Shoshone journal., 1923-04-06

oieat lHeoIleS spun Dy QredmerS To-
remedy the pressing human Ills have
come to the front of mems minds.
Great formulas came into life that
promised to dissolve all trouble. Great
masses of people have focked to their
banners In hopes born of misery and
suffering. Nor has the great social
ferment been confined to those nations
that have burned with revolutions.
Now, as the storm of war, of revo-
luton and Of emotion subsidies there
Is left even with US of the United
States much unrest, much discomfort
with the surer forces of human ad
vancement. To all of us, out of this
crucible Of actual, poignant, individual
experience has come a deal of new
understanding, and 1t is for all of us
to ponder these new currents If we are
to shape our future with intelligence.
Even those parts of the world that
suffered less from the war have been
partly infected by these ideas. Beyond
this, however, many have had high
hopes of civilization suddenly purified
and ennobled by the sacrifices and
services of the war they had thought
the fine unity of purpose gained in war
would be carried into great unity Of
action In remedy Of the faults of civili-
zation In peace. But from concentra-
ton Of every spiritual and material
energy upon the single purpose of war
the scene changed to the immense COM
plexity and the many purposes of
peace.
Thus there loom up certain definite
underlying forces In our national life
that need to be stripped Of the imagi-
nary-the transitory-and a definition
should be given to the actual, perma-
nent and persistent motivation of our
civilization. In contemplation of these
questions we must go far deeper than
the superfiGals of our political and
economic structure, for these are but
the products of our social philosophy
the machinery Of our social system.
Nor is 1t ever amiss to review the
political, economic, and spiritual princi-
pies through which our country has
steadily grown in usefulness and great
ness, not only to preserve them from
being fouled by false notions, but more
Importantly that we may guide our
selves in the road of progress.
Five or six great social PHILOSOPHERS
are at struggle In the world for as
tendency. There is the Individualism
Of America. There Is the Individual
ism of the more democratic states of
Europe with its careful reservations of
castles and classes. There are Com
munism, Socialism. Syndicalism, Cap
italism. and finally there is Autocracy
whether by birth, by possessions,
militarism, or divine right of kings.
Even the Divine Right still fingers on
although our lifetime has seen fully
two-thirds of the earth's population, In
Guiding Germany, Austria, Russia, and
China, arrive at state of angry dis-
gust with this type of social motive
power and throw ii on the scrap heap
All these thoughts are In ferment
today In every country In the woriu. |
They fuctuate in ascendency with |
times and places. They compromise
with each other In daily reaction on
governments and peoples. Some OF
these ideas are perhaps more adapted
to one race than another. Some are
false, some are true.
The partisans of some of these other
brands of social schemes challenge US
to comparison; and some of their par
tisans even among our own people are
in their agitation that we
adopt one or another or parts of their
devices in place Of our tried indivldual-
sm. They insist that our social foun-
Iations are exhausted, that like fuedal-
SIN and autocracy Americas plan mas
served its purpose-that it must be
lbandoned.
There are those who have been left
n sober doubt of our institutions or
re confounded by bewildering catch
words Of vivid phrases. For I'D tnis
elter of discussions there Is much ar
empt 10 glorify or defame social ana 5
conomlc forces with phrases. Nor ln- q
eed should we disregard the potency =
( some Of these phrases In their sur h
o action-~The dictatorship or me 4
"Capitalistic nations I
Germany over all" and score OF o'h' y
rs. We need only 10 review those thai Il
ave jumped 10 horsebaek during ule a
Isl ten years 10 order that we may A
! properly awed by the great soe'"' a
I'd political havoc that can be ~ofNso e
here fhe besfial Instincts of mare a
urder, aud destruction are clothed py 0
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