The Washington times., 1921-02-08

Chesterton. ~ am afraid America Is
the last OF the monarchies. You are
much more OF monarchy than Great
Britain. you know. Your President
has almost complete authority and
almost complete responsibility. He
gets blamed for everything. In Eng
land we preserve more OF our liberties
and keep sweeter dispositions by re-
tanning one man who never can be
blamed for, anything. That Is the
king. He can be blamed for nothing
because he is permitted to do nothing.
"If an order should be published In
the land that the noses of all the first
born be cut off, and on that day the
king should pass through the dismal
streets. the crowds would line up and
say. Well. there's one old lad who
isn't responsible for II. He must be
a good sort. so let's give him a cheer.
HIM m-hm-hm! Mp-mp-mpw
WHITTIER. them asked the report
er, ARE we drifting?"
I'm the direction. / fear. of the
oligarchy." replied Mr.. Chesterton.
That is ,dangerous-it is rule by
classes. You in America, with your
prohibition. are closer to IL than we
In England. They tried In a mild
way~to institute prohibition in Eng
land during the war. but II wouldn't
go. They couldn't quite see how to
arrange to take the the beer away
from the working people and let the
wealthy people and the government
keep their champagne. Government in
England without champagne is be-
yond imagination. you know.
Now. to return to rule by classes is
to return-to the old master and-slave
system. And the masters won't be the
courtly, gentlemanly persons that the
masters of your old South were. They
will include Smith, the copper king,
and Jones, the wheat baron, and Hog
genheimer. the fertilizer czar. who all
will do as they like: and what they
like Is not always apt to be pretty to
see.
THE wealthy people of America
now do as they like about prohibi-
ton. ! have invariably been offered
| fermented spirits upon my visits to
wealthy American households during
the last three weeks. But they are
furtive and funny about 1T. One wom-
an said to me as she offered a drink
and mentioned prohibition. Don't you
simply despise us?' Hm-mp-mp-mp!
What would her Puritan ancestors
have,said to that"
| What beside furtiveness do you
notice in our atmosphere that seems
\ to arise from prohibition? asked Mr..
| IChesterton's listener.
"Er-ah-the dust doesn't seem to
have settled yet. I feel that the is
sue Is not closed there seems to be
such distaste for IL all that surely
you would have to resume the strug-
gle of deciding what to do about it."
| "Our prohibition people are deplor-
ing the lawlessness you have found
among the rich. Mr.. Chesterton," he
was told. ''They predict It will lead
to anarchy; they say it will breed con-
tempt for all law"
Their own fault" he chuckled
"for enacting such silly law
People have got to feel that a thing
is wrong before they will readily obey
a law regarding IL. There is that diff
| ference between law and morals
Simply because thing is made wrong
by law people cannot be brought "a
think of II as wrong morally. II
there were a law prohibiting pink haii
ribbons, II would be illegal to wear
them but you could not make folks
think 1t wrong
but the dry people are trying tc
give prohibition laws a moral back.
ing by telling how whisky has caused
4
ruined lives and families. How about
that Mr.. Chesterton?"
"Of course" he replied, "the only
answer to that is that the fault lies
In your industrial system-your
economic fabric. Your great cities
| with their slums, their factories their
congestion, breed intemperance, max
ing for misuse of alcoholic drinks
Take France. parts of Germany, Spain
or Italy, where, indeed, nothing bu,
1 fermented liquors Is ever drunk-no
water at all. There 10 no intemper.
ance there. There are bouIevards IN
Paris where the drinking places
stretch for blocks along the side
drunkard there or prohibitionist
Mp-mp!
BLAMEs WAR For SITUATION.
81 suppose the war, with ita censor
ships and Its lids and bans is re-
sponsible for the Puritan cords tina,
bind us now" unused Mr.. Chesterton
adjusting his short distance. steel.
trimmed glasses. which, In his feryor.
he had knocked a bit awry. "The war
brough. us to n sort of captstonc OF
paternaIism; for paternalism was not
new either in England or American
when the war began.
I'VE had been fighting Its encroach-
ments constantly, and II as constantly
continued to encroach-such things
for Instance, as the law requiring
that workmen shall spend part OF
their wages for compulsory health In
surancc. And when the war came
these enemies OF real repubiicanisn
leaped upon u with gusto and made
II an excuse for more laws. They
were then able 10 say. for instance: I: