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IOVEMBHR 23, 1906
The Commoner.
A STUDY OF GOVERNMENTS
MR. BRYAN'S FORTY-FIFTH AND FINAL
One who travels in foreign lands is likely
to learn out little of the governments of the
lands through which he passes unless he makes
special effort to inform himself, for the linos
)f travel are laid through the communities where
law and order are maintained and where the
jovernment is so stable that the casual observer
mff no occasion- to investigate its inner work
ings. The mountains tower above him and he
sees them; the chasms yawn before him. and ho
Ibeholds them; and the various forms of agri
culture leave a panoramic effect upon his mem-
lory, He frequently meets the merchant in his
Istore, sees the laborer at his work quite often,
?anu occasionally beholds a grandee in his car-
triage, but not being able to speak the language
lof the country he learns little about the forms
fcof government and less about the political aspir
ations of tne people; and yet, the science of
(government is one of the most important sciences,
and the Mroyal art," as it has been called, stands
"first among the arts. Tolstoy has declared that
fj-mq Byipuuu wuiuu tuauuub us now to live is mo
most important of sciences, and surely the sci-
ence of government comes next. While it is
,true that an individual can by misbehavior for-
icii. tuw uis.B9iu&n ui guuu guYerumuiii, or oy goou
h behavior minimize the evils of bad government
while it is true that no government however good
can save a man from himself if his tendencies
be evil, and that no government however bad can
f entirely deprive him of the rewards of virtue, yet.
, governments may do much to encourage or to
hinder the development of the people.
Governments may retard or advance the ma
terial growth of a country. For instance, our
government is in part, at least, responsible for tho
unparalleled development of the United States be
cause it has given the largest encouragement to
the individual. The Japanese government has
in like manner stimulated education by the estab-
t. lishment of a public school system and has de-
vveiopeU' a. large number of public men by the
organization of a parliamentary system. Turkey,
on the other hand, has blighted some of the
fairest portions of the earth by suppressing politi
cal independence, by ignoring education, and by
javing the industrious citizen at the mercy of
the marauder. There has been little political
ife in Turkey because few of the people have
lad the education necessary to take a broad sur
rey of tho country and its needs, while great
tretches of fertile -country lie uncultivated be-
luse the government is ,so indifferent to tho
Ights of the people that the tiller of the soil
las no assurance that he will be allowed to liar-
rest the crop which he plants. Those who have
i,vesj:igai;ea . me supjecu conmn.a mac me vaney
the Jordan would' be a fruitful region If pro-
iction were given to those who would cultivate
but because the Bedouin has been allowed to
me down 'from the hills and reap where he has
ot sown, the land is neglected.
In a trip around the globe qne sees in actual
rnrkincr p.verv form of eovernment known to man.
I 7 ' Vl i , .,.
nussia, an unumiceu raonarcny until re-
mtly. laid its oppressive hand upon more than
R hundred millions qf human beings. They held
their lives, their liberty and their property at
the will of the ruler. Any citizen in the Czar's
Vast dmams could be taken from his home and
exiled for life without he or his family knowing
the cause of his punishment. The royal family
ft1' ja 4-lt fflAnlinlilAwn itstll flrt iortr1n In nnnfoirmf
and denied even the natural rights of men.
