SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 19 ,
THE MICHIGANDAILY
P'AR BRJV3.l
DEMOCRACY this inane talk, and to prove my es- were quite serious and unaffected. But interpretation of course is that k de-
(Continued from Page Two) aential imbeelity: But one copy gould they either infinitely overestimated termines the relative degee to which
maintain that the mud-smeared men, be sufficient, for all are more or less their own ability, or were pathetical- Mr. Gilberg and Mr. O'Brien may par-
maintain that ticipate in the government.
who twist their tobacco-stained mus-{ literal translations of one another, ly unaware of the colossality of the
( hmevs Indeed, the validity of such a for-
taches, and who dig our sewers, are with that of the United States per- task to which they set themselves, ise, peqflte o th exist-
equally capable-or even capable-u aps being the archetype. It may when they undertook to"correct an an- n mulfidemprereqitetotheet-
exercising the same rights of govern- further be anticipated that these pa- omaly which God perhaps overlooked {ecom ocracy.out
ment as those men who comprehend triots would insist upon reading cer- when He created the earth the dis.bec
Hume, we expose ourselves to impolite tain passages aloud I venture to quote tressing fact that individualis are- not - Recall the presidential election of
whisperings, as to our sanity. For. the selections beforehand: mutually equal. I sincerely believe the autumn of 1920. Unless one was
does a normal six-year old child "We hold these truths to be self that it is quite futile for congressmen a Socialist, or a Prohibitionist, or of
know what is best for his own wel- evident, that all men are created I or deputies, or members 'of' parla some other species of uplifters, one
fare? - how to govern himself? Is a equal.....The people of the common- ment, even to attempt to annul by of- voted either for Mr. Cox or for Mr.
man, physically adult, but mentally a wealth have the sole and exclusive ficial legislation any of the older'laws Harding. Merely for the sake of es-
moron, anymore competent to judge? right of governing themselves..... -say, those which have existed since chewing the voluminous, let usmake
Does the six-year old child know what and forever hereafter shall exercise the end of the pliocene persod the vulnerable supposition that allre
is best for his parents? Does the and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, -thesepeh voterswr sincreM. Thengoa
the. people who voted for Mr. Coxgov'
adult imbecile know what is best for and right. which i not, or may not I Individuals are not Mutually equal, erning themselves? Perhaps you will
his fellow-men? Would any legislat- hereafter be, by them expressly dele- If they are, what is all this busipess admit that they are not; that only
or think of permitting a noruial four- gated to the United States of America of education about? It must then be those who voted for Mr. Harding -are
teen-year old boy, just out of gram-I in Congress assembled." So much a sort of insanity totry to mare one
a srt f nsaitytotryto ak on Idoing the governing. Are they?.-
mar-school, to vote? These are ques- from the Constitution of Massachus- person better than another, if it is Bm- o
tions startlingly close beneath.one's etts. This from France: "Les hom- utably true that all indivIduals are Both r. Harding and Mr. Cox,b'
nose. Ines 4aissent et demeurent libres et equal to one another. They must then itg human beings, essentially possess-
But here it inay be anticipated that egaux en droits. Les distinctions so- be able to be eqiatei t'o one anOther ed distinctive personalities. They
awere individuals. By that I mean that
some of those who have a properi ciales ne peuvent etre fondees que sur , like the quantities in a mathenatics
developed sense of patriotism will go .utilite conmmsune." Again: Los 'cquation; that is, Isaac Gilberg=Pat son weentpresesmilar;
"~ Bt c ons were not precisely similar; that
running to the shelves of their librar- hoibres raven iguales..... Bu rick O'Brien in the sane manner as=they would react differenty to the
ies, to find copies of declarations of the hypothesis of democracy has been x-y. Or, assuming x and y to refer tot l d y
same stimulus. And it is equally ten
national independence and democratic repeated often enough. the same personages as formerly. to able that everyone of the ultitude of
constitutions-those of the United It is improbable that those gentle- make the formula general, x_ ae; aovt possessed ndiviul der os
voters possessed individual differences
States, of France, of China, and per- men who coniposed these various con- where k is a constant to be determan of personality, just as salient as those
haps a dozen otiier nations-to beai stitutions aspired to be gods. On the ed from the experiments of the psy- which distinguished the presidential
witness against these tenets, to quiet other hand, the ciances are that they chclogists and the physiologists. The caoddates from euch other. In oth-
er words, no two persons if given the
-- - -- -- -----presidential, or any other duties,
would perform those duties in pro-
cisely the same manner. The most
Aft then that one can do is to vote for
Heart of the Season Sale of so.meone who is somewhat like one's
self; to give one's consent that some-
one else may govern. To maintain
is as absurd as to say that two per-
mter oat an apssons are identical.
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-Owing to the extreme difficulty of obtaining the desired cloths.
and prime furs, there is not likely to be an offering similar to this -
one again this year. The conditions under which we obtained
these coats will not be duplicated. If you wish a really worth-
while Coat or Wrap at a decided saving in price,.you'll urely
want to look over our offerings in this sale.
Dressy Wraps in
$49.50
x Elegant Lustrosas,
Veldynes and $69.50
7
Bolivias,
with rich fur collars or fur col-
lars and cuffs, are now at a
reduction you'll appreciate.
$89.50
$89.50
$21.50
$24.75
$29.75
$34.50
.
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The question is not whether the
people have a right to govern them-
selves; it is the problem of whether
- or not they can govern themselves.
And they are confronted by the fact,
discomforting though it may be,- that
they are politically unequal to ont
another. They cannot help it. ' ABAd
there is no use to become maudlin
about the matter. Government by the
people is empirically impossiblel:i'hi
-current rot about rights to gdvern-
-went may as well be left unsaid, fot
right and possession are not alsiia9s
an intimate couple.
I presume that before this monster
is finally backed off the edge of'the
cliff,"it will put up a valiant defenise,
and make much hideous noise about
'government by principles". But i.
merits only its inevitable reduction ad
"absumrdun. This"conception that got-
ernment officials are the puppets of
the people who elect them, or if you
wish, of these "great principles" is
delicate humor; and this incessant
talk about "disinterestelness" forces
a smile.
The whole thing is adiniraly
adapted to oratory, to flattery of the
mob, and to rhetorical flourishes. For
example, the following from Dr. Nich-
olas Murray Butler, President of Col-
umbia: "False democracy" shouts,
Every man down to the level of the
average. True democracy cries,;All
men up to their fullest capacity or
service and achievement."
Behold! If we look towards the
east, doubtlessly we shall se the light
shining through the clouds. But I turn
my back. I refuse to be optina itic.
But do not be alarmel. Te present
oligarchiies of the United Btatm,
France, Great Britain, and some of the
ether more stable nations, -are fairy
good governments, and will perlhapa
endure for some years yet.
Smait Sport Coats
in Shaggy Scotch Weaves and in Polaires and Chin-
chillas are here for college-and niotorwear, and all
reduced in price..
You'll find our styles distinctive, the tailoring superb, the materials the best the market
affords, and coupled with these our 21 years' reputation for, selling only reliable garments.
I /s Cmpa"ny
ii8 SOUTH MAIN STREET
THE SHOP OF SATISFACTION