The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1923-04-05

Inc lHIieTlleu lHSlllClS OF SeiI-pIeS-'
ervat'on, acquisitiveness, fear, kind
ness. hate, curiosity, desire for self
expression. for power, for adulation,
that We carry over from a thousand
of generations must, for good or evil,
he comprehended in a workable sys-
TEN embracing our accumulation of
eXpemerfces and equipment. They may
modify themselves with time-but in
terms of generations. They differ in
their urge upon different individuals,
The dominant ones are selfish. But no
civilization could be built or can en-
dure solely upon the groundwork of
unrestruined and uninteliigent self-in-
terest. The problem of the world -
to ,rAstrain the destructive Instincts
while Strengthening and e%nlarginE
those of altru!stic character and cor
structive impulSe-for thus VI bulls
for the future.
From the instincts Of Kindness, pity,
feaIty To family and race; the love
of liberty: the mystical warnings for
spiritual things; the desire for fuller
expression of the creative faculties:
the IMPULSES of service to community
and nation. are molGed the ideals of
Ii people. And the most potent force
IN, society" Is its ideals. If one were
to attempt TO dclimit the potency Of
instinct and ideals. II would be found
that while instinct dominates in 0ur
preservation yet the great prnpeIling
force of progress Is RIGHT ideals. II
Is true i've do not realize the ideal
not ever q single person personifies
that realization. II Is therefore not
surprising that society, a collection of
persons, a necessary maze of c0upro
misses, cannot realize il. Put that II
has ideals. that they revolve In a sys
ten that makes for steady advance eff
them is the first fling Yet true rs
this is. the day has not arrived when
any economic or social system will
function and last If founded upon al
truism alone. y
With the growth Of ideals through
education, with the higher realization
Of freedom, of justice, of humanity, of
service, the selfish impulses become
less and less dominant, and If we ever
reach the millennium, they will disap-
pear in the aspirations and satisfac-
tons Of pure altruism. But for the
next several generations we dare not
abandon self-interest as a motive force
TO leadership and TO production. lest
we die.
The will-o,the-wisp of all breeds of
socialism is THAT they contemplate a
motivation of human animals by altru-
ism alone. 1t neceSsitates a bureau
cracy of the entire population, In
which, having %obliterated the economic
stimulation Of each member, the fine
g~radations OF character and ability are
to be arranged in relative authority
by ballot or more likely ny a Tammany
Hall or a Bolshevist party. or some
other form of tyranny. The proof of
the futilIty of these ideas as a stimu-
lation to the development and activity
Of the individual does not lie alone In
the CHASTITY failure Of Russia, but 1t
also lies In our own failure In at
tempts at nationalfzed industry.
Likewise the basic foundation Of
a%utocracy, whether II be class govern
ment or capitalism In the sense that a
few men through unrestrained control
of property determine the welfare of
great numbers, Is as far apart from the
rightful expression Of American In
d%ividualism as the two poles. The
will-o'-the-wisp of %autocracy in any
form is that II supposes that the good
Lord endowed a special few with all
the divine attributes. 1t contemplates
one human animal dealing to the 9th
err human animals his just share Of
earth. Of glory. and Of Immortality.
The proof Of the futllty Of these ideas
in the development Of the world does
not lie alone In the grim failure Of
Germany, but It lies IN the damage to
our moral and social fabric from those
who have sought economic domination
in America. whether employer or en-
ployee.
experience of life 10 fool ourselves
into pretending that all men are equal
In ability, in character. In intelligence.
In ambition. That was part Of the
claptrap of the French Revolution. We
have grown to understand that all we
can. hope to assure to the individual
through government Is liberty. Justice,
intellectual welfare, equality Of oppor-
tunity, and stimulation to service.
II is In maintenance Of a society
fluid TO these human qualities that
l~ndividualism departs from the individ-
ualIsm Of. Europe. There can be no
risN for the individual through the
frozen strata Of classes, or of castles.
and no qualification can take place IN
n mass livened ny the. free stir Of It's
particles. This guarding OF our In
i~ivldualism against qualification In
sists mol only in preserving IN the so
clal solution an equal opportunity for
the able and ambitious 10 rise from