The people were, taught to be thankful for any
Imyors, however small, that the "Little Father"
iw fit to bestow, and they were HKowise taugut
tliat it was dangerous to complain when the
,ost fundamental right was .ignored. Now there
if ra Douma, and the Douma as an Institution sua
Wliifes. No one can predict through what trials
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Hi triUUmUUUtt t"VJ wuuvijf me,)', jmx, ia.o, -
institutional government will yet be hers. As
. rr . m i A3 . - ....-.A ...rtrir. r fv i"ki'fo.11
k mitne winter uiue wu uuuuut imcoec u 'w
what days will be pleasant and what days stormy,
D,v-fcut do knqw that in a few months we shall
Kb iinvn summer, so without being able to deter
mine through what tumults or riots or revolu
tions Russia must pass, we know that in a few
years she will have a stable government in which
her people will have a voice.' r
In Japan the government 'is .somewhat mixed
in its form. She has a parliament, but the execu
tive branch of-the government 'is not yet in the
hands of the people. The tendency in Japan, as
vervwhere. is toward further limitation of the
jower of the sovereign and further enlargement
of the power of tho people. Tho vital politicnl
question there now is whether tho emperor shall
select his advisors from among his personal
friends or from tho members of tho party which
dominates the parliament. There is, of course,
no doubt of the ultimate triumph of tho par
liamentary party. Denmark witnessed a similar
struggle Which lasted for nearly a generation and
terminated as such struggles always do, in tho
triumph of the parliament.
In China they have a mixture of monarchy
and aristocracy. Tho monarch is unlimited in
his power, but he is so hedged about by tho
aristocracy that he really has very little inde
pendence. Like some of tho native princes who
rule under Dutch regents, the Chinese ruler is
the servant rather than the master of his of
ficials. Living in- the forbidden city and meeting
personally but few of his people, he is quite
dependent upon the mandarins. The aristocracy
of China is not an aristocracy of birth or of
wealth, but a civil service aristocracy. While
positions aro often boughtsometimes even sold
at auction when the emperor needs money yot,
as a rule, the civil servants of China aro selected
by examination. These systems, while so anti
quated that they have been recently very mate
rially modified, were Intended to bo fair as be
tween applicants. The course of study was not
comprehensive, and tho tests applied gave but
littlo idea of one's fitness for ofllco. Theso men,
once in power, were tho rulers In all local af
fairs, and the higher officials were influential in
all matters of state, and yot, in spite of this sys
tem or because of it, whichever the reader will
have it China slumbered while tho nations
around awakened. The fact that the appointees
to the civil service had to go through certain
routine examinations prescribed by those who
had already passed -through tho same routine,
and as it was not necesary that the appointees
should be Interested In anyone but themselves,
they showed no concern auout tho people from
whom they drew their salaries. It was a ' sys
tem calculated to develop the selfishness which
seemed an inherent part of Chinese life and
philosophy. Now that the school examinations
have been substituted for the civil service exam-,
inations an Improvement may bo expected in tho
service, but even the modified system will not
keep the servant in touch with those whom he
serves.
In Europe the constitutional monarchy has
undergone a constant development until In many
countries the king is but a figurehead. In Eng
land the sovereign would not think of votoing
a bill passed by the legislative body, and the
House of Lords seldom vetoes a bill passed by the
House of Commons. The prime minister is a
much more potent factor In government than
the king himself. In Denmark the government Is
brought even nearer to the people by the sub
stitution of bne legislative body for two, that
body being elected by the people under universal
suffrage. The king of Norway is even less likely
to attempt to obstruct the will of parliament
than the king of England. Norway has reduced
monarchy to a minimum and placed the gov
ernment in the hands of the voters to do with
it as they please.
' In Switzerland the republican form of gov
ernment has stood the test of experiment. In the
absence of pomp and ceremony and official ex
travagance the government of Switzerland Is not
surpassed, if equalled, by the government of any
similar population in the world. Three languages
are spoken within her borders and used in par
liamentary proceedings. The people are part
Protestant, part Catholic and part Jew, and yet,
with the initiative and the referendum in both
the federal government and the cantons, the gov
ernment rests so securely upon the popular will
that the people live together in entire harmony
and could resist a much larger population
attacking from without.
The colonial system also comes under one's
observation in a trip around the world. The
Netherlands have large colonial possessions in
the Malay archipelago, but they have been com
pelled to abandon the culture system a form of
slavery and there are signs of a political de
velopment which will some day make it necessary
for Holland to consult the wishes of the people
more than she has in the past.
