Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1918-04-26

military establishment controlled by ar
! irresponsible government, which, having
proceeded to carry out the plan wIthou,
! regard either to the sacred obllastions
o. treaty or the long. established prao
ices r,, and Iongieherished principles Of IN
| power 10 not the German people. II Ia
| the ruthless master OF the German PEG
PIE. Is our business 20 see to
world le no longer left to it's handling -
President Wilson, August IT, 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 remoUed by a
vote OF the people in a general cleo.
ton; 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.
Their glorious acquisitions of terri
tory" to hush the murmurings of
political discomfort in Germany. Vic.
tory in war every so often, is a nee
eSStty Of the German system. ut is
for social as much as for national
and political reasons that we must
| fix our minds necessarily upon war
Success is necessary to gain infiu.
ence over the Masses" wrote Bern.
hardi and General Won Kissing, lust
before his death, wrote a Political
Testament" since largely circulated in
Germany, in which he argued for the
retention of Belgium, because, unless
1t Oere annexed, the prestige of the
military GntoCrGcy to0uld recetUe q
fatal bloW.
Are we-are the Allies-then fight
Ing to impose upon Germany a diff
ic
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 il all countries had been demo
| cratically 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 lOtthin their ot0n ma
tons, for generations to come; that
| this war is to end In intern tional
democracy" /. e., In liberty, equal
ity, and fraternity, betUeen nations,
great and small. General SHUTS, 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 test of democracy, to de-
termine whether democracy can ad.
just itself to an emergency so that by
sheer efficiency 1t shall at least equal
the efficiency of a military autocracy,
and assert that on this ground alone
the future government of all the na-
lions Of the world is at stake. VIII
Crooks, the British labor leader, says
this war lis peoples war. We are all
IN 1t, 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 zoe are fighting for
| liberty"
Yes, this war is 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 a
war Of ideals. But we are not fight
ing to IMPOSE our ideals upon any
natinn. What we are fighting for,
in making the world safe for democ-
racy," is to prevent military dutoc-
rdcy from imposing its authority and
its ideals upon us. 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 renouncss
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