IF AMERICA FAIL IF AMERICA FAIL OUR NATIONAL MISSION AND OUR POSSIBLE FUTURE By SAMUEL ZANE BATTEN The only nations which can have a future, the only nations which deserve the name historic, are those who feel the importance and value of their institutions and prize them. — Tolstoi PHILADELPHIA THE JUDSON PRESS BOSTON CHICAGO ST. LOUIS LOS ANGELES KANSAS CITY SEATTLE TORONTO .B36 Copyright, 1922, by GILBERT N. BRINK, Secretary Published September, 1022 Printed in U. S. A. 00123 22 ©CUG86442 PREFACE In every age, as Carlyle suggests, there is some one people that enshrines the largest mass of living in- terests for humanity as a whole. Men of every race might readily accept this estimate provided they were allowed to name this people. In our time several peoples, each possessing strik- ing characteristics, are playing a fateful part in the drama of universal history. Not for a moment do we mean to ignore the worth or significance of any of these. Most fully do we believe that there is a God of history who calls nations to great historic tasks. The fact that one nation has historic signifi- cance and a divine calling, does not imply that it alone has value in universal history and that other peoples carry no values for the world. In truth it implies the direct opposite. Not in any provincial spirit, therefore, but with a profound reverence for the qualities and values of the various races, do we claim that in many respects one of the most out- standing peoples in our age is that branch of the Anglo-Saxon race bearing the name American. For this age America enshrines the largest mass of liv- ing interests entrusted to any one nation. Perhaps Preface more vital issues are wrapped up in our life than in any other people at this hour. But this is a changeful world and things are on the march. " Westward the star of empire takes its way." We may not read the riddle of the future, and it is not wise to predict historic developments. But two things seem certain : The drama of history for the next thousand years will be played around the Pacific Ocean. Two thousand years ago the cen- ter of world progress was around the eastern Medi- terranean Sea. For the past thousand years the eventful drama has been played around the Atlantic Ocean. During the coming millennium the history of the world will be shaped around the shores of the Pacific. The second fact is that three races will play the dominant part in this drama. These are the Anglo-Saxon, the Slavic, and the Chinese races. For weal or woe, these peoples, either in competi- tion or in cooperation, will shape the course of events for centuries to come. America, which lies between the two oceans, seems destined to play a leading role in the world history during the next thousand years and may have much to do with the progress of the kingdom of God. In this brief study we cannot discuss the life and mission of any of the other nations. But this book is written in the conviction that America is an elect nation and is called to a great task in universal history. For this reason our success, the fulfilment Preface of our calling, means much not only to ourselves but to every nation on the globe. For this reason also our failure, the forfeiture of our calling, may not only bring discredit upon ourselves, but may delay the redemption of the human race and the progress of the kingdom of God. If we are to play a worthy part in the world drama and exert a wise leadership, it is essential that America perfect her institutions, develop a worthy life, and thereby qualify herself for the commanding place she should hold in the world's future. The hour has not yet come for any one to judge our nation's success or to forecast our possible fu- ture. But this is a universe of law, of cause and ef- fect. Whatever goes into the first of life goes into all life. God is not mocked ; whatever men sow, that shall they also reap. In the case of an individual whose lifetime is limited by some threescore years and ten, we can usually see the working of this law. In the case of a nation whose lifetime is measured by millenniums, the relation between cause and con- sequence is not so quickly evident. Because sentence against a people's deeds is not executed speedily, na- tions grow careless and think they have repealed the law of the moral harvest. But with nations as with individuals, today not only precedes tomorrow, it is the parent of tomorrow. Tomorrow will be as to- day, only more so. The surest way for America to fail is for America to think that tomorrow will take Preface care of itself. If the nation is to have a great and worthy future the consciousness of our national call- ing must be transformed into a serious national purpose. Says Prof. H. S. Nash, " To so write the history of a nation that it shall come to a deeper knowledge of itself and shall have a more serious sense of its vocation in universal history, is an act of piety as truly spiritual in its essential nature as to write an * Imitation of Christ * or a * Pilgrim's Progress.' " To do something, be it ever so humble, that shall awaken in the men of this nation the consciousness of a high mission and summon them to the accom- plishment of heroic tasks, this is the largest service that any man can render to his time and nation. This book is only the brief outline of a great sub- ject and does not attempt to fill in the picture. Whether the author has fulfilled his chosen task wisely and well, is a small consideration. The ques- tions here considered are among the most vital that can engage the attention of men. He who merely succeeds in calling attention to them, will have ren- dered no small service. The writer dares to hope, however, that many men with larger qualifications for the task, will develop the thesis he has suggested. Beyond all, he hopes that the teachers and prophets of the land may interpret our prophetic national history and enable the people to know the things that make for their well-being. Preface The making of a just, righteous, brotherly Chris- tian nation, is the supremest achievement possible to a people. Some time, somewhere, this end will be attained. That nation in the past might have been Israel or Rome, Germany or Britain. That it may be America, is the ideal and the purpose the author hopes to see become dominant in the hearts of his people. A word may be said with reference to the course of thought. In the first chapter we consider the meaning and mission of America. This raises the question concerning the fulfilment of our mission. In the second chapter we glance over the field of history and note some of the causes of the decline and failure of nations. In the following three chap- ters we consider how far these causes may be at work in America and what this denotes concerning our future. In the remaining chapters, from six to thirteen, we deal in a constructive way with some of the things that America must do to strengthen its life and to make its calling and election sure. The success or the failure of America is a fact of profound significance to the world. It ought to be a question of supreme moment to every citizen of the Republic. Above all, it ought to be one of the chief interests of every believer in the kingdom of God. CONTENTS PARTI THE RISE AND FALL OF NATIONS CHAPTER PAGE I. The Mission of America 3 11. The Causes of National Decline 22 III. The Power of Wealth 41 IV. The Increasing Social Pressure 63 V. The Passing of the American 82 PART II THE CONDITIONS OF NATIONAL SUCCESS VI. The Search for Justice 109 VII. The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 124 VIII. The Practise of Democracy 145 IX. The Discipline of the Nation 164 X. The Preservation of the American Family 187 XL The Americanization OF the People. . 206 XII. The Supremacy of the Spiritual 225 XIII. The Christianization OF the Nation.. 243 PART I THE RISE AND FALL OF NATIONS THE MISSION OF AMERICA " Where there is no vision the people perish." Right thought goes before right action. The picture is older than the paint and canvas. The plans and specifications are antecedent to the building. It is the light in the eye that gives purpose to the hand. Great and worthy things do not come about by chance. Moral ends are achieved by moral purpose. For a man and for a nation, the most vital fact is the ideal cherished, the goal sought, the conviction of a work and mission. The ideal Achilles, we are reminded, made the real heroes of Thermopylae and the Granicus. The conviction that they were . a chosen people made Israel the miracle of history. That the American Republic has some meaning and mission in the world has long been a conviction with its people. Many of the men who founded the colonies felt the hand of God upon them, and wrought as in the Great Taskmaster's eye and for his purpose in the world. ^ Adopting and adapting the words of Oliver Cromwell,^ " We are a people with the clear stamp of God upon us, whose appear- ances and providences are not to be outmatched by any Judah whatsoever." This justifies the word of Emerson : ^ " America is but another name for op- 1 Bancroft, " History of the United States," Vol. I, p. 214. ^ Cromwell, " Fourth Speech in Parliament." ' " Miscellanies," p. 279. 4 If America Fail portunity. Our whole history appears like a last ef- fort of Divine Providence in behalf of the human race." If there is a God in history who calls nations and determines the course of events, then America is indeed a called and chosen nation. The nation that would fulfil its high destiny must believe that it has a mission and must consciously seek to realize that mission. In a real sense the na- tion is but the person writ large. For generations it may be, a people lives a more or less instinctive and undeliberate life. It is conquering its territory, building cities, developing its resources, growing in numbers and power, and assuming a place among the nations of the earth. It is dimly conscious of the fact that it has some work to do and some mis- sion to fulfil ; but it does not fully know what these may be. There comes a time, however, when it awakes to full self-consciousness and begins to ask why it is here, what it has to do, what it has to fear, and what it may hope. As with the person, so with the nation, such a time is usually one of storm and stress, of painful self-scrutiny and doubtful mind. But by and by the light breaks through the mist, and the people gain a sense of direction and know the great thing they are called to do. The American Republic has come to such a time of self-discovery. Two sets of causes combine to make the present a turning-point in national des- tiny; they are compelling us to reconceive our na- tional ideal and are giving us a sense of direction. First, is the need of a clearer national vision. We have done great things in the past whereof history will tell "till the last syllable of recorded time." We have developed a continent at an incredible rate The Mission of America 5 and have created wealth faster than any other peo- ple. We have gained our independence and pre- served our national unity. And just when one might expect the nation to feel proud of its achieve- ments, we Americans have grown uncertain of our- selves. We have discovered that many things are wrong in the nation's life; that influences are at work which divide the people and make us of doubt- ful mind concerning our mission and our future. We have discovered also that the accepted maxims of the nation are primitive and provincial ; that our policies and programs belong to a nation of villagers rather than to a nation among nations. Secondly, the World War marks the close of one era and the opening of a new chapter in our history. Hitherto we have lived much to ourselves, and on the advice of the Father of his Country have avoided all entangling alliances with European na- tions. We have approved the policy of the Monroe Doctrine and have limited our interest to the West- ern hemisphere. This has implied our natural sepa- rateness and has meant that we have no part in world affairs. But the World War taught us that we can not stand apart as mere spectators; it has called us out of our isolation and has given us a stake in world life as an active participant. From this time forward things will be different with us, and a new national policy is imperative. Thought, life, trade, diplomacy have become international and world-related. America, it is now clear, is a part of the world and must live as a nation in the family of nations. There can be no going back into the old isolation ; henceforth for good or ill we must live in the world and play a part in the world's struggle. B 6 If America Fail No reliance upon former convictions, " no restate- ment of older principles, no fumbling among past precedents, no patching up of older policies will an- swer the challenge of the future." * The American Republic stands at the crossroads of history. Different roads leading to diverse des- tinies are open; but the options are few. Many- lights shine before us; some are fixed stars, some, mere will-o'-the-wisps. Which way lies success? What is the ideal we should set before ourselves? What is our real mission in the world? What kind of conduct shall we require of ourselves? What shall be our national policy for the future? What must we do to make our calling and election sure? The practical thing for the traveler who is uncer- tain of his path, is not to proceed with all speed in any direction, but to stop long enough to inquire for the right road. So the wise thing for a nation to do that has stumbled upon a turning-point of history, is not to behave as if nothing had happened, but carefully to consider whether what it has done thus far is the right thing. Rational human life de- mands conscious and rational action. It is neces- sary therefore that we catch a vision of our goal, come under the spell of a dominating ideal, under- stand our work, and move in the right direction. Nations as well as men, have mistaken an ignis fatuus for the pole-star and have followed it to their own undoing. A wrong ideal may be quite as fatal as no ideal at all. How then can we know our true mission and distinguish the light of heaven from a will-o'-the-wisp? " The Bible of every nation," says Carlyle, " is its * Usher, " The Challenge of the Future," p. 17. The Mission of America 7 own history." The history of Israel we have learned to believe is a sample and type of God's dealings with the children of men. In the case of Israel we find the evidences of God's presence in the history of the people, and in and through events we read his purpose. We are not given in advance any key to our history, and we have no Isaiah or Jeremiah to read the inner meaning of things. But using the history of Israel as a key we may interpret our own history, and in and through the prophetic events of our national life we may read the will of God for our land. We shall notice very briefly some of the events in the discovery and settlement of this country we call America ; then we shall read the significance of these events, and this will suggest some of the meaning of America. I. The Conquest of the New World To the end of time the honor of discovering Amer- ica must be given to Christopher Columbus. But Columbus was after all a child of his age ; if he had not discovered America when he did, some one else would surely have done so in a short time ; and per- haps would have done it more thoroughly. The con- quests of the Turks in the East had closed the old trade-routes to India, and so men were perforce driven to find another way to that land. For a long time many men believed that the earth was round, though all supposed that it was much smaller than it proved to be. The hour came when the Genoese set out on that memorable voyage which has had such momentous consequences to the human race. Columbus was 8 If America Fail a devout Catholic, and he went forth with the bless- ing of the church to find new lands for the Church of Rome and for the sovereigns of Spain. History gives us the account of the voyage, how day after day his vessel was headed toward the North Atlantic coast, how finally the sailors grew rebellious, and it was only a question of time when they would break out in open mutiny. Then one day the sailors saw a flock of birds of beautiful colors and delicate wings flying toward the southwest. At once the vessel's course was changed, and for some days they sailed southward. Surely if there is a Providence in the fall of a sparrow we may well believe there is a providence in the flight of a flock of parakeets. At last the sailors saw the welcome land, they went ashore, raised the cross, and took possession in the name of the Catholic sovereigns of Spain. In a later voyage Columbus landed upon the South Amer- ican mainland, but to the day of his death he did not know that he had discovered a new hemisphere. In 1493 Pope Alexander VI issued a bull partition- ing the non-Christian world into two parts. In a rather indefinite way he gave Spain all lands west of an imaginary meridian one hundred leagues west of Cape de Verde Islands, while to Portugal was given all lands to the east. The story of the settlement of this continent is full of deep significance. A strange fate seemed to defeat the efforts of Spain to found colonies on the mainland of the north. Nearly a hundred years passed, and yet Spain had only a few missions in the far southwest. Later she attempted to plant col- onies in Florida ; but the French, seeking footing in that land, exterminated the Spanish and held the The Mission of America 9 country. The French also attempted to make settle- ments in various parts of the land, but a fate no less strange defeated their efforts. They established a number of trading-points in Canada, but they made few attempts to colonize the land for a hundred years or more. The French and the Spanish each opposing the other held back the work of coloniza- tion till the beginnings of the seventeenth century. By that time the Mayflower had anchored in Massa- chusetts Bay, and the English had begun to plant permanent colonies. From one cause and another the real colonization of the North American conti- nent was delayed till the English people came. It has been suggested that Providence times events in the interests of his kingdom. Certainly there was a remarkable timing of events in the early decades of the seventeenth century. During the years that Englishmen were struggling to gain a foothold in America, England herself was be- coming democratic and free. Great events were transpiring in the mother country — the overthrow of the Stuarts and the establishment of the Pro- tectorate — and these changes at home diverted attention from the colonies. During this time, however, several colonies obtained charters in which Protestant principles were fully recognized and democracy was made possible. After the death of Cromwell and the restoration of the monarchy colonization almost wholly ceased. But the seeds had been planted in the new land, and for nearly a hundred years they were allowed to grow with very little interference from the old world. It is easy to see a special significance in this whole process of settlement and colonization. If America 10 If America Fail had been colonized at the time of the discovery by either French, Spanish, or English, it would have been Catholic and monarchical. If it had been col- onized by the English in the time of Elizabeth it might not have been Catholic, but it would not have been fully Protestant, for Church and State were united and democracy was not born. If colonization had been delayed for a few years it would have been impossible under the Restoration to obtain such lib- eral charters. If colonization had begun at almost any other time it would have been undertaken by a very different kind of people, with a different re- ligious faith, with different political ideals, and for very different ends. For a hundred years after the fall of the Commonwealth the colonies had time to plant themselves, to grow in their own way, to de- velop individuality and freedom. In the various colonies there were various types of religious life and political institutions, but practically all were in- tensely Protestant and largely democratic, and the founders, predominantly men of deep religious feel- ing, had the profound conviction that they were instruments in the hands of Providence.^ In the earlier years of colonization of North Amer- ica, peoples of various nationalities were represented by different colonies. Rivalry inevitably existed, and perhaps was necessary to detect the strains that should survive. In the course of time the Spanish colonies fall out of the race so far as the possession of North America is concerned. The English col- onies absorb the Dutch and Swedish, and the issue settles down to a struggle between the English and the French. We need not here consider all the fac- » Bancroft, " History of the United States," Vol. I, p. 214. The Mission of America 11 tors represented by these two peoples ; but they are two different and opposite types. The French colonies located in Canada repre- sented monarchy and autocracy in government, which was paternalistic to the last extreme. Never perhaps were more faithful efforts made to keep a people loyal than were made by the French king. The French colonists were petted and coddled in every possible way by the home government. Every- thing that government could do for them was done ; in fact the government was altogether too solicitous. It would be incredible were it not attested by such abundant evidence, that the affairs of any people would be subjected to such minute and close super- vision as were the affairs of the French colonists in Canada." More than that, these French colonists were intensely Roman Catholic in their religious faith. Never perhaps was greater zeal and devotion shown than was shown by the Jesuit missionaries in Canada and around the Great Lakes. But mis- sionaries and people were most loyal to the pope and most intolerant to other faiths. The English colonies, as we have seen, were founded by men of a different faith and received very different treatment from the home government. As a rule, the English colonies asked nothing of the mother country but to be let alone; and for nearly a hundred years England had enough things to di- vert her attention, and so the colonists had their way. Here in America they planted the seeds of the old Saxon institutions and developed these to meet a new situation. The New England town meeting that had its prototype in the forests of « Parkman, " The Old Regime in Canada." 12 If America Fail Germany two thousand years ago^ flourished in the colonies and became an established institution. The people of each community were accustomed to meet and consider together their common affairs with per- fect freedom. By the very nature of the case such people became independent in thought, and their in- stitutions became democratic in form and spirit. Not only so, but these people were most intense Prot- estants; and they carried their convictions to the limit. It is true that in Massachusetts colonies an attempt was made to establish a kind of church gov- ernment which, while democratic in form, was auto- cratic in spirit. Roger Williams expressed the feel- ing of many when he declared, " I came from England to escape the tyranny of the Lords Bishops, and I do not intend to subject myself to the tyranny of the Lords Brethren." When at last he was " en- larged " out of Massachusetts colonies, to use the euphuistic phrase of Cotton Mather, he established a colony in which full civil and religious freedom was guaranteed. The idea made way, and in time it became prevalent in all of the colonies. The time came, as it was bound to come, when the issue was joined between these peoples for the final struggle. For a generation and more, during the early eighteenth century, there had been skir- mishes here and there. Finally the hour struck when the question must be decided one way or the other and once for all. The war line shifted back and forth between Canada and the colonies; at last the forces met for the decisive struggle around Quebec. In the number of men engaged, the battle on the Heights of Abraham was a trifling affair; in the fateful issues at stake, it takes rank as one The Mission of America 13 of the most decisive battles of the world. John Fiske declared that the victory of Wolfe is the greatest turning-point yet discernible in modern times. In that struggle it was decided whether America should be French, autocratic, and Cath- olic, or Anglo-Saxon, democratic, and Protestant. We are not here discussing the question whether the Anglo-Saxon race is superior or inferior to others. Such discussions no longer have any mean- ing or value. National traits, like individual apti- tudes, are different. Perhaps each one of the great races of the world is as necessary to the complete- ness of humanity as any other. Each people, we may believe, is called to utter some syllable of the manifold wisdom and many-sided purpose of God. It takes all of us together to spell out the meaning of the world and to fulfil the whole task of history. Then too, we have no standard with which to mea- sure such values. Without discussing the profitless question of English superiority or inferiority from the point of view of universal history, we note that men of the English race, rather than any other, gained control of this section and planted here cer- tain great institutions. This race, we all admit, has some great and glaring defects of temper and char- acter; its institutions represent but one type of na- tional life. But it has some qualities that gave it preeminence in America; and its institutions as de- veloped here have some meaning and value in uni- versal history. II. The Meaning and Mission of America We must read the divine purpose for our nation as it is disclosed in and through the events of our his- 14 If America Fail tory. The supremacy of the English-speaking race in this part of North America known as the United States is a fact of prophetic significance; in the in- stitutions they developed and the ideals they cher- ished we find some clear intimations of our national mission. 1, We are called to develop democratic institu- tions. The people who came to the New England colonies were lovers of freedom and were deter- mined to build their institutions upon democratic lines. In the cabin of the Mayflower these pioneers drew up an agreement for the new colony which was a true expression of their deepest life. Ban- croft grows eloquent over this simple transaction and declares that in the cabin of the Mayflower hu- manity recovered its rights and instituted govern- ment on the basis of equal laws enacted by all the people for the general good. It must be said, how- ever, that these Pilgrims and Puritans of New En- gland did not succeed in establishing a pure democ- racy. It remained for Roger Williams in Rhode Island to carry the principle to its conclusion and establish a government that was democratic in the fullest sense of the word. 2. We are called to create and realize the demo- cratic state. The term democracy as applied to a form of government is old; but the reality back of the word belongs to recent times. There were so- called democracies in ancient Greece, and Aristotle has devoted a large part of his treatise on " Poli- tics " to discussion of this form of government. But careful study reveals the fact that democracy in the better sense of the word was wholly unknown in the ancient world. In the so-called democracies of The Mission of America 15 Greece more than one-half of the people were slaves and only a small proportion had any voice in the government. Democracy in the best and fullest sense of the word is a Christian product and finds the origin of its principles and ideals in the great truths of Christianity.'^ Democracy in the words of one of its best repre- sentatives, is " government of the people, by the people, and for the people." This great and signifi- cant statement defines democracy in its political as- pects. But it does not carry us back behind the form to the inner and vitalizing principles, and these are all-important here. Democracy, according to many modern thinkers, is a general term and includes the three elements, liberty, equality, and fraternity. This shows that democracy is at once a confession of faith, a principle of action, and a form of gov- ernment. " What is democracy? " asks Brooke Foss Westcott, and he says : * The idea of democracy is not, if we look below the surface, as much a form of government as a confession of human brotherhood. It is the equal recognition of mutual obliga- tions. It is the confession of common duties, common aims, common responsibilities. True democracy — and in this lies its abiding strength — substitutes duties for rights. This sub- stitution changes the center of gravity of our whole social system and brings the promise of stable peace. As such he maintains it is the modern equivalent of the three great principles of the kingdom — right- eousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. This is the great, glad, new truth which the Stars and Stripes announce to the world. ^Jellinek, "The Rights of Man and the Citizen." » " The Incarnation and Common Life," p. 349. 16 If America Fail 3. We are called to develop a free religious life. The term Protestant that is sometimes used to char- acterize this form of religion and life, is an unsatis- factory one. It is a negative term, and such terms are always partial, local, transient. Being a nega- tive term, it falls short of the larger truth implied in our national life. Beyond all, in its historical meaning it has a certain church in view and is a reaction against papal assumptions. There have been times in the past when it was necessary to protest against the assumptions of Rome and to in- sist upon the separation of Church and State. But after all, this is but a partial and negative aspect of the larger truth which must always be kept in mind. For our purpose we prefer the term here used — free religious life. This free religious life rests upon certain funda- mental principles and carries definite, important corollaries. The great Reformation of the sixteenth century was inspired by two great ideas and pro- jected on two great lines — justification by faith, and the priesthood of all believers. According to the first, each man has the privilege of access to the Eternal without the intervention of any priest ; and so his faith stands in his own personal vision and choice. According to the second, every man re- deemed by Christ's blood is made a priest and king unto God ; and this honor have all the saints. These great truths are veritable thunderbolts of God breaking in pieces many of the assumptions of men. " The principle of justification by faith alone brought with it the freedom of individual thought and conscience against authority." ^ The priesthood » Bancroft, " History of the United States," Vol. I, p. 178. The Mission of America 17 of all believers affirms the sacredness of man and the equality of all. There is no special class of men with authority to rule over their fellows or to claim homage from them. The first of these great truths, then, is the Magna Carta of liberty of conscience; the second is the eternal guaranty of equality among men. And this free religious life carries with it three important corollaries. First, it recognizes the right of every person to see and think and believe for him- self without the constraint of any priest, council, or government. Secondly, it implies the competency of each to find truth for himself and to know truth from error. Finally, it declares that Church and State are both divine institutions, each serving a necessary purpose in human redemption, both seek- ing the same great kingdom of God, but separate in function and different in method. This does not mean that each man by himself, without any aid from his fellows, can find all truth and have all wis- dom. But it does mean that this aid should be freely sought and freely given. And this does not mean the separation of religion from political affairs, than which nothing could be more unchristian and dan- gerous. But it does mean that religion concerns all life and all relations, that Church and State work by different means, and that the best results for the kingdom of God are attained when the two are separate in function and each is free to do its own work. 4. America is called to create a Christian civili- zation. This very term is at once a confession and a challenge. The world knows what we mean by civilization — the development of social and political 18 If America Fail life, the subjection of nature to man's uses, the es- tablishment of social order, and the creation of civil institutions. In a general way the world knows what we mean by Christianity, that whole system of life and truth and power that is revealed in the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. But thus far the world has never known what we mean by a Christian civilization. For Christianity has been largely limited to the individual and the church and has never been interpreted and applied in the wide ranges of man's social and political life, and civil and industrial society has developed without the in- spiration of the Christian ideal or the power of the Christian spirit. Thus far, owing in part to a partial interpretation of the Christian ideal and in part to the opposition of men, there has been a dropped thread in the loom of history ; and as a result the fabric of civil society is imperfect. But the purpose of God in our world compels us to believe that men and nations are here to accept the good news of the kingdom and build a Christian social order. In a real way, it is our call- ing as a nation to take up this dropped thread of history; to interpret the Christian ideal both in Church and State, to incarnate it in our national in- stitutions, and to create a truly Christian civiliza- tion. To see this ideal is faith, and to work toward it is success. To fall below this ideal is better than to succeed in any lesser purpose. 5. Carrying out this principle, we may say that we are called to fulfil a Messianic service among the nations. It is not possible to discuss this Messianic idea in any detail. But in brief it signifies that life means service and that man is called to be a servant The Mission of America 19 and agent of God in the process of human redemp- tion ; that man is here not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give himself a ransom for others ; that power and wealth, opportunity and life, are to be held in trust for all and are to be used in service of mankind. In the past, men have been content to give the great Messianic principle of Christianity a personal and limited scope and application. And in so doing they have missed the larger meaning of Christianity and the true calling of nations. The principles that are true for the person are no less true for society. A nation, no less than an individual, exists not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give its life in service of others. The nation, no less than the person and the church, is to live for the same pur- pose as that which moved Jesus Christ up Calvary. 