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Show Premature PROFESSOR GEO. T. LADD is out in a lonq paper discussing whether a representative Democracy or a military autocracy shall be the dominant force of the future, that the supreme su-preme issue of the present war is to decide that question. It strikes us that It is a little premature to sprjng that question now. The rule of England is a representative rule in name but it has been a rule of the aristocracy since the time the sullen king signed the great charter, and then stamped his feet, beat the table table with his fist and Bworo because ho was forced to sign it or lose his crown and maybe his head, if he did not. Some of those old barons bar-ons could not road or write, but they had their way and so have their descendants, except during dur-ing the little Interim when Cromwell made his diversion. In Russia the rule is and always has been imperial, im-perial, although the people believe that their Duma is a little chock on their ruler. And when a people believe that there is some mortal who of right stands as the ruler of the people and their religion, it requires a vast amount of suffering suf-fering for them to give up that belief. The Reichstadt of Germany and the Relschrag of Austria-Hungary are supposed to represent the people, but they really represent the aristocracy aristoc-racy of those countries. The part the people really play can be seen when the dead inside and outside the trenches are counted. If the war is carried on to utter exhaustion and w H the1 settlement is finally made by The Hague or H some similar tribunal, thon the terms o peace 1H may bring more freedom and more power to the lH common people, but the effect cannot yet be 1H lorecast, hardly anticipated. Then no matter what IH new rights may be bestowed upon tho people, the Ifl people themselves will be a long time in growing ijH up to the point whore they can, under tho constt- 1 H tutions and laws realize their own power. After 1 1 H the girl, who eworked on a canal boat, became a i 1H great actiess, it was only necessary even when H the was playing a great role, for some one to 8 fjfl shout "low bridge" to make her duck her head. vH The habits and deep impressions of a people ' g 1H cannot be changed merely by removing oppres- 'H sive laws. i ' Under the most favorable conditions the j (H people have to be educated up to a realization of 1 IH what is theirs. Take for example the Russian H people, millions of them just out of serfdom. In V their breasts there will have to grow Belf-respect, )H self-confidence and u sense of justice and a new is H dignity, before they can appreciate what real lib- H erty is. It is still true that "long is the way and I H hard that out of hell leads -up to light." H |