Evening star., 1947-04-18
Letters to The Star
An Appeal for Definition
of Words We Use

To the Editor OF The Star.
Two items in roday's news are based
upon two terms that thousands of per-
sons use every day but never pause to
define. In fact, when asked to define
democracy or free enterprise" most
persons look surprised and then tumble.
OF course, it is all right to use words
without knowing what they mean If
ones purpose is just to make conversa-
ton. But if the purpose is to reach a
mutual understanding it would be well
to begin with mutual understanding
OF what we are talking about. A rea-
son often given as to why our discus
sions with the Russians are so long
drawnout-aside from the alleged Rus
sian passion for self-expression, Is that
the Russians don't know what we mean
by democracy" So they use 1t with
quite different meaning. As result
they and we don't get anywhere.
But what do we mean? When ask a
fluent speaker what he means by de
mocracy" or democratic process he
MIN what he desires. Not infrequently
nowadays he says that he does not
believe in democracy" anyhow. What
he says he believes in is a representative
republic. Which at once substitutes a
capital D and a capital r for lower
case letters and puts the discussion
on party basis.
happen to believe in democracy and
also in representative republic as a
form OF democracy. My formula is
simple: "A democracy is society in
which any member is free to start any
thing and the majority is able to veto
anything" Having both of these we
have democracy; lacking either OF
them we do not have democracy. The
form may range from and beyond a
representative republic to New Eng
land town meeting.
The veto may take the form of an
election, or law, or a provision in q
constitution. The majority may or may
not choose to exercise its veto power
much of our progress is due to deter
mined action of individuals in which the
majority merely asquiesces. The point
Is that the majority is able to veto. So
too, the individual may or may not
choose to exercise his freedom; he may
be lazy or Indifferent, or merely mega
lively respectable. But he is free to
start anything and his freedom includes
freedom to try to reverse veto by con-
verting the majority.
AS to free enterprise" todays news
item is shooting wheat prices upward
the full 10 cents a pushel permitted by
fChicagO Board of Trade regulations. I"
Obviously free enterprise" was not quite
free in Chicago yesterday.
Sometime ago there was another news
item to the effect that mortgage inter-
ests in certain city had prevented the
building of new apartment houses.
Whether true or not, that item, and I
never saw it denied, indicated a degree
of restriction on free enterprise. So it
seems to me that what usually is meant
is private enterprise" rather than free
enterprise and our discussions would be
more productive of understanding If We
used the term private enterprise"
2sesssA.s. ssssa4ssxssgssss 4 8 JOHN IHLDER.e
Insists on Compromise by u. S.
To the Editor OF The Star:
In an editorial in your March 26 edi-
tion, you take the attitude that the
United Nations cannot function unless
Russia issah agreement with the United
xtates ard WilIlng to see the ame.side
spf a question that we do. This attitude =
that we are always right and that
Russia has to see matters our way if we
are to accomplish anything--is the main
reason for the poor state Of interna-
tional relations today.
Until the United States begins to
realize that there are two sides to each
diplomatic disagreement, and until we
are ready to make reasonable COM
promises with Russia, war between the
United States and Russia is inevitable.
GEORGE GAIT BREADY.