6. In fine, we are called to he a righteous and min- istering people, to seek after the kingdom and its justice, to bless the family of nations, and to use our strength not in rulership but in service. There have been powerful nations in the past ; but not one has ever been righteous in all of its ways; not one has ever interpreted the idea of national righteousness. Some have sought to dominate the earth; others have sought to control the world's trade. Each and all they have exalted themselves and despised other people. Many of them have re- lied upon armies and have trusted in navies; they have envied the weak neighbor his bit of land and have not hesitated to seize it by force. And in so doing they have mortgaged their future and have gone down in failure. It is our calling to do a great, new, and wonderful thing in the world. We are 20 If America Fail here to serve the family of nations, and to make our national policy the expression of this truth. We may extend our trade, but trade must serve hu- manity. We may have great influence in the world, but it is to be the influence of righteousness and not the rattling of the saber. We are called to do this great, new, wonderful thing in the world — to be a democratic people, to create a Christian type of human society, to develop free institutions, to realize the democratic type of religious life, to incarnate in our national life the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity, to il- lustrate liberty under law, to maintain equality of opportunity, and to establish the reign of brother- hood among men. We are privileged, perhaps, to be a great and strong and rich nation, but this is not itself our national mission and gives us no special significance. We may be permitted to become a great trading and commercial people, but this by itself is not our real mission and primary calling. We may continue to hold a vast extent of territory, but this in itself is no guaranty of our greatness and contains no promise of our destiny. We are not called to speak the masterful word in world politics, to make our demands feared in every part of the globe. We are rather called to be a democratic, righteous. Christian people, to bless the world by the force of our example, to give our children and our wealth to serve the people of earth, to perform a Messianic service and witness for the great princi- ples of the kingdom — liberty, equality, and frater- nity. America is not a country merely, not primarily a form of government. America is a gospel, an ideal, The Mission of America 21 a faith, a spirit, a state of heart, a set of principles, a trinity of ideas, an interpretation of the kingdom of God, the far-off goal of history. Of all this we shall speak more at length in chap- ters that follow. II THE CAUSES OF NATIONAL DECLINE The field of human history has well been called the graveyard of nations. In age after age nations have arisen and flourished and played a large place in the world drama. But one and all they have declined, some early, others after many generations ; in every case the bright hope of morning ended in dismal failure and desolate night. Memphis, Thebes, Nine- veh, Jerusalem, Bagdad, each was once the capital of a great empire that echoed with the laughter of children and glittered with the pomp of armies. Long ago the doom fell, the glory faded, the power passed. Where once were palaces of kings and homes of happy peoples, wild beasts howl and sands of the desert drift. Today these are but the names of vanished empires, synonyms of broken hopes and lost causes. The one who surveys the procession of nations will be puzzled by the many changes and failures. See- ing only the surface of things he will be tempted to say that chance reigns in human affairs and a sati- rist is upon the throne. Is history but the graveyard of fallen ambitions? Is the path of humanity a highway lost in desert sands ? Is human struggle an endless round of hopes closing ever in defeat? Viewing history in its long reaches and studying events in causal connections, one finds that the great processes of change have a moral meaning and that 22 The Causes of National Decline 23 law reigns throughout. Men and nations are ever passing before a moral judgment-seat, and the doom that falls is of man's own making. In a real sense the history of the world is the judgment of the world, and nations like men are ever going to the right hand with the sheep or to the left hand with the goats. Changing the figure but preserving the inner principle, nations like persons are finding their mission and growing in grace, or they are missing the way and are losing their life. In a word, they fall into two classes, living or dying nations. Here is a fact which challenges consideration, for Amer- ica belongs to one or the other of these classes. In this universe things do not fall out by chance or accident, but come about in an orderly sequence. This is true in the laboratory, in the wheat-field, in the life of men and of nations. There are causes and conditions which make nations great and strong; and there are conditions and causes which weaken and destroy nations. What are the causes which have destroyed nations in the past? This question is not easy to answer for the reason that the records are incomplete. Many nations have perished, leaving only a name and a memory. Of some of these nations and peoples we have no writ- ten record ; all that remains are a few fragments like the fossils of some long-perished mastodon. In such cases we can only guess at their history and specu- late concerning their fate. But in some instances the records are clear and authentic, and we can watch the process from its happy beginning to its fateful end. Then too, in a book we call the Scrip- tures we have the outlines of a philosophy of his- tory, the divine interpretation of man's life, and the 24 If America Fail prophetic interpretation of a nation's history. In the light of this book we learn to study the lives of men and nations from the inner and divine point of view; we are taken behind the scenes, and see the causes that are working out the weal or the woe of men and nations. This suggests the method of our inquiry here: We shall first notice some of the causes which have produced th^ decay and death of nations ; and then we shall read the inner meaning of these causes in the light of prophetic Scriptures. I. The Destruction of the Soil Two chief factors enter into the life of a nation and are the foundations of its strength — land and people. Under the one we include soil, climate, food, and healthfulness. By the other we imply such things as race, characteristics, morality, and religion. If either of these elements deteriorates, the nation sags and falls like a house whose foundations have broken. The two sets of causes are usually found to- gether, and it may not always be possible to say which is antecedent and which is consequent. In this section we mark that process which has resulted so often in the destruction of the soil and the decay of the people. The first step is land monopoly and absentee land- lordism. In the course of time a people makes a place for itself and becomes a power in the world. It gains possession of a definite territory and de- velops its resources. It creates a distinct type of national life and compacts its form of government. By a natural process there grows up around the ruler and his government a powerful and dominant class whose voice is always heard and whose inter- The Causes of National Decline 25 ests are always considered. In time there arise cer- tain orders of nobility based on one ground or another, either blood, or favoritism, or ability. By one means and another these come into possession of much of the land and control the resources of the earth. That these nobles may possess wealth and live in a style befitting their station, the people must labor hard and pay heavy taxes. Gradually great estates are formed, and the small proprietor is re- duced to a mere tenant. The owners of these great estates leave the country and the towns of the em- pire, and concentrate in one or two of the great and luxurious cities. Their estates are managed by agents having no real interest in the people, and these agents make it their business to raise taxes and so please their masters. The landowners, driven by the love of pleasure and the need of money, think only of the present hour and ignore the future ; and so they urge their agents to demand heavier rents and thus wring the last farthing out of the people. Like the horse-leech, they demand of their agents more and ever more. And thus society breaks up into two great classes; the few nobles and agents who own the land, control trade, and tax the people according to their own pleasure ; and the great mass of the people, overworked, overdriven, without pos- sessions, and without hope. This process works havoc among all classes of people. False standards of life confuse men and give them a wrong estimate of values. The wealth and culture of the nation drift into the cities to add to the luxury and gaiety of the capital. Men are dazzled by the glitter of gold, and they lose all sense of value in life. Those who are rich are mad to 26 If America Fail grow richer. Those who are poor imitate the rich and live beyond their incomes. Honest work and manual labor are despised, and men invent all kinds of ways to make a living. By and by the free and independent farmers disappear — the old, vigorous native population, the bone and sinew of the na- tion — and servile and dependent serfs take their places, serfs bound fast to the soil and toiling only to enrich the absentee landowners. The serfs lose interest in things, and like their masters they live only for themselves and for the present hour. The soil is impoverished and neglected and yields less and ever less to its cultivators. The forests are cut off, and the fertile top-soil is washed away. Irriga- tion is neglected. The soil is worked out, and no ef- fort is made to restore it. Private enterprise con- siders only its own interests and cares nothing for the public welfare. The monopoly of land leads invariably to dete- rioration of the soil. The story is worn threadbare in history. In Rome it runs as follows : Through the growth of great estates there came the rise of a large tenant class; the soil was overworked and its fertility destroyed ; as the philosopher Pliny laments, Latifundia perdidere Italiam, ** The great estates ruined Italy." In the Roman Empire eleven men owned the province of Africa and taxed the people at their pleasure. Soil exhaustion followed, and Africa fell into decadence. In old Egypt the land fell into the hands of a ruling class. The annual overflow of the Nile prevented the exhaustion of the soil ; but land monopoly destroyed the rural popula- tion. In ancient Persia, at the time of its greatest prosperity, two per cent, of the population owned The Causes of National Decline 27 practically all of the land; this was the beginning of the end. From many lands comes the same mo- notonous story, from vanished empires of the past, from old Peru, from medieval Spain, from France before the Revolution, from Mexico and China. In the early days of the Roman Empire a four- acre plot was deemed enough to support a family. But in the time of the Gracchi, so rapid had been the deterioration, the family allotments were twenty acres. In the time of the Caesars this had been in- creased to forty acres. With this decrease in the fertility of the soil and the growth of great estates, came the decline of the Latin yeoman who had once been the strength of the Empire. Italy was obliged to import food from the provinces; and soon the shadow of soil exhaustion fell upon them also. In Greece the same process is observed with the same results. In the time of her greatness, Greece was a fertile, well-wooded, healthful, and populous coun- try. Two centuries later, at the time of the Roman conquest, the country was poor and sparsely popu- lated. The land that had once sent thousands of vigorous soldiers to defend Hellas at Thermopylae and at Platsea, could hardly provide more than three thousand men. The mountains were denuded, and the valleys were ravaged by malaria. In the sum- mer when the plains were parched, the cattle were driven into the mountains, where they browsed and trampled down the seedlings. The hills were washed bare ; swamps formed, malaria weakened the people, and whole districts became depopulated. In many other lands the same tragic process is seen. Thus we read : ^ 1 Marsh, in " Man and Nature," quoted by Ross. 28 If America Fail There are parts of Asia Minor, of Northern Africa, of Greece, and even of Alpine Europe, where the operation of causes set in action by man has brought the face of the earth to a desolation almost as complete as that of the moon. And though within that brief space of time men call the " his- torical period " they are known to have been covered with luxuriant woods, verdant pastures, and fertile meadows, they are now too far deteriorated to be reclaimable by man. Nor can they become again fitted for human use except through great geological changes or some other mysterious influences or agencies of which we have no present knowledge or over which we have no prospective control. In China this same process is going forward with the same disastrous results. There is no mystery about the decline and fall of nations. Students of history have mentioned various causes of na- tional decay. Devastating wars, unjust laws, low morals, de- population following a low birth-rate or intense emigration — all these factors which are cited to explain decadence, are but passing causes. So long as the fertility of the soil is not destroyed, prosperity can rapidly return; and the in- stances of these fluctuations in the greatness of peoples are not rare in history.^ The one chief cause of decadence is the failure to practise conservation; in other words, the destruc- tion of the soil; when agriculture is neglected, and the soil deteriorates, the decline has begun. Go to the ruins of the ancient and rich civilization of Asia Minor, Northern Africa, or elsewhere. It is but the story of an abandoned farm on a gigantic scale.^ We know now, that quite in its day's work, a people may so dissipate or use up its resources as to leave the land "^ Felix Regnault, quoted by Ely in " The Foundations of National Prosperity," Appendix. » Simkhovitch, in " rolitical Science Quarterly," Sept., 1913. The Causes of National Decline 29 scarcely habitable. Behind some of the great tragedies of history we are just beginning to glimpse soil exhaustion.* We begin now to understand what Liebig meant when he said that the decline of soil fertility was the fundamental cause of the decadence of nations. The poet is right : 111 fares the land to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. This brings us to the next condition : II. The Blight of Luxury Prosperity leads to luxury, and luxury always means disaster. The history of Israel is a standing commentary on this old truth. The people could not stand prosperity. As soon as they had plenty to eat they forgot God. Across the desert hunger and stern dealing were God's way of keeping the people manageable. After the people entered Ca- naan the same story is repeated with monotonous reiteration. When they had eaten and were full, they forgot God. " They did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baal." Then came the Philistines and invaded the land. In the people's extremity they cried unto the Lord, and a deliverer was sent. As soon as the enemy was well out of the land and prosperity restored, the people again forgot God. Then came the Moabites and enslaved them. They repented, and deliverance came. Again they did evil. Sisera enslaved them, and Deborah and Barak brought deliverance. "Again they did evil in the sight of the Lord." And so it was for hundreds of * Ross, *' Social Decadence," in " American Journal of Sociology," March, 1918. 30 If America Fail years all through their fateful history. They could not stand prosperity. The same lesson is illustrated in the history of many other nations. Ease and luxury are always corrupting. The army of Hannibal was invincible so long as stern discipline was maintained and plain living was the rule. But one winter in the rich and luxurious city of Capua rotted the fiber of the army and brought defeat. Luxury destroyed the army that the might of Rome could not crush. Cyrus the Great, after he had conquered the Lydians, had much difficulty in keeping them in order. At one time he was tempted to reduce the entire people to a condi- tion of slavery. But Croesus advised him to try a different plan, to introduce among them music, rich dress, and high living. This was done, and the re- sults were just what Croesus foresaw. There is another aspect of this question which we may notice. The growth of luxury always leads to social vices which rot the moral fiber of a nation and cause national decay. For one thing the blight of luxury is felt earliest and most fatally in the home. In the early history of Rome the family life was held in high honor, the marriage bond was respected, and for five centuries divorce was unknown in the Roman world. But the time came when all this was changed. Under the Empire marriage came to be regarded with disfavor and disdain. Women, as Seneca says, married in order that they might be divorced ; and were divorced in order that they might marry. There were noble Roman matrons, he tells us, who counted the years not by the consuls but by the number of their husbands. As might be ex- pected, to have a family was regarded as a misfor- The Causes of National Decline 31 tune, and all kinds of methods were used to prevent the birth of children. The rich and aristocratic, in- tent only on their own pleasure and gratification, chafed under the restraints of marriage and grew reluctant to rear children. The poor and servile classes, imitating their superiors, became unwilling to marry and found a family. This suggests the next cause :. III. The Decline of the Superior The time was when men divided the race into two great classes, the superior, made up of the cultured and the prosperous, and the inferior, made up of the uncultured and the slow-witted. It has been as- sumed that these two classes possessed very differ- ent powers and capacities, that the so-called supe- rior were made of finer clay than these so-called inferior persons. The anthropologist and sociologist of our time no longer accept any such classification as this. In fact the scientist seriously maintains that there is as much real capacity in one race as in another. It is true that the characteristics of one may differ greatly from another ; but this is a ques- tion of aptitude and not of capacity. Further than this, the sociologist seriously maintains that capacity is practically the same in all classes of people ; that there is as much real capacity in what we call the submerged tenth, as in the emerged tenth. It is not a question of capacity but of opportunity. We believe in the value of man as man; we be- lieve also in what is called the democracy of birth and the essential equality of all men. But the fact remains that men do not possess the same traits and qualities ; and further, some qualities and character- 32 If America Fail istics make for national progress and strength, while certain other qualities and strains make against na- tional progress and vigor. These qualities are not abstract or impersonal, but are always incarnated in persons. There are persons possessed of unusual forethought, great vigor of mind and body, with initiative and self-control. We shall not call those who do not possess these qualities infg:-ior classes and lesser breeds ; but we do say that these are su- perior qualities so far as the race is concerned ; and we do say that no people can be great, progressive, strong, enduring, unless it develops and contains a large number of persons possessing these qualities. A people rises or falls, it grows or declines, as the proportion of people possessing these qualities in- creases or decreases. We may illustrate this prin- ciple from the experience of Greece and Rome. In ancient Greece there was a time when the fam- ily was honored and men and women considered it an honor to raise children. Then Greece advanced to the front rank and rose to the highest greatness. But with prosperity came luxury, and with luxury came a love of pleasure and a softness of temper. In the patrician families the birth-rate declined, and the race was drained of its finest qualities. The same process is seen in Rome with hardly a change of terms. The greatness of old Rome was built upon the family; so long as the family remained intact and it was an honor to rear children, Rome ruled the world and was invincible. But as the family declined and patricians no longer were willing to bear the burden of children, the foundations of the Empire were undermined and the beginning of the end had come. The Causes of National Decline 33 In vain did Greek philosophers construct in imagination ideal states where only the best members should have off- spring to be supported and reared by the public wisdom and at the public cost. In vain did Roman emperors bestow spe- cial privileges on fathers of three children or more. The duties and responsibilities of family life fell into disfavor among many of the best men and the ablest and most attrac- tive women. The stock deteriorated and the fruits of cen- turies of magnificent civilization were cast away.^ The conclusion is certain ; the decline of a nation is due in large part to the fact that the proportion of the people with certain necessary superior qualities decreased, and the proportion of people without these necessary survival qualities increased.® It is not possible here to consider all of the causes that have produced these changes and have brought a decline of the better strains. The time was when men explained it, or thought they had explained it, by saying that the stock ran out and the people died of old age. But these things are themselves results and do not touch the causes; in fact they are the very things to be explained. Today it has become very evident that the causes of these changes are largely economic and social. First, note the economic cause of race decline. In every nation, soon or late, as we have seen, there has arisen the problem of land monopoly. The land fell into the hands of a few; the soil was over- worked; the cost of living rose higher and higher; the people left the farms and crowded into the cities ; the social pressure became intense; the more pros- perous and luxurious classes were unwilling to bear ' Whetham, " The Family and the Nation," p. 149. • Ross, " Social Decadence," in " American Journal of Sociology," March, 1918. 34 If America Fail the trouble of raising children; the social pressure greatly reduced the birth-rate among the middle classes. As a consequence the less provident, the more shiftless classes, taking no thought for tomor- row, following impulse only, were the only people that produced many children. In this way the vigor and stamina of the nation were reduced, and a steady national decline began. That is to say, the economic pressure meant a proportionate decrease in the more vigorous, thoughtful, successful, and progressive stock, and a proportionate increase in the less provi- dent, less thoughtful, less self -controlled and success- ful people. The other cause is more social and personal. The prosperous and successful classes were unwilling to bear the burden and strain of a family, and so they ceased to have their proportion of children. In all times one fact appears with monotonous iteration: In the so-called upper classes, the nobility, the peo- ple of culture and ability, there has been a decline in the birth-rate and number of children. In this way there was a decrease in the number of forceful personalities, men of foresight and ability, men of self-control and self-reliance. This then is the result of it all : With the decreas- ing number of children in the more successful, more restrained classes, and the increasing number of children in less successful and more shiftless classes, there has followed a decline in the national strength and cohesion. However powerful a society may seem to be, it is doomed if it so organizes itself as to breed the wrong sort of people and to favor the survival of the least desirable at the expense of the more val- uable. Any society that does these things is a fail- The Causes of National Decline 35 ure — a failure in the degree in which these results are attained. No people can prosper and grow and endure where the less vigorous and less successful outpropagate the more vigorous and more successful. Historians and sociologists have named many causes, poHtical and economic, to explain the decadence of nations. Slavery, civil war, foreign conquest, bloated armaments, lust of gold, loss of martial spirit, the decay of religion, the decline of the na- tional strength, these have all been summoned to ac- count for their fall. But beyond all, more insidious than all, more fatal than any, in large part the cause of all other causes, is a wrongly selected birth-rate leading to the proportionate decline of the more thrifty and stronger stock and the proportionate in- crease of the more thriftless and weaker strains. We may state the law of national progress or de- cline in the following terms : If from any cause there be a proportionate decrease in the number of people with marked qualities of thrift, vigor, initiative, and ability, and a proportionate increase of the people with the traits of shiftlessness and weakness, there follows an inevitable decline of the national life. If by economic and social conditions children be made too heavy a burden on the more desirable elements of the population, there is a danger that the thrifty and the far-seeing members of the community will postpone marriage, and when married restrict the number of their offspring. Thus while the weak and careless elements grow at an increasing rate, the good stocks of the people check their rate of growth or even diminish in number, and the selective de- terioration of the race is hastened in two ways.^ • Whetham, " The Family and the Nation,' p. 3. 36 If America Fail IV. The Decay of Religion Civilization and culture cannot save any people from decay and death. Nay, these things by them- selves carry within themselves the seeds of decay and ruin. In devotion to the things that are near and material, men lose sight of the things that are great and eternal. In pursuit of money and plea- sure, they forget God and lose him out of their lives. The old Accadian empire that flourished in the very twilight of history, perished through the decay of religion. The great world empires of Egypt and Assyria passed away primarily owing to neglect of the higher life. And the same story is told con- cerning Greece and Rome. But — and this is one of the ironies of history — religion may make most show where it is most swiftly declining. When were the most magnificent temples built in Greece? Not in the early times when men worshiped the gods in sincerity and truth ; but in later times when philosophers ridiculed the gods and the people looked on with indifference. When were the most splendid temples built in Rome? Not in the days when rulers and peoples really wor- shiped the gods; but in the later degenerate times when religion had become a form and a ceremonial. The age of Solomon is usually called the Golden Age of Israel, and in some senses it was. But that age, as every one knows, marked the culmination of Is- rael's ancient glory and the beginning of tragic de- cline. The same is true in later Israel. In the days of Christ the great temple of Herod was in process of construction, and that building was one of the wonders of the world. But every reader of the New The Causes of National Decline 37 Testament knows that it was an age marked by a deep decHne in rehgion and the death of the nation. In the cities of Europe, in the city of Rome itself, there are many splendid cathedrals which are the wonder and admiration of the world. To see these magnificent temples one might suppose that they were built when religion was pure and men were most devout. But as a matter of fact some of these cathedrals were erected by men who must be classed as the vilest of the vile and the most irreligious of the profane. The decay of its religion is the most tragic calam- ity that can befall a nation ; it is the beginning of the end in a nation's life. All this brings us to the very heart of the problem and shows us inner causes. We open the Christian Scriptures and view the deeds of men and nations in the light of their teaching. It is sin that destroys men and nations. Sin destroyed Sodom and Go- morrah, Egypt and Babylon, Assyria and Israel. Behind all other things, in part as an effect, in part as a cause, is the deep black sin of the people. The great prophets of Israel without " one hesitating utterance or deviating line," declare that the fail- ure and doom of nations were due to their iniquities and sins. What then is sin? What are the particular sins which destroyed those peoples? Usually, when we talk of sins, we think of unbelief in God and neglect of holy things; something wholly inward and per- sonal, a matter between God and man. This is true enough so far as it goes, but it does not tell half the story. Listen to the prophets of Israel as they show unto the house of Jacob their sins and declare unto D 38 If America Fail Israel their iniquities. Apostasy, pride, idolatry, mammonism, greed, selfishness, the abuse of strong drink, impurity, land monopoly, oppression of the poor, cornering breadstuffs, graft, scamping the measure, perverting justice — these are the sins against which the prophets flame out and upon which they denounce an impending judgment. In outer manifestation the sins of Israel are what we call social sins. To those who see on the surface of things such evils are set down as economic condi- tions and political blunders, and some folks may complain that we are leaving the gospel and med- dling with political and economic questions. " These things — oppression of the poor, land monopoly, lax family life, luxury, grinding the face of the poor, class strife — why, these are what men call social problems ; they grow out of bad economic conditions ; they are due to mistaken policies ; they can be traced back to a defective industrial system; they could have been averted by a wise political policy; they could be cured by a better social order." But in their inner meaning, however, these flaws in Israel's life appear as great and deadly sins, as self-indulgence, arrogance, selfishness, unbelief in God, hatred of the light, blindness of soul, profanation of holy things. Bad politics grow out of bad morals. We have evil economic conditions because men are selfish and greedy. Beneath every economic and political prob- lem is a moral fault of the people. Deeper than any defects in the industrial system is the broken broth- erhood of man. These things sap the nation's strength, rot the national bond, cause civil strife, break up the people into warring classes, and bring on the final catastrophe. The Causes of National Decline 39 The quality of the fruit shows the character of the tree. And the character of the tree determines the quality of the fruit. The decline of a nation's life shows a decay in a nation's heart. And the decay in the nation's heart causes the decline of the nation's power. In the last analysis, the people's political policy is the outcome of the people's faith. What a people are, their political policies will be. In the last analysis also, a people's morals have a great in- fluence upon their rulers and legislatures. In fact, the statesmen's systems and policies are what the people's conscience makes them. It may not always be easy to detect the relation between cause and effect; but results have causes and causes lead to results. Alfred Russell Wallace has shown that there is a direct relation between the number of cats in a country and the amount of clover-seed. William Tyndale, the reformer, de- clared that the pope-holy religion of his day was re- sponsible for many of the ills of the nation. Sir Thomas More tried to parry this, saying in jest that the building of Tenterden Steeple caused the rising of Goodwin Sands and the silting up of Sandwich Harbor. And Tyndale answered with the argument that the papal clergy hath " so crope into men's minds as to make them think of nothing but the building of great steeples like that of Tenterden," while the adjoining harbors were neglected; and that " the functions of commerce and patriotic en- ergy were in abeyance because of the exclusive ab- sorption in a fictitious religion in pope-holy works." ^ We are coming to see that there is a causal relation between false social ideals and land monopoly at one 8 Fremantle, " The World as the Subject of Redemption," p. 188. 40 If America Fail end, and soil exhaustion and national decay at the other. The verdict of history is unmistakable. Nations perish from causes that are within. Nations die be- cause of their unbelief, their oppression, their greed, their injustice. No nation ever died from causes that lay outside its borders. Every nation has died as its faith died. The people that has lost its religion has lost its life. No nation ever died of old age. Every nation thus far has died of a rotten heart. And the heart began to rot as the hands began to clutch gold. The loss of God and the love of gold, out of these two sources flow the evils that have ruined nations. Nations are not destroyed; they commit suicide. Ill THE POWER OF WEALTH It is a question often discussed whether nations like individuals have their periods of infancy, adoles- cence, and old age, followed by death. The nation is made up of individuals ; why then should it not re- capitulate the history of its members? According to this view the decline and fall of nations is all a matter of inevitable fate, possibly of divine decree, and man, marking the remorseless oncoming of the end, can do little to avert it. Of old we were warned to beware of false analogy, and this advice applies here. The individual is for one generation; the nation is for all generations. Each new generation ought to be wiser than the old ; hence the nation ought to grow better as the genera- tions pass. If therefore the nation declines and dies, the purpose of God is thwarted and the nation is self-destroyed. The study of history shows that na- tions make or mar their own destiny. It shows fur- ther that the things which destroy nations are hu- man and moral causes. Since this is so these causes may be known, and it is possible for the nation to diagnose its condition. In view of our knowledge of the past and the relation of cause and effect, we may say that the nation failing today sins with its eyes open and invites its own fate. This suggests a natural and inevitable question. What is the probable future of America? How far 41 42 If America Fail are the causes which destroyed nations in the past, at work in our nation today? Two principles — axioms they may be called — must be kept in mind. Men and nations reap as they have sown. Like causes produce like results. If the causes and condi- tions that destroyed nations in the past exist here, will they not produce the same consequences? It is impossible to consider all of the causes at work in our nation at this time; and it is not necessary to consider any one in detail ; but we may note several of these. In this chapter we are concerned with the influ- ence of mammon shown in the sway of monopoly and the growth of capitalism. I. The Passion for Material Things The first thing that impresses one is the rapid in- crease of wealth with the passion for material things. The men who settled this continent and laid the foundations of the institutions, were many of them men of ideas and ideals. They came here that they might be true to their convictions and might be free to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. They found themselves in the midst of a vast and virgin continent, and right resolutely they set themselves to the task of develop- ing its resources and making a new nation. They were men of unbounded energy and inventive skill, and these qualities were now enlisted in the great task of nation-making. The results, known to all the world, are the wonder and admiration of man- kind. Our people have developed this continent faster than any other people have done a like work in the whole tide of time. The Power of Wealth 43 But here, as so often, the characteristic virtue is being perverted and exaggerated and is becoming the characteristic vice. Today we are in danger of becoming one of the most materiahstic people the world has ever known. We are forgetting the ideal things of life and are addressing ourselves to the task of money-getting. We have little time and less inclination to develop the finer graces of our na- tional character. The desire to get on in the world, the passion for fortune, is the ruling ambition of a large section of the people. " Our whole civiliza- tion," says Felix Adler, ** is infiltrated with the money-getting idea." The man who is rich wants to be richer; the man with one million dollars is more eager than ever to have two millions ; the one with a hundred millions is ready to compass sea and land to have two hundred millions. The man who is in moderate circumstances is struggling and agonizing to rise in the scale and become rich ; the man who is poor is discontented and envious. Men are rated by their bank-accounts. Success is read in terms of money income. Political platforms frankly appeal to material interests. Industry openly states that its motive is profits. The whole program of our modern civilization turns at last on a calculation of effects upon the accumulation of capi- tal. A program fit for a Christian civilization would turn rather upon its effects on the quality of men that civilization shall produce. We have our modern way of turning moral values upside down. We are making men the means of mak- ing capital; whereas capital is only tolerable when it is simply and solely the means of making men. It would be infinitely to the advantage of men if every dollar of wealth should be cleaned off the earth, provided we could have in its place industry and honesty and justice and love and faith, 44 If America Fail rather than to be led much further into this devil's dance of capitalism.! And this, he reminds us, is not the familiar rant of the professional agitator nor the easy generalization of the huckster of vain sensations. Some years ago a noted scientist declared that the greatness of En- gland was due beyond all other causes to the abun- dance and the cheapness of her coal. " If it be so," said Ruskin, " then ashes to ashes be her epitaph, and the sooner the better." Some years ago at a political gathering, a noted speaker declared, " No issue ever gets above the bread-and-butter issue " ; and the people applauded. Things are in the saddle in this land, and money is the chief good. Human values receive scant con- sideration where trade profits are concerned. For the sake of profits men are rated as labor units and are treated as a mere means to an end. For the sake of money men build unsanitary tenements where people sicken and die. For the sake of money they rent houses for evil purposes, corrupt city govern- ment, and bribe city aldermen. For the sake of divi- dends they form monopolies and adulterate bread- stuffs, overwork women and rob children of their childhood, grind up lives in great factories and make merchandise out of women's honor. Any industrial inhumanity is pardoned if only it is done in the name of big business. More than that — for the sake of dividends men resist every bit of remedial legislation. Every piece of legislation designed to make machinery safe, to abolish unsanitary tenements, to limit the hours of lA. W. Small, "The Outlook," June 17, 1S99. The Power of Wealth 45 labor for women, to protect children against the merciless greed of industry, has been delayed for years and has been wrung out of unwilling legisla- tures. Again and again one hears it said that hu- man life is the cheapest thing in our American cities. What are human lives when dividends are at stake? Well may Dean Hodges say that " Genius stands in the market-place, and the soul is for sale." In very truth the horror of the Apocalypse is realized in these modern cities that deal in all kinds of " mer- chandise of gold, and silver, . . and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and char- iots, and bodies, and souls of men " (Rev. 18 : 12, 13). II. The Concentration of Wealth The concentration of wealth creates a serious problem in the Republic. It is not necessary to dis- cuss the causes which have produced this condition. But several of them, as we have seen, are found in the love of power and the craving for distinction. These impulses are as strong here as elsewhere ; and so the causes of excessive wealth are present and active. All that these causes need is the occasion and opportunity, and monopoly and concentration are sure to follow. In many countries these causes have led to monopoly of land with concentration of wealth in the hands of the nobility. In our land they are leading to a monopoly of trade and indus- try. But here as elsewhere they result in the con- centration of wealth in a few hands. These two things, monopoly of resources and concentration of wealth, are very clearly related and must be consid- ered together. 46 If America Fail In every nation of the past, as we have seen, with prosperity came wealth and luxury ; and with wealth there has always followed monopoly. By a process of exploitation, usually with the aid of government, the nobility gained possession of the land and ef- fected a virtual control. The people living on the land were reduced to practical serfdom, sometimes bound to the soil but always taxed at an extortionate rate. We have seen in an earlier chapter how com- plete was the monopoly of land in the Roman Em- pire; and we have also seen what were the results of that policy in the impoverishment of the people. An illustration or two from later history may be noted. In France before the Revolution the monopoly of land had been carried to the last extreme. As Car- lyle says, *' When a peasant raised two blades of grass a noble claimed one of them." The few lived in luxury and ease as landlords, while the many land- less peasants toiled in poverty and hunger. The nobility and the Church together owned practically all of the best available land in the Empire. Accord- ing to Taine,2 If we deduct the public lands, the privileged class owned one-half of the kingdom, which was at the same time the richest, for it comprised almost all the large and handsome buildings, the palaces, castles, convents, and cathedrals, and almost all the valuable movable property such as furniture, plate, and objects of art, the accumulated masterpieces of centuries. Thus the privileged class, which was one per cent, of the population, before the Revolution, held one- - " Ancient R6gime," Book I, Chap. II. The Power of Wealth 47 half of the land and all the most valuable improve- ments. No wonder the people lost heart and no longer cultivated the soil. Many of them, driven off the farms, wandered into the cities to hunger and beg. Agriculture was neglected, the productive power of the soil was reduced, and thousands of the people were poorly fed and undernourished. To add to their income, the wealthy classes created mo- nopolies of all kinds, and these further increased the prices of foodstuffs. The mass of the people lost interest in life, the birthrate declined, the nation lost cohesion and strength and soon began to crum- ble. This monopoly, as history shows, was one of the main causes of the French Revolution. That Revolution, with all of its attendant wrongs, was the effort of men to change the situation and restore to the people their rights. In modern times and in many countries, the process of land monopoly has proceeded at a rapid rate. In Prussia the Junkers own much of the land and a purely feudal system prevails. But even here the evils of monopoly are recognized, and the Ger- man government, even before the war, was break- ing up the great estates and providing for their division into small farms. It is said that fully three- fourths of the agricultural land of the nation is now in small holdings. In Britain we have one of the worst illustrations of land monopoly. According to the Doomsday Book of 1873, the last authoritative land census, the total area of the United Kingdom was 77,000,000 acres. Of this amount 40,520,000 acres were held in 2500 estates. In England and Wales 34,500,000 acres, or eighty-five per cent, of the whole, are owned by 38,000 persons. In Scot- 48 If America Fail land, seventy persons own one-half of the land. Of the 77,000,000 acres of the United Kingdom, over 52,000,000 acres belong to persons whose average holdings exceed 1000 acres each. In the United States monopoly of land has not gone so far as in some other nations ; but the situa- tion here is serious. Already individuals and cor- porations hold millions of acres of the best timber-, coal-, oil-, mineral, agricultural, and grazing-lands. An investigation by the Bureau of Corporations in 1914 reports that 1,684 timber-owners hold in fee one-twentieth of the land area of the United States from the Canadian to the Mexican border. . . Sixteen holders own 47,800,000 acres, or nearly ten times the land area of New Jersey. . . In the upper Penin- sula of Michigan forty-five per cent, of the land is held mostly in fee, by thirty-two timber-owners. The report shows that at least one-half of the stand- ing timber of the United States is owned by less than two hundred holders. What is true of timber- lands is equally true of coal-, iron-, and oil-lands. In the monopoly of land itself the facts are most ominous. The public domain of the United States amounted originally to 1,850,000,000 acres. This was a vast empire in itself ; but much of it has been given away, 337,740,000 acres, in the form of sub- sidies to the railroads and other corporations. This alone amounts to one-sixth of the total area of the Republic. But private individuals and syndicates have gone much further than this. Various British speculators hold millions of acres in Florida, Missis- sippi, Texas, Kansas, and other States. One En- glish syndicate controls 2,000,000 acres in Missis- sippi. Fifty-four individuals and syndicates own The Power of Wealth 49 26,710,000 acres, an area greater than seven of the more populous Eastern States, with a population of 8,359,000.