I have already spoken of both India and
Egypt in other articles, and I only refer to the
subject here in order to draw a contrast between
colonialism as applied to Canada and colonialism
LETTER
as it is seen in India. In Canada the people havo
as complete self-government as they havo in
England, tho governor-gcncral being as littlo
likely to use tho veto power as tho king himself.' '
in India, on tho other hand, tho natives hro not
consulted in regard to tho general management'
of tho country. Taxes are lovlcd and collected:
armies are raised, fed and directed without ro-'
gard to tho wishes of tho native population, Thoy '
havo experienced all of the evils that can como '
from a colonial system administered by a trad-'
cmrnCn,Tfany' "J"1 , ",oy 1,av had a chance to '
2S1 i colonial system, oven when admin-
r " uch.u Yft?; ttH V command tho admlra
tlon of those who believe in colonialism, still rallH '
far short of self-government. 1 have already
said that we have treated tho Filipinos bettor
than England has treated tho pooplo of India but
that we have done so at an enormous expense '
to our country. It would bo hotter for the Fill
plnos and better for us to recognize their right
to self-government and independence. " '
After one lias had a chance to see monarch-'"'
ies, limited and unlimited, aristocracies baso'd'
upon birth and aristocracies based upon a merit
system; after one has had a chance to compare
these systems with the republican form of gov- "
eminent, he is ready to declare that from every
standpoint that government Is best which rests
upon tho consent of tho governed. Some havo
insisted that a monarchy Is stronger becauso all
of the power of the government can bo concen
trated quickly and made effective at once, but
this advantage Is small when compared with tho
advantages to bo derived from a government :
which the pcoplo support with enthusiasm. The ,
historian, Bancroft, rightly declares that a re
public ought to bo tho strongest of all govern
ments because, discarding the implements of ter
ror, it dares to build its citadel In the hearts of
men.
A republic which Is not merely In theory
but in fact a govornmont of the peoplo, by the
pooplo and for tho people Is the most enduring
of governments. It Is strong becauso it la loved
and loved becauso it is good.
Aristocracies aro dofonded by their advocates
on tho ground that the few arc wiser than the
many, but this is not true whether it is an aris
tocracy of birth or of learning, for as tho wholo
is greater than any of its paris, so a democracy
must be wiser than an aristocracy becauso it
can draw upon the wisdom of all. The old say
ing, that everybody knows more than anybody,
is founded upon reason and experience, but there
is another reason Avhy a democracy Is better than
an aristocracy, namely that the Interests of
tho whole peoplo aro safer In the hands of the
people themselves than In tho hands of any ele
ment which assumes to speak for the people.
The faults of free government have been found
to be, not In the peoplo themselves, but In those
who, selected to represent them, betray their
trust. If the representatives of the people whom
the people themselves select are sometimes un
faithful to their trust, what must be expected
of those who assume to act without being selected
by the people?
In aristocracies resting upon birth the very
fact that the rulers regard themselves superior
to the masses makes it difficult for them to view
questions from the standpoint of the people at
large. Whatever the form of the government,
there will, as Jefferson declared, always be two
parties, one tending toward democracy and tho
other tending toward aristocracy. Those who
havo faith in the people arc constantly trying to
make the government more and more responsive
to tho will of the people; those who distrust tho
people are constantly endeavoring to Increase
the distance between the citizen and his repre
sentative. In a 'republic there aro some who,
emphasize the virtues of tho people and others
who emphasize the virtues of the representative.
Some insist that the people should think for
themselves and elect representatives to give ex
pression to the public will; others Insisf that
the representatives should be so superior to the
masses as to "be able to do the thinking for, the
people.
In the early history of this country Thomas
Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton represented
these two ideas. Jefferson not only believed that
the people should think for themselves and should
elect their representatives, but he believed Jn
short terms and frequent elections in order thatr. ...
the citizens might more effectively control their
(Continued on Page C)
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