the permanent exile of hundreds of
thousands of men; these immigrants
arrived in our land firmly con-
vinced that Liberty, in it's most
developed state was to be found
here. 1t is the great-grandchildren
and the grandchildren of these
men who today are leading our
nation into battle.
The American form of liberty is
the only one which has survived
the acid test of the melting, pot
Never before in the world history
has there been such variety OF
nationalities thrown together in
one land. Our ideals have grown
and they have been assimilated in
a wonderfully short time, consid.
ering the age of large nations
Consider for a moment the case o1