^ According to the census returns of 1900, it appears that 841,000,000 acres of land were under cultivation ; of this, 200,000,000 acres are in farms whose average size is 4,320 acres. These are owned by 47,276 persons. That is, one-fourth of the total agricultural acreage of the United States is owned by one-two-thousandth of the population. The one who studies conditions in our land is amazed at what he finds : not only a most dangerous monopoly of land, but a most immoral holding of that land out of cultivation for speculative purposes. In the western half of the United States millions of acres of good land are lying uncultivated and un- used, waiting for a speculative increase in price. In Arkansas, in Louisiana and Texas, in Nebraska and Colorado, in the Dakotas and Montana, and out on the coast, one sees the same thing — millions of acres lying idle. Government figures show that there are four hundred million acres of idle land in this country. Fully seventy-three per cent, of the arable land in the United States is idle ; and forty- five per cent, of the actually laid-out farm-land is uncultivated. Yet in our cities millions of people are kept away from the land and are crowded into unsanitary quarters, and in the World War the na- tion has faced a serious shortage of food and the people were urged to plow up lawns and to cultivate vacant lots. What are the causes of this anomolous condition ? Some of them are not far to seek or hard to find. ** Three per cent, of the population own nearly all 8 Howe, "The High Cost of Living," p. 205. 50 If America Fail the land values in the United States." * And specu- lation in land values has forced the cost of farm land so high, that its cultivation does not pay. This is made very evident by the figures. Thus from 1900 to 1910 the available acreage of the United States increased five per cent., and the number of farmers increased nearly eleven per cent. Yet the value of farm-land increased one hundred and eighteen per cent.^ Monopoly of natural resources and specula- tion in land values are keeping millions of acres out of cultivation and forcing people off the land. They are both decreasing the proportion of farm-owners *Nock, in the "Century Magazine," Dec, 1917. » Table Showing Changes in Faem Values and Farm-owners SoDECE : Census Summary of Agriculture, 1920. 1920 mo January 1 April 15 1. Number of farms 6,448,343 6,361,502 2. Value of farm lands : Land and buildings, total . . .$66,316,002,602.00 $34,801,125,697.00 Land and buildings, per farm 10,284.00 5,471.00 Land and buildings, per acre 69.38 39.60 3. All land in farms 955,883,715 878,798,325 4. Average acreage per farm . . . 148.2 138.1 5. Number of farm-owners 3,925,090 3,948,722 Per cent, decrease 0.6 Number of managers 68,449 58,104 Per cent, increase 17.8 Number of tenants 2,454,804 2,354,676 Per cent, increase 4.3 6. Total population 105,710,620 91,972,260 Per cent, increase 14.9 Urban population 54,304,603 42,166,120 Per cent, increase 28.8 Rural population 51,406,017 49,806,146 Per cent, increase 3.2 Country population 42,436,776 41,636,997 Per cent, increase 1.9 The Power of Wealth 51 and increasing the proportion of tenant-farmers. No greater evil menaces the Republic than this ; no question demands more immediate and vigorous treatment. But other causes, more or less remote and sec- ondary, must be taken into account. It has been shown that the land policy of the Federal Govern- ment and of the various States has worked against the profitable settlement and development of unused lands. ^ The state has allowed private companies, sometimes land promoters and sometimes railroads, to publish misleading inducements to prospective settlers ; and as a result many settlers, disillusioned, have given up in despair and have sold their hold- ings to big landholders. Then much land is remote from railroads and cannot be profitably worked. Railroad building has advanced about as fast as could be expected under our present system. Many of the railroads are overcapitalized and cannot open new country. Many would-be settlers have had very small capital and have not been able to maintain themselves and develop their land, and many peo- ple, unable to purchase farm-land, have been kept from the land; and it has fallen into the hands of speculators. It is true that land monopoly has not been car- ried so far here as in some of the countries of the old world. Yet there are other forms of monopoly that are equally insidious and oppressive. One of the most remarkable phenomena of these later times is the upgrowth of commercial combinations which have gained practical possession of all the avenues of trade and commerce. Today in this land a few « " The Foundations of National Prosperity," Cliap. VI. 52 If America Fa^ combinations control the food-supply of the people and determine the price of breadstuffs. They con- trol the iron and steel industry and fix the prices on all steel goods. They control the oil and coal trade and determine the cost to the consumer. And still other combinations control the means of transportation between the States and determine the flow of trade. And mark this, for it is impor- tant: The men who control the various industries are practically the same men who control the means of transportation. Every one knows that the prices of commodities in our land have little or no relation to the cost of producing them and plac- ing them on the market. The prices are fixed in the most arbitrary way by combinations in control of these commodities. These combinations have gained virtual control of the means of production and dis- tribution, and they are taxing the people as they please. This process of monopoly control has been car- ried as far perhaps in this nation as in any other nation in the world either past or present. The re- sources of the earth, the means of transportation, the strategic points of trade, the means of commu- nication, have been capitalized and exploited. The same thing is true with reference to telegraph and telephone rates, gas and electric light, express rates and water-power. The available coal in this country is in the control of a very few men. Eight impor- tant railway systems now exercise an absolute mo- nopoly over hard-coal mining. Together they own more than nine-tenths of the entire anthracite de- posits of Pennsylvania, and about three-fourths of the total production is mined by their subsidiary The Power of Wealth 53 coal companies^ Several years ago Chauncey M. Depew said ; There are fifty men in New York City who can in twenty- four hours stop every wheel on our railroads, close every door of all our manufactories, lock every switch on every telegraph-line, and shut down every coal- and iron-mine in the United States. They can do so because they control the money this country produces. This is probably an exaggeration ; but the statement was made by one who was on the inside. It is certain that in this land the concentration of wealth has gone forward at a rapid pace. The ex- act figures for the country as a whole are not avail- able; but careful studies have been made in a few States. We take two States, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, and compare conditions here with those in Prussia, France, and Britain. (See tables, pp. 54, 55.) Thus in the United States we find the same con- centration of wealth and inequality in distribution as in the Old World. It appears that in Massachu- setts 65 per cent, of the population own 4.5 per cent, of the wealth; in Wisconsin the same 65 per cent, of population hold 5.2 per cent, of the total. That is, the poorest two-thirds of the population in the two States own but five or six per cent, of the wealth. The poorest four-fifths of the population own scarcely 10 per cent. ; yet the richest 2 per cent, own 57 per cent, of the wealth in Wisconsin and 58.8 per cent, in Massachusetts. We have come to this : that 1 per cent, of the people receive 50 per cent, of the total income, and 2 per cent, of the population con- trol about 60 per cent, of the property. ' " Conference of Governors," 1908, p. 48. E 54 If America Fail o g o o o < l-H t— t M «} o < Ph O H O w o o I— ( O « PL4 (Z4 o CO 3 O S -5 tH !??« Ol-05iH 03 CO CO CO ifl o in f) CO 10 •*' lO qosinso d 00* in J^' Ota 00 OS CD iM 00 05 rH W C^l [- t- "^CO CO O5 0)05t)< O M CI 01 0?D'i co' 05 oifloco 1-lrHMtH CO COO' 05 O 05 CO qOO__rHQO cJo'o'cf OlfflOlO Oi-iWrt 05 05 05 ICb-OOO OOOOOOO iHrHrH05 !» »} m r OJ M m oo 111^ The Power of Wealth 55 02 Z O HH H O W CO fe H P4 H H k5 12; En P o PlH w Q o o § tH > H ;^ ^ 1— 1 o z (4 o Ph H o 3 P fH Dh f3 O •-3 P-l <1 > >^ H o § s » W H Money Value of Estate Compared to Wisconsin, 1900, as a base O05WO 58SS 05 CO ceo eoint-o iH rjieo^O ■<}iCCWO Average Value of Estate in Dollars COSDCOrH lO CO CO 00 iHr-lrHCO M(N05-* i-oosw HOiMOO Tjiot-CO CO'^'tCDOO 59,779 85,500 181,610 135,715 Percentage of Total Wealth Owned by Class 05fOt-;M •*' ■*" r-I lO ir5> u fl o Prussia, 1908 France, 1909 United Kingdom, 1909 Wisconsin, 1900 Prussia, 1908 France, 1909 United Kingdom, 1909 Wisconsin, 1900 Prussia, 1908 France, 1909 United Kingdom, 1909 Wisconsin, 1900 Prussia, 1908 France, 1909 United Kingdom, 1909 Wisconsin, 1900 a re cS St &4 2a -m5 o coPh 4J -o © E3 moo |^# O lO J CO -a CO D. o p 00 CO In Prussia and England this monopoly of land and concentration of wealth are due in the main to in- heritance laws. In this country they are due to in- heritance laws and corporate capitalism. The same conditions are growing here as obtain in Prussia and England. And we may be sure that such con- ditions will produce the same baleful results as in the Old World. We are fast approaching the condi- tions of France before the Revolution, where the 56 If America Fail privileged class owned one-half of the Empire. We have here a concentration of wealth about equal to that of present-day Prussia. If these things are an evil in Europe, are they any better in America? It is not necessary to discuss in detail the basis of these inequalities in wealth ; but in the main, large fortunes are due to monopoly control or special privi- lege. History tells the story of land exploitation in Europe and Asia — one of the blackest pages in the record. The fact that a few families of the nobility possessed much of the land, was due to no special merit or effort on their part. We knew how auto- crats have parceled out the land and how special privileges have made a few very rich. In the United States we have a different kind of system, but the results are about the same. Some years ago a list of over 4,000 millionaires was published, and the foundation of their fortunes was shown. Of this number 468 were made rich by real-estate holdings ; 981, by ownership of natural resources, as mines, forests, etc. ; 386, by natural monopolies, railroads, telegraph, express, etc.; 203, by banks and control of money; 2,141, by competitive industry aided by monopoly or investments; 354, in purely competi- tive business, though some of these were aided by railroad and tariff rebates. In all cases the con- stant element which gives the advantage is the con- trol of some things the people need and the power to fix prices for them. These great fortunes, with few exceptions, were not made by service rendered or work done. They were rather won by special privilege and monopoly control, and represent an unearned increment. In the language of sociology they are " findings " and not " earnings." The lat- The Power of Wealth 57 ter are fair and legitimate, the former are ques- tionable and unfair. Thus far society has not clearly distinguished between the two; but this dis- tinction must now be emphasized. In times past there have been political kings who gained control of the machinery of government and exploited the peoples at their own pleasure. They overrode all rights of the people and caused untold misery to millions of their fellows. Such men were Nero of Rome, Louis Fifteenth of France, Nicholas of Russia, and Leopold of Belgium. But in these latter times our industrial kings have been guilty of a tyranny quite as subtle and a wrong fully as deep as any of these older kings. They have monopolized the earth's resources, exploited the people's necessi- ties, made the family's rent dear and the child's loaf small. In fact, they have mortgaged the hopes of the nation and jeopardized the future of America. This fully justifies the word of Supreme Justice Harlan that " great and rapidly increasing corporate wealth is the supreme peril of the United States." Monopoly was one of the things that killed old Persia and Egypt and caused the downfall of Israel and Rome. " Liberty and monopoly," said Aristotle, " cannot live together." We must destroy monopoly, or monopoly will destroy America. Urging Parlia- ment to reform of abuses, Cromwell wrote," ** If there be any one that makes many poor to make a few rich, that suits not a commonwealth." III. The System of Corporate Capitalism In all the generations of the past, before the In- dustrial Revolution, we find hand manufacture and » Letter cxi. 58 If America Fail small-scale industry. But with the creation of the steam-engine and the invention of machinery, a great change comes over the world. Now we have large-scale industry, that is, industry representing a great investment and employing many workers. Sometimes we have an individual owner, but usually the capital belongs to several men. These owners and capitalists are able to make large profits from the labors of others and thus greatly increase their own wealth. This system, as any one can see, read- ily led to the exploitation of labor, that is, the domi- nance of one man by another. This was serious enough, but in recent years we have carried this sys- tem very much further and have developed and in- corporated capitalism. Here we have an association of individuals known as stockholders who are empowered by their charter to elect a board of directors and through this act in the conduct of specified business. These owners lose their personal identity in the corporation or the en- terprise. They have no personal ownership in the enterprise, but hold certificates in the form of stocks and bonds. Note the meaning of all this. In creating this in- corporate capital, we have created an impersonal power and privilege, which can be held by a few and can be transferred from one to another. The cor- poration itself holds the control of an industry, a franchise, a special privilege, or a natural resource ; and it holds this control in the form of stocks and bonds. These can be bought and sold like any other commodity and can be transferred from parents to children. These stocks, it may be noted, are claims upon the industry and entitle the holder to a share The Power of Wealth 59 in the proceeds. How large a proportion of these profits are what may be called fair interest and so fair earnings, and how large a proportion are what may be called speculative profits and monopoly gains, we cannot here discuss. According to the United States Census the profits in manu- facturing industry in the year 1909 were about 12 per cent., after due allowance is made for interest, insurance, taxes, and other fixed charges on the total capital employed. In other words, the capitalist class received in addition to the interest, in manufacturing industry, in 1909, about 12 per cent, of profits.!'^ We have no means of knowing the amount received in the form of interest and profits from other forms of corporate capital, such as railroads, public ser- vice corporations, and other privileges, but probably the profits in addition to the interest were fully 12 per cent. How many persons are stockholders in these various corporations, we have no means of knowing. Every thing indicates that a consider- able proportion of the people, say five per cent., own some amount of stock. But the fact is however, that a very few persons, certainly not more than one-half of one per cent, of the population, own or control, the bulk of this capital, probably one-half. Figures show that ten principal stockholders in the New York Central Railroad received 28 per cent, of the dividends; and there is no reason to suppose that this is an exceptional case." It has become possible for a few people holding stock in a corporation to draw a large income with- out performing any function in society, or render- " Ellwood, " The Social Problem," p. 157. " Frank J. Warner, In " Public Ledger," August 28, 1916. 60 If America Fail ing any equivalent. This claim of an income has become a hereditary privilege that carries no re- sponsibility and demands no effort. And this sim- ply means a capitalistic nobility based wholly upon a privilege which they hold. These privileged peo- ple, through their control of a large share of the capital of the country, are able to have an undue in- fluence upon government and can affect for good or ill the life and welfare of every person in the land. In the United States, corporations have been guilty of buying legislatures, corrupting judges, bribing juries, entering into agreement with political par- ties, insuring them certain privileges in return for campaign contributions — in fact, of every sin in the political calendar. It is owing largely to them that the tone, not only of business, but of political moral- ity, is so much below the standards of private life.^^ Armed with title-deeds to natural resources and industrial machinery these holders of corporate capi- tal are able to dictate terms to the remainder of the nation. Surplus capital seeks profitable investments. Corporate capital controls many natural resources. Practically all of the anthracite coal-lands are held by a few corporations. These work such districts as suit their purpose. But they hold millions of other acres out of use. By so doing, they are able to control prices of coal mined ; and are able to hold other lands for speculative purposes. Millions of acres of forest-land are held in the same way; and millions of acres of farm-land, some of it irrigable, is held from settlers in the same way. The same thing applies to water-power, oil-lands, iron depos- its, and mineral rights. This enables a few people, ** Seager, " Triuciples of Ecouomics," p. 163. The Power of Wealth 61 the holders of stocks and bonds, to keep up prices and to levy a tax upon the people's life. And it en- ables a few persons to exercise a virtual control over the development of a nation and the use of its resources. Thus arises a condition containing the possibili- ties of immeasurable evil, with effects quite as marked at one end of the social scale as at the other. The existence in society of a group or class that draws large incomes yet does no creative work and carries no direct responsibility, is a danger to so- ciety and to the people themselves. Such a class — all history shows — degenerates physically and mor- ally. Such a capital-holding class in America is as dangerous as a rich hereditary nobility in old Rome or medieval France. The existence of a class or group at the other end of society that does the dis- agreeable work, and yet draws a small income and lives a meager life, is even more of a menace to the nation. Such extremes in social condition, such re- sults in human lives, are a direct denial of democ- racy, equality, and brotherhood. The situation means social friction and strife. The men who have created the condition are themselves becoming alarmed and are questioning whether they have not created a Frankenstein that may destroy its makers. Men are beginning to see that this perfected organi- zation of corporate capitalism and property income which enables the few to draw large incomes without performing any real service in society is one of the most menacing facts in American life. The people who must pay the cost, toiling hard and yet receiv- ing inadequate wages, are beginning to feel the pres- sure and are growing restless and chafing under a 62 If America Fail sense of injustice. One might well lose hope of human nature if men could be quiet and content in the face of such wrongs. The fact that the people are chafing and growing restless is a sign that hu- man nature is not wholly base and servile. The progressive nations of the world have denied the divine right of kings to control the people's life, to levy taxes at their will, and to surround them- selves with an income-drawing but idle nobility. Today we must deny the divine right of capital to control the people's life, to take a tax upon the peo- ple's labor, to draw large income without rendering equivalent service. The frank and open discussion of the questions stated here is one of the most necessary things just now. The time has gone by when we can hide the facts from the people or can put them off with roseate promises. Some time ago the editor of a re- ligious journal objected to a declaration of social principles put forth by a body of earnest and repre- sentative men on the ground that such declarations were calculated to awaken discontent among the peo- ple and might fan the flames of revolution. The good editor is very ignorant of the real situation, for the people are finding out the facts for themselves and cannot be deceived any longer. And he is wrong in supposing that ignorance is the best way of solv- ing a social problem. No thought is safe that would shut thought out. To cry, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace, is to prove oneself a faithless watchman. IV THE INCREASING SOCIAL PRESSURE The American experiment began under the most fa- vorable auspices. Here was an almost virgin conti- nent, with unlimited resources and scanty popula- tion. In the main, the men who settled North America were the picked men of the Old World. Those who came to the Massachusetts colonies, to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to New York and Virginia, were largely religious refugees with a love of God and a passion for freedom. They came here with the memory of centuries of wrong behind them and with an uncharted future before them. Reso- lutely they set themselves the task of developing a continent and building up a nation under better aus- pices and upon Christian principles. The forefathers of the Republic have done great things of which history will gladly keep record. Un- fortunately there is a seamy side to the story, and this greatly lessens our jubilation. It was possible for us to profit by the experience of the Old World and to build our cities on new lines. The fathers should have known what were the causes that pro- duce social strife and bring the downfall of nations. Surely it was possible for us to build a more Chris- tian civilization and to avoid the pitfalls of history. But alas, we have built our civilization on the same old lines as those of Europe. We have allowed the same old evils to develop here; we have slums that 63 64 If America Fail are as dismal as anything in the Old World. We have built our cities without plan and method ; most of them are like Topsy and have " just growed." All of the elements which led to the decay and disso- lution of the Roman Empire are present in Western civilization and are constantly increasing. The in- crease of material wealth, the prevalence of luxury, the power of monopoly, have always resulted in the growth of social classes. The concentration of wealth, the rising cost of living, the increased social pressure, have always produced a proletariat land- less and discontented and tinder for revolution. Some aspects of this process will be discussed in the chapters that follow. In this chapter we note the causes that are at work bringing a decline of the superior stock and the growth of an industrial proletariat. I. The Decline of the Superior Stock Some years ago a measure was pending in the British Parliament that affected the lords of the realm and summoned them to Westminster to de- fend their ancient prerogatives. These men, the no- bility of England, the aristocracy of the Empire, are thus described by an eye-witness : " I have seen as- semblies that compared with it, but nowhere outside of jails, almshouses, or hospitals for the insane. No one could study the four hundred figures upon the plush benches without suffering almost a death-blow to his faith in human nature. It was not the feeble- ness of age that stood out; it was the senility of youth, the wreck of middle life, the tottering imbe- cility of dissipated years." " A composite photo- graph of the lords who hold their seats by inheri- The Increasing Social Pressure 65 *& tance would be the personification of weakness, mental and moral, of physical indulgence, bigotry, and intolerance." Were it not for the constant in- flow of fresh blood from below, the nobility would soon pass. The nations of the past have begun to die at the top. It was so in Egypt, in Babylonia, in Greece, Rome, and Israel. And it may be so in En- gland and America. In America it is true we have no so-called nobility, hereditary or otherwise. But causes are at work here which are creating a class of social idlers able to live upon the toil of others and raised above the necessity of work. Our system of corporate capital- ism is making it possible for a man to hold and to transmit a hereditary ownership of capital and a claim of income. In practical results this lifts the person above the necessity of labor himself and makes him a member of an idle class. If present tendencies continue we shall soon have a class of such capital-holders, the equivalent of a hereditary privilege-holding nobility much larger than any au- tocracy or feudalism of the past and able to draw larger incomes. And all history shows that such a class always decays morally and physically; it de- clines in vigor and really becomes a national liability. In our land this rich class is of recent growth, and so far there has not been time for the full fruits to appear. But the story of high life, as it is called, in our cities, is leading to the same bitter mental, moral, and spiritual degeneracy. And there is another as- pect of this process which is no less fateful. In all times, with the growth of an idle class and the spread of luxury there has come an increase of social pressure. This has meant an increased cost 66 If America Fail of living for the people ; and it has always been fol- lowed by a decline of the superior classes. Let it be understood throughout this discussion that no invid- ious comparisons between the superior and inferior people is intended. In thought here the people are not divided according to their riches and their pov- erty. We accept without qualification the principle of the sociologist, that capacity is practically the same among all people and classes. When we speak of the superior we mean the desirable and better. We refer to those qualities and characteristics that are most needed in the nation, that it may be strong and prosper and fulfil its mission. These qualities and traits are not found except in rare cases, in the rich and luxurious few at one extreme of the social scale, or in the poor and beaten many at the other end of the scale. They are rather the qualities of the great middle class that is the very life and strength of a nation. Let it be granted that in all classes there is about the same natural capacity ; in this sense there is no really inferior class. But let it be remembered that this capacity, though present in possibility, will not unfold in an unfavorable en- vironment. In this case there will be a large class of people who are undeveloped and so are inferior in physical power and mental ability. And this is precisely the condition that obtains in our land at this time. The industrial development of our time has drawn the people into the cities; it has raised the cost of living and has greatly increased the social pressure. First of all, from various causes the cost of living has risen in America out of all proportion to the rise in wages. According to figures of the United The Increasing Social Pressure 67 States census the cost of living has increased fully fifty-four per cent, from 1896 to 1912. During the war the cost of living increased fully one hundred per cent, in America and much more than that in some European nations : since the war the cost has continued to rise in many lands, and the social pres- sure has increased. It is hardly likely that prices will remain permanently at the present level. But economists see no signs of any marked decrease ; in fact we are warned that prices will probably never revert to the old levels. In some industries wages have been increased from fifty to one hundred and fifty per cent. But according to official figures the wages of many workers are still very low; too low in fact to assure a majority what may be called a living wage. It may be noted that while there may be a marked increase in wages in some lines of in- dustry, salaries have remained nearly stationary in this time and have not increased proportionately. This means that the income of what may be called the great middle class, professional men and skilled workers, has not increased in proportion to the in- creased cost of living. And this means that there has been a marked increase in the social pressure; in a word, it is harder than ever before for the great middle class to maintain their footing in society and to make ends meet. The uncompensated increase in the cost of living, says W. L. Holt, means nothing less than the progressive impoverishment of the mass of the American people. This is the greatest possible injury that can befall the nation either in the present or in the future. That the present social condition is unsatisfac- tory, that there is economic pressure, is known to all. 68 If America Fail That owing to the increased cost of living, due in part to a higher standard of wants and an increased cost of commodities, the struggle of life has become very keen, is confessed by all. That, as a result of this, the more prosperous and thoughtful people are delaying marriage, and if married are limiting the number of children, is patent to everybody. That, as the obverse of this process, there is an increase out of due proportion of the weaker and inferior peo- ple, is becoming very plain. In Western Europe and in America, owing in large part to social and economic conditions, socie- ties are not so organized as to recruit themselves from the superior elements of the population. In these lands no serious attempt has been made to pre- vent the degeneration of the people and to improve the human stock. On the contrary, all the condi- tions that have produced the decline and degenera- tion of the people are now at work here. In En- gland, in the upper and even in the middle classes, the birth-rate in a generation has sunk from four and a half children to the family, to about two to the fam- ily. In our land, among the native American stock, the number of children to a family has decreased in about the same proportion. Among college gradu- ates and professional men it has decreased faster than this. But there has been little if any decrease among the lower and poorer classes ; and the propor- tion of children of foreign-born parents is more than double the proportion among the native stocks. Thus society in America is recruiting itself from among the elements that are least necessary; one- quarter of the population, that quarter that is least American, produces one-half of the population. It The Increasing Social Pressure 69 is evident that if this one-quarter possess inferior qualities, the nation must suffer. Gresham's law applies in nations as in economics — the inferior sup- plants the better. Nature recks little of our so- called superiorities; she approves only those who are able and willing to survive. We have learned that there is no such thing as social isolation, but the infection working in any class of people reaches across all imaginary lines and affects all classes. Today the wealthy classes set the pace and determine the standards of the peo- ple. The results are the same here as they were in Rome, Israel, and Egypt. The men in moderate cir- cumstances are confused by the false standards that exist and are trying to keep up appearances. Their families are anxious to move in good society and to preserve the semblance of wealth. The consequence is that a large proportion of the families in our land are living beyond what their income warrants. The family life suffers under such circumstances, and the home is neglected. Children are considered a bur- den, and in some circles they are under a ban. One child according to the approved maxim is desirable ; two is genteel ; three begins to be too many ; four is a crowd; five is a calamity, and all over six is a disaster. This infection at the top is working down throughout the whole body. That America already possesses an alarming pro- portion of lower-standard people is clearly evident. The World War has indeed been a day of judgment to men and nations and has brought many hidden defects to light. During the war when the entire life forces of the nation were enlisted and men had to be placed to the greatest advantage, it was found F 70 If America Fail necessary to measure the intellectual capacity of the soldiers that the government might know how to se- cure the largest results. So a system of tests was devised to measure the mental capacity or native ability of the men rather than mere knowledge or acquired information. The aim was to ascertain " the ability of men to learn to think quickly and ac- curately, to analyze a situation, to maintain a state of mental alertness, and to comprehend and follow instructions." The tests as applied to about one million seven hundred thousand enlisted men were of two kinds: the Alpha test for those who could read and write, and the Beta test for all others. Seven grades were recognized, as follows: A, very superior intelligence; B, superior; C+, high aver- age ; C, average ; C — , low average ; D, inferior ; D — and E, very inferior. These grades were then clas- sified according to their mental ages; and the following results appeared: Grade Mental Age Per Cent, of Whole A 18-19 4V2 B 16-17 9 c+ 15 161/2 c 13-14 25 c 12 20 D 11 15 D— 10 10 The Increasing Social Pressure 71 It may be assumed that these drafted men are fairly representative of the people as a whole. In that case some forty-five millions, or nearly one-half of the population, will never develop mental capacity beyond that stage represented by a normal twelve- year-old child.^ These facts are startling enough to jog the American people wide-awake. They show that conditions exist here which are reducing the mental capacity of the people and so are jeopardiz- ing the success of popular government. America was settled by the finest type of people the world has known. But causes have been at work which are reducing the number of highly endowed and are increasing the proportion of poorly endowed. Owing to the larger families of the unintelligent and to the great influx of foreigners of low mental capacity, our average intelligence has probably been declining for the past twenty-five years at least.^ Thus, many causes combine that are reducing the proportion of births among the people that have more ability and vigor, and are increasing the num- ber of births among the weaker and less progressive people. Thus Western civilization is tolerating a " reversal of selection " ; and such reversal of selec- tion has been an important factor in the collapse of previous civilizations. The American republic is deprived of the offspring of the class that possesses the most necessary qualities and traits, and is sup- plying their places with the offspring of low-grade foreigners and casual laborers. The effect is the 1 Conklin : " The Direction of Human Education " ; p. 103. For de- tailed statement of methods and restilts see " Memoirs National Acad- emy of Sciences," Vol. XV. " Psychological Examining in the United States Army." ^^ Conklin, "The Direction of Human Evolution," p. 104. 72 If America Fail elimination of the strong, thrifty, and self-reliant middle class, and the survival of the less vital and less fit thriftless class. The result is, for it is actually taking place now, that the percentage of the inferior and unfit steadily increases, while that of the superior and fit, pari passu, diminishes; and if this process of degeneration is not checked, the nation as a whole -will become unfit and will succumb as most nations have done in history .^ The supremest task before a nation, the factor that decides its destiny, is that of getting the right kind of people born and the wrong kind not born. Where there is a reversal of selection and a decline of the superior, the doom of the nation is only a matter of time. Causes are at work which endanger the future of American democracy. II. The Growth of an Industrial Proletariat In old Rome, as we have seen, one of the condi- tions of decay and the causes of downfall, was the presence of a larger proletariat class. From one cause and another the people were driven from the land and drawn into the cities. There they crowded together, a great propertyless class, without certain employment, dependent in large part upon charity, exploited by the men of privilege, and flattered by every demagogue, at once a burden to themselves and a menace to the nation. In our Republic at this time we are creating such an industrial proletariat, and this bodes ill for our future. In an earlier chapter we noted as a result of the Industrial revolution the coming of large-scale pro- » W. U Holt, In " Popular Science Monthly," Dec, 1913. The Increasing Social Pressure 73 duction and corporate control of industry. This has produced some significant results which may be noted here. First, large scale production means machine production. Millions of workers are ma- chine tenders ; and much of this work is mechanical, uninteresting, tedious, deadening. From this comes to pass the mechanizing of the workers and so their dehumanizing. Second, the cooperate control of in- dustry depersonalizes the relations of men. More and more the great industries have combined ; the in- dividual owner and employer is disappearing, and we have corporate management through overseers. Capital has given place to capitalism. This capital- ism, without heart or conscience, has become an end in itself with all other things as means. The old personal relation between employer and employee has almost wholly disappeared; and we have the manager of an impersonal corporation on the one side, and a number of " hands " on the other. The worker has lost ownership in the tools with which he works. More than that, the worker has lost a voice in the enterprise of which he is a part. Indus- try is conducted for the sake of dividends; the in- terests of society and the welfare of the workers are secondary. Such things, we are told, " do not appear in the balance-sheet." The workers have understood the meaning of the process, whether employers have or not, and by the creation of labor-unions have sought to maintain their footing and secure some recognition. But in recent years there has been a determined and united effort on the part of many managers and employers to break up labor-unions. In many large industries the managers have brought foreign laborers into va- 74 If America Fail rious industries to displace American workers and union men. In many large industries the employers have devised the following methods to keep the men divided and prevent the formation of labor-unions : Whenever the unskilled men in any department reached the proportion of fifteen per cent, of all the men in that department, a number were discharged and men speaking other languages were engaged. This was done with the avowed purpose of making it difficult for the men to know each other, and so making it impossible for them to organize. Work- ingmen were discharged and " sent down the road " simply because they were becoming acquainted with their fellows. Men of diverse nationalities were thrown together and were manageable because they were strangers. In this way the labor-unions have been crushed out of many industries. Thus in 1901 the United States Steel Corporation signed an agree- ment with two-thirds of their 125,000 workmen, a large proportion of whom were English-speaking men. Since 1911 the corporation has signed not a single agreement with the beaten and unorganized Slavic and Latin workers. One result of this policy is seen in race friction and labor troubles in many parts of the land. Another result is the rise of an industrial proletariat without any certain tenure of employment or any settled abode. And yet people are blaming the " ignorant foreigners " and " irre- sponsible agitators " for all of our labor troubles.* Not only so, but the steamship and railroad com- panies have done everything in their power to cre- ate an " American fever " among the Slavic and * Report of President's Mediation Commission in " Monthly Review of U. S. Bureau oi Labor Statistics," March, 1918. The Increasing Social Pressure 75 Latin peoples of Southern and Eastern Europe, and to induce workers to come to America. Paid agents of these transportation companies by hundreds and thousands have been at work among these people painting alluring pictures of America as a land of gold and freedom, decoying the people, selling them through tickets, and practically mortgaging them to padrones in this country. Mark this, for it is sig- nificant : The directors of these transportation com- panies, by a system of interlocking directorates, are also directors and stockholders in many of these in- dustrial corporations. To increase dividends of transportation companies on the one hand, to break up labor-unions and beat down wages on the other, these men have created a forced immigration and overstocked the supply of workers. The men who have created these conditions, our coal and iron barons, our captains of industry, the directors of steamship companies, the exploiters of corporations, are the enemies of the Republic and should be so branded. In charity we may say of them as was said of the men of old who crucified the Divine King, " They know not what they do." But none the less they are guilty of murdering the hope of the nation and signing the doom of the people. Who is responsible for the explosion : the men in broadcloth who pile up the explosive in our cities, or the half- mad anarchist who throws the blazing firebrand into the heap? These industrial exploiters of today in the name of big business and large dividends are mortgaging the hope of the Republic as truly as Louis XIV., the Regent, and Louis XV., caused the French Revolution, and the nobles of old Rome caused the downfall of the Empire. 