Evening star., 1951-04-10
Voice From the Post

Inc past speaks 10 us Win q less
resounding voice than the present, but
the thoughts it provokes are often the
more helpful for their distinct sobriety
Such a voice may be found in volume.
published in 1840, dealing with the
Constitution of the United States writ
ten by Joseph Story, professor Of law
at Harvard. -.
: He wrote: 1.-THE fate of other repub-
lies, their rise, their progress, their de-
cline, and their fall. are written but too
legibly on the pages Of history. if in
deed theye were not continually before
US in the startling fragments of their
ruins. Those republics have persisted;
and have perished by their own hands.
Prosperity has enervated them; cor
ruption has debased them; and venal
populace has consummated their de-
struction.
"The people, alternately the prey of
military chieftains at home and Of am
bilious invaders from abroad, have been
sometimes cheated out Of their liberties
by servile demagogues, sometimes be-
trayed into surrender of them by false
patriots: and sometimes they have will
ingly sold them for price to the despot
who has hidden highest for his victims.
They have disregarded the warning voice
OF their best statesmen, and have per-
secuted and driven from Office their
truest friends. They have listened to
the councils of fawning sycophants, or
base calumniatorS of the wise and the
good. They have reverenced power more
in its high abuses and summary move
ments than in its calm and constitu-
tional energy when it dispensed bless
ings with an unseen but liberal hand.
They have surrendered to faction what
belonged to the common interests and
common rights Of the country.
Patronage and party, the triumph Of
an artful popular leader. and the dis
contents Of day. have outweighed, in
their view. all solid principles of gov
ernment. Such are the melancholy les
sons of the past history of republics
down to our own"
Are not certain basic truths unchang-
able and indestructible? A republic
fourishes under certain laws and Gus
toms; these become altered and the old
order is changed: the new order enters
with its laws and customs. And if they
are still in line with the nature of q
democracy. the republic continues to
flourish; if not, there is different type
Of government for the old one. The
republic is dead.
Corruption is the destroyer. Our mod
ern society has its corrupt individuals
whom the Congress has been investigat-
ing. But these individuals need not con-
tinue to present great problem to the
country, as long as the mass of the peo-
pie keep their heads as to what consti-
tutes right and wrong. No one is very
fond Of facing up to it, but there is way
Of thinking becoming more and more
prevalent that will, If not countered, so
utterly alter our way of life that it will
no longer be in line with the nature Of
democracy. Our so-called thinkers
aren't doing as good job as they might
be doing along these lines.
It is not going to do us any good to
expose corruption and subversion if the
bulk OF our thinkers are going to preach
the extremely broad gospel of tolerance
for almost anything" in the realm OF
ethics. George Eliot (who ought to have
KNOWN is supposed to have remarked:
After men have studied ethics, they
behave almost as well as they did be-
fore" This may be the price OF intelli-
gence: If so, then let us lose our ambi-
ton to be intelligent
Marie Ferguson.
Warwick N Y