The Washington times., 1921-04-10

fertng from an overdose Of democ-
racy?
John Richard Green, before he
wrote his "Short History of the
English People," planned to write
. history Of the United States. He
gave 1t up, concluding that we had
secured our independence before
We we're fit for it.
What about the crowd Of little
nations suddenly pushed into in
dependence by the accident of war +?
This country in 1776 had for
guidance the thought and discus
sion of the great Frenchmen, lead
ing up to their revolution. We had
the teachings Of the Puritans. espe-
cialiy the Puritan independents" {"
which taught that all Christians
were free and equal.
The war has given democratic
government to a swarm of little
countries in Europe, Asia and AZ
rica that never thought seriously
about governing themselves. Some
OF them, In the Balkans, for in
stance, had never shown special
fitness for anything in government
higher than brigandage.
James Bryce, author of the
american Commonwealth" the
best book ever written on our Gov
eminent, has contributed to the
education of the world q new work
called Modern Democracies," in
two. volumes of something over q
thousand pages, published by Mac
milan. II you read these two VOL
umes, for which the world owes its
thanks to Viscount Bryce, you will
be impressed, and perhaps de-
pressed, by the violent suddenness
with which democracy has broken
out, like measles or chickenpox.
Is the world ready, strong enough
to endure such an outbreak?
Fffty-three years ago, when Eng
land, moved by theoretical discus
sion at the top of the heap, with
out any special urging from below,
was moving rapidly toward uni
versal suffrage, "a vote for every
man." Robert Lowe, in Parliament,
warned the lawmakers: Educate
your masters" His meaning was
that universal suffrage would give
dangerous mastery to the masses,
without education
In England, now, that same
House of Parliament, wondering
what the black-faced miners, the
railroad workers and others will
do to the British Empire, in a great,
ruthless strike of mass against
class, recall Robert loves warn
ing.
One hundred years ago. in all
Europe, says Bryce, there was
"only one tiny spot in which the
working of democracy could he
studied. A few of the ancient
rural Acantons of Switzerland had
recovered their freedom after the
fall of Napoleon and were govern
ing themselves as they had done
from the earlier Middle Ages
They were governing themselves
in their mountain valleys, keeping
out invasion, because then, as in
the late war, it was not worth
while going in after them.
When we started our republic
here we had to 20 back more than
1000 years through history for
models Of republican government.
Our statesmen spouted Greek
names and Alexander Hamilton
studied Aristotle.
Now almost everv country is
democracy, or thinks that it is.
There are more than a hundred
democratic" parliaments on the
earth, not counting, of course, the
separate legislatures of our States
and of other national divisions.
sSeventy-five years ago the word
democracy" was generally de-
spised and hated throughout the
world, as the word socialism" is
generally and ignorantly hated in
this country now.
If the growth of so-called de-
mocracy has been violently sudden
among the white people of Europe,
how much more so in Asia, with
her hundreds of millions of peo-
pie with color and thought diff
ferent from ours.
Until 1890, thirty years ago,
there was absolutely no legal limit
on the power of any ruler in Asia.
Each was an absolute tyrant, with
power OF life and death. from the
nearest Turk across the Bosphorus
to the Chinese Emperor's humblest
Representatives in the northeast
corner of Manchuria.
In all Asia tyranny, despotism,
and cruelty were accepted as quite
natural; no one thought of any
thing else. You may read the
: whole literature of India for thou
sands Of years and never once
meet the word liberty"
Then, in 1890, Japan, imitat-
ing and adopting European
manners, framed her present con-
e<;tutiou inst as she heUau wear