76 If America Fail Another result is this: Home-owning is impos- sible to a large proportion of industrial workers to- day. Students of social conditions are agreed that employment is very uncertain and fluctuating ; there are few steady jobs paying a living wage; the pro- portion of men who are founding a home is con- stantly diminishing, and what may strictly be called a proletariat is steadily increasing. Employment is so uncertain that it is unwise for the worker to attempt to buy ground and build a home. To do that is simply to bind his hands and give hostages to the employer. Just as far as his labor is mobile and he is foot-loose can he preserve his fragments of self-respect. Marriage and home-owning are becom- ing increasingly difficult to millions of workers. So long as the present capitalistic system of corporate industries continues these unfortunate results will not only continue but they will intensify as the years go by. All signs indicate that the freehold homes of England and America, so numerous two generations ago, are giving place to tenements and slums ; and that the integrity of these homes is se- riously threatened.^ But quite as significant as the change going on in industrial cities is the decrease in home-owning among the farming population. According to gov- ernment figures farm tenancy grew from 25.5 per cent, to 37.9 in the years between 1880 and 1910. This means that in continental United States the number of farmowners decreased from 74.5 per cent, to 62.1." From 1910 to 1920 there was an actual de- crease of 0.6 per cent, in the number of farmowners, * Goodsell, " The Family as a Social and Educational Institution," p. 464. • Abstract, " Thirteenth Census," p. 286. The Increasing Social Pressure 77 Vfhile farm managers increased 17.8 per cent, and farm tenants increased 4.3 per cent. This decrease in farm ownership and marked increase in farm ten- ancy are due to various causes; and these are not the same as are at work among industrial workers. One cause, no doubt, is the great rise in land values, which has made it difficult for people to save money with which to buy a farm. In part it is due to the fact that men with capital have bought up farm- land as an investment or for speculative purposes. But beyond these, other causes have cooperated to discourage the farmers and drive them from the land. Among them may be mentioned the control of transportation by the railroads which have favored certain sections and ruined others, the monopoly of grain-elevators and abattoirs to force down prices to the producers and to force up prices to the consumers, and the presence of many groups of speculators and middlemen who have made farm- ing unprofitable. Perhaps there is a growing dis- inclination on the part of succeeding generations to acquire land-ownership and cultivate the ground. No doubt many young people have left the farm in the hope of bettering their fortune in the city. But whatever the cause, the results are serious enough; they are seen in the decline of thousands of country churches, the sinking of moral standards in many rural communities, and the upgrowth of a poorer population, both in money and in moral values. Pro- fessor Carver is justified in the statement that ab- sentee landlordism is worse for a country than war, famine, and pestilence. If America loses its sturdy, intelligent, independent English-speaking people, owning their own homes and with a stake in the 78 If America FaU nation, and sees the prevalence of a shifting, depen- dent, poor, landless, and tenant population of for- eign blood and different ideals, the future of the Republic is exceedingly doubtful. The proletariat of old Rome was in a large sense one of the chief causes of the downfall of the Em- pire. A hopeless lot, without joy in the present or hope for the future, they were dependent in large part upon charity, and were flattered by every dema- gogue. Exploited by men of privilege and kept quiet by bread and circuses, they were a discontented and turbulent folk, and furnished kindling-wood for a great conflagration. The emperors tried to keep them quiet by flattery and largesses ; sometimes they succeeded, and sometimes they did not. It is the simple truth to say that Rome was destroyed more by the disinherited and discontented within its own borders than by the barbarians who came from without. The empire, so many say, perished be- cause of the attack of the Huns and Vandals from the forests of Germany. But Rome could never have succumbed to attack from without if it had been strong within. It was the Huns and Vandals within her borders and of her own creation that opened the doors for the destroyers from without. The proletariat in old Rome was the enemy within the gates. These people without possessions, with- out home ties, had no stake in the Empire and cared little who was master, whether Roman or Goth. In America at this time we are fast creating such an industrial proletariat. Many thousands of men are engaged in purely seasonal work, with no settled employment and no real home life. They have little stake in the nation and little hope for the future. The Increasing Social Pressure 79 They are smarting under a sense of injustice and feel that society has wronged them. They believe that the war was conducted in the interests of the capitalists and that the government is under the control of Wall Street. We may admit that they are wholly wrong in this belief ; but the belief itself is a fact that must be reckoned with. A wrong be- lief may be as potent as a right belief and far more dangerous. We may censure these men for their at- titude ; but be it remembered that our un-American conditions are largely responsible for this attitude. We may condemn the dangerous doctrines that are preached among these people; but dangerous seed grows only in prepared soil. There is only one ef- fective way of preventing the growth of dangerous seed, and that is to make the soil immune. There is only one way to make the soil thus immune ; and that is to secure justice to all, and have men believe that justice is done.'^ In this land we have created the same conditions that were found in old Rome, in France before the Revolution, and in Russia before the overturning. Thus causes are at work that justify Lord Macau- lay's prophecy : " As long as you have a boundless extent of fertile and unoccupied land, your laboring population will be found more at ease than the labor- ing population of the Old World ; but the time will come when wages will be as low and will fluctuate as much with you as with us. Then your institutions will be fairly brought to the test. Distress every- where makes the laborer mutinous and discontented and inclines him to listen with eagerness to agitators ' See Report of President's Mediation Commission given in " Monthly Review of U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics," Marcti, 1918, No. 3. 80 If America Fail who tell him that it is a monstrous iniquity that one man should have a million and another cannot get a full meal. The day will come when in the State of New York a multitude of people, none of whom has had more than half a breakfast or expects to have more than half a dinner, will choose the leg- islature. Is it possible to doubt what sort of legis- lature will be chosen? There will be, I fear, spolia- tion. The spoliation will increase the distress; the distress will produce fresh spoliations. Either civ- ilization or liberty will perish. Either some Csesar or Napoleon will seize the reins of government with a strong hand, or your Republic will be as fearfully plundered and laid waste by barbarians in the twen- tieth century as the Roman Empire in the fifth, with this difference, that the Huns and Vandals who rav- aged the Roman Empire came from without, and that your Huns and Vandals will have been engen- dered within your country by your own institutions." President Garfield confessed that this letter of Ma- caulay's startled him like an alarm-bell at midnight. If things go on as they are we shall soon have a large mass of illiterate, industrialized serfs, a great, sodden proletariat without possessions and without hope, the material out of which revolutions are made, the powder for a vast explosion. We are traveling the road worn smooth by a hun- dred nations that have died. We are moving toward the scrap-pile of history, and are traveling that downward road faster than any nation the world has known. In the latter years of his life Daniel Webster made a tour through our Western country. When he returned he summed up his impression in four words — Struggle, Prosperity, Luxury, Desola- The Increasing Social Pressure 81 Hon. These four words tell the story of many a great nation in the past that marred on the wheel and went to the rubbish-heap. " If present tenden- cies continue," said President W. H. P. Faunce, speaking of the neglect of religion and moral edu- cation in our land, " millions of people will grow up without any genuine religious training. If the home and the church shirk this responsibility, our people will be in fifty years a nation without a religion; that is, a nation disintegrating and dying." " If present tendencies continue," said President W. G. Eliot, speaking of the effects of our industrial sys- tem upon the workers themselves and the decline of family life, " in a hundred years there will be a ter- rible physical and moral degeneracy in the nation." " If our Republic ever dies," said President Lincoln, ** it will die from suicide, from degeneracy." THE PASSING OF THE AMERICAN Beyond all the causes and tendencies that are at work in our land there is a process that is more fate- ful than any we have thus far considered. This is nothing less than the rapid passing of the American stock and the certain predominance of other stocks. It is not possible here to notice all of the causes and elements that enter into this process; nor can we discuss all of the results that are involved in the change. But several things may be noted for their direct bearing upon the question before us. I. The Meeting-place of Races In the past half century there has been a marked and significant change in the currents of immigra- tion. During all the early decades of our history practically all the people who came to our shores came from the north and west of Europe; in the main these people were of Saxon blood with the same or similar customs and ideas. But about the middle of the nineteenth century there came a marked change in the streams of life flowing to our shores. For two generations past a very large pro- portion of the peoples who came, fully three-fourths, are from Southern and Eastern Europe, people of different bloods and with very different customs and ideals. The fact that different peoples are coming 82 The Passing of the American 83 to us at the rate of fully a million a year, would be a serious fact; even if all of these people were of similar blood, customs, ideals, and religion, their presence would create some serious problems of as- similation and adjustment. But the problems be- come tenfold more serious in view of the fact that they are of different blood and diverse racial types. This means that every year there came into our land fully three-quarters of a million foreigners rep- resenting different racial types and wholly different national characteristics. The World War, with the changes it brought in European life, has greatly affected immigration; it is hardly likely that the old numbers will be reached, and some streams may be diverted to other lands. But it is probable that the tide of immigration will rise and fall for many decades — unless we adopt some radical changes in our immigration policy. In America there is a meeting of various races and peoples, each with its own qualities and traits. The people of this land have declared their faith in the essential equality of all men and races ; and we must not deny our faith. This implies that every race has a right to be and to live its own life ; it implies that capacity is present in all men of all races ; that every race is good in itself and has qualities that are valuable in universal history. Since this is so we need not debate the question whether one race is really and racially superior to all others; nor will we argue the question whether one people carries higher values for the world than other peoples. All such considerations are waived aside here and do not enter into the discussion. But we are concerned with a more vital and fundamental fact; from the 84 If America Fail point of view of our American life and our national calling, certain peoples and qualities are superior and wholly indispensable. A race type may be good in itself in relation to its own work and mission, and may have a high value in universal history. And yet it may not be a good race type in other con- ditions; it may not make a good blend with other races ; the very fact that it has a value for one race type, implies that it may not have an equal value for other types. More than that, a race and people has a right to live its own life and fulfil its special mission in the world ; and yet it may have no right to impose itself upon others or to change another type into its own. So far as we can see, taking races and peoples in the large, the qualities vital in our American life and essential in our national mission, are Anglo- Saxon qualities and traits; and these imply a free religious life and the democratic idea in national institutions. The Anglo-Saxon or Nordic blood pos- sesses the qualities of initiative and independence, of mental vigor and self-reliance, of stability and solidarity that lie at the basis of Protestantism and democracy, and both make Protestantism and de- mocracy possible and contain the promise of their continuance. Let it be freely granted that these people who come to America from the Old World are the equals of the Anglo-Saxon in natural capacity and race type. These alien stocks possess many good quali- ties ; the peoples are vigorous in body usually ; they are patient and industrious; they are deeply relig- ious and easily controlled. None the less, however, these may not be the qualities that distinguish the The Passing of the American 85 Anglo-Saxon, and they may not be the quahties most needed in the Republic to ensure its stability and its perpetuation. II. The Persistence of Racial Types In the universe two tendencies are clearly marked : in fact every part and process seems to illustrate these tendencies. One is the tendency toward va- riety and differentiation; the other is the tendency toward interdependence and unity. The first of these tendencies may be noted here in relation to the production and persistence of racial types. In the long history of mankind various racial types and national groups have been produced. It is not necessary here to discuss the causes of these types or to mark the meaning of nationality. But everything indicates that this variety is a part of nature's program ; things have been designed to the end that mankind should be of manifold types and different characteristics. And everything indicates that these various types and traits will persist to the end of the story. There is no reason to suppose that racial differences will disappear, that the races will be melted down to one common type, and that all men will become members of one nationality. Va- riety is necessary in order that the universe may know the manifold wisdom and power of God. Va- riety is necessary in order that superiorities may be developed and tested. And variety is necessary in order that we may have not a unity of sameness but a unity out of diversity.^ Three things here are vitally related to our subject. » Batten, " Christ and the Nations," Chap. III. G 86 If America Fail First, the significant thing about a people is not its class or its condition, but its racial traits and unit characteristics. Secondly, these traits and characteristics are per- sistent and neither blend with others nor undergo marked transformation. It is becoming evident that these traits and characteristics are carried in the germ-plasm and are therefore not subject to wide modification or change. And it is now known that " Unit characteristics may still appear un- affected by the repeated unions with foreign germ- plasms." - Thirdly, quite as significant is the fact that where different races with diverse traits exist side by side, one tends to outbreed the other and become predomi- nant. They may for a time exist in nearly equal numbers; but soon or late one race will gain some small advantage or capacity, which the other lacks, toward a perfect adjustment to its surroundings. Those possessing these favorable variations will flourish at the expense of their rivals, and their off- spring will not only be the more numerous, but will also tend to inherit such variations. In this way one type gradually breeds the other out.^ Not only so, but some changes in conditions may occur which give one race a marked advantage in the struggle for existence. A race may be thoroughly adjusted to a certain country at one stage of its development, and be at a disadvantage when an economic change occurs. The result is that one class or type in a population expands more rapidly than another and ultimately replaces it. This * Davenport, "Heredity in Relation to Eugenics," p. 225. •Grant, " The Passing of ttie Great Race," p. 42. The Passing of the American 87 process of replacement of one type by another does not mean that the race changes or is transformed into another. It is a replacement pure and simple and not a transformation.* The bearing of all this upon the question before us is clear and startling. There is a struggle for existence on the part of the various races meeting in our land, and one or the other race will become predominant. The race that survives will be the fittest, not because it possesses superior racial traits or is most valuable to the nation, but because it possesses a certain adaptation to changed con- ditions. There is no race, per se, whether Slavic, Ruthenian, Turk, or Chinese, that is dangerous, and none undesirable; but only those individuals whose somatic traits or germinal deter- miners are, from the standpoint of our social life, bad.^ While there is no warrant for the arbitrary divi- sion of races into superior and inferior, yet it must be remembered that men of every race carry certain traits and characteristics, racial, social, political, re- ligious, that from the point of view of our national life and work may be called alien and may be unde- sirable if found in any numbers. Formerly, when we believed that factors blend, a charac- teristic in the germ-plasm of a single individual among thou- sands seemed not worth considering; it would soon be lost in the melting-pot. But now we know that unit characters do not blend; that after a score of generations the given char- acteristic may still appear unaffected by the repeated unions with foreign germ-plasm. * Grant, ibid., p. 43. " Davenport, " Heredity in Relation to Eugenics," p. 222. 88 If America Fail In view of the fact that unit characters do not blend but may reappear after a score of generations, that the people of different bloods carry diverse racial traits and characters which persist unaffected and unchanged, that changing of conditions in a land may give one racial type an advantage in the competition of races, that the predominance of some racial traits and characters may be undesirable and bad from the point of view of our American life and national mission, the question before us here is one of the most serious and fateful that can con- cern the nation. The coming of so many people of diverse races into our land, the decreasing propor- tion of American blood carrying certain traits and characters that enter into the term American, the increasing proportion of the peoples of other bloods carrying different traits and characters, and the fact that in our land social and industrial conditions are growing which constitute a handicap to the Ameri- can race but give these foreign types an advantage in the struggle, create some problems that have to do with our national future, for the scale would seem to be weighted in favor of certain peoples and types. In our land for two generations and more the question of economic development has been the up- permost consideration. National policy, economic methods, national and State legislation, in the last analysis have turned upon the creation of material values and the promotion of industrial prosperity. It is true that other questions have been considered ; but the answer to one and all has turned at last upon the economic factor. We have gone on the theory that our business as a nation was to exploit this The Passing of the American 89 continent, to develop its resources, to increase our national wealth as rapidly as possible, to become the foremost industrial people on the globe. Whatever promised to promote this material prosperity and the development of our resources, has been accepted and approved ; whatever had no relation to material values and did not promise industrial enlargement, has received scant consideration. One might sup- pose that our salvation as a nation depended upon nothing other than the size of our cities, the devel- opment of our industries, the dividends of our in- dustrial corporations, and the balance of trade in our favor. That these ends might be secured, immigration has been stimulated in every possible way. We have induced foreigners to come to our shores to increase the dividends of steamship companies, to build our railroads, to develop our resources, to give us an abundant supply of cheap labor. The number and quality of the men coming has seldom been consid- ered ; the probable effect of their presence upon the life of our own people has not been taken into ac- count. Five hundred years hence men will hold in scorn as enemies of the Republic the men of the pres- ent generation who have wasted our resources, cre- ated false ideals in the industrial world, exploited the labor of ignorant foreigners, overstimulated immigration to undercut our American working- men, and thereby endangered the future of the Republic. Several causes have worked together to produce the crisis in our economic and national life — the very causes that have changed the national stock in many lands and have resulted in the decline and decay of 90 If America Fail many nations. These causes may be summarized somewhat as follows: (1) An increased uncertainty of a livelihood among the working people. (2) A great rise in the cost of living without any compen- sating increase in wages and salaries. (3) The gen- eral ambition among American parents to give their children better advantages than they enjoyed, (4) The general entrance of women into professions and occupations.® III. The Decrease of the American Stock In all lands, as we have seen, there is always a marked decline in the birth-rate among the luxurious and well-to-do classes. This in itself may be no mis- fortune, for so-called blue blood is apt to run pretty thin. The luxurious classes show not only a marked decrease in numbers in the third generation, but usually an even more marked decrease of quality. But in America at this time, due in the main to two causes, there is a marked decrease in the proportion of the American stock. First, the overstimulated and indiscriminate immigration has brought to our shores millions of people of different stocks and ra- cial traits; these have a lower standard of living than our native population and have crowded out the native stock in the older sections of the country. Secondly, this has resulted in an increased economic pressure among the native population, especially in the great American middle class. As a consequence there has been a marked lowering of the birth-rate among that class, for people were not willing to be- get children and subject them to an unrestricted ' Holt, " Economics as Related to Eugenics," " Popular Science Monthly," Dec, 1913. The Passing of the American 91 competition with people of lower standards of living. The cost of living has so increased that young men and young women hesitate to marry and build homes. Thousands and millions of young women are becoming wage-earners ; which means that they are less and less inclined to marry and become mak- ers and mothers of a home. The women of the great middle class who marry at all, are married much later in life than was the custom two genera- tions ago. In part, the declining birth-rate among the American people is due to the voluntary refusal of American women to bear the burden of a family. But a part of this decline in the birth-rate is due to the decreased fertility of women who marry later in life. It is not possible, and it is not necessary, to give in detail any proofs showing any marked decrease of the native American stock. But some facts may be noted. The United States census shows that at the beginning of the nineteenth century children un- der ten years of age numbered one-third of the popu- lation; at the beginning of the twentieth century they numbered less than one-fourth of the total. The census of 1900 shows that the birth-rate among the native stock was very much lower than among the foreign stocks. The Census Department in a re- cent publication gives the results of an inquiry to show the comparative fecundity of the American and the foreign women. This inquiry did not at- tempt to cover the country as a whole ; but was lim- ited to certain sections. These sections are found in the East and West, and they represent both the country and the city. 92 If America Fail Women Under 45 Years of Age, Married 10 to 20 Years Average Total per Total number number married Class tabulated children woman White, native parentage.. . 15,592 42,933 2.7 White, foreign parentage. . 61,816 272,763 3.4 English 5,352 18,415 3.4 Canadian-English 1,349 4,668 3.5 Scotch 1,209 4,321 3.6 Welsh 764 2,879 3.6 Swedish 3,373 14,199 4.2 French 329 1,413 4.3 German 28,003 99,412 4.3 Irish 9,975 44,308 4.4 Hungarian 1,011 4,582 4.5 Swiss 858 3,764 4.4 Austrian 774 3,682 4.6 Norwegian 3,774 13,972 4.7 Italian 1,167 5,660 4.9 Bohemian 2,298 12,102 5.0 Finnish 312 1,657 5.2 Russian 656 3,574 5.4 Canadian-French 2,875 16,225 5.8 Polish 1,476 9,080 6.2 Other foreign peoples 1,132 4,826 4.3 Negro 663 2,051 3.1 Some general facts are made evident by this in- quiry. The figures all apply to married women un- der forty-five years of age, married from ten to twenty years. Of the women of native parentage 13 per cent, had no children, of the women of for- eign parentage 5.7 per cent, had no children. The mothers of native parentage had 2.7 children per family; the women of foreign parentage averaged 4.4 children per family. That is, ten women of na- tive stock had 27 children, while ten women of for- The Passing of the American 93 't3 eign stock had 44 children. Of the women of native parentage 9.9 per cent, had more than five children ; of the women of foreign stock 32.7 per cent, had more than five. Of the Italian women 37.5 per cent, had more than five children, and of Polish women 60.9 per cent, had more than five. The women of native parentage averaged one child for every 5.3 years of married life; while the women of foreign parentage averaged one child for 3.2 years. I may illustrate this tendency in our land by de- scribing a New England village. This town is situ- ated in southern New Hampshire in one of the older sections of the country. A hundred years ago this whole section was good farming land ; but much of the soil has been overworked, and its fertility is greatly reduced. The town in question has about 800 population; these are all Americans — ^not a dozen foreigners among them. In the year 1913 there were four marriages, eight births, and twenty- three deaths. There are 253 voters in the town, which shows a remarkable proportion of adults and men. That year there were enrolled in the public schools seventy-nine pupils. The community has something over two hundred separate homes, and the town averages about two-thirds of a child to a family. It is perfectly evident that the American stock is running out. In two generations the town will be practically depopulated, or what is more likely, the American stock will have passed, and a foreign-born stock will have taken its place. This is an extreme case, no doubt, but it illustrates the processes that are going on all over the land. The birth-rate among the native stocks is decreasing, both actually and relatively, and the American stock 94 If America Fail is passing. Practically no people of Anglo-Saxon and allied bloods are coming to us by immigration ; our native American stock is not increasing. Prac- tically all of the peoples who are coming to us now are of Latin, Slavic, and Hebrew birth; and the birth-rate among them is very much higher than among our native stock. If the present tendencies continue, the American blood will be predominantly Latin, Slavic, and Hebrew. This is what we find : We have created conditions in our land which give the foreign peoples with lower standards of living an advantage over the na- tive stock with its higher ideals. In the eastern and northeastern sections of our land the population has changed largely from an agricultural to an in- dustrial people. And in these industrial sections we have created conditions which place the American family under a handicap. To secure low-paid work- ers for industry immigration has been overstimu- lated and millions of alien people have been brought into our industrial centers. These aliens have dis- placed the American workers and are practically predominant in many sections of New England and the Middle States. In these existing industrial con- ditions the American stock has been displaced and foreign bloods are proving themselves in a practical sense the fittest. One fact lying beneath the census figures must be pondered : The American stock is declining and dis- appearing. The census returns for the United States show a remarkable increase in population dur- ing the past century; but these reports do not tell the whole story. As a matter of fact, there has been an actual decrease in the American stock; and the The Passing of the American 95 increase in population is wholly due to immigration. Havelock Ellis says that " The fertility of the old native-born population, mainly of Anglo-Saxon ori- gin, is found to be lower than in France." A birth- rate of two children to a fertile marriage will not maintain a stock or population ; at least four children to such a marriage are needed to cause an increase. The American women of native parentage with 2.7 children per fertile marriage are not maintaining the native-born stock; if America had been depen- dent wholly upon the American stock for its popu- lation the census figures would have been reversed. That is, if it had not been for the incoming of mil- lions of foreigners and the greater fertility of the foreign-born stocks, the population would show a de- crease during the past decades. If then America were like France, dependent upon its own people and without much immigration, America would be- gin to show a greater decrease in the birth-rate than France. This decreasing proportion of births in the native stock means the decrease and disappearance of the Anglo-Saxon race. All investigations show that four children to a fertile family are necessary in or- der to have any increase in a stock. Three children to a fertile marriage will barely maintain a popula- tion ; but two children mean an actual decrease. We have seen that the native white woman shows a pro- portion of 2.7 children to a fertile marriage ; this is not sufficient to maintain the population. We have seen also that this proportion is falling decade by decade. This means that there is an increasing de- cline of the native stock. But on the other hand we find that the women of foreign-born parentage show 96 If America Fail 4.4 children to a family; while some races, as the Italians and Poles, show a much higher number of children. Not only is there an actual decline of the native stock and an actual increase of the foreign stocks, but the disproportion between the two shows a rapid decline of the one and a rapid increase of the other. Suppose that our American families can show only 2.7 children to a family while Latin and Slavic races show double that proportion. This may mean a ratio of two to four in this generation, but it means a ratio of eight to thirty-two in the second generation. Suppose that the American and North- European half of the population exactly maintains its balance between births and deaths, while among the foreign and South-European half the births are to the deaths as three to two. In the fifth genera- tion the progeny of the latter will outnumber the descendants of the more American population as five to one. Suppose further that the generations of the foreign half succeed each other as two to three; while those of the American half of the population succeed each other as three to two ; then in the fifth generation the progeny of the foreign half will pre- dominate by twenty-five to one. It is hardly likely that this proportion will be maintained, for the re- ports on the fecundity of American and foreign wo- men show a slight decrease in the number of chil- dren per family in the second and third generations among practically all foreign stocks. But every- thing indicates that there will be a comparative de- crease in the proportion of people of American blood and an increase in the proportion of people of Slavic blood. If present tendencies continue for five gen- The Passing of the American 97 erations the Anglo-Saxon blood will have passed and other bloods will be dominant. The passing of the American blood will mean the passing of certain .marked American characteristics and the grov/ing of certain marked foreign types. The people of America in three generations, unless conditions change themselves or are radically changed, will rapidly become darker in pigmentation, smaller in stat- ure, more mercurial, more attached to music and art, more given to crimes of larceny, kidnapping, assault, murder, rape, and sex immorality, and less given to burglary, drunk- enness, and vagrancy than were the original English settlers. Since of the insane in hospitals there are relatively more foreign than native, it seems probable that under present conditions the ratio of insanity in the population will prob- ably increase.''^ If present tendencies continue, the people of this country will be more volatile in temper, more auto- cratic and less democratic in policies and social life, with less individual initiative, less independence in thought, less inclined toward Protestantism. With these changes in blood and type there will come changes in the moral, social, political, and religious characteristics of the American people. The Amer- icans of three generations hence — if present tenden- cies continue — will be less Protestant, more Catholic, less democratic, more favorable to autocracy than the people of today. Blood will tell in nations as in men. Environ- ment may do much to determine what qualities shall be developed and what may lie latent. But environ- ment acts only upon possibilities that are present ; it ^ Davenport, " Heredity in Relation to Eugenics," p. 219. 98 If America Fail originates nothing. Racial characteristics, as we know, are carried in the germ-plasm ; and these are inherent and do not change easily. No Latin or Slavic race has ever been Protestant and democratic. This change from the Anglo-Saxon stock, which is largely Protestant, to the Latin and Slavic races, that are now predominantly Catholic, may not mean that America will soon, if ever, become predom- inantly Roman Catholic. For Rome loses a very large proportion of the peoples who come to us from Catholic countries. But it may not mean that these people who are lost to Rome will become Protestant. Unfortunately, many of them are falling into un- belief and are repudiating all religions. What will all this mean in relation to the whole work of the kingdom of God? IV. The Value of Racial Unity The mingling of dissimilar stocks in our land raises a most significant question. What will this mean for the future of the nation? Three things are noteworthy : 1. The blending of near races may bring life and progress to a people. Luther Burbank shows that the crossing of species and the selection of the best are the most potent means of progress. The cross- ing of species is paramount, and upon it, wisely di- rected and accompanied by a rigid selection of the best and a rigid exclusion of the poorest, rests the hope of all advance. But the mere crossing of spe- cies unaccompanied by wise selection, intelligent care, and utmost patience, is not likely to result in marked good and may result in vast harm.^ There •Burbank, "The Training of the Human Plant," p. 4. The Passing of the American 99 is one condition on which this blending of races can be beneficial at all : It must be the blending of near types. The study of history will show that the great races have been fairly homogeneous peoples. The great races have not been widely mixed races. Biol- ogists have agreed that very close inbreeding is del- eterious and produces weakness. But quite gen- erally also they are agreed that panmixia, or the indiscriminate mingling of heredities, makes for deterioration and disintegration. The available evi- dence strongly supports the presumption that hy- brids produced by the crossing of varieties much alike are vigorous, adaptive, and competent. On the other hand the hybrids produced by the cross- ing of widely dissimilar varieties, show incompe- tency or worse characteristics.® In the strictest sense there is no such thing as a pure race, for many strains have entered into the blood of every people. One people touches another, and at the edges there is always some interblending. But with it all there are racial types that represent comparatively pure bloods. The blending of near-types may be bene- ficial; in fact the great races of history have been what we may call near-blends. But the blending of diverse types is neither beneficial nor desirable, and the verdict of history is strongly against it. The Hebrew race was made by a blending of bloods ; but these were near-types, and the Hebrew was a pure race. Because it was so pure it has been so potent and persistent. The Greek peoples also were a blended race; but they were a pure stock. We know how careful they were to distinguish the » Glddings, " The Western Hemisphere," p. 18, 100 If America Fail Greek stock from both the autocthons and the bar- barians. The same principle applies to the Romans, the English, and the Germanic peoples. They are all mixed races; but they are near-blends and not diverse mixtures. 2. The mixing of dissimilar stocks is not benefi- cial and does not make for progress. It lowers the racial type; it means race disunity. Suppose for a moment that the negro race could be assimilated and blended into the common blood. Remember that we are not discussing the question whether the Anglo-Saxon is superior or the negro is inferior; we maintain that they are different, and even if blending were possible, it is not desirable. The in- fusion of ten per cent, of negro blood into the Amer- ican race would greatly affect the American type and would not really benefit the negro. The same is true with reference to the Asiatic and Mongolian races; and the same is true no less with reference to the Latin and Slavic races. Some interblending will come about and may not be undesirable. But if there is a blending on a large scale, there will follow both a changing of the national type and a weakening of the racial life. If present tendencies continue, the population of America will for many generations be a hybrid of elements diverse and dis- similar. It is not possible for one to predict all the results of this mixing of different races. But if the verdict of history means anything, it means that there will be a change in the national type and a loss of racial quality. In America we find the most remarkable mingling of races the world has thus far seen. Under certain conditions the blending of these various races ac- The Passing of the American 101 companied with a wise selection, might produce the finest race the world has ever known. But in this land, as we have seen, through the declining birth- rate of the American stock and the unwise distribu- tion of the alien bloods, we are effecting an almost complete reversal of wise selection. This mingling of races with its reversal of selection, is breeding out these qualities that are implied in the term Amer- ican, and is breeding in qualities that are alien to that term. More than this, this mixing of races in America has already manifested itself in a significant way. It is changing the mind and temper of the people. It is becoming evident that the American people are developing a fickleness of mind, an instability of temper, that may have momentous consequences. The people are quickly hot and as quickly cold. They are ready to crown their heroes today, but forget all about them tomorrow. They are subject to fits of temper and are easily thrown into panic. They adopt a policy one year and completely re- verse themselves at the next election. That we have become a fickle people, our history for the past fifty years shows. Professor Giddings finds many evidences of this.