Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-10-10
COMMUNITY OF WILL.

COMMUNITY OF WILL.
II. G. Wells. the now-famous author
of the outline of History" is com
ing TO America to report the dis
conference for two Ameri-
can newspapers. Thus one Of the
most original commentators on world
history will record his impressions OF
one phase of modern history in the
making. This, we believe, is some
thing that has never been done be-
fore. Hitherto historians were dry
as-dust scholars who understand the
past but knew nothing OF their own
times. Wells knows bit of both,
In the Outline" he declared that
the coming OF democracy marked the
beginning Of the community Of will. as
distinguished from the community of
obedience, which had been in exis-
tence in every land since the earliest
times. The conference which he will
report will, in certain sense. be the
result Of the operation OF the will of
communities in several countries.
In the first place. it was the will OF
a tax-burdened people that our Chief
Executive called the conference. There
is no secret that Mr.. Harding would
have preferred to have never heard
of disarmament. Not that he is q
great rnilitarist, but the buzzing CT
Senator Rorah was extremely dis
agreeable. incidentally It should be
remembered that after Senator Borah
crystalized the will of the people on
this issue, the President figurstiyely
slapped him on the wrist by not in
viting him to be one of Amt cas-
representatives at the Conference. But
the Senator will go down in history
as a man who formed the VIII, OF the
community, while the President. in
this particular matter. viii be rep' M
bered as the man who was forced to
bow TO the community Of viii.
Mr.. Wells. however, does not hold
to the ancient belief in the social con-
tract. He says that we are not all
born equal, nor free, because Of tho
social and economic forces which bear
upon our lives.
Men are not born equal, they art
not born free; they are born a mos
various multitude enmeshed in ar
ancient and complex social net" Mr.
Wells explains Nor is any man in.
vited to sign the social contract. or
failing that, to depart into solitude
These statements, literally interpret
ed. are so manifestly false that it il
impossible to believe that the mel
who made them intended them to b.
literally interpreted. They mad
them in order to express certa,l
elusive but profoundly importan
ideas-ideas that after another cen
fury and a half of thinking the worl
is in a better position to express. Civ
ilization, as this outline has showr
arose as a community Of obedience an
was essentially community of obedi
I ence. But generation after genera
! ton the spirit was abused by priest
, and rulers. There was a continue
= influx Of masterful will from the for
D ests, parklands and steppes. The hu
man spirit at last rebelled altogethe
against the blind obediences of III
common life; 1t was seeking-and &
first II was seeking very clumsily-
10 achieve a new and better sort
civilization that should also be a con
munity of will. To that end il wa
= necessary that every man should /
treated as the sovereign Of hifnseli
his standing was to be one of fe
lowship and not Of seryility. III
a real use, his real Importance depen,
ed upon his individual equality"
q ~