Evening star., 1923-06-17
Some of Perils Which Lurk
In Path of a Pure Democracy

dreamless sleep. Men with such an
outlook can set up little governments
within the American government. be-
come law unto themselves. imagine
they owe allegiance to something
other than the Constitution and the
laws, and yet regard themselves as
patriotic citizens. What Is written
is written for their enemies; 1t Is
not written for them. This would
create turmoil enough in society. but
the end is not yet The assumption
of a right to govern their own con-
duct carries no concession OF a like
right to others. Anything they do
not like is condemned by them in
solemn convocation-
Quite recently two girls were sus-
pended from a college for smoking
cigarettes. Whether the suspension
was justifiable or not / do not pre-
sumo to say. l do not know and it Ia
none of my business. Whose business
was it save the girls, their parents
and that of the officials of the institu-
ton? But students of another col
lege circulated a round robin and con-
demned the officials who suspended
the girls. Their methods were char
and Victorian. / cannot refrain from
expressing the wish in passing that
some sof the students who signed the
round robin would emulate the con-
duct of Queen Victoria rather than
sneer at it. l allude to the incident
merely to call attention how pure de-
mocracy is beginning to work In
government that was not intended by
it's founders to be pure democracy.
Freedom is the universal cry-fre edom
from restraint, freedom from school
restraint, freedom from law restraint.
freedom from sex restraint, freedom
from religious restraint. Isn't it
about time to utter in the Welter or
words which are influencing conduct
a few words about the principles and
customs which enabled free thinkers
of today TO reach their sublime agree
ment about the ideals of America?
When ancient Israel led the van
guard of the nations on the march
toward civilization one Of her great
kings placed upon record for the
guidance of his people these words:
Walk about Zion, and go around
about her; tell the towers thereof.
Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider
her palaces; that ye may tell it to
the generation following" He be-
lieved Israel was all right. He bade
his people observe, learn, understand
Israel so they might be enabled to
preserve It, He had hope that if
they saw and knew and understood
they would hold fast 10 the faith.
America was made great by many
things, principally by veneration and
respect for constituted authority,
which demands quiet obedience to the
mandates Of the law and patient en-
durance of unjust and unwarranted
decisions until by orderly processes
they may be altered. She was made
great by each man sweeping his own
dOoryard rather than cleaning the
yards OF his neighborS when his own
was cluttered up and unkept. She
was made great more by a sense of
individual responsibility for personal
conduct than by any idea that each
man was to he a guardian of the con-
duct of others. She was made great
by compromise and adjustment, by
consideration of the other mans
viewpoint. She was made great by
allowing the gospel to be preached
by polished Paul in Athens and by
plain Bartholomew in the fishing
smacks by the sea She was made
great by recognition of the fact that
the supreme duty of her citizens calls
LOT iHdllCe toward none and charity
for all. Ours is government of
laws. not Of men, and government
by discretion, even Of the most dis
Greet, leads to far worse confusion
than could possibly arise from fool
ish standards. America was made
great by a building uD, not by a tear
ing down: by recognition of the
truth that 1t is not what a man has
nor what he does, but what he is.
that marks him as a good or bad
citizen.
Copyrighted. 1923 21st Century Pressl