^*' We are distrustful of liberty. We are afraid to trust the people. In no country has there been such an intolerance of judgment, such a suppression of opinion. In no land have men so browbeaten the conscientious objector and so com- pelled loyalty. Seemingly we are afraid of our- selves. There is a feeling that no one can be trusted, but all must be censored in opinion and compelled to be loyal. And this in large part grows out of the i» " The Independent," Nov. 20, 1920, p. 262. H 102 If America Fail fact that we have such diverse elements which are not fully blended. 3. The blending of dissimilar stocks and the merg- ing of race types is contrary to the purpose and processes of nature. Some people with a very slight knowledge of history are forever singing pseans in praise of the blending of peoples and the future com- mon race. They look forward to a time when na- tional differences will disappear and mankind will practically become one type. But the whole history of nature fairly shouts against any such belief. There is no prospect, near or remote, of the blend- ing of all the races into one composite race ; it would not be possible even if it were desirable. So far as we can see, for all time to come there will be differ- ent national types and racial characteristics. Hu- manity is composed of all of us together and not of any one of us absorbing all the rest. America can make its largest contribution to universal history and the kingdom of God by developing a great, strong racial type with well-marked characteristics of its own. The possibilities that lie before us as a people are clear and certain. The presence of so many racial types means that for some generations the American people will be a hybrid race; and this may mean weakness if not disintegration. The processes of life in their long reaches will sift out certain bloods and types for survival; and in the far future one or more types will become dominant. But we have no assurance that these will be the best, from the point of view of our American mission ; nay, there are many reasons for fear that these may not be the best for our national destiny. At any rate, these The Passing of the American 103 things must not be left to chance; we must under- stand the factors that are at work; we must then adopt such a course as will mean the unification of the people, and we must persistently study to create such conditions as will ensure the dominance of the best types. Some lessons we may learn from history: The great races have been more or less homogeneous; where very different types have been mixed there has been weakness and disintegration. Nature has shown her disapproval of hybrids, and in the long reaches of history she has eliminated one or the other. But unfortunately the types eliminated may not always be the least desirable; sometimes the type that becomes dominant may not be the very best. It may be the stronger physically ; it may pos- sess some characteristics which give it the advan- tage; but it may not be the best for the higher purposes of humanity. And while this process of sifting out the less desirable stocks is going on, the nation may fall into weakness and disintegration through the dissonance of dissimilar stocks. This calls for careful study on the part of the nation and for a wise national policy. However it may be in the lower ranges of life, in the case of man the whole process of society must come under the rule of rea- son and will. We must not try to blend dissimilar stocks. We must know what type we want to be- come dominant ; and we must create such conditions as will ensure the survival of the best qualities. This calls attention to the place of the family in our American life and the necessity of ensuring its sur- vival. And this emphasizes the importance of cre- ating such conditions as will make for the Ameri- 104 If America Fail canization of the people and the clarifying of the American ideals. Gathering together the several threads thus far, this is what we find. In our land with the growth of prosperity there has arisen an overweening and pervasive Mammonism that is tearing down our na- tional ideals and affecting our social life. Within the past generation the strategic points of trade, a large part of our natural resources, and three- fourths of the available water-power have been monopolized and are now controlled by a few against the many. Owing to our industrial methods there is being created an industrial proletariat as hopeless as any the world has known. Through various causes the native English and Protestant stock is rapidly passing and is being replaced by alien and non-Protestant peoples. The people are given to pleasure and few will take to heart the need of the nation. And how shall it be with those that come after us ? We are wasting the resources of our land, impoverishing the soil, destroying the forests, wast- ing coal and gas, allowing the hills to be denuded of their soil and made barren forever ; we are allowing the people's resources of soil and coal, iron ore and water-power, to fall into the hands of corporations to be held against the people; we are allowing mo- nopoly to thrive and control two-thirds of the na- tion's wealth, to issue bonds which are claims against the people's life, and to fix prices to the producers and the consumer; we are setting dividends above life and are rating progress in material terms. We are sowing the wind; will not the coming genera- The Passing of the American 105 tions reap the whirlwind? A writer in a recent number of the " Manchester Guardian " says of the present time, " It is the kind of situation in which former civilizations have gone down." Professor Patrick adds," " Other civilizations have perished under circumstances not substantially different." All the causes and conditions that destroyed the na- tions of the past are present and at work in America today. ^1 Patrick, " The Psychology of Social Reconstruction," p. 13. PART II THE CONDITIONS OF NATIONAL SUCCESS VI THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE The conviction that we have a national mission must be transformed into a conscious and serious national purpose. The American calling must be- come the cause for which a people will struggle and sacrifice. The consideration of the national mission will therefore mean an appreciation of the national ideals to be cherished and the kind of na- tional behavior we must require of ourselves. It will no doubt challenge to some hard and honest thinking, and then it will summon to do stern battle with forces and factors that are hindering our march and mortgaging our hope. It should give new courage as we fix our eyes on the stars and know that heaven is on the side of the people that aspires. That America may not fail, that she may fulfil her destiny, there are several things that she must do. Some of the things mentioned relate to social and political conditions and demand social and po- litical action. Some of them deal with industrial conditions and demand both moral teaching and so- cial legislation. Some have to do with city condi- tions and demand civic and collective effort. Some are concerned primarily with personal life and so- cial ideas and demand a new standard of values and a new kind of conscience. Some relate to what we may call the moral and spiritual life and demand 109 110 If America Fail a new emphasis upon the spiritual ideals of men. Life is a unit, and one thing is as it is because all other things are as they are. It is not for us to say which is the more necessary and vital at this time. Each is necessary. Each has a vital relation to our nation's future. I. The Moral Law First of all, we must realize that this universe in which we live is an honest and moral universe. Ethics is the nature of things. The foundations of the earth are laid in righteousness. The law of the moral harvest is just as true in the case of nations as in the case of individuals. Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; for whatsoever a man or nation sows, that shall they also reap. Many men do not be- lieve this ; they believe that nature is blind, and that they can outwit her. And so they play fast and loose with her laws and run their own pace. This universe is so regulated that any man can experi- ment with nature and can have his fling. But such experiments always have the same tragic ending. The madhouses and hospitals are filled with men who believed they could hoodwink nature and ignore the law of the moral harvest. What is true of men is equally true of nations. More than one nation has believed that it was a law unto itself, that it could control nature and repeal the law of the moral harvest. The failure of nations to heed this law has made the tragedies of history. It tells the story of many a proud nation that has gone to the rubbish-heap. It explains the tragedy of the great war in Europe. For generations the na- tion of Europe sowed the wind; they coveted one The Search for Justice 111 another's trade and wealth; the stronger nations treated the weaker peoples as mere pawns on a chess-board ; they tried to checkmate one another in acquiring new territory and controlling trade- routes; they played fast and loose with justice and humanity ; they formed alliances and played off one against another; they allowed junkerism and privi- lege to exploit the people and grow rich out of their oppression ; they created war scares and encouraged international suspicions; they tried to maintain a kind of balance by compromises and leagues and dip- lomatic fictions. It ought to have been evident to all that a day of judgment was sure to fall. Alas, there were no prophetic voices to warn the nations ; if true prophets had arisen, their voices would have been drowned in the general clamor. And then at last, Europe reaped the whirlwind in the greatest tragedy of all history. The World War with its im- measurable desolations is God's way of balancing the books of nations. In Babylon and Rome, in Eu- rope and America, the nations that forget God are turned into hell. Will America learn the lesson? Or will it be de- ceived as other peoples have been ? Be not deceived ; God is not mocked; for whatsoever America sows, that shall America also reap. We cannot sow the wind without reaping the whirlwind. We cannot neglect the things that make for our peace without mortgaging the hopes of the nation. We cannot refuse God's king and choose Barabbas without signing our own death-warrant. We cannot sow the seeds of injustice and greed, class spirit and divi- sion, monopoly and mammonism, and escape decline and failure. We must sow the seeds of justice and 112 If America Fail truth, of equality and fraternity, if we would be strong. We must obey God's law and live as brothers if we would live long in the earth. II. The Need of a National Conscience We must cultivate a sensitive, discriminating, and militant conscience. The institutions of the state are the organized expression of the people's religion. The politics of a nation are its interpretation of the Golden Rule. Politics is the art of applied religion. Social justice is men's interpretation of brotherhood. What we call civilization is simply applied con- science. As is a people's conscience, so will be their politics. *' Let me make the conscience of a people," so we may paraphrase the old saying, " and I care not who makes the laws." In saying that we need to cultivate a keen and militant conscience we do not mean to imply that we are lacking in conscience. As a matter of fact we have a very sensitive and active conscience in many respects, a discriminating conscience in per- sonal and family life, a sensitive conscience in ref- erence to certain customs and conventionalities. But it must be confessed that we have not a sensitive and discriminating conscience with reference to so- cial and industrial matters. We have a personal conscience, but not a corporate conscience. Men will do things as corporation managers they would never think of doing as individuals. Some would not steal a cent from any one by direct theft, who yet will steal wholesale by promoting worthless schemes and fixing monopoly prices. They are rev- erent in church, yet deny the name of God all the week by selling watered stock and buying city fran- The Search for Justice 113 chises. They are willing to give large sums to char- ity, but tolerate any methods, however cruel, pro- vided only that they are done in the name of Big Business. They are shocked when boys play base- ball on Sunday, yet take dividends from corpora- tions working men seven days in the week. We need a revival of conscience. We need to cul- tivate a new blush. We must learn to call things by the right name. Stealing is stealing whether done on the highway by a club or in business by a rebate. Fraud is fraud whether committed by a well-dressed monopolist or a tin-horn gambler. Cor- nering foodstuffs is nothing less than constructive murder. The brand of Cain must be set upon the men who sell harmful nostrums and injure the peo- ple. The banker who makes millions financing ille- gal stock deals, is no better than the fence who handles stolen goods. We need a conscience that will give men no rest so long as corruption exists in the city hall and the police protect criminals ; a con- science that will steadily put men to shame so long as the white-slave traffic endures and monopoly is profitable. We need more light in the mind and more light- ning in the conscience. To this end there must be a qualified, conscientious, and devoted citizenship. The American people have developed individuality and initiative and have achieved wonderful things. But individuality alone is only a half truth, and out of relations it may become a dangerous doctrine. Our national virtue is responsible for some of the abominable conditions in our cities. We have stood alone in our individuality ; we have gone, one to his farm and another to his merchandise, and have neg- 114 If America Fail lected public affairs. The American people have been good individuals, good churchmen, good busi- ness men, but they have not been good citizens. And this is due to the lack of a civic intelligence, an eco- nomic conscience, a social religion. There is intel- ligence enough, religion enough in any American city to transform it from top to bottom. But what we need just now is a civic intelligence, a commu- nity conscience, a social religion. Then we must organize that conscience in social customs and an industrial system. We must write out the articles of our religion in civil statutes and civic ordinances. We must build our faith and hope and love into the institutions of society. III. The Reverence for Law We need a new reverence for law. In these latter times, in democratic lands, the people have repudi- ated the idea of a law-maker whose will is supreme and whose word is final authority. They have de- nied forever the divine right of kings to make laws and to rule the people. They have swept aside the fiction of a priest or pope who is the vicegerent of the Eternal King. They have affirmed that govern- ments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. All this we believe is proper and right and in accord with the will of God and the processes of history. But there is a grave danger here that no one can ignore. There is danger lest we lose out of our thought all reverence for law, and come to regard it as a mere compromise of interests, a balancing of expediencies. Woe to that people who have no infinite standard of right; who regard law as the mere will of the majority. Woe The Search for Justice 115 to that people who see behind the officer of the state no higher authority than a written constitution. Such a people is on the high road to political cor- ruption and social anarchy. Such a people is ready to become the prey of intriguing politicians and selfish groundlings. A law that is simply the will of the majority speaks with no deep tone of au- thority and commands little reverence. To regard law in this low way, to see behind the law nothing but the intrigues of politicians and the interests of a class — than this nothing can be more ominous to the eye of truth or more ruinous to the nation. The American people are a fairly orderly and well-balanced people. But careful students of our national life tell us that reverence for law, as law, is at a low ebb. There is much real lawlessness in the land; but many of those who deplore the fact do not always locate its source. It is easy for the men of one group or class to point the finger at some other and accuse them of dereliction at this point. It is easy to suppose that the sins of our group are so trifling while those of a different group are so fatal ; it is easy To compound for sins we are inclined to By damning those we have no mind to. It has become quite the thing for people on the com- fortable side of life to point the accusing finger at saloon-keepers and working people and accuse them of all the sins in the category. And it has also be- come quite as common for agitators among the working people to point the finger of scorn at the rich and prosperous and say that they are sinners above all men. But as a matter of fact no one class 116 If America Fail can arrogate to itself a monopoly of virtues and ac- cuse another class of preeminent sins. In much of the common talk about the lawless and dangerous classes it is usually assumed that they are the poor people, the working men and foreigners, the social- ists and anarchists who preach discontent and stir up the people. This is as shallow as it is unfair. It is unfair in that it overlooks one's own sins in censure of another's failings. The danger centers of our population are less the East Side than they are Fifth Avenue. In the words of Bishop Thomp- son, of Mississippi : " The luxuries, the vices, the family and social corruption which reign in our great cities, are not the sins of artisans and day- laborers. Playing cards for money is no worse in a beer-shop than in the Union Club House. To be tipsy there or at a corner groggery amounts to about the same thing. This assumption that sin lives in the tenement-houses and the moral virtues reside on the avenue, and that the churches must make special efforts to keep bricklayers, carpenters, and blacksmiths in order, that these last and their kind are the specially dangerous and sinful classes, is nearly always present in the plan of religious people to reach the masses. The assumption is worse than Pharisaism. It is blind ignorance of life and fact, and antichristian as well as senseless." These are brave, true words, and we need to take them well to heart. The men chiefly responsible for the corruption of our cities and the reign of law- lessness in the land are not the labor-union men and wild law-breakers ; but in New York and Phila- delphia, in Chicago and Denver, in St. Louis and San Francisco, they are the managers of corpora- The Search for Justice 117 tions, the men of wealth, the leaders of society and the pillars of the churches, men who are often lib- eral in charities and sometimes models in their homes. These are some of the men who are cor- rupting city councils, purchasing franchises, nulli- fying the laws, and undermining the people's confi- dence in government. Today as never before, there needs to be a clear conception of the meaning of law and a new rev- erence for its authority. The throne, the scepter, the crown have been swept away. Now we must set up the grander throne of justice. We must see to it that the scepter of the land is the scepter of right- eousness. We must realize that the welfare of the people is the clearest human expression of the will of God. We must make the will of God the voice of the people and must write out that will in civil statutes. We must make the voice of the people speak the will of God by teaching the people to love his law and speak his will in their words. We must realize that law is " beneficence acting by rule " and has at heart the welfare of the people. Finally, in the immortal words of Lincoln we must say : Let reverence of the law be taught in schools and colleges, be written in primers and spelling-books; be published from pulpits and be proclaimed in legislative houses and enforced in courts of justice; in short, let it become the political re- ligion of the people. IV. The Search for Justice There must be a new search after justice. Jus- tice is one of the master words of Christianity. According to the prophet, the divine requirement is that men do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly I 118 If America Fail with God. The prophet foretold the coming of One who should set justice in the earth and rule the peo- ple with equity. Jesus declares that the first duty of man is to seek the kingdom of God and its jus- tice ; and he pronounces a beatitude upon those who hunger and thirst after justice. The landmarks of the kingdom, according to the apostle, are justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Justice is the basic virtue of the good life. It is the bed-rock on which a nation must found its power. There must be something more than justice in society in order to secure peace and prosperity. But nothing less than justice can keep a people strong and save them from shipwreck. The title of this chapter is a challenge — intention- ally chosen as such. If one were asked what is the most necessary thing in our American life at this hour, one would have to confess that it is a passion for justice. There is much injustice in our modern social order, but it must not be accepted as a matter of course. Let us stand for the present order of things so far as it is just, no farther. Christianity is not here to keep things fixed, to make us compla- cent in the face of evil, to soothe people and make them satisfied with things as they are. Rather it is here to awaken in them a passion for justice, to sting and stir them into action, and to send them out to withstand all injustice and establish right- eousness in the earth. This ought to be self-evident to the man who believes in the kingdom of God. It is necessary first of all to have some conception of the nature of justice. In all times men have talked much about it and have sought to understand its meaning. In certain directions its meaning has The Search for Justice 119 been understood and its obligations defined. Among the more advanced nations of the earth that mean- ing has been written out in great constitutional guaranties. In democratic lands at least, " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are cre- ated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." This is much, but it is not all. For thus far this principle has been interpreted almost exclusively in its personal and political bearings. Today humanity is beginning to feel that justice is a universal prin- ciple and must now be interpreted and applied in social and industrial relations. The law of justice is as wide-reaching as life and is as binding upon societies as upon persons. There is a just and right manner of life for the person, and there is a just and right manner of life for so- ciety. We pronounce a man unjust when he disre- gards the rights of others and makes his own wishes supreme; unjust, when he uses others as means to his own ends; unjust, when he seeks to receive goods and service from men without rendering any fair and equitable return. In the same way we pro- nounce a society unjust when any number of per- sons are without true inheritance in life. It is unjust when large classes in it are so enslaved by others as to be unable to develop their own lives; it is unjust, for instance, when there is any class in it so poor and so hard-worked or so dependent upon others, as to be unable to cultivate their faculties and make progress toward the per- fection of their own nature; it is unjust when the idle are protected and set in power, and the laborious are crushed down and degraded.^ » Mackenzie, " Manual of Ethics," Book III, chap. 2. 120 If America Fail It is unjust when a disproportionate share of the goods of life falls into the hands of any special class ; it is unjust when a limited number of men, by any means whatever, without or within the law, are per- mitted to gain possession of the land, hold all the strategic points of trade, and compel the people to pay monopoly prices; it is radically unjust when any class in society is handicapped from birth and any number are without a fair access to the common heritage. Accepting this obligation to establish justice, these are some of the immediate things that lie along our path. Society must make a collective and continu- ous effort to establish justice all along the line of life. Every person has a right to a lifetime in our world and to advantageous conditions for the devel- opment of his personality. Society must protect every life from premature death and from needless hardship, and must seek to nurture it and to unfold its capacities. It must provide that gains received shall bear some relation to service rendered. There is wealth enough to give every person a fair material basis of life ; and yet one-fourth of the people in our cities never have enough to eat. The people's re- sources must be held in trust for all the people and every life must be guaranteed its equities. Monop- oly must be done away, and opportunity equalized. " Shall a few men own all the land," asks Lloyd George in England, " and the many be trespassers in the land of their birth? " Shall a few men con- trol the means of production and distribution in our own land, and compel all the people to pay monopoly prices? Shall a few men grow rich through the control of natural resources while the many are dis- The Search for Justice 121 inherited and have no true opportunity in Kfe? There must be justice in society, justice all along the line, justice for poor and justice for rich, justice for the poor man's child and justice for the rich man's heir. Righteousness and justice are the habi- tations of God's throne, and righteousness and jus- tice are the foundations of human society. In jus- tice the heavens were built, and through justice the earth stands fast. Has the church the courage to testify for justice and hold up the Christian ideal ? Dare it be true to Christ and make no compromise with the spirit of the age? A time of trial and crisis is coming that will test men's faith of what sort it is. For the modern industrial world is willing the church should talk of sound doctrine and praise sweet charity, but the industrial leaders are not willing to hear of jus- tice in society and brotherhood in industry. Said a prominent New York business man, "When the church and the pulpit enter definitely into the com- mercial and industrial problem of our time they take their lives in their hands." If the churches hesitate to witness for justice and brotherhood for fear of consequences they will lose their right to be called Christian. Many men will build hospitals and orphanages to care for the people who are injured in industry, made sick in unsanitary tenements, ex- ploited by social vices, destroyed by overcrowded slums; but they are not willing to consider the causes of these evils and diseases. They will go on renting property for evil purposes, taking exorbi- tant rents for unsanitary homes, controlling city railway franchises and causing overcrowding, specu- lating in land values, and driving people into slums ; 122 If America FaU they are willing to hear of sweet charity and will build hospitals for the needy; but they will not be just and remove the causes of disease and poverty. Men will do anything for the people, said Tolstoi, except to get off their backs. Injustice is the chief cause of discontent and un- rest. Many people misunderstand the causes of so- cial unrest; and so they misconceive the remedy. Some suppose that it is due to the evil hearts of men, to their selfishness and greed. Others imagine that it is due largely, if not wholly, to agitators who preach doctrines of revolution and stir up the people. Still others think that it is a temporary mood, a case of mob mind and disturbed imagination that will soon pass. And so they suppose that it can be met by mere platitudes or by suppression, or by stolid indifference. We may heed the word of Sir Charles Napier : " Idiots talk of agitators ; there is but one — injustice." There is therefore just one remedy for social un- rest, and that is justice. It is for us to find out what justice means and establish it in our land. It is for us to seek after justice and thereby make the soil immune to the seeds of anarchy and revolution. Justice is that which satisfies everybody. Men may seek for peace, but they will not find it till they walk in the way of justice. There is no other way under heaven revealed unto men whereby society can have stable peace, except the way of social justice. It may be claimed that justice is done in our land; but that is not enough. Unless the great majority of the people not only secure justice but believe that they secure it, our peace is endangered and our future is compromised. Unless the great majority not only The Search for Justice 123 have a fair chance but believe that they have it, our ideal is discredited and our work not done. America must not be content to be as good as other peoples. It is not our calling to be even better than others, but to be good by our own standards. The writer is aware of the charge that is brought against those who face unpleasant facts and bring them into the light. They are called Jeremiahs and pessimists and dismissed with a smile. Now the true patriot is the one who, like Jeremiah, refuses to cry, Peace, Peace, when there is no peace. And the so-called optimist is the very worst pessimist; for he is afraid to face a hard fact, and so he closes his eyes and says he sees nothing. If much of our current pessimism shows a wavering faith, most of our popular optimism shows mental shallowness. The true optimist is the one who sees the worst but believes that things can be made better. In such a time as this no man can stand aside and say this enterprise is none of his concern. To be indifferent when the fate of the Republic is in the balance, is treason. To let things drift and do nothing, is the worst kind of doing. Because we love America and believe in its great mission, we can face our problems and task in a confident spirit. VII THE CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES There are certain things that are the necessary con- ditions of a people's existence; the soil and water, the coal and iron, the air and sunshine, the forests and plants. These things are given to the nation for the people ; they are the heritage of all, not the privilege of a few. And so no individual or set of individuals has the right to monopolize those re- sources to the disadvantage of the whole nation. These resources are given to the nation not for one generation but for all generations. And so no man and no generation has the right to waste those re- sources or dissipate the people's heritage. The in- dividual is for one generation, but the nation is for all generations. It is therefore the plain duty of the nation to conserve those resources and make them serve the whole people. The country known as the United States is con- ceded by all to have possessed greater and richer natural resources than any other country in the world. Here was a soil of unsurpassed fertility, capable of producing all kinds of crops and fruits. Here were unbounded forests with all varieties of timber. Here were our mines of coal and ores, among the richest in the world. Here were our supplies of petroleum and natural gas, the source of vast wealth. Here were our rivers and streams 124 The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 125 watering the earth and providing natural water- ways. But alas, in our greed for wealth we have run through our resources with a worse than prodi- gal wastefulness. We cannot retell this story in fulness, for that would require many a volume, but we may indicate a few of the ways in which we have wasted our heritage, and may then note an imperative duty. I. The Waste of Our Resources 1. The soil is the greatest resource of any people, for in the last analysis the life of the people depends upon the quality of its soil. This country had a marvelous variety of soils adapted to all kinds of productions; lands adapted to cereals, and lands adapted for fruits; soils heavy and light, in cold regions and in warm. There are two ways in which the soil may be ruined, by wrong methods of culti- vation that exhaust it, and by erosion that carries away its fertile surface. The American people have wasted the soil in both ways. We have overworked and abused the soil in many parts of the land and have greatly lessened its pro- ductive power. The farmer was consumed with a passion for money-making, and so he raised crops that exhausted the ground on which they stood, and then he neglected to enrich it. The consequence is that in many of the older sections of the country the soil has been worked out and is practically worthless. In many of the older States the produc- tive power of the soil has steadily fallen from year to year. The Department of Agriculture furnishes tables showing the yield of the principal crops for a number of years. This table shows a slight change 126 If America Fail in yield of some crops during the past forty years. For instance, the corn yield of 1867-76, as com- pared with 1897-1906, shows a decrease from 26.2 to 25.4 bushels per acre. On the other hand, wheat increased from 12 bushels to 13.8 bushels per acre. For the other crops there are similar slight de- creases and increases. These figures, however, are for the country as a whole and do not show the real drift. During these years many millions of new acres have been brought under cultivation and for a time their productive power increased. But a close investigation of the situation by Spillman, taking the country by regions and districts, and considering what has actually hap- pened, has led him to the conclusion that the fer- tility of the soil for fifty per cent, of our country has been lessened.^ One of the best-informed men of our land, James J. Hill, said : ^ There are ten States in this Union in which the wheat crop was less in 1908 than it was in 1888. Twenty years have cut this staple food product in many cases more than one- half. They are not all the poorest and oldest soils originally. Both the total crop of this country and its yield per acre have been maintained by resort to new soils not yet robbed of their fertility. In a special report on crops by the Department of Agriculture in 1912, we read that despite a record year of crop value and the fact that the number of farms has increased eleven per cent, since 1910, the record of production has fallen. In thirty-four counties in the great agricultural State of Ohio the *" Agricultural Production," by W. .T. Spillman; Report National Conservation Commission, Vol. Ill, pp. 2.57-262. " Van Hise, " Conservation of Natural Resources," pp. 298, 299. The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 127 land is producing less per acre than it did fifty years ago. This waste of the soil through defective meth- ods of cultivation is serious enough, but there are other causes at work that are much more destruc- tive. The richest and best soil of our farms and hills is being carried away by erosion. According to the United States Geological Survey, the surface of the United States is being removed at the rate of one inch in seventy-six years. This amount seems trivial when spread over the surface of the country, but it becomes stupendous when considered in its results. These figures mean that over 270,000,000 tons of suspended matter are transported to tide-water every year by streams of the United States. The amounts removed from different drainage-basins show interesting comparisons. In respect to dissolved matter, the Southern Pacific basin heads the list, with 177 tons per square mile per year, the Northern Atlantic basin being next, with 130 tons. The rate for the Hudson Bay basin, 28 tons, the lowest; that for the Colorado and Western Gulf of Mexico basins is somewhat higher. The denudation estimates for the Southern Atlantic basins corresponds very closely to those for the entire United States.^ Thousands of acres in the Eastern States have been exhausted and made unfit for cultivation. One can ride through some of these States and see great tracts, once a perfect garden of the Lord, now un- tilled and growing up in scrub. " Today as you ride through the South," says Mr. James J. Hill, you see everywhere land gullied by torrential rains, red and yellow clay banks exposed where once were fertile fields, ' " Water-supply paper," 234, " U. S. Geological Survey," 128 If America Fail and agriculture reduced because its main support has been washed away. Millions of acres, in places to the extent of one-tenth of the arable land, have been so injured that no industry and no care can restore them. In many parts of New England the soil has been exhausted and is now practically worthless. Pro- fessor Carver, of Harvard, after an examination of these States says, " Agriculture as an independent industry, able to support a community, does not ex- ist in the hill parts of New England." " The decline of soil fertility," said the scientist Leibig, " and not either race or war is the fundamental cause of the decadence of nations." The history of every great nation that died — and every great nation in the past died — will show that it began to die in the country first of all. The American people have not been good farmers. This has not been due to the lack of general intelli- gence, but in the earlier years of our country it did not seem necessary to conserve the soil. People be- lieved that the country was illimitable, and " Why should we care for this little bit of land? When it is worked out, we can move farther west, and have a farm for the asking." This might be well enough perhaps if our country were really of infinite ex- panse and the population were small enough. But as a matter of fact, the territory is limited, and we have reached the land's end. There is now no Far- ther West. As a consequence the stream of life is now doubling back towards the East. But, alas, men are returning to find their heritage wasted. It is well for us to remember that the amount of land available for agriculture is at best limited. Of all the total area of the United States not one-half, prob- The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 129 ably hardly one-third, can ever be used for agricul- ture under natural conditions.* The American people have been anxious to make money and have considered only the present hour. They have literally taken no thought for tomorrow, but have taken everything out of the soil for the day. The American people, said Henry Wallace, " are soil robbers." " Of all the sinful wasters of man's inheritance on earth," wrote Prof. Nathaniel Shaler, " and all are in this regard sinners, the peo- ple of America are the worst." In addition to this has been our excessive individualism which has made us suspicious of government and has demanded a free hand for every man. Other nations long ago devised a system of land conservation, and this ac- counts for the fact that such a nation as China has conserved the fertility of its soil for thousands of years. And this at once explains and justifies the statement of the Secretary of Agriculture: "We have been so bent on building up great industrial centers by every natural and artificial device, that we have had little time to think of the very founda- tions of our industrial existence." It has been as- sumed that we have had a natural monopoly in agri- culture, that it could take care of itself. And for the most part, we have cheerfully left it to do so. The story that comes from every section is substantially the same, a story of increasing tenancy and absentee ownership, of soils depleted, of inadequate business methods, of chaotic marketing and distribution, of inferior roads, of lack of supervision of public health and sanitation, of ill-organized social activi- ties, and of inferior intellectual provision. * Van Hise, " The Conservation of Natural Resources," p. 276. 