NOVEMBER 16, 1905
'
Herald has said before. Is not that there are
too many people on earth, or that there Is
too little wealth. The world would support
" many hundreds of millions of people more
. than are now alive, and there is wealth In
abundance for all, while the power to produce
more wealth is practically unlimited. The
whole trouble Is not of production, but of dis
tribution. It Is not "race suicide" that is
required, but justice in the equitable appor
tionment of the products of toil.
FUTURE OF POPULAR RULE
"The Spirit of Democracy" is the title of a
series of articles written by Charles Fletcher
Dale, the first of which has Just appeared Jn
the Springfield (Mass.) Republican. For true
democracy, or government of the people by the
people and for the people, he predicts a glorious
future. In his preface he says:
My purpose in this series of articles, is
to show what real democratic government is.
People have studied the outside of the body
of democracy; they have hardly begun to
know what makes its life, or upon what its
good health depends. Democracy is on trial
in the world, on a more colossal scale than
ever before. Its friends perhaps never faced
more difficult problems. Neither have they
. ever had so much reason to hope for success.
I have no easy panacea for the ills and
grievances that disturb the world. I can
venture no prophecy as to the exact form
which a maturer civilization will take. What
generation was ' ever able ' to lift its most
gifted men to see the details of the line
of march of mankind? There Is, however,
a certain spirit of humanity or good will
which all the clearest thinkers are coming
to agree is the essential factor in civilization.
This spirit is growing among men. All the
signs of the times go to show that the world
is coming to demand this spirit, as the hungry
body craves food. I hope to show that In the
growth of this spirit we find the clew to un
derstand and to work out the splendid experi
ment of democracy. I may be thought to
exaggerate certain evils, for example, the
mischief of militarism and partisanship, I
wish,' however, to disclaim any narrow phi
losophy touching the problem of evil. I ac
cept the facts of savagery and barbarism,
as I accept the facts of a necessary period of
childhood in the life of each individual.
RESULTS IN OHIO
The result In Ohio is variously interpreted.
The Columbus Press Post is inclined to regard
It as a vindication for the democratic party:
It is a splendid victory for the party, a
triumph of and a vindication for former demo
cratic administrations. And the victory might
have been greater. Had the county organiza
tion grasped the possibilities of the state sit
uation as It did of the local situation and
had it given to the head of the state ticket
the same energetic loyalty it gave the city
and county tickets, Governor Herrick would
not have carried Franklin county. This lack
of appreciation of moral issues has been
beating democrats in Ohio for years. When
a great moral question Is at stake a mere
majority of 250,000 in a previous year Is not
formidable and melts away in the face of
an aroused public sentiment. All that Is
required Is the issue and the man. The
people will see to the rest. Will politicians
ever come to realize this?
Iu Ohio, Governor Myron Herrick, a
more amiable and pleasing gentleman and
an executive who has given the state a decent
administration, finds his magnificent plurality
of 113,812 two years nto reversed by a demo
cratic plurality of about CO.O00. This, mind
you. In Ohio, the Invincible stronghold of
the grand old party, an almost unbroken
succession of republican victories since 1872.
It will not do for Governor Herrick and his
friends to charse this remarkable overturning
to the Method'ft preachers nni the temper
ance people. The man that did the business
was Km Cox of Cincinnati, Herrick U in
the plleht of the do that pot punished !
entire he fell Into lad company. Ho made
the rat under a handicap that put uurrem
beyond the pale of prtslMI'tv. All of the
meritorious and encasing qualities of Herrick
counted nothing atainst the rank political
record of tho odioui Boas who was marked
C6j Nobraslxo. Indopondont
for slaughter by the people. It was a grand
day for Ohio. Let the country be thankful
that a state with such traditions has not been
delivered into the hands of Philistines.
Kansas City Times.
No one dreamed of the possibility that
the state might be carried by the democrats.
Last year It gave to Mr. Roosevelt for . presi
dent a plurality, of over 200,000; the year , be
fore It had elected Herrick governor by over
100,000; and for years before that It had been
giving republican majorities of similar magni
tude. Hence the railroad Interests devoted
their attention to winning " over the republi
can machine, which they did, Ignoring the
democrats. The result was that the repub
lican state convention, with Secretary Taft
present to urge Indorsement of the president's
position, deliberately refused to do so; and
the party machine directing the canvass later
came out, through Senator Foraker, against
the president and squarely on the side of
letting the railroads make what rates they
pleased. Its position was so clearly hostile
to the national administration that Secretary
Taft's one speech in the state near the end
of the canvass was devoted rather to answer
ing Foraker than to presenting reasons for
supporting the party ticket at the polls. On
the other hand, the democrats indorsed the
president's railroad policy and repeatedly
called the attention of voters to the attitude
of the two parties on this Issue. And the
democrats won. We have not heard this
claimed as a victory for the president on the
railroad Issue, but we may be very certain
that a republican sweep would ere this have
been heralded through the country as evi
dence of pooular opposition to public rate
control. Springfield Republican.
BRUTAL INITIATIONS
The Columbus Press Post condemns the bru
tality of fraternity initiations which seems to
be a result of the increasing brutality of college
sports:
The inquest into the death of .Stuart L.
