The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1935-09-26
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
By FRANK P. LITSCHERT

than passing interest to Americans
was that made recently by Adolph Hit
Ter, the German autocratic ruler, in
speech at Nurnburg, to the effect
that democracy is doomed. eff other
states have not yet decayed," Der
Fuehrer is quoted as saying, "the fact
that they rest on democracy does not
prove our authority and principle
wrong, but rather that historical pro-
cesses take time"
1t may seem at first thought that
there is some weight in what the Ger
man ruler was saying. Less than TWEEN
ty years ago we fought a good fight on
the assumption that we were helping
to save the world for democracy. Yet
in this year 1885, autocracy seems
more firmly entrenched in the saddle
than it was before the war. Most of
the worlds headlines are being grab
bed by men like Mussolini, Hitler,
Stain and their kind. In fact the first
mentioned autocrat, as this is being
written, seems to be threatening to
push Europe off the balance into what
might turn out to be general warfare.
Even in America there are fears that
we may be getting ready to substi-
tute something like centralized bureau
cratic government at Washington for
our traditional representative de-
mocracy.
Yet the statement of Hitler deserves
more than cursory examination. Per-
haps the plight of democracy is not
quite so bad as it seems. While autoc
racy is looming big in Europe at this
time, it is to be remembered that in at
least two prominent instances, Ger
many and Italy, the fate of the auto
cratic government seems to rest pretty
largely on the life ard fortune of one
man. If Hitler and Mussolini were to
fall there is no telling what might hap
pen. In Russia, autocracy depends on
the will of ore man and we'll organ
lied party which is very much in the
minority There, too, there is apt to be
an upset which might entirely change
the type of government. On the other
hand, some of the democracies left in
Europe, especially the smaller ones
which, fguratively speaking, remain
at home and mind their own business,
seem to be getting along fairly well
without any pomp or streamer head
lines. Switzerland is an excellent eX-
ample Even in Great Britain-and
John Bull is usually referred to as
typical example of democracy in Eu-
rope-there has been economic i'm
provement, despite the fact that the
war clouds have now settled thickly.
And in the United States, too, there
is no reason to be without hope. 1t is
true that bureaucracy has fourished at
Washington and that we have launched
some experiments which seem some
what to resemble many of the things
which have been tried in Europe by
non-democratic governments. But let
US remember that never has there
been more interest and more discussion
of democracy that at present. Our
democracy rests on our national Con-
stitution with its checks and balances
and never was Constitution Day more
generally remembered that it was this
year. The instance of prominent men
of both great political parties on the
same platform preaching representa-
tive government and balance of pow
err, is one which is not without its
significance. It may be that democ-
racy has been slipping some from its
mornings in America. But at the same
time it is to be remembered that the
people every day are becoming more
democracy conscious" and certainly
this does not bear out Hitler's state
ment concerning the end of democratic
government.
Democratic government is based on
a distinct ideal-the ideal that it is