130 If America Fail 2. Closely allied to this abuse of the soil has been the destruction of our forests. The forests of a country are among its most valuable assets and are related most directly to the nation's well-being. They have much to do with climate and rainfall. They are directly related to the water-supply and the condition of the soil. The presence or absence of forests in a country determines in very large mea- sure the question of a country's habitability. The disappearance of the forests in a land means its change from a garden into a desert. From history we learn that the eastern shores of the Mediter- ranean were once the homes of great cities and pros- perous peoples. The mountain region bordering east and west, extending for many miles inland, was covered with a dense forest com- prising the cedars of Lebanon, the fir and the sandalwood, covering an area of 3,500 square miles. The inhabitants of Sidon were largely engaged in cutting, hewing, and ship- ping timbers from the forests of Lebanon, and the seat of Sidon was a great lumber-market and its citizens skilled axmen.5 The region around Jerusalem was fertile and sup- ported a large population. But the forests in all that section have been destroyed, and with the de- struction of the forests has followed a disappearance of the fertile soil. The rain-bearing clouds still float above the mountains of Syria, but they pass on over the bare and heated rocks, and the brooks and small streams of Palestine no longer exist, and throughout Syria stones furnish the only material for building, and wood is as precious as silver.' " " Conference of Governors, 1908," pp. 86, 87. " " Conference of Governors, 1908," p. 87. The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 131 What has happened here has happened in a hun- dred other countries. The Mesopotamian valley in early times was a perfect garden of the Lord and supported a prosperous and teeming population. But men consumed with greed overworked the soil and neglected to restore and enrich it. Every man thought of his own interests, and so works of pub- lic improvement were neglected. Today large por- tions of that great valley are barren deserts where the sands drift and wild beasts howl. In other lands, as in India, the forests have been cut off and the hills have been washed bare. All through the East are great barren wastes never again to be inhabited by mortal man. Yet all through these lands are found the ruins of great cities, showing that the countries were once thickly populated and richly prosperous; today there are large tracts absolutely bare of soil, and the damage is beyond repair. The loss here is greater than the mere reduction of the productive power of the soil; it is the loss of the very " soil body itself." The " drying up " of these lands in Western Asia accounts in large part for the decay of the peoples. Moreover, be- cause of the drying up of the lands the people were compelled to move westward, and this explains many of the barbarian irruptions into Eastern and South- em Europe. In some of our Western States, where now we have nothing but arid wastes, there were once abundant forests, with an ample rainfall and a fertile soil. But millions of acres have been ruined beyond hope of recovery in any measurable time. The people of America have wasted their forests more wantonly and quickly than any people the world has known. The tariff on lumber has been 132 If America Fail high, and this has induced our American lumber- men to cut down our timber as fast as possible ; for the tariff might be reduced some day, and so they resolved to sell their lumber while the prices were high. As a consequence, we have played havoc with our forests and in some States have destroyed them utterly. The disastrous results of this wanton and wasteful policy are seen on every hand. The cutting off of the forests has seriously affected the climatic conditions. But worse than this, it is causing an erosion of the soil that means unparalleled w^aste and inevitable disaster. We hear much in these days of the disaster caused by floods sweeping down the river valley carrying destruction and death. But let us not forget that our folly is largely responsible for these floods. The forests in the hills have been cut down, so the waters run off and rush down the valley, working ruin as they go. In many parts of our land one can see the same causes at work that have ruined millions of acres in India and have made a doz6n deserts. One can ride through the broken country in the East and West and see nothing but the bare and blackened stumps of trees. The growth of any new forest is being pre- vented by the fires which sweep over the hills. In many cases the very soil itself is being burned out and all its life destroyed. But all the time the rains are coming and the floods are carrying away all the loose rich top soil. Slowly but fatally the hillsides are being denuded, and the barren rocks are begin- ning to appear. These rocks will bear nothing, and it will take millenniums for them ever to be covered with soil and vegetation. In some parts of our coun- try the land may be forested, and in the course of The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 133 time it will bear valuable timber. But this will re- quire five hundred years of time and the expenditure of large sums of money. This work, it is evident, must be done by the government and not by individ- uals. It costs from ten to twenty-five dollars to forest an acre of land. The price of one battle-ship would enable the government to forest at least half a million acres each year. But thus far we have more advocates for useless battle-ships than for nec- essary forests in our land. Men are interested in making and selling armor-plate to the government. But few men have any concern for the second gen- eration of people who come after us. There is one other fact in connection with the de- struction of the forests which may be noticed in passing. The average annual rainfall, for the coun- try as a whole, is about thirty inches. Some of this water runs off into the streams, but where the for- ests are found much of the water is held back and percolates into the soil. The loose and porous rocks near the surface of the earth act as a sponge and hold an immense amount of underground water. The amount of water thus held, according to W. J. McGee, is equivalent to a solid belt of water ninety- six feet deep around the earth. This water is the source of all the springs and wells ; in fact, it is the real source of a country's water-supply. Suppose that this supply of underground water in a country decreases. It is then only a question of time when the springs and wells of this country will go dry. This is precisely the result that is coming in the older sections of our country. McGee estimates that by injudicious farming and deforestation the water- table has been lowered in the United States from K 134 If America Fail ten to forty feet. He estimates that in the older parts of the country fully three-fourths of the shal- low wells and springs have failed. " The springs have dried up, the small brooks have ceased to flow, the wells have been sunk to lower levels." ' No question before the nation is more vital than this of conservation. The time was when men ac- cepted the decay and decline of a people as a dis- pensation of Providence or a historic mystery. But we know today that the main causes are to be found in the destruction of forests and the exhaustion of the soil. This is the story writ large in the unpeo- pled valleys and dead cities of Asia, Africa, Greece, and Rome.^ In the decay of nations in the past, we can read the prophecy as to what the waste of re- sources may hold in store for us. II. The Program of Conservation. 1. A program there can never be until first of all the evil against which it will be directed has been seen and felt as a hateful, destructive thing. In re- cent years many investigations have been made by various parties, by the government and private indi- viduals, and the main facts have been placed before the people. But there has been little discussion of the social and economic causes of this waste, and less emphasis upon the disastrous and fatal effects. The facts have made little impression upon the peo- ple, and where men have known the facts they have largely been indifferent. They do not see that this waste of resources is due to some serious defects in ^ Van Hise, " Conservation of Natural Resources," p. 113. * Huntington, " The Pulse of Asia " ; Sinlihovitch, in " Political Science Quarterly," June, 1916 : nnd " The Foundations of National Prosperity," Chap. I and Appendix. The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 135 our political and economic system. They do not see that the waste of resources has been one of the chief causes of the decay of nations. And so they do not realize that in permitting this waste they put a mortgage upon the hope of the nation. The first thing is to create a national conscience which will react against the evil. This monopoly of the earth and its resources is as sinful in morality as it is unwise in policy. The earth has God given to the children of men to be their home and to fur- nish them food. It is a wrong against mankind and a denial of the Creator's purpose to permit a few men to monopolize the land and to hold its resources against their fellows. This must be affirmed till it has become the working faith of the nation. The churches have an obligation at this point which they must meet. They should understand the teaching of Scripture and the purpose of the Creator with refer- ence to the earth and its resources; they should in- terpret the will of God on this question and create an informed and active conscience. They should say that men who grow rich by monopolizing the people's resources, thereby making the people's fuel dear and the workingman's home narrow, are among the chief sinners of the land ; and they should refuse to put their money, the price of human life, into their treasury. They should make the facts known to the people and make men realize the essential immo- rality of monopoly. They should teach that the peo- ple can be robbed by monopoly as really as by sneak- thievery, and that the latter is the less injurious of the two. Holding land out of use for speculative purposes is a fatal wrong against the people. It forces up the price of land and drives people from 136 If America Fail the soil. It causes congestion of population in cities and is largely responsible for the high cost of living. It creates unrest among the people and goads them into revolt. One of two results always follows: Either the nation falls into decay, or the disin- herited children of the soil turn upon their op- pressors and rend them. If land monopoly is al- lowed to grow and continue here it will breed all the evils of feudalism and landlordism. Unless it is remedied the people will be stung to madness and will destroy their oppressors. 2. The nation must guarantee to the people their equities in the national heritage. That portion of the earth possessed by a nation is the common heri- tage of the people. This principle is fundamental in the law and custom of every people in the earth. In practically all ancient communities of which we have any knowledge, the community was recognized as the owner of the land.^ The land and its re- sources were held as a common possession. These principles are fundamental in the Old Testament legislation, and are inwrought into the very life of the chosen people. " The earth is the Lord's," de- clared the old law ; " this earth has he given to the children of men " for their use and enjoyment. For this reason the land was not to be sold in perpetuity ; it must not fall into the hands of aliens ; it must be held in trust for the people of all generations. In the settlement of the Promised Land it was allotted by tribes, and the tribal share was apportioned to families. The family, not the individual, owned the soil, and the people were answerable to Jehovah for the use they made of their heritage. » Ency. Brit. art. " Land." The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 137 Political justice recognizes the right of every per- son to the full protection of the law, to the enjoy- jnent of all his rights and immunities, and to a voice in the questions that affect his welfare. Every per- son born into the nation has an equal right with every other person born here, to be in the earth, and to have an equity in the common inheritance. He is not here by the sufferance of some landowner, but with a citizen's right in the land. As Washington Gladden has affirmed,^*' " No man's right to private property in land can be so sacred as every man's right to standing-room on the surface of the earth." This does not mean that the earth and its re- sources are to be divided pro rata among the people from time to time ; in fact, it means the opposite of that. It does not mean that no person shall have possession of any portion of the earth and its re- sources; as a matter of fact, it assures a real and valid use-possession. The state may wisely permit the individual to use a portion of the earth ; it may permit the private use of water-power and forests; it may allow individuals to mine coal and iron. But in all cases the state must safeguard the rights of every member of society so that each may receive an heir's portion in some form of social advantage. We cannot here discuss the question of property in general, nor consider how far individual owner- ship of the earth and its resources may be permitted. That is one of the questions coming up for a hear- ing in the next generation, and we cannot forestall it or forecast the outcome, but in the future society should affirm in a much clearer way than in the past, that the person is a trustee for the nation, and 10 Gladden, " Tools and the Man," p, 79, 138 If America Fail may therefore be called upon to give an account of his trusteeship. In the last analysis the final title to the earth is vested in the nation, not in the indi- vidual — a principle fundamental in all civilized leg- islation, though often nullified in practise. No man can hold absolute title to any bit of earth against society ; his possession is always limited by the ques- tion of public welfare. The Constitution provides that no private property can be taken for public uses without due process of law ; but it provides that society may assert its prior claim over that of an individual and may take whatever action is neces- sary to protect the rights and promote the welfare of the people. A man has a natural right to all he makes and earns ; but he cannot show a natural right and title to land and its resources. Society grants the right to use-possession but never forfeits the right of altering and limiting the title as it judges necessary. The question of state ownership of land and its resources may be open to debate; the prin- ciple of state control should be self-evident. 3. The nation must conserve the national re- sources for the generations that are to come. In every land there are many men who care only for themselves and their own gains. They regard life as a game of grab. They frankly say, " Posterity never did anything for us." Like Louis XV. they are willing to feast though after them may come the deluge. They would enrich themselves though in so doing they mortgage and destroy the heritage of the people. The nation represents all of the peo- ple for today and for all the days. In the great words of Burke, " The nation is indeed a partner- ship, not only between those who are living, but be- The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 139 tween those who are dead and those who are to be born." Suppose that the nation should permit the individuals of one generation to own and control the earth's resources as they please, to use the coal and soil wastefully, to cut off the forests and en- danger the streams, and thereby to squander these resources. In that case it has permitted the great- est wrong that can be committed; it has permitted a wrong not only against the present generation but against all generations. No one generation should be permitted to waste and misuse the earth's re- sources and thereby compel the people of later gen- erations to inherit an impoverished soil and a wasted heritage. Yet this is precisely the wrong that is allowed today in this land and in many lands. " But may I not do as I please with my own ? " says the man who is using and misusing the earth and its resources. The sufficient answer is this, that the earth and its resources are never your own to do with as you please. Society has a right, older and higher than the right of the individual, which it never can and never does surrender. The state, which represents all of the people and all generations of life, has a very clear and positive duty under these circumstances. It must not per- mit the soil to be overworked and impoverished. It must not allow the forests to be destroyed and thereby cause needless floods and soil erosion. It must not allow coal to be mined in an utterly waste- ful way. It must supervise the processes of coke- making far enough to prevent a needless waste of fuel. To sum up : There must be such a control of the earth and its resources, its soil and forests, its coal and iron, its oil and streams, as shall secure 140 If America Fail from these the largest uses for all the people and for other generations. There are only these alter- natives before us: Either we must have state own- ership and control of the earth and its resources, or we must have such a full control as shall prevent waste and safeguard the equities of all the people. To permit monopoly of the earth and waste of its resources is a crime against the human race. 4. In carrying out this program there will natu- rally be a survey of the natural resources of the coun- try, and as an outcome, a long, comprehensive, con- structive policy of use and conservation. It may not be possible to indicate all of the steps to the goal ; it is possible to have " a sense of direction " and to be sure that we are really moving in the right direction. We cannot reasonably go on in the pres- ent confused and aimless way, by which we either hinder the proper development of our resources or allow profit-hunters to obtain priceless privileges and exploit the people. Accepted scientific princi- ples must be the basis of our program. Some items in a policy of conservation are self- evident. For instance, our water-power must not be permitted to lie waste and unused. But in the desire to have it utilized we should not give it over to be monopolized by private individuals or corpora- tions to the disadvantage of the people. It is esti- mated that there is enough water-power running to waste in the one State of Pennsylvania to be more than equivalent to all the coal mined in the United States, This water-power, if carefully safeguarded for the people and not permitted to become a mo- nopoly, can produce light, heat, and power at greatly reduced rates and thereby benefit the people. The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 141 There must be a large program of forest conser- vation and reforestation. In some parts of the land millions of acres can be forested in the course of time, thereby changing the flood situation and preserving the water flow. The savings due to pre- vention of floods in any one year would go far in providing for the necessary expense. But losses are diffused and individual, and a policy of conservation must be a national matter. More than that, it will be necessary to adopt a five-hundred-year program if the work is to be done thoroughly. Can a democ- racy develop the spirit of solidarity sufficiently to warrant such a program ? Will the people of today be willing to spend money on improvements that will not yield direct returns for a hundred years ? Some system of nationalization of the land and its resources may become necessary, at least a sys- tem whereby it shall be required that the man who would handle natural resources must obtain permis- sion to do so, and must render an account of his stewardship to society. In a more specific way it may be necessary for society by some system of progressive taxation to claim the unearned increment in land values. By some method of land tax it may be well to place the main tax on land values, and thereby make unprof- itable the speculative holding of the land and its resources. In the time to come no doubt society will itself own and control all natural resources such as coal, iron, oil, timber, and water-power. What- ever may be the full and final policy of society, pro- vision should be made now that no natural resources shall be alienated in perpetuity. In every case where individuals or corporations have the use of 142 If America Fail natural resources, the franchise should be for a limited term. It should be made a criminal offense to issue stocks or bonds beyond the actual invest- ment. The rights of the people should be fully safe- guarded in matters of service and rates; and so- ciety should insist that the holder of a privilege meet his obligations to the nation. Everything pos- sible must be done to prevent the monopoly of the earth's resources and speculation in land values, to discourage the growth of great landed estates, and to encourage the widest diffusion of property. In our country there is an effort being made to take people out of overcrowded cities and settle them upon farms. " Get back to the land," is the cry today. But there is a need more fundamental and urgent than this : " Get back the land." This may well be the watchword of the nation for the next generation. This program of conservation demands some thorough-going changes in the spirit and policy of the nation. It demands a social mind in the rank and file of the people, a willingness to view things in their social relations and in the light of the com- mon welfare. It demands the forward look, the imagination to think of those who come after us and to plan for their well-being. But we might as well admit it, this type of mind is not common. In a sense our teaching and our maxims have been the opposite of this. We have emphasized liberty and individuality, the right of each to seek his own in- terest, the duty of society to let business alone. Posterity has never done anything for us; the in- terests of coming generations pay no dividends on investments. For these reasons the attempt to work The Conservation of Our Natural Resources 143 out a long and comprehensive national policy of conservation of the nation's resources will be strongly resisted. The effort to make effective a policy which might mean the taking over of oil- wells, coal-mines and water-power — to use concrete illustrations — would provoke bitter opposition from some sources. Men would quote the old doctrines of economics and would ask that industry be " let alone." They would seek the defeat of public offi- cials who favored such measures, and would use their powers to shake public credit and precipitate a financial panic. They have done such things in the past, and they may attempt such things in the future. But whatever should be done, can be done and will be done. Salus populi suprenm lex. So- ciety cannot leave the person alone and permit him to do as he pleases. Society insists that every per- son who lives in society and enjoys its benefits shall submit to social control and shall have his conduct tested by its social results. In the same way a cor- poration or a business cannot be permitted to do as it pleases in methods and results, without reference to the common good. A world in which every man did as he pleased, would be a chaos. A society in which the principle obtains of every interest for itself, would be a world of disinherited men." The welfare of the nation must be the supreme concern of each. We never shall make much prog- ress toward the better order till we learn to rise above self and class and view each question and program in the light of the social whole. The own- ers of wealth, the leaders of industry, must think of themselves as trustees of the nation. And every " Small, In " American Journal of Sociology," March, 1916. 144 If America Fail one who owns a farm or cuts a tree, must have the same sense of responsibility. As yet there is scarcely a glimmering of responsibility in the case of the vast majority of people.^^ ,^kis demands a new kind of patriotism, the love of country which will lead men to take thought for all and hold pos- sessions in trust for the generations to follow. It demands that each surrender his individualism, not for a year, but for life ; not only in personal moral- ity, but in social well-being. This demands that all cooperate in such a system as will ensure supervision and control of industry by society itself in the interests of all. Some of this work of control may be done by custom, some of it will come through moral and voluntary control of men. But we cannot depend upon these alone, for they are subject to fluctuation and are somewhat indefinite. In the last analysis much of it must be done by society itself through the state, which is the most representative institution of life, the im- partial arbiter of the common welfare.^^ In fine, this brings us to the question of a socialized national life, the subject of another chapter. 1- Van Hise, " The Conservation of Natural Resources," p. 375. " Batten, " The Christian State," pp. 245-254. VIII THE PRACTISE OF DEMOCRACY It is the mission of America, as we believe, to real- ize the democratic ideal in the national life. In the prophetic words of Lincoln at Gettysburg, America is a nation " conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are equal." But de- mocracy is one of those great ideas that, like the horizon, widens as we move toward it. Like reve- lation, it is sufficient for today, and yet is ever and ever opening new pages of wisdom and truth. Like the kingdom of God, it is already here in process and yet is always to come in fulness. The demo- cratic ideal, for the present at least, is an unfalter- ing aspiration that calls to an unending adventure. The World War, whatever may be the changes it will make in the world's geography, represents the close of one age and the beginning of a new epoch. That war began as a European struggle; it devel- oped into a world revolution. It broke up the old order and threw things into a state of flux. During that war the institutions of society were tested and tried as never before, and some of them were found weak and defective. That war, in so far as America is concerned, was conducted to free mankind from autocracy and to make the world safe for democ- racy. But paradoxical as it may seem, democracy itself has been placed on trial and has been com- pelled to justify itself in universal history. The 145 146 If America Fail war tested our institutions and strained some of them at many points. The long period of recon- struction will test those institutions yet more se- verely and will show the real value of democracy. If the world is to be made safe for democracy we must know what democracy means and what it in- volves. And if democracy is to have its way men must know whether it is safe for the world. In a word, we must note the full meaning and wider implications of democracy; we must know whither events are tending and gain a clear sense of direc- tion. If democracy is to have its perfect work it must inspire the nation's faith and guide the peo- ple's purpose. We must note some of the new mean- ings of democracy and the new demands that are upon us. I. The Unfinished Story of Democracy Three great things, it has been said, are implied in democracy: liberty, equality, and fraternity. In the generations past, emphasis has fallen upon the first and second of these ideals. Thus far, however, we have not fully interpreted the third ideal, re- lated it to the other two, and noted the result. 1. The story of liberty is one of the most glorious and fascinating stories in the world; a story man- kind must never forget. That they might be free, men have jeopardized everything, counting not their lives dear unto themselves. That they might be free, they have toiled and suffered, preferring starvation and exile to subjection. And their faith and toil have not been in vain ; for step by step the soul has gained its freedom, and syllable by syllable the meaning of liberty has been spelled out in Magna The Practise of Democracy 147 Cartas and Declarations of Independence. The in- dividual has been emancipated, his rights have been defined and safeguarded in constitutional guaranties. Two things we notice in passing but cannot stop to discuss. The story of Liberty thus far is almost wholly a story of negatives. Thus the two great charters of human liberty, the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence, are both largely negative in form and assert the right of man to be free from all arbitrary restraint and ex- ternal exactions. This is what may be called the Nay of liberty, and while it is something, it is not the whole story. True liberty, we begin to see, is a positive thing, and to consider its negative aspect alone is to miss its high and divine significance.^ And this exclusive emphasis upon liberty has led to a false philosophy of life and duty which has had serious consequences. " The modern state," says Amiel ^ with keen intuition, is founded on the philosophy of atomism. Nationality, pub- lic spirit, tradition, national manners, disappear like so many hollow and worn-out entities; nothing remains to create movement but the action of molecular force and of dead weight. In such a theory liberty is identical with caprice, and the collective reason and age-long tradition of an old society are nothing more than soap-bubbles which the small- est urchin may shiver with a snap of his fingers. Democracy construed in this partial way means po- litical disintegration. It is evident that this is not the full meaning of democracy. 2. During the nineteenth century some of the meaning and power of the second great word — ' Batten, " Christian State," Chap. X. ^ Amiel, " Journal," p. 102. 148 If America Fail equality — has been defined in constitutional amend- ments. But equality, like liberty, has been largely a doctrine of negatives. It has been a denial of in- equalities, a leveling down. It has denied that king or noble is better or higher than the common man. It has denied the right of any man to any privilege not equally open to all. True equality, like true liberty, is a positive thing. It asserts the essential and inherent worthf ulness of every man, that the terms peasant and noble are purely formal and have no real significance. It therefore means a leveling up. It does not mean, of course, that men are alike in endowments and aptitudes. But it does mean that men are equal in their right to a place on earth and a lifetime in our world. It means that men are equal in their claim in the national heritage and their right to fair op- portunity in life. In the state it means that no man shall possess prerogatives which are not equally open to all. And in society and industry it means that men are to cooperate as partners and live together as brothers. Thus, both liberty and equality lead to fraternity, and never find their meaning till they so meet. The interpretation of liberty and equality in the light of fraternity; the practise of fraternity in relation to equality and liberty — this is one of the great tasks before the world today. In a large sense it may be said that liberty was the message of the eighteenth century, equality was the message of the nineteenth, and fraternity will be the message of this twentieth century. Then the centuries beyond must coordinate these three words and realize their larger meanings. 3. Nineteen hundred years ago the Son of man The Practise of Democracy 149 gave to the world the idea of human brotherhood and translated the truth into life and deed. While this idea has been confessed by men in all genera- tions, it has been very slow in getting itself realized in the thought and life of society. It has found ex- pression in the church and the family, in the prayer-meeting and the missionary society; it has had a partial realization in medieval brotherhoods and mystical orders, in trade guilds and secret so- cieties. But in a very hesitating and fumbling way it has been expressed in political policies and pro- grams. In these latter days the spirit of brother- hood is at work and is seeking a new expression and full realization. The church is teaching it ; " fra- ternal orders and labor-unions profess it; industry asks for it; legislation is feeling its influence; in a stammering way political platforms are writing out its appeal; civic programs are trying to interpret it; international congresses are confessing its au- thority." The people are in expectation and are waiting for some one to lead them into the kingdom of brotherhood. The supreme issue in every politi- cal, social, industrial, international issue is the ques- tion of brotherhood. The eternal conscience of the race is voicing a protest against everything that denies and hinders brotherhood and arrays man against man and nation against nation. The race is growing a determination to make brotherhood a fact in the life of the world. And democracy is the attempt to translate the principle of brotherhood into political and social life. All that brotherhood means no one can fully say at this time of day. But whatever it means in the Church and family it must also mean in State and L 150 If America Fail nation. It certainly means that all men are made of one blood and share in one life; that they are equal in status and should be in opportunity; that every life has meaning and value ; that all are mem- bers one of another; that each is hurt in the hurt of his fellows ; that all are bound in the bondage of one, and each can become free in the freedom of many; that power means responsibility, and they who are strong are to labor for the good of those who are weak ; that a nation is one great family in which each has a place and should have an oppor- tunity ; that the resources of the nation are the heri- tage of all, and each should be guaranteed his equity ; that the intelligence and power, the resources and machinery of the nation are to be held in trust for the people and used for the common welfare. In a word, the principle of brotherhood is just as valid and authoritative in the State as in the Church; it is the inspiration of the prayer-meeting and of gov- ernmental policy. That this should seem strange doctrine to so many people in our day, shows how slow we are to believe in Christ and how far we are from full democracy. In a large sense the interpre- tation of brotherhood is the chief task of this com- ing century. II. The Positive Meaning of Democracy The meaning of democracy must now be inter- preted in the light of these three great words, and its positive aspects and social obligations must be emphasized. Democracy has glorified liberty ; it has encouraged individual initiative and has set a premium upon personality. Democracy has opened a career for The Practise of Democracy 151 talent; it has given each man a free hand to make all the money he could; it has given a man a fair chance and told him to look out for himself. But it has given away the nation's soil to individual owners without any reserved rights; it has given away the nation's resources and has allowed indi- viduals to waste those resources and exploit them against the people. What is the result? Men have given themselves to their own interests, to money- making and to pleasure-seeking, and have neglected their civic and social obligations. They have re- garded their own individual interests as supreme and have used government as a means to their own ends. They have cut down the forests, overworked the soil, exploited the natural resources without any concern for other people or other generations. They have favored every measure that promised to ad- vance their interests and have opposed anything that limited the individual by the common welfare. This reign of liberty and individualism has led to the rule of self-interest in society and individualism in politics. It is in a large part the cause of the corruption in our cities, the dominance of monopoly, the waste of our national heritage, and the rise of the social problem. We are told sometimes that it is the glory of de- mocracy to create a man and let him be. This is but a half truth, and by itself it may be whole error. It is rather the high glory of democracy to create a nation in which the welfare of all is the concern of each. Some have praised America because here each was free to do as he pleased and to seek his own profit. We must learn to love America because it offers such a field of service for the common good. 152 If America Fail This demands and implies a new conception of pa- triotism, a new social conscience, a new social sys- tem, a new constructive program of social service. Democracy must now complete its message in voluntary service for the common welfare. As it has made much of liberty, of rights and privileges, so now it must make more of service, of obligations, of duties. We must see that every right implies a duty and carries an obligation. We must know that a man's privileges must always be measured by his social obligations. We must make it plain that the advantage of all, and not the enrichment of a few, is the final aim. We must require each man so to use the nation's resources that the generations who come after us shall have a good heritage and not a worn-out land. We must learn to think of the state not as an evil, something opposed to man's true wel- fare, but rather as the medium of the mutual sacri- fices and services of the people. The story of democracy thus far is a glorious one ; but it is an unfinished story. If it should end here it would not justify democracy in universal history. No society can long exist without disci- pline and control, without the cooperation of all and self-sacrifice for the common welfare. Democracy does not mean less discipline and social control than a monarchy, but very much more. The main differ- ence lies not in the amount of social control but in its incidence. In a monarchy it is control imposed upon the people; in a democracy it is control self- imposed. Democracy does not mean less social coop- eration and self-sacrifice than an aristocracy; it means much more; but it is sacrifice and limitation self-chosen. Can democracy create this spirit and en- The Practise of Democracy 153 force this lesson ? Can it train men in the practise of voluntary self-sacrifice for the common good? That it has not fully achieved this end, the waste of our re- sources, the condition of our cities, the grovv^th of mo- nopoly, the acuteness of the social problem, show most plainly. That democracy may spell out its full message and fulfil its unfinished task, fraternity must be the theme of the patriot's thought, the burden of the people's prayer, the object of the statesman's ef- fort and the passion of every citizen's life. III. The Extension of Democracy Democracy is government " of the people, by the people, and for the people." In the last analysis this defines the difference between democracy and all other forms of the state. In so far as we have this direct participation of the people in the affairs of government, we have democracy. In our land we have approximated a political government which rests upon the consent of the governed. We need not here discuss the question whether this demo- cratic experiment has worked well or ill. As a mat- ter of fact, it has not accomplished all that was ex- pected of it. At best, democracy has been but an approximation and has never had a full chance. More than that, we now see that democracy can never achieve its best results in one sphere of life alone. We must realize the democratic principle all along the line of life if we would have a real democ- racy in any one realm. In human thought and life there are several great, architectonic principles, as fundamental as life and as wide-reaching as the nature of man, and the prin- ciple of democracy is one. For a democracy, we 154 If America Fail have begun to realize, is less a form of government than a confession of faith. It is the recognition of common aims and common hopes. It is an effort to realize in society the great fundamental truths of Christianity — liberty, equality, and fraternity. Since this is so, the democratic principle is a universal principle; it cannot be limited to any one sphere or relation of life; to limit it in any way is treason against the very idea itself. Hence democracy will never be more than a name till it is universalized in scope and applied all along the line. The name of democracy is one thing and the fact of democracy quite another. In the long run also a people must either abandon its democratic faith or it must prac- tise it in the whole of life. The exigency in our land and the spirit of the times demand that the principle of democracy be extended and applied in what may be called the so- cial and industrial realms of life. It is impossible here to enter upon a discussion of this task in all its breadth and meaning.