Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-29
BY CLINTON w. GILBERT
Stan Correspondent OF the Evening Public Ledger
CopyrtOht, 1879, by the Public Tedocr Co,r,or,,

""tiS JedDcr I OmpdNV
the story of souls adventure with
the words and deeds of Woodrow
Wilson. There arc many souls which
have had this adventure with these
words and deeds, and this plain recital
may assist some Of them; which is the
only good reason there ever is for writ
ing the autobiography of any faith. The
autobiography of this faith is the auto
biography of every other fnith--as Will
liam Allen White and in effect agreed
during our little talk in the prpsSrOOm
at Place de In Concordc--of the faith
in direct primaries, of the faith in the
direct election of senators, of the faith
in democracy itself. perhaps if any Of
us were old enough to remember the
eXtravagant expectations, iustifving the
right and left killing of disbclevcrs in
1t upon the guillotiuc. that were enter
tanned regarding the new freedom.
equality and fraternity that it was
bringing into the world and it will be
the autohiography Of the coming
'demorratization Of industry, which
Mr.. Wilson and most of mankind nre
talking about now.
There is a time when there is nothing
so wonderful that YOU won't believe
it of the new hope Of the human race.
And there is also the time when YOU get
your William Allen White up against
a wall. and share condolences. telling
how many times you have fallen for
bunk" and how this last bunk is
the worst of all, and how You are
through for good and all. And at
neither time are you anywhere nearer
the truth than at the other There
is always the perhaps" which Mr.:
White said so well, that the people will
take the thing that has been created in
hand and fool the "fcllcrs' that have
just been fooling you. And that per
haps' was all the hope there ever was
in it really anyway. You exaggerated
that perhaps into n tremendous taith,
You forgot TINT it was only perhaps,
backed up it may be by the very gen
,ral conviction that such was the way
the process of time worked out, and the
thought that YOU were the privileged
,nectator at the final miracle whom the
promise of the earth, the hope that Is
always in men hearts, was in the iull-
ness of years to be realized.
Capacity of Men to Forget
| suppose that the ways of progress
ire always CREASED by this capacity OF
nen to forget experience in their zeal
md believe utterly in something new.
# there were not mon who could say to
,ach other what William Allen White
md | said To each other in the press
Dom at Paris, if the majority of men
we're like that brilliant journalist who
could preserve his skepticism unmovcd
through no matter what cmollonal
risis, and no matter what tremendous
birth of new hopes, the world would not
rot anywhere and life itself would not
70 much fun. But it is not so. One
# the wise provisions OF nature IS that
most Of us fall readily for what in our
moments of swearing OFF we call
bunk" our hearts prepared for it by
vents and by carefully organized
led by persuasive leader.
Without this capacity Of mankind the
inertia of beliefs and social states cou Id
,ot be overcome. The race would
tand still. But bunk" takes lot
nut of you. These great responses of
whole community n whole nation, Il
Whole world, in the recent instance, t.
.ppeals of faith in better things are Cx-
lausting. You pass through the huge
risis that is necessary to overcome the
inertia of organized thinking, and yon
ook afterward at the small apparent
esult of all the cost in the way OF
aith and enthusiasm. You are de-
PRESSED. There is a deep reaction.
Stirred All Mankind
The most tremendous faith that has
leen aroused since the Crusades was
he faith Mr.. Wilson aroused by his
lea in the midst of n war which de-
troyed 10000 900 men that this war
hould end all war, that men should
rganize the whole earth for all tim"
gainst war. lie stirred all mankind
md now that we see the thing, partly
calized, and perceive that we have just
new institution bearing striking re-
emblance to other institutions of the
asst for the same purpose which failed
nd went their way. and now that we
ace the old, old experience, namely,
hat though the institution is new the
zen who control it are the same old
len-the same bosses sit around the
anne table in the same back room ss
efore direct primaries-and that these
anne old men are the men who brought
own upon the world the trouble in the
asst, and that they show surprisingly
he same selfishness and lack of vision
IS before, and facing this old, old ex
erience we realize that the institution
as no necessary virtue in itself, but
Or its hopeful operation depends on the
zen in charge of It, we are depressed,
xcessively, unreasonably detected The
motions that we have gone through
ave taken too much out of us to face
ven partial disillusionment calmly.
We want to confess, and misery loving
we want to take some one
lse who Is probably in the same state
Z mind, some William Allen White.
part and say, boy, it is bunk, the
worst bunk of all but, believe me, this
J the last time"
In what have just been writing /
ave spoken of what "you" thought and
vhat "you" felt and how "you" re-
ponded to the world wide emotions of
he crusade for an organization that
would bring about the brotherhood of
nan and end all war, and have done
o on purpose, although this il the
tory, not of your, but of my faith, of
ny belief and of how my emotions car
led me away in that wordy tempest.
have done so because your thoughts
gere responsible In q way for my
houghts, and your emotions con
ributed to my emotions and because
We were carried away together.
Every great movement strong enough
o overcome the inertia OF mental habits
nd stir the depths Of faith Is a con-
agion. The spirit of mob has been
tudied and il Is known how each man
a the mob catches fre from every other
nan. When scientists have sufficiently