The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-03-31
ANOTHER BEN FRANKLIN NEEDED.


the wish that we had just now another Ben .
FRANKLIN. He was an estimator of forces. Peo- al
PIE were looking up at the lightning and seeing =
lit as a beautiful but terrible menace Franklin N
looked through the lightning to the force that !,
caused it; he sent up his kite; he found cleo to
tricitv. We know electricity now for what 1t IL
viii do We see it running our vehicles and
Imachinerv. lighting our streets and houses; we q
hear it carry the click of telegraph and the e
voice of telephone communication both with AZ
and without the use of wires. We look for b
ward to the time when generate 1t where "
we will and transmit it without wires to where rs
ever work is ready for it to do But all this II
comes from knowledge of the properties of the
force: we do not know, we cannot see the force H.
itself 1t is like the wind. We know the wind, Il
but the wind we cannot see. al
We are all OF us-at least all of us who think e.
looking out with anxiety at world where ltc
revolution is abroad. We see in Russia the
havoc of it; we learn of revolutionary spirit in
rampant iii central Europe; we know OF an \
echoing sentiment in a small way here with us Ic
And we are prone to lump it all under the term Il
and estimate of bolshevism. We need to rec it
ognize some things. Revolution is force OF :
which we see the effects, not the thing itself
The real revolution is what moves people to do
what they do Back of what is done is thought lei
Impulse, passion hlu De1OIe We chii piopcAis liza
know this thing we call revolution, we must be d
able to gauge the thought, impulse and passion e,
We need to send up kites and see what this y
lightning really is. 81
1t is not so simple as F'rankllns experiment. II
however Natural forces be approached lb
by studying what they do. They follow the Iel
rules and are aw-abiding. 1t is safe to con- p
clude what natural force is like from what 1T lc'
does. 1t is very unsafe to conclude what man Ist
is like from what he does Men are not law g
abiding: they do not follow the rules. They do Ia
not react to forces always in the same way Ben !,
Franklin knew this and he was as shrewd IN Ioi
estimating the forces that operated on mems :
minds as he was about the lightning. This II
would be his value now; he might be an inter
prefer of the forces that are moving mems :
thoughts. 81
One great danger is that by Grass stupidity :.
a line of cleavage may be injected IN the ranks n
Of people whose motives worthy, whose pur- =
poses are toward honest betterment and whose
will is to proceed always with justice and fair
dealing Such people not all of one mind al
nor will they be. But they should all be OF one =
mind against such anarchy Of morals and Il
motives as boshevism promotes. We need to 1
be clear lighted now; we need to promote co.
hesion of all law-loving elements IN world go
ciety; we need to recognize the kind OF forces
producingl effects, Judging not merely by out
ward aspect of the effects themselves. We may r
even find force which like electricity shall :;
prove instead Of a menace present help Ia :"
putting down anarchy and disruption =
What has happened to Clemenceau7 Rather ?
why don't we read any statements from himY 81