Evening star., 1937-10-09
By NJ. c. r.

F.
~ sented to readers in an article
4 4 called liberalism Commits.
Suicide" which appears In the Oc-
tober American Mercury. The author
is Lawrence Dennis The paradox is
the one which Mr.. Dennis sees pre-
sented by the ideals OF liberals today
as these ideals are contrasted with
those held BY the great liberals OF the
pas:.
I'm It's modern FORM" he says, ut
Oiberalism) may be said to have COM
menced with the American and
French revolutions From these great
upheavals down to 1914, democracy
made swift progress throughout the
world . Was this period from the
American Revolution down to the out
break Of the World War one of uni
versal peace and respect of treaties.
international law, and the rights Of
weaker peoples? Emphatically not.
Yet that was the dawn and high noon
Of democracy"
And he goes on, "The progress OF
liberalism was not retarded by our
conquest Of Florida, Mexico or the
Philippines. nor by the British con-
quest OF the Boer Republic or the
French conquests in Africa and Indo-
China. The most predatory and least
defensible war OF the nineteenth CEN
tury, that Of Prussia against France
in 1870, in which France lost two
provinces and 4 billion dollar in
demnity, was followed by great sd-
vance OF democracy In both countries"
As he sees it. therefore, democracy
has not been established in the world
by men or nations striving consciously
to Make the World Safe for Democracy,
but by men who were after making
home, and making it safe for them
selves and their children" And this
end they accomplished. he says ir-
revereS.ly but with truth, 'by taking
the land from others and shooting
Indians and Mexicans."
His present application OF these
facts Is to the Circumstance that
Japan, Italy and Germany-those
notorious Have-Not nations-in striv-
ing to do this very thing. are being
opposed, morally at least, by the ma
tions which built up their own
democratic institutions on Just such
bases. How about it? he asks brusque-
". What OF our own record OF con-
quest and manifest destiny? We'll,
what?)
He finds the answer in the fact
that, at the close Of the World War,
peace terms were dictated by pro-
fessional liberals rather than by real
lists Cromwell, Wellington and
Washington he rates as realsts;
President Wilson and Lloyd George
as dreamers. Cromwell in his day
fought liberal revolution. but GER
tainly no one would call him A per-
sonal liberal. Wellington Was as far
to the right as soldiers usually are,
yet after Waterloo he spoke in favor
OF lenient terms for France. And
Washington was on out-and-out
Federalist. Notwithstanding, the life
works Of these three men, as Mr..
Dennis sees it, contributed vastly to
the cause Of democracy. Against this,
he says fatty that it was the Treaty
Of Versailles which prepared Europe
for today's fascism. And that, treaty
was Of course dictated by professional
liberals Of the purest ray.
1t all makes a diverting paradox,
as Mr.. Dennis sees it, and he carries
it to its truly paradoxical conclusion in
writing that the hope Of modern lib
eralism lies in the fact that Tory
leadership has asserted itself snce
more in Great Britain. He may not
be 30 far wrong at that Anyway,
when he says that America must
make known its intention to stay out
OF all wars, he Is expressing a senti-
ment which any one can find sails
factory.
WHILE 1t may seem to readers that
the American Mercury is rot
exactly the periodical in which to Look
for an unbiased account Of Russis's
new constitution, it occurs to the r.
viewer to commend an article in tie
October issue of that cantankerops
publication just the same, and the
subject Of that article Is that vey
same constitution, too. For If tfr
Mercury is likely to be severe in ih
judgments on the new liberty vouch.
safed the comrades. it is no more
bare-faced in its bias than are the
periodicals that lean to the left, ane
a great deal better reading. The piece
in question is by William Henry
/ Chamberlain, and Mr.. Chamberlain
certainly has had experience enough
in Russian affairs to be regarded with
respect. He says the new document
is pure baloney.
He Is most amusing in the passages
wherein he examines the championine
OF the constitution by Miss Anns
Louise Strong. Now Miss Strong may
be the most admirable person in thu
world. as person. But any one who
has had to read her books Gas thi.
melancholy reviewer has had to dol
must conclude that she Is a very bae
writer. She writes as badly as tn,
professional cause-monger generally
does; which is to say, she is simply
awful. She writes like a loud bras
! gong, unrhythmically beaten. So wher