^ This, however, may be noted : During the past century and a half the state has become more democratic, and democracy here is an approximation at least. Yet during this time in- dustry has become more and more autocratic; and today the great industries are autocratic in the ex- treme. Meanwhile, modern conditions have brought a realization to men that political democracy, with- out industrial democracy, is but apples of ashes. This is the underlying principle in the industrial struggle of our time ; it is a struggle for industrial democracy that shall secure for the people some- ' In another volume, " The Christian State." Chan. V.. on " The Un- finished Task of Democracy," the writer has considered some of the meaning of this problem ; and he may refer to that book. The Practise of Democracy 155 thing' of the same liberty and equality that political democracy has attained in political life. The strug- gle is for fundamental democracy, and no mistakes that men may make, no misconception of the pro- gram, may be allowed to blind us to the real issue. We cannot permanently maintain a civic state based upon democratic principles, while living in an industrial society that is oligarchic in form and spirit. " What I do say," wrote Abraham Lincoln, " is this ; that no man is good enough to rule over his fellow without that other's consent." We have accepted this saying as true in its political bearings ; but if the saying is true at all, it is just as true in economic and industrial affairs. " Give a man power over my substance," wrote Alexander Hamilton in " The Federalist," " and you have given him power over my whole moral being." Equality of political rights must lead to equality of social opportunity. Universal suffrage almost demands that every one shall be a proprietor. It is a contradiction that the people should be at once sovereign and miserable.* Man cannot be sovereign in one part of life and an underling in another. We cannot have a gov- ernment of the people where wealth, which is the basis of life, is by the few and for the few. Wealth, like government, springs from all the people, and therefore must be for all the people. If manhood is dishonored and certain inalienable rights are tra- versed when men are ruled from above and are taxed without their consent, manhood is no less dis- honored and man's rights no less overridden when a few men control the industries of a land and de- termine the conditions of trade. Democracy is lit- * DeLaveleye, " Contemporary Review," 1S83. 156 If America Fail tie else than a name in an economic and industrial oligarchy. In a word, the democratic principle must be so extended as to insure a social and industrial democracy. Industrial democracy means that the parties in an industry are partners in the enterprise and every man has an equity in the business. The men who unite their lives in an enterprise, thereby become partners and should regard one another as such. Some men may invest money and oversight ; others may invest labor and life. But in all and through all the idea of partnership should ever remain in the foreground and determine the relation of the partners and the conduct of the industry. Each must seek the advantage of all, and all must be concerned for the welfare of each. Some equitable and satisfactory basis of copartnership must be found whereby the gains or losses of the enterprise shall be shared alike by all. Further, since the en- terprise is a partnership, all questions concerning it must be adjusted by the voice of all the partners. Every question that concerns the industry, salaries, hours, conditions, dividends, must be submitted to the council or court representing all the parties and must be determined by it. The wages paid must be based upon a full knowledge of the facts of the busi- ness. The profits of the enterprise must be shared equitably by all the partners. This means that there shall be such a combination of labor and capital in the same hands as shall give every man a stake in the enterprise and a voice in its management. It means that a man, who is something more than a cog in a machine and a hand in a factory, shall have a voice in determining the The Practise of Democracy 157 conditions of his work and a fair share in the profits of the industry. It means that the system of co- operation and profit-sharing in both production and distribution, shall be so extended as to provide for the eventual democratization of industrial life. It means that the wealth which is created by all shall be shared by all ; that the product of industry shall be distributed on principles of equity that represent the judgment of all parties; and that an effort shall be made to distribute the product according to the contribution and needs of all. It means further, that an effort shall be made to lift the burden of poverty from every life and give it a true inheri- tance in society. It means that wealth, which is a social product and is a social stewardship, shall recognize its obligations and shall be held in trust for the public weal. It means that in modern so- ciety, as in ancient Rome, where the testamentary disposition of property is allowed, this privilege conferred on the heir shall always be coupled with duties to be performed and trusts to be discharged by him. It does not mean an equal distribution of the wealth of the nation, and it does not deny the right of the person to possess and use the property he has made. But it does mean that they who ren- der no service to society shall receive no income, and the profit of those who toil shall not be ex- pended by those who are idle. It does not mean that all men have equal capacity, make equal con- tributions to society, or shall have equal income. But it does mean that capacity shall be honored wherever it is found, and that an effort shall be made to develop capacity in all. It means that no man shall have less than his share in the total product, 158 If America FaU and no other man shall have more than his just earnings. We have real democracy just so far as every man has place and standing in society, is able to do his best, make his contribution toward the values of society, and freely cooperate in behalf of the com- mon good. We call that government feudal, where things are done for the people without any coopera- tion on their part. It does not matter how or where this feudalism manifests itself, in Church, in State, or in industry; it is partial and negative, and thus far falls below the Christian faith and the demo- cratic idea. We are attaining to democracy just so far as all of the people are free to choose, each has a partner's share in the things that concern his wel- fare, and all are able to cooperate consciously to- ward common ends. This democracy of industry is necessary if de- mocracy itself is more than a name; if we would solve the social problem; if we would prevent the rise of a great industrial proletariat, a sodden mass of sullen and discontented people, at once a menace to the nation and a denial to our American idea. It is the only thing that can bring industrial peace and can fulfil the democratic ideal. IV. The Democracy of All Life If democracy is a valid principle in one realm of life it must be a valid principle for all life. But if it is a valid principle at all, its warrant must lie deep in the nature of man and the meaning of so- ciety. We cannot discuss in detail the underlying philosophy; but this work needs to be carefully done. We may note this, however, that democracy The Practise of Democracy 159 is implied in the Christian conception of man and society ; it is a fundamental principle of human as- sociation ; it is necessary if humanity is to fulfil its appointed task, and it must be attained if Chris- tianity is to become regnant among men. Democracy assumes that the processes of society have some meaning and end. It assumes that the work of society can be done only by the effort and cooperation of all its members. It assumes that every life has some meaning and value and can make some contribution to the total meaning and values of society. It assumes further, that this con- tribution of each, to have a real meaning and value, must be voluntary. Plato defined a slave as one who accepts from another the purposes which control his conduct. Men do not become free till they un- derstand the process of which they are a part and cooperate freely to its success. If therefore the processes of society, whether religious, political, or economic, are to be human and fraternal, they must be democratic in spirit and form. And if democracy is to be a reality, all people, both men and women, must possess equal rights and must cooperate as citizens. And what does the practise of democracy involve ? It certainly involves much more than many people suppose, and makes demands which not all are pre- pared to meet. It clearly demands the imagination to look beyond self and see the common good, the willingness to subordinate self and cooperate for the common life, the development of a comprehensive national discipline, the ability to do team-work and thereby to make the nation fully efficient. The whole meaning of democracy must be spoken 160 If America Fail and the whole message followed. Democracy is a form of government, but it is much more. It is an ideal and a fact. It is a faith and a practise. It must be an ideal, a chivalry, a faith, an interest that sanctifies all lesser interests, a passion which can evoke the fullest devotion of all. And it must be the daily practise of a people, the cause for which men lose their lives and by losing really find their lives, the unceasing effort to lift the daily task to the level of the highest ideal. Many people, even in America, question the practicability of democ- racy. But for good or ill democracy has begun, and it is too late to draw back. Is democracy working badly? Then we have not worked it fully. Is de- mocracy under a cloud? Then the cure for poor democracy is more democracy. We must learn the Yea of democracy, develop its positive and con- structive message. A democracy of negatives is played out. A democracy of atomism means na- tional disintegration. A democracy of self-interest and group struggle can never win the day. A de- mocracy without cohesion and discipline has no great future. We must interpret the democratic principle in its positive and constructive meaning. We must cease to construe everything in terms of individual pref- erence and group interest, and must learn to think in terms of national welfare and national life. We cannot fulfil our mission and make our calling sure merely by a maximum of economic prosperity and political independence. We can attain these ends only by a large measure of self-discipline and self- denial. We cannot realize the full meaning and glory of our democracy by making a few rich men The Practise of Democracy 161 possible, but by making the rank of men brotherly. Liberty, individualism, individual initiative, the en- joyment of our rights, are all good and all neces- sary. But fraternity, social service, the fulfilment of our duties, are also good and wholly necessary. Will the nation learn the lesson and undergo a change of heart? Will the people repent of their self-seeking and learn to live for the common good ? Will men put away their excessive individualism, which is the essence of all sin, and find their life in the life of all? The future is uncertain. Self- interest stands in the way. The financial systems will resist. Men who have special privileges will not willingly surrender. In the name of liberty men will oppose all social control and will resent all interference with business. Democracy rests upon the worth of the common man. That we may be a democratic people castes and classes must be abolished. The people must be unified so that they shall be one in spirit, in mind, and in purpose. The different nationalities with their diverse traits and different ideals must be fused so that we shall have one American type. Conflicting classes, whether social or industrial, are as un-American in spirit as they are dangerous in tendency. This does not mean a dead level of uni- formity in ideals, in pursuits, and in traits; but it does mean the unity of the spirit and the absence of class strife. We must enkindle in the people a faith in our national calling and destiny; we must create in all, old and young alike, a vision of the one ideal and a loyalty to the common life; other- wise we face the disunion of the Republic into races and creeds, into sectionalism and localism, into class 162 If America Fail warfare between capital and labor ; into selfish indi- vidualism rather than nationalism.^ The democratic idea is the interpretation into so- cial and political terms of some fundamental prin- ciples of Christianity. It aflfirms that every man's life is sacred, that every human personality is worthy of honor, that every man is called to live and to sacrifice for the common good. Democracy, which is the confession of brotherhood in political relations, is confidence in the downmost man and a regard for his personality. So far as democracy is true to itself and its origin, it believes in the pos- sibilities of this downmost man and seeks to create in him the full citizen's consciousness. It believes that the highest goods of life are for all men ; and so it seeks to bring these goods within the reach of every man. The believer in democracy cannot rest so long as a single soul is ignorant and unfit for citizenship. The whole democratic faith is at stake so long as there are classes in society which are sunken and submerged. Democracy is not an end but a means. The end of democracy is not merely to set man free from outside masters, to give him a vote in the state and a chance to hold some public office. It is not to sweep aM^ay some old forms of government and adopt new forms and new terms. This is to mistake form for substance and to cheapen the whole process. There is a great task going forward in this world, and each man is called to have some share in it. It takes all of us together to work out the task of humanity. The social process demands the cooperation of all and the contribution of each. • • Eellor, " straight America," p. 42. The Practise of Democracy 163 That this may be secured, each person must be free from outside compulsion, free to see the end and choose it for himself. He must have some place and standing in society, some power of moral ini- tiative, some ability to order his own life. He must become a conscious partner in processes of society and have some voice in every issue. The end of every institution and government is the cooperation of all in behalf of the welfare of all. Democracy as a means is necessary, divine, be- cause it provides the means and machinery for this cooperation, this search of all after justice, brother- hood, progress, perfection. Democracy as an end is purely negative, partial, ineffective. Democracy as a means is positive, complete, potent. Now we find men free to seek the great ends of life for them- selves, glad to serve the common good, and finding in the institutions of society so many agencies through which they can cooperate in behalf of social progress. Dare we be a democratic people ? Are we willing to follow the democratic ideal whithersoever it may lead? That is the deeper issue in our American life. A people has as much democracy as it prac- tises and no more. Democracy is possible only with a democratically minded people. Many do not know what democracy means. Others are not willing to go the whole length with their ideals. But democ- racy is like Christianity itself ; it must be all or it is nothing. The nation cannot endure half democratic and half feudal. We must have a democracy of all life or we shall have no democracy at all. We must practise democracy or we shall lose it." « Roberts, " The Unfinished Programme of Democracy." IX THE DISCIPLINE OF THE NATION "The tents have been struck," says Gen. Jan C. Smuts, " and the caravan of humanity once more is on the march." This is a dynamic and not a static world. New ideals are coming above the horizon; there is a rising tide of aspiration in the hearts of men. Things will be different from this time for- ward. Mighty changes are impending in the struc- ture of society and the life of nations. Whether these changes will be for the better or the worse, whether men will behold the true pole-star and have the larger vision, or will make the Great Refusal and miss the kingdom, may depend upon the atti- tude and action of this generation. Will Church and State, school and home, hear the call of Provi- dence and give the nation a wise and brave leader- ship ; or will they fail to hear, hesitate and tempor- ize, and be content with half measures? Will the changes be haphazard and unintelligent, the mere shifting of material interests and political parties, or will they be directed and dominated by the moral and spiritual forces of society? In a word, will they come through revolution and bloodshed, or through conscious evolution under the direction of reason and righteousness? Things cannot go on as they have gone in the nation without inviting disaster; they ought not to go on as they have in a democratic and Christian order. 164 The Discipline of the Nation 165 In the nation today everything is in a state of flux. Events in the world and the providence of God have heated the furnace seven times hot. Into that fur- nace have gone the materials of our life, the ideas and ideals of men, the policies and institutions of society. Some dross has separated itself from the pure metal and has risen to the surface. Down be- low the glowing metal is seething and heaving, im- patient to be drawn off into molds that shall fix its form and use. There has not been such an hour in the history of the nation, and there may never be such another hour so full of fateful possibilities. It is easy to shape the pattern and pour the flowing metal. It is hard to change the mold and file a cold casting. This suggests the question that is supremely important ; upon it depends the future of the Repub- lic and the success of our democracy. The present generation must set the pattern for the new na- tional life. We must prepare the mold into which the molten metal shall be run. What are the ideas and ideals, the institutions and policies of today that are to shape the nation's life of tomorrow? I. The Passing of the Old Individualism Democracy makes heavy demands upon the rank and file of men. It implies the interest and com- petency of the average man in political matters. It demands the active service and willing cooperation of all in behalf of public measures. But as every man knows, the American people have most sig- nally failed at this point. They are unwilling to pay the price of citizenship. Some of this is due to the national inertia of men ; much of it is due M 166 If America Fail to an individual preoccupation with financial inter- ests. They have not been willing to bear their share of the burdens of the state. This is seen in the matter of taxation. In few American communities are taxes levied and collected with fairness. This is due in part to our antiquated and arbitrary sys- tem of taxation, but no less to the unwillingness of men to pay their share. Some of the rich men of the country are notorious tax-dodgers. More than one man who in life stood high in business and church circles, after death, when his estate was set- tled, has stood disclosed as a perjured tax-dodger. In many of our cities men of large property inter- ests find it convenient to uphold the political ma- chine. By this attitude they can be handled lightly by the tax-collector. To be an independent in poli- tics is often to be victimized by unfair assessment and pay an unfair tax-rate. Americans have very little interest in civic mat- ters. During a presidential campaign it is possible to awaken some interest and get out the voters. In other elections, where local issues and candidates are concerned, it is very difficult to enlist their co- operation. Yet these local measures are those which touch most vitally the welfare of the people and con- stitute the real test of democracy. Men have gone off, one to his books, another to his office, and have turned civic politics over to the machine politicians and the special interests. The result is that city government in America has become a public scandal. It is wasteful and in- efficient. Perhaps in no country in the world have the cities as little to show for the money spent. The business house that managed its affairs in such a The Discipline of the Nation 167 wasteful and inefficient way would be ruined in a month. Some years ago President Andrew D. White said that the worst-governed city in Europe was better managed that the best-governed city in America. It is true that some notable gains have been made in a few cities ; boss rule has been broken, and the people have taken affairs into their own con- trol. But the people soon lose interest, and things fall back into the same old hands. It takes a moral earthquake to arouse the people ; and even then it is exceedingly difficult to keep them attentive to their public business. It is doubly difficult to secure effi- cient government because special interests are for- ever raising false issues to deceive the people and are ever on the watch to serve themselves. City government in America is civic inefficiency tem- pered by the fear of a moral upheaval. In the last few years, as every one knows, " invisible govern- ment" has been a fact. The great financial and commercial interests of the country are pretty closely allied today, and they are able to exert their power at any one point. They control a large pro- portion of the newspapers of the country. The aver- age newspaper is owned by a stock corporation; and the large shareholders are the financial and commercial men of the country. In ways that need not be analyzed, these special interests, through in- visible government, practically control the action of Congress and legislatures. At any rate they con- trol enough senators and representatives to deter- mine, in nine cases out of ten, the action of Congress and State legislatures. It appears also that the industrial processes have been regardless of the welfare of the people and the 168 If America Fail larger life of the nation. Each industry has been controlled by its own managers, usually a few men, whose immediate object was profits. Coal has been mined with little concern for the welfare of the nation today or the resources of the nation to- morrow. The resources of oil have been exploited by individuals for the day's profits without regard for the future supply. Industry has been conducted for profits with little concern for the safety and life of the workers. The figures showing the number of workers injured and killed are a severe indict- ment of the people. Thus the number of fatal acci- dents among wage-earners is fully 25,000 a year; and the number of casualties of all kinds is as high as 2,000,000.^ Our industrial processes exact the terrible toll of one person out of 161 of the popula- tion to bleed and die. Every four years we kill or maim one hundred more persons than fell in battle or died of wounds during the four years of the Civil War. Five men are killed for every million tons of coal mined; some four persons in every thousand employed in the mining industry are killed each year. In one year the number of accidents alone in industry is over eight times as large as the entire casualties among our troops on the battle- fields of Europe during the World War.- It should be said that much has been done by the States and by employers to reduce this human toll. But America still stands low in the scale in safety measures. But beyond all these things, and far more serious from the point of view of democracy and efficiency, >^" Bulletin of Bureau of Ijabor Statistics," No. 157. 2 Lieut.-Col. H. E. Mock, in " The Nation's Business," Jan., 1919. The Discipline of the Nation 169 is our unorganized, inefficient industry, our indi- vidualistic and provincial economic policies. Thus far, due to many local causes, to an undeveloped country and a high tariff, we have been able to muddle along and grow rich. We have had an indi- vidualized industry for private profits, and the re- sults are known to all. It has encouraged a gross and cruel mammonism that has wrought confusion in the people's ideals. It has made wealth the end and man the means. This industry, for indus- try's sake, has built great industrial centers and has massed human beings together in unsanitary tene- ments and hideous surroundings with little regard for health or decency. This industry, for industry's sake, has worn out men and women before their time and then thrown them aside as so much junk. It has worked the life and hope out of men and women and has left life devoid of eternal values. Men and women have been used as industrial units, worth just what they could create in material things. This capitalistic industry has jeopardized the very peace of the nation. We know how, under the reign of this industry, great wrongs have been committed and gross injustice has been done. It has divided the industrial world into two rival and competing groups. It has overdriven the workers and has caused serious industrial overstrain. In a word, it has been unsocial and unjust and stands discredited and ashamed. We have lived at a prodigal rate and have wasted both our natural and human resources. We have grown rich in money values but have piti- fully neglected human life. All this warrants the severe words of President Van Hise : ^ » " Conservation of the Natural Resources," p. 60. 170 If America FaU We hear of American progress, we hear of the position America has taken in the history of our world; we proudly boast of our leadership ; and yet in wasting our resources we have been guilty of more stupendous folly than any other people in the civilized world. It appears further that special interests and in- dustrial privilege have a strangle-hold upon the peo- ple. During the past years there has been a great increase in the cost of living. Since the great war, owing to various causes, the cost of some commodi- ties naturally rose. But this was not all. Practi- cally every group in the land used the war as a plea for raising the price of everything it could con- trol. The farmer raised the price of grain and milk and insisted on having his share of the general in- crease. The manufacturers of steel and the makers of cloth charged all the traffic would bear. Coal operators used the occasion to force up prices of coal. Working men went on strike and crippled trade and hampered the government, to obtain their share of the general profit. There were some noble and notable exceptions all along the line. But these exceptions served rather to show the general atti- tude. Individuals and corporations grew enor- mously rich out of the greatest calamity of the world. Some operations showed colossal profits, ranging from 100% and 1400% to 3500%. One prefers to believe that the American people love their country as passionately as any on earth and are willing to pay any price to uphold its institu- tions. Yet the fact became patent that many of the people allowed self-interest to determine their atti- tude and conduct. Many of the men who did these things are patriotic; some of them gave their sons The Discipline of the Nation 171 to the army and navy. But at the same time they took advantage of their power and the people's ne- cessities to force up prices beyond reason. The in- dividualistic doctrine, in its negative aspect at least, leads to the reign of capitalism and self-interest and makes one doubtful concerning the future of the Republic. II. The New American Policy There has opened an entirely new chapter in American history, and no one can foresee the out- come. America, willingly or unwillingly, has be- come a part of the world's life. It may be that, in the years to come, America, singly or in alliance with other nations, will be compelled to meet on her own territory one or more of the nations of the earth in a life-and-death struggle. It is certain that America will meet the peoples of earth on the field of industrial competition. Soon or late, by one test or another, our civilization, our institutions, our methods, our democracy itself, must be tested and their survival value be proved. During the great war the United States took its place in the battle- line to make the world safe for democracy. But in war and in peace, America must prove that democ- racy is safe for the world. How will America meet the tests of the coming judgment-day? The study of history is not very encouraging on this question. It is true that democracy, as we know it, is a com- paratively new thing in the world. But democracies, in part at least, have existed in many lands. Aris- totle in his lost book on republics, gave the history of two hundred and fifty attempts at popular gov- ernment, and all were failures. The fact is, popu- 172 If America Fail lar government since its beginning has proved to be exceedingly fragile and uncertain, and the appeal to history is not reassuring. Democracy did well enough so long as the people lived by itself and was not compelled to meet strong adversaries. Now in the hour of judgment will democracy be found weak and go down in failure? The World War has rudely disturbed our fool's paradise and has destroyed our self-confidence. We all feel that many things are appearing in the na- tion's life that betoken weakness and disunity; and if we should be placed in the scale we might be found wanting. Many men see this and are becoming alarmed. But unfortunately many misunderstand the situation and do not know how to meet the need. Some men, a large number, in fact, see no way of meeting the situation beyond military preparedness. And so they demand that we establish a system of military training, build a great navy, and raise a standing army. Some of this preparedness may be desirable and even necessary ; unfortunately, not all nations are moral or civilized in international poli- cies. But this kind of preparedness standing alone, counts for little and is a dangerous delusion. First of all, the appropriation by Congress of billions of dollars for military material signifies nothing. America has spent billions of dollars in the last few years upon such material ; but much of this money has been wasted. We are gravely told by experts that our battle-ships are no better than feri-y-boats, and that under stress of attack we could not defend a strip of our coast. Then too, national preparedness is something more than military equipment. In the report of the The Discipline of the Nation 173 Secretary of the Interior for 1915, we find a sig- nificant statement: Some months since, I sought to learn what I could of the assets of this country as they might be revealed by this de- partment, where we were in point of development and what we had with v/hich to meet the world, which was teaching us that war was no longer a set contest between more or less mobile armed forces, but an enduring contest between all the life forces of the contesting parties, their financial strength, their crop yields, and their mineral resources; and that it ultimately comes to a test of the very agencies of the people involved. For to mobilize an army, even a great army, is now no more than an idle evidence of a single form of strength, if behind this army the nation itself is not organized. Military discipline and strength must rest upon so- cial solidarity and industrial discipline. The strength and efficiency of the mass must rest upon the strength and cohesion of the units. One other fact must be noted, for it shows the need of the nation and the direction of the new American policy. It has become evident that, on the whole, Americans have been living in pioneer con- ditions, with each looking out for himself but with few living for the common good. It has become evident that the old individualism had produced its natural fruits, and these endangered the very life of the nation. Each group and class was intent on its ov/n advantage and indifferent to the general wel- fare. Business was conducted in a slipshod and wasteful way. There was little coordination of forces and unity of effort. The churches were di- vided into two hundred and fifty denominations and were inchoate and inefficient. In a word, we were revealed to be an unorganized people, with abun- 174 If America Fail dant energy and lofty patriotism but without co- ordination of forces or discipline of will. The welfare of society is the supreme concern, and each person must hold his life and property as a trust for society. In behalf of the common se- curity, society must take such action as may be necessary to regulate trade, to fix prices, to control natural resources to determine the amount of prop- erty that may be held, to require each to do his share toward the common good. In all this we have af- firmed the principles of eminent domain and social stewardship ; we have vindicated the right of social control and national discipline. It is true that we have not worked out these principles in all of their bearings ; we do not know all that these rights imply. This is a matter for the future to develop. But it is enough for our generation to affirm these principles and rights and to know that in their direction lies the way to progress and security. The exigency of the war has shown what the na- tion can do to make life safe and to conserve its man power. Many of our communities are dirty, ugly, unsanitary, and unwholesome. We had built our cities without regard for life and health. We had conducted industry with no concern for the health of women and the welfare of people. But in the time of need, in order to protect the soldiers, the nation was compelled to take virtual control of the whole life of the community. Houses have been inspected, and orders given to make them sanitary. Wells have been filled, and sewers have been built. Ditches to carry off sewage have been dug. Swampr> have been drained, and the breeding-places of mos- quitoes have been abolished. The milk-supply has The Discipline of the Nation 175 been inspected, and milkmen have been obliged to be careful. As a result, whole sections, once full of malaria and fever, have become sanitary and safe. In many communities the disease-rate has been reduced two-thirds, and certain old scourges have been exterminated. The nation has been giv- ing a living illustration of what can be done to make communities safe and wholesome. More than that, we have come to understand the authority vested in society to safeguard life and promote human well- being. Have we been taught this lesson in vain? Will men resent this socialization and fall back into the old order of things? To suppose this were pos- sible would be to convict mankind of idiocy and folly inconceivable. He is a fool and blind who sup- poses that the nation will relapse into the old order and resume life where it was left when the war be- gan. A war of enfranchisement is on, and many chains — political, social, economic — will be broken. The laissez-faire policy should now be dead be- yond hope of recovery. The reign of individualism, with each for himself, has meant the ruin of many and the oppression of monopoly. It used to be taught that competition was the life of trade and that prices were regulated by the law of supply and demand. But we know that open and fair competi- tion no longer exists ; for combination has killed it. The law of supply and demand has nothing to do with trade and prices today; for corporations con- trol trade and fix prices. Further, it used to be taught that that government is best which governs least. It was hence the business of government to let industry and trade alone; it was sufficient for government to guard the ring and see that men 176 If America Fail fought fair. But while this policy reigned corpora- tions grew powerful and gained control of trade. The nation allowed its resources to be appropriated, often by chicane and collusion ; the cost of commodi- ties was forced up to the point of injustice; the fer- tility of the soil in many sections has been greatly impaired; men have been driven from the farms, and millions of acres have gone out of use. Surely, the " let-alone " policy should now have killed itself by indulgence. Social control should now be on the throne and now direct the nation's advance. But let us not deceive ourselves on this question. The recognition of a necessity is one thing ; the reali- zation of a policy is a very different thing. We must learn well the price of success and progress. Social gains are never automatic. They always come as the result of thought and effort. The danger before the nation is that of reaction. This is not the first time that the nation has been compelled to take con- trol of industry and regulate the life of the people. During the Civil War there was much regulation and control. Then came a reaction followed by a perfect orgy of individualism. In that period privi- lege grew strong, monopolies thrived and grew fat, the rights of the people were ignored, and the na- tion's resources were given away in the most waste- ful and unjust way. The disintegrating forces in society are many and apparently are active. The unifying forces, unfortunately, seem to be few and are working at cross-purposes. It is necessary, if our civilization is to be saved, to turn our attention at once and seriously to the integrating forces which make for social discipline, for national cohesion, for law, for progress. All this suggests the supreme The Discipline of the Nation 177 task that faces American democracy today, at once a challenge and a test. III. The Socialization of the People America, to fulfil its mission, democracy, to jus- tify itself, must develop a social discipline and in- dustrial efficiency far beyond anything that exists today. It is too early in the day for any one to fore- cast all the changes that are necessary. But some things may be seen clearly. First, there must be a change in the spirit and policy of the nation. The old individualism taught that the individual is supreme and his interests are his final law. It taught that the rule of the game is " each for himself and the devil take the hindmost." Thus it sanctified the game of grab and the rule of self-interest. This old doctrine must pass and we must have a new national faith. We must learn to think in terms of the common life. We must inter- pret ethics and religion in terms of community ser- vice and social welfare. There must be a sacrificial spirit which will make one willing to lay down prof- its for the sake of the common advantage. There must be a willingness on the part of each group and industry to look not alone on the things of self but first of all upon the common good ; a willingness on the part of all to bring every policy and process to the test of the social welfare and to accept what- ever change may be necessary. There must be cre- ated a keen and sensitive national conscience which will search men through as with the fire of God, and will summon men and policies to the judgment- bar of heaven. We must gain the sense of the whole and make the common welfare supreme. We must 178 If America Fail affirm that power, to the last atom, means responsi- bility; that to use power and privilege to exploit the people for one's own enrichment, is the essence of all immorality; that they who gain control of the strategic points of trade and exploit these to their own advantage against the very health and life of the people, are among the chief of sinners; that they are good men whose lives make for more good in society; that they are righteous who seek not their own advantage but the profit of the many. There must be an intelligent understanding of the deeper issues involved in national policies and pro- grams. The nation, equally with the person, is un- der obligation to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and a mere compromise of inter- ests, a balancing of experiences, can never add themselves up into essential righteousness and yield a social unity and a national life. Secondly, the processes of society must come un- der the supervision and control of society. Too long each group in the nation has considered its own in- terest and has had little regard for the common in- terest. Each section has tried to make its own laws and carry on its operations without reference to the national welfare. This must no longer be. So- ciety must end the rule of injustice and bring about the reign of justice; must make an end of monopoly, whether monopoly of land, of the earth's resources, of trade and finance; must abolish privileges of whatever kind, social, political, or economic. The people must regain their lost right to the earth, to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Men who do no productive work must not be allowed to draw large incomes while the many toil long and hard and The Discipline of the Nation 179 live meager lives. The power of the capitalist specu- lator to manipulate securities and to levy toll upon society, must be ended once and for all. A just dis- tribution of the proceeds of labor and the products of industry must be secured. The resources of the earth, which are the heritage of the people, must be held in trust for all, and each must receive the equivalent of his equity in the form of education and opportunity. The people must come into their own. Thirdly, there must be a socialization of the in- dustrial life of the nation. The one supreme end, the great whole which implies and includes the parts, is the common welfare. Whatever promotes that end is good. Whatever interferes with it is evil. Thus far, however, we have regarded man for the sake of industry and industry for the sake of profits. This must now be changed, both in its policy and its methods. The industrial process is a part of the social life and must always be consid- ered in its relation to the whole. It is not an end in itself, but exists for the sake of society. It is neces- sary that the process in its units be related to the process as a whole. It must be subordinate to and included in all communities and interests within the common purpose of the nation.