Plerson, the Kenyon college student, killed
at Gambler last Saturday nieht during his
' initiation into a college fraternity, presents
some startling disclosures as to the brutality
of the methods used during special initia
tions. There is little doubt that Pierson
was tied to the railroad track, and that
while thus bound, met death from a passing
train. It would seem that in the face of this
fatality, , and the many others which the last
man now lies In the hospital, and grave fears
are entertained for his recovery. It is cer
tainly time that definite measures were taken
to wipe out this form of brutality from college
life.
GRAFT AND ITS REMEDIES
The ethical aspect of "graft" is discussed In
the Outlook and the following remedies are sug
gested :
Graft may not be worse in American
democracy than Russian bureaucracy; not
worse in the republic in the twentieth cen
tury than In the French empire In the nine
teenth. Rut it is more widespread. In a
democracy both virtues and vices more
easily become epidemic. Graft Is confined
to no department, to no party, to no locality.
It appears In the federal government and In
the city governments, In the postofflce de
partment at home and in the consular service
abroad. In democratic New York and repub
lican Philadelphia, In eastern Boston and In
western Cincinnati and St. I-ouis. Nor is It
confined to governmental circles. It la quite
as press and quite as criminal la commercial
circles the little shops and tho great cor
poraMons. Nor la any class Immune, It Is
in the Insurance official who buvs bonds at
par and sells them to himself aa the finance
com rr It tee of his company at an advance, and
In fcb coachman who takes a commission
on every purchase h nuke for his employer.
Not nil men are dhhoneat; only a minority
few yenr hae recorded, there ouirht to be a
law maVintr. tho faculty of every collet re
phonslble for the aeMnnn of tho students
d'trlnic Initiation ceremonies. Tho collet
fraternity Is an Interesting part of the oe'n
nr?'em of rollee I'fe and h"uld bfc SUpnor'ed
raher than condemned. However, If bru
tality becomes la Important part of what
PAGE S
should be innocent and harmless initiation,
it may become necessary to ao away with
fraternities entirely. The college stands for
the cultivation of the nobler principles of
manhood and for the elimination of the brutal
instincts; if it cultivates the brute and mini
mizes nobility of character, it has failed in
its mission. A great hue and cry was raised
last winter when the son of George J. Gould
threatened to shoot his tormentors during one
of these fraternity initiations; but If these
ceremonies are carried to an extreme which
Jeopardizes human life, shall not the intended
victim be allowed to protect himself, even at
the point of a revolver? Oniy a trifle les.j
brutal than the actions of the Kenyon college
students were those indulged in during the
recent initiation at Urbana where the victim
was stripped of his clothing and thrown Into
the Icy waters of a pond, allowed to remain
until almost drowned, and then taken out and
rolled upon a bed of cinders. This young
are dishonest. But dishonesty is so wide
spread that it is difficult for the honest man
to do his business honestly. The would-be
honest politician acquiesces in graft to get
his nomination. The would-be honest manu
facturer participates In graft to get his share
of business. The would-be honest employer
winks at graft because It costs too much to
resist It. And In every organization men
combine to cover up graft lest exposure In
jure 'the cause." What are we going to do
about it? I. Refuse to participate; either as
payer or as recipient. II. Probe and punish.
III. In politics put moral ' principle above
political principle. "Principles, not men,"
is a lying motto. Behind this mask many a
knave has hidden a shameful visage. A prin
ciple is an idle and useless thing If it be
not incarnated in a living man. A man t a
nefarious and -pernicious personality if he
does not Incarnate true principles. 4. Dis
courage partnerships between the government
and individual enterprise. We cannot be
wholly rid of such partnerships; but the fewer
the better. 5. These are but palliatives and
restraints. They may check the fever; they
may prevent the fever-stricken patient from
inflicting irremediable injury on himself and
others. But the fever is in the blood ; and
the only true remedy is to eradicate It. We
must convert the American passion for ac
quisition into a passion for service; we must
substitute for $ a better insignia of honor;
we must measure men by what they do and
what they are, not by what they possess.
Here is a call to the Christian clergy which
too few of them have yet heard. No teaching
of the Master more needs empnasls today
from the American pulpit than this: "A
man's life conslsteth not in the abundance
of the things which he possesseth."
LONDON'S UNEMPLOYED
One of the most remarkable demonstrations
which have occured in England since the riots
in the early years of the nineteenth century
which had for their object the destruction of
labor-saving machinery, was the visit paid by a
deputation from London's unemployed to Primier
Balfour:
The popular authorities petitioned the
prime minister to assemble parliament for a
special autumn session to afford relief from
unemployment, but the premier declined to
do so, declaring that the government had
at present no proposals to make to parliament
on the subject and that to call such a special
session "would only raise hopes which It
would be impossible to fulfill" The unem
ployed question has been growing more and
more urgent In Great Britain during the last
three years. In the winter or 1902-'O3 pro
cessions of workleas inen wore not infre
quently encountered In the streets of Iondon.
The trouble has fdnce Increaseti and an effort
has been for some time under way to or
ganize a general demand ror government
action. "Trade depression" Is generally of
fered as the explanation of tho unemployed
situation. Mr. John Morley, M. P., however,
referred a few days ago lu a public address
in "the question of tho unemployed which
has Always to be reckoned with after a great
war. The radical charge up the situation
to h bud tconomle yytm. Pcrhap the wont
Klrnlficant ami hopeful fact In relation to
the whole matter Is tho growing demand
among llrlthh progressives for a (l!tlrat
program, loth local and national, whoae iar
mount aim nhall b social reform. Chlcaco
Tribune.