* The socializing of industry means, therefore, the harmonizing of in- dustry with the total welfare of society. It means that the process of industry, in its spirit, methods, and results, shall be conducted in such a way as to promote the total progress of the nation. This ap- plies to the whole process of making wealth, con- trolling and distributing it. Whenever the process * Small, " General Sociology," p. 342. 180 If America Fail affects society in any way, and every industry does, it may be so supervised and controlled. As a person must be socialized, that is, learn to take his place in society, conform to its regulations and serve its wel- fare, so industry must be socialized ; that is, find its place in the social order, have its methods and re- sults tested by the common welfare, and conform to social regulation. This, it should be noted, implies the socialization of trade and industry and not their destruction. In the past generation there has been a marked ten- dency toward combination and concentration in eco- nomic affairs; and this has its good as well as its evil side. Thus far, however, industry has been capitalized by financiers and has taken the form of trusts and monopolies. We do not here debate the question of how far trusts have reduced costs and have really benefitted the people. It is certain that they have been exploited by capitalists and have en- riched a few men. But this tendency toward com- bination and cooperation in itself is right and should not be hindered. The advantages to society are too manifest and too real to be denied. They who would suppress all combination and break up big business, know not what they do. All unthinkingly they would turn the hands backward upon the dial of progress. Men who have known the advantages of combination will never willingly throw them away. But society cannot allov/ these combinations to ex- ploit the people and oppress any. It must accom- plish the more necessary and yet more difficult task of securing the benefits of combination tvithout suf- fering any of its evils. It must insist that industry and trade shall be organized on the basis of national The Discipline of the Nation 181 service, and it must see that they are conducted on principles of justice and equity. No just interest will suffer by this action; but no unjust method should be allowed to pass. Two possible courses are open before us; Either we must have the social ownership and control of all the means of production and distribution, or we must have such a control and supervision by society as shall safeguard the people's interests and give each person his equities. Which road shall we pre- fer? Each man's answer will no doubt grow out of his general attitude toward life and society. This is certain, that the men who oppose full social con- trol and supervision of the whole process of produc- tion and distribution, are the very men who are driv- ing the nation into a full national socialism. By full supervision and control is meant precisely what the words imply. Society must not allow the people's resources to be monopolized and wasted. Society must supervise the process, must know whether fair wages are paid and fair profits are taken. It must assert the right to determine profits and dividends, to fix prices and regulate distribution. It must, in a word, see to it that every man, every interest, every process, finds its place in the total process and cooperates toward the one social end. It is perhaps needless to say that this will mean some pretty radical changes in the accepted prin- ciples and present methods of society. It means that the whole industrial process in its bearings and results, must be measured simply and solely by its relation to human values, must ever and again be brought to account and tested by its human results. The time is coming when the success of an enter- N 182 If America FaU prise will be measured not by the dividends going to a few, but by the increasing life of the many workers ; when industry must accept its relation to the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and must be conducted for the same ends that moved Jesus Christ up Calvary. Finally, as the crowning of all, America must de- velop a social discipline and national solidarity far beyond anything that exists today. Democracy, we have seen, is the cooperation of all, by all, for the sake of all. It is the willingness and ability to do team-work. But this team-work, to have value and power, must be efficient. Humanity moves forward in the degree in which men learn to appropriate the advantages and control the disad- vantages of team-work with one another. But team-work means operating as a team — each member in his place and working in his place to make the team efficient and the members consequently successful — no member getting a suc- cess which forces the team to carry him as a dead weight, not to say as grit in its running-gear. . . The vital question in American life today is, whether we can achieve a con- trolling sense of responsibility of the individual to the whole ; whether we can develop a type of citizenship which feels bound to share the common burdens; or whether we must grow apart and disintegrate because the different groups of us have no care beyond the particular interest of each.^ Can dem-ocracy develop this social efficiency and national discipline, and remain democracy? It is easy to believe that any state which seriously ad- dresses itself to the work, can in time develop this discipline and efficiency. But can it remain demo- cratic in the process? For this supervision and control, paradoxical as it may seem, must be wholly » Small, " American Journal of Sociology," Sept., 1917. The Discipline of the Nation 183 voluntary. Democracy, as we have seen, means self- government and self-control; it means voluntary self-surrender for the sake of the common life. Governmental control imposed upon the people may be necessary, but it is not democracy. It is neces- sary for America to develop a discipline and control as real and effective as that of autocracy; but it must be a voluntary control and self-imposed disci- pline. Many men and many groups do not realize that we have come into a new day. They are trying to carry on affairs in the old way of " each for self, and take all you can." They have not learned the fact that they are a part of society and must both contribute their share toward the nation and be- come a part of the social process. But all must learn the great lesson; and all must be willing to accept the discipline and uphold the control. Here is the supreme test of democracy; at once the proof of its power and the mark of its success. The history of the world is the judgment of the world. The whole world process has a moral mean- ing: it makes for the development and survival of certain great qualities. Call it what we will, there is a world struggle for existence with the survival of the fittest. God and nature demand the best of men and nations. In the long run the best survives and the second best fails. But the best is not that which is theoretically and abstractly the best; it is rather that which is practically and generally fittest. Athens had more culture than Macedon, but it lacked vigor and cohesion, and so it failed to survive. Rome conquered the world when it possessed unity; it lost the world when it lost virtue and solidarity. The whole cosmic process shows that nature cares more 184 If America Fail for quality than for quantity ; she prizes mutual aid more than mere egotism ; she demands solidarity no less than individualism. Friendliness, cooperation, discipline, are better than numbers, wealth, and big- ness. The testing hour of democracy has come. Amer- ica has produced great wealth, but it has not found any means of moralizing that wealth or of dis- tributing it justly. America has produced many millionaires; but it has done this at the cost of human life and the sacrifice of social justice. It has developed individual initiative; but has not de- veloped a national discipline. The amount of wealth, the number of millionaires, even individual initia- tive alone, are no marks of fitness and contain no assurance of permanence. These things may be good enough in a way ; but the qualities that are best must be read in other terms. We may say that fitness consists in a balance of qualities; but the presence of several elements, though good, may not mean that a civilization is best or a nation is fittest. Cohesion, solidarity, discipline, efficiency, are the qualities that give final advantage in the long run. The testing of our institutions, of our discipline, our democracy, may come on the field of world battle or it may come upon the field of industrial efficiency ; but soon or late the issue will be joined and the judgment-day will arrive. In either case it will not be a contest of mere armies in battle or of competi- tive traders for a market ; but in the truest sense it will be an enduring contest between all the life forces of the contesting parties; and it is certain that the nation with the finest discipline and the greatest cohesion, will have a clear advantage. The The Discipline of the Nation 185 people that conserves its human resources and pos- sesses the highest efficiency, will carry off the prize from the world contest. Will America learn the lesson and take all neces- sary measures? Will our democracy develop this social discipline, this industrial power? Will it cre- ate a national solidarity and produce a democracy of all life ? There are some signs of promise, though the outlook is clouded. The history of the past and the tendencies of the present, are not fully propi- tious. To develop such a discipline will mean the rejection of some of the merely negative presuppo- sitions of democracy. It will mean the acceptance and prosecution of a long constructive program of national discipline. It will mean the subordination of private opinion and class interest to concern for the welfare and advantage of all. It will mean ex- altation of the public good above all, and the effort of all in behalf of all. To create such a national solidarity and social cooperation demands a change of mind and purpose on the part of all, a spirit of brotherhood, a sacrificial attitude of soul. But an excessive individualism, the selfishness of groups, a blindness to long issues, a philosophy that inter- prets everything in terms of self-interest and group advantage, an inability to see things from the other man's point of view, stand in the way and bode ill for the future. At a time when there should be a development of a philosophy of democracy and fra- ternity, we find men confusing the issues by an ap- peal to an eighteenth-century individualistic philos- ophy. At a time when we should be conserving and developing the life forces of the nation, we find men blind to everything except military preparation. 186 If America Fail At a time when we should be working out a large policy of national industrial discipline, we find the forces of reaction organizing to oppose all social legislation. Thus some of the manufacturing and commercial interests of the country have organized and have declared their intention to sweep away all social legislation that restrains business and ham- pers trade; in a word, they seek to wipe out legis- lation designed to protect human workers and pre- vent industrial exploitation. And workingmen no less blindly are growing suspicious of social legisla- tion and are falling back upon labor unions and class struggle to secure their rights and promote their interests. America to succeed must be more than a mass of conflicting groups and competing interests. It must be one people with one ideal, one mind, one life. THE PRESERVATION OF THE AMERICAN FAMILY In a real sense America is the proving-ground of the world. Here peoples of various racial types, re- ligious faiths, social customs, and political ideals, are meeting together and are struggling for survival. Here on a larger scale and on a freer field than ever before in history is to be decided which of these possesses the greatest survival value and so is the fittest. Some of these will grow and become domi- nant, others will decline and fall out of the race. It is quite possible, of course, that in this process those types and faiths, customs and ideals that survive, will themselves be greatly modified by those that fail ; it may be, in fact, that the weaker will be ab- sorbed by the stronger. Passing this, however, we must note the test of survival value. What are the qualities and factors that decide which shall survive and which shall fail? It is nec- essary that we understand our terms. By the fittest we do not mean merely the best in the abstract, for nature knows nothing of any such principle; we mean the best in the concrete situation. The issue of survival or elimination, so history shows, does not turn upon the racial types, social customs, re- ligious faiths, and political ideals that may be purest and best in the abstract ; it turns rather upon those that have the greatest survival value in their condi- 187 188 If America Fail tions. A racial type may be fine and high in certain respects; but its members may lack cohesion and vigor, and so it goes down before one with greater vigor and solidarity. A religious faith in point of doctrine may be quite apostolic and Christian in many essentials; but if it lacks propagating power or its members shirk parenthood and fail to develop a stable family life, it possesses little survival value. One people may possess a higher degree of intelli- gence, a finer artistic quality, a purer religious faith than another with which it comes into contact and competition. And yet, as in a hundred nations in the past, it may lose out in the struggle and disap- pear from history. The end we seek in the great future is the crea- tion of an American race ; a great, vigorous, united people with high ideals, with moral power and American characters. That this end may be at- tained there must be work along two main lines: We must honor the family and must protect it in every way; we must create such conditions as will foster the American family and will ensure the dominance of the best racial types. To say that there is no difference in the mental ability and so- cial value of people, to suppose that one set of he- reditary qualities is as valuable to the nation as any others, to be indiff'erent whether one element of the population reproduces itself faster than the rest, is to prove oneself ignorant of history and of life. To leave these things to chance and nature, to believe that evolution always means progress and that the best always survives, to suppose that things will somehow right themselves and come out well, is to show oneself both blind and foolish. The Preservation of the American Family 189 I. The Question of a Dominant Type Which racial type will become dominant in Amer- ica? It is very doubtful whether ultimate America will be Anglo-Saxon. This might easily have been the case as late as the last quarter of the nineteenth century. But the tendencies now at work show that it is probably too late for any such result; it is en- tirely certain that if present tendencies continue it will, within a generation, be too late. The present white population of the United States comprises about thirty-five per cent, of Anglo-Saxon stocks, about thirty per cent, of Teutonic races, some twenty per cent, of Slavic and Latin peoples and ap- proximately fifteen per cent, of Celtic sources. The coming American race may not be Anglo-Saxon, but it must contain characteristics of all these races. It is too late now to consider the wisdom or unwisdom of bringing so many bloods in such large propor- tions to our land. But it is still an open question whether the Anglo-Saxon strain will largely be eliminated and other strains become predominant. It seems sometimes as if the Anglo-Saxon stock had determined to eliminate itself. At any rate this process of elimination is going forward at a rapid rate. What shall be the religious faith and political in- stitutions of ultimate America? Will America be- come a homogeneous and united people with a free religious life and with democratic institutions? Will it be predominantly Protestant or Romanist? Will our institutions be Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic, Latin, or Slavic? It is too early in the day for any one to foretell the outcome. But the democratic experi- 190 If America Fail ment is not yet an assured success ; it is not yet de- cided whether the democratic idea will be wrought out to its final solution, or whether we shall become old Europe revised. Nor is it decided whether America shall develop a new type of religious faith by carrying Christianity to its conclusions, or whether we shall become an American type of Ro- man Catholicism. But tendencies and forces are at work which foretell definite issues. Whatever goes into the first of American life goes into all of its life, and there is one institution which in large part contains the answer to these questions and decides the outcome. The attainment of American results must come through the use of definite causes. The most certain fact in life is the reign of law. The Creator has ordained that certain factors shall enter into the making of man's life, and he himself always uses means in the fulfilment of his purpose. If, there- fore, we would ensure a certain result, we must en- list the causes that lead to the desired end; as in the wheat-field and in the laboratory, so in the na- tion. The fact that we are an elect nation does not absolve us from the duty of understanding causes and employing them in behalf of a divine result. Nay, it rather emphasizes our obligation to do this, for Providence in ordaining the end ordains the means and decrees the relation between them. There are certain racial qualities and character- istics that give a nation its peculiar life and bent, that enable it to do its work and fulfil its mission. But these are never abstract qualities and traits, coming without causes and growing without expla- nation. They are always incarnated in persons and The Preservation of the American Family 191 carried in human blood; and so they are increased or decreased by the increase or decrease of peoples who carry these traits and qualities in their blood and life. And so it comes back to this, that the question which kind of racial traits and qualities shall decline or predominate, depends upon the in- crease or decrease of the different peoples who are found here. To expect American results without enlisting American causes, is sheer folly. To ex- pect an American national type, with the American stock breeding out and other and diverse types breeding in, is national self-deception. II. The Family and the Nation The Creator has ordained that life in our world shall be a succession of generations. Parents raise up children, and children take the place of parents. The family is the bridge across which the stream of life flows from generation to generation. Not only so, but the Creator has ordained that certain factors shall enter into the making of man's life, and these are Heredity, Environment, Individual Will, and Divine Grace. It is not for us to pit one of these against the other or to say that one is all potent while the others are negligible. Each in its way represents a determining factor in life ; and all must be taken into account. We assume here the great value of the third and fourth factors and note the place and power of the first and second. What we call environment or social heredity de- termines many things in the life of the individual. In a real sense every person is the creature of his environment : he may say in the language of Ulysses, I am a part of all that I have seen. 192 If America FaU The community and family into which one is bom, the customs and traditions in which he grows up, the ideas and sentiments that are current, deter- mine in large part his ideas and ideals, his standards and habits. This warrants the statement of the so- cial psychologist ^ that relatively to the national peculiarities acquired by each indi- vidual in virtue of his participation in the traditions of his country, the innate peculiarities are slight and are almost completely obscured in each individual by these superimposed acquired characters. But this is not the whole story. Environment may determine many things in the individual life; but there is something beyond the individual. Environ- ment acts upon the more external elements and can- not touch the inner qualities and strains. Environ- ment may determine in large part whether instincts and characteristics shall be pronounced or weak; but it is not an originative factor and deals simply with qualities and possibilities that are present. Blood will tell in a person and a nation. The innate peculiarities, the social psychologist reminds us,- " are very important because they exert through long periods of time a constant bias or molding in- fluence upon the growth of national cultures and traditions." In a real sense, therefore, the factor of heredity determines which innate characteristics shall be present, and so determines the life and qual- ity of the nation. For however great the influence of traditions, of institu- tions, and of economic conditions in determining the course of life and the success or failure of a nation, the innate iMacDougall, "Social Psychology," p. 337. « MacDougall, " Social Psychology," p. 337. The Preservation of the American Family 193 qualities of the population will make themselves felt, and in the long run will exert a preponderant influence over all other factors.3 If we would know what will be the racial character of the people in five generations, we must note what strains of our populations are reproducing them- selves most rapidly. America is said to be the great melting-pot of the world ; here various races are meeting and fus- ing, and are then forming a new national stock. Un- der certain circumstances this figure might apply to the process going on here and so indicate the so- lution of our problems. But unfortunately condi- tions are such that this melting and fusing are not proceeding in a satisfactory way. And more un- fortunate still is the fact that the so-called melting- pot is itself a myth. As we have seen in an earlier chapter, unit characters do not blend; and after a score of generations the given characteristic may still appear unaffected by the repeated unions with foreign germ-plasm. And we have also seen how, owing to causes now at work, the fluxing of the races is not proceeding ; and so the elements are un- fused and unblended. At present conditions are such that the alien bloods with their racial traits and unit characters are outmultiplying the native bloods and may be- come ascendant. Which of these bloods, each with its characteristics and traits, will win out in the struggle and show the greatest survival qualities? There are, of course, many factors entering into the answer to this question ; in the last analysis, a de- ciding factor is the number of children in the fam- » MacDougall, " Psychology," p. 249. 194 If America Fail ily. " Arithmetical calculation shows that if one section of a people reproduces itself faster, even to a slight degree, than the rest, it will rapidly surpass all other sections in number; and after a few gen- erations will dominate the nation." * This calls at- tention to a process which is changing the life of the nation and may give the future to foreign char- acters and an un-American religion. The significant fact is this : The bloods that show the largest number of children to a family and are consequently increasing at the most rapid rate, are with hardly an exception Catholic or non-Protestant bloods. During the past decades there has been a remarkable increase in the Roman Catholic popula- tion, especially in the Eastern States. As every one knows, this is partly due to immigration. But that immigration is not the only factor is evident from the following figures. In a number of States it is found that the birth-rate is quite low. Thus we have the birth-rate per thousand of population as follows: Indiana, 13; Iowa, 16; Maryland, 15; Cali- fornia, 14; Kentucky, 14. These are States with a relatively small number of Roman Catholics and with a large proportion of native stocks. These States all show a lower birth-rate than France, which has a declining population. In other States, however, we find the birth-rate per thousand of pop- ulation as follows : New York, 22 ; Rhode Island, 24 ; Massachusetts, 25; Michigan, 23; Connecticut, 24. These are States with a relatively large number of Roman Catholics and with a large proportion of foreign peoples. According to the census of 1900, in Connecticut there were 173,000 married women; *Whetham, "The Family and the Nation," p. 208. The Preservation of the American Family 195 of this number, 66,000 were foreign-born whites; and it is found that these 66,000 foreign-born mar- ried women gave birth to exactly the same number of children as the remaining 107,000 of native stock. We need not search far to find the causes of the de- cline of Protestantism in many of our States. One of the chief causes is the empty cradles in Protestant homes. In America, three distinct and diverse types of religion are contending for supremacy. The issue will not be decided in favor of that type of religious belief which is most true in the abstract. It will be determined in large part in favor of that type of religion which shows the most stable family life, which produces the greatest number of children, and so has the most effective survival qualities; which, in a word, honors the family most highly. The ques- tion of the future of religion in America, whether Protestant or Romanist, is a question of babies. The family is the means through which life is carried forward from generation to generation ; and the family is the agency through which the factor of heredity becomes predominant in life, whether in the person or in the nation. And so it is in and through the family that the issue is decided which racial traits and hereditary qualities shall become dominant or shall be eliminated. It is in and through the family that the issue is being decided in Amer- ica between the various bloods, diverse customs, dif- ferent types of religion, and conflicting political ideals. The American stock, Protestant in religion, democratic in spirit, is disappearing because of the number of unmarried adults and the few children to a family; and the Latin and Slavic stocks, Cath- 196 If America Fail olic and autocratic, are growing because of early- marriages of the people and the number of children per marriage. If America is to contain a strong Anglo-Saxon strain and become Protestant and democratic, our American people must be willing to marry, to become home-makers, and to raise a fam- ily of children. The American environment and at- mosphere may do much to create in the people an American spirit. The efforts of the church in evan- gelism and education may win some converts to the Protestant faith. The Church exerts a divine, re- demptive power in determining a people's ideals and shaping its life ; the State is a force mighty to con- serve a people's life and to promote its well-being. None the less, the secret of our national future is wrapped up in the life and fortune of the family. Through it is decided the destiny of the nation and the type of life that shall become dominant. Equally with the Church and the State, the family must be enlisted in the kingdom and the future of America. III. The Perpetuation of the American Family The making of an American race is conditioned upon the preservation and power of the American family. Two aspects of this question demand brief notice : Firsts we must know what are the causes at work within the nation which determine the type of family life and the number of children; secondly, we must deal with the social and industrial condi- tions in society which determine the force and fate of the family itself. In this section we consider the first aspect of the question. Many causes are at work within and without the home which are changing the type of family life. In The Preservation of the American Family 197 all of our cities, East and West, there has been a re- markable increase in the number of apartment- houses with accommodations for many families. But there is one ominous fact with reference to all this, and that is the almost total absence of children in those apartments. In some of them it is frankly stated that children are not allowed. Yet a very large proportion of these families are American and belong to the more prosperous group of the middle class. And this means that our American people are not willing to accept the care of a family and raise children for the Republic of America and the kingdom of God. These false views and ideas must pass, and we must revalue the family and understand its mission. The family is not established for selfish ease, but is an ordained means of race progress. We must ex- pect American men and women to accept the sacra- ment of parenthood and. raise a family of children for the kingdom of God. We must dare to say and teach that a childless home is either a great misfor- tune or a great crime. It is a misfortune when a healthy, intelligent, prosperous, and religious hus- band and wife are without children. It is equally a misfortune when one or both parents are weak and sickly and can have no children. But it is a crime when husband and wife through selfishness refuse to raise a family. And it is a still greater crime when they resort to various means to prevent the birth of children. There is no use in men and women praying for the coming of God's kingdom and expecting a great future for the Republic, who are unwilling to enter the marriage relation and raise a family of chil- 198 If America Fail dren. It is vain for our American people to expect that America will become Protestant and democratic so long as they refuse to accept the privilege of parenthood and thus allow the American blood to become extinct. An American, Protestant, demo- cratic blood that has fewer than three children to a family, can never conquer a foreign. Catholic, autocratic blood that has more than four children to a family. There is no hope that Protestantism can conquer Romanism in our land by the method of conversion alone. Protestantism that does not have the survival quality of children in the family will wane and disappear. The future of America as an American, Protestant, democratic people, depends in the long run upon the perpetuation and increase of the people with those traits and characteristics that are most in accord with our American life and mis- sion. Birth-control may be wise on the part of the less desirable portion of our population ; but birth- release is imperative on the part of the more Ameri- can stock. There is no reason to suppose that the American people are less fertile than any other race. If the American people wished it they could have as many children per marriage as any other race. Why do they not wish it? This is the heart of the question ; it is here that we find the key to the future. Some partial reasons are found in the false social stand- ards that prevail ; in the love of luxury on the part of some; in the unwillingness of many men and women to bear the burden of a family. But, after all, these reasons are themselves results and not true causes. There is one other reason lying below and behind all; Causes have imposed upon the family The Preservation of the American Family 199 a social situation which makes men and women re- luctant to bear children. And this brings us face to face with the next factor. IV. The Social and Economic Basis The preservation of the family and the creation of an American race are conditioned upon the trans- formation of our social and industrial life. For we must deal with the causes which are press- ing upon the family and are making the American people reluctant to raise children. In a large sense the problem is an economic and social one. Hence it demands a careful study of our economic life and a resolute determination to change industrial con- ditions. 1. The family as a social institution has a neces- sary economic basis that must receive due consid- eration. Some students of social affairs declare that the provision of an adequate economic basis will solve the problem of the family and will prevent the decline of the middle class and the passing of the American stock. This is clearly an overstatement. Where things are vital it is not necessary for us to establish any priority in logic or in values. How- ever, there can be no real improvement in family life without an adequate economic basis. This pro- vision of a proper income for the family will greatly aid effort along other lines. So long as this factor is neglected, there is little hope of any real solution of the problem or any increase in the American stock. This demands a national policy which shall seek to make every man an efficient economic unit and shall then guarantee him an adequate income for his family. It must be made possible for the 200 If America FaU middle class to marry and raise a family of children without the fear of privation and suffering on their part. This may mean some radical changes in the economic system ; it will certainly mean that a small class shall not hold property claims which enable them to draw large incomes from the labor of others ; it will also mean that overcapitalization of an enter- prise shall be regarded as a high crime that demands full restitution; it will mean that through wage boards the state shall have power to determine what is an adequate wage and to ask that it be paid. 2. We must increase the stability of the family and promote homeowning. The decrease in the number of homeowners is one of the most ominous facts in our land. Yet, as we have seen in an earlier chapter, our present industrial system is making homeowning increasingly difficult for large numbers of people. In the first place it is difficult for many families, on account of small income, to attempt to buy a home. Then in our industrial cities with their many family tenements it is impossible for the fam- ily to own its own dwelling. Beyond this, in our present system it is unwise for the family to at- tempt to buy a home on the instalment plan. The tenure of employment in many occupations is so un- certain that homeowning is a handicap. The work- ingman who is buying a home gives large hostages to fortune and practically signs away his liberty. To meet this condition several things are neces- sary. The worker must have greater permanence of employment. He must have an equity in his job and must not be displaced without sufficient cause. Something can be done by collective bargaining; but this does not fully meet the need. The worker The Preservation of the American Family 201 must become a partner in the enterprise, with a partner's ownership in the tools, a partner's voice in the management, and a partner's equity in the in- dustry. This will give greater permanence to the home life, ensure each worker some property rights in society, and stabilize the family. 3. We must lift the economic pressure that is upon the middle class of industrial workers. Ma- chinery has been speeded up to the limit and almost to the breaking-point; and this means fatigued workers. Millions of workers have a ten-hour work- day, and in many industries some thirty per cent, work seven days in the week and make eighty-four hours and more. Investigations in many cities show a direct relation between hours of labor, speeding up, and income; and the number of divorces, the amount of liquor drinking, and the death-rate.^ So far as any one can see, machine production will continue indefinitely. Hence all our programs must keep this fact in mind. But the power of ma- chinery can be controlled more directly by the peo- ple and can yield larger human values to all. Ma- chinery has increased man's productive power many fold; in some industries, not less than eightfold, while in others it is fully a hundredfold. Thus far, however, machinery has brought no corresponding decrease in the hours of labor, no commensurate in- crease of income, and no apparent lessening of in- dustrial strain. It has been estimated that with the machinery at man's command all of the work of the world could be done and every worker have an ade- quate income, yet with no one working above two '■ Health Insurance, Public Health Bulletin No. 76, U. S. Treasury Department. 202 If America FaU hours and a half a day. This demands some change in the industrial system. 4. We must learn how to control the social and industrial processes in the interests of society. The modem industrial process is making against the home; it is creating an industrial proletariat and thereby is endangering the democratic experiment. The individual person or family can do little to withstand this process and save itself. But society itself can control this process, can direct its course of development, and can make it serve the Republic. If America is to become American and fulfil its destiny, there must be some fundamental changes in the ideals and standards of the people; the new ideals must realize themselves in new social condi- tions; the new conscience must build itself into a new economic order. Our repentance must be a re- pentance unto social reconstruction and political righteousness. The various individuals of our land, the men of high ideals and of good conscience acting alone, can do something to change conditions and stay the decline. But to solve the problem before us there must be social action. The economic pres- sure must be lightened, and homeowning must be- come possible and desirable to the industrial worker. The income of the male wage-earner must be suffi- cient to maintain a family in fair comfort and effi- ciency. The growth of industrial feudalism must be stopped, and industrial brotherhood must be established. Beyond all, the divorce evil must be destroyed, and the home must be preserved. The actual progress of humanity, as Professor Hobhouse says,** • Hobhouse, " Social Evolution and Political Theory," p. 53. The Preservation of the American Family 203 depends far more on the survival of the best than the elimi- nation of the worst. Eugenically considered, the broad duty of society is so to arrange its institutions that success is to the socially fit. And this is possible only in proportion as the social order is based on principles of a just and equitable organization. This demands brave thinking and heroic treatment. But the need is urgent and the issues at stake are fateful. Thousands of men are wilHng to be char- itable where few are ready to be just. The world is full of men who are willing to repent of other men's sins but are unwilling to put away their unbrotherly practises. 5. In fine, there must be such a combination of factors and influences as shall bring about an in- crease in the number of people of high mental ca- pacity, and a decrease in the proportion of people of inferior capacity. As we have seen elsewhere, causes are at work which have produced three re- sults: (a) decreased the number and proportion of children born of native and superior stocks; (b) increased in a marked degree the proportion of peo- ple of alien stocks; (c) increased the number and proportion of inferior types and low-grade intelli- gence. How far these results have much the same causes we need not discuss; but the facts seem to suggest a very close connection. (See " Report of Psychological Examining in the United States Army," Chap. 6.) It has been assumed that all was going well in America ; it was further assumed that whatever de- fects appeared could easily be cured by education and religion. No doubt we need a wiser and more efficient educational system ; but education alone can- 204 If America Fail not meet the need. It is essential that the churches reconceive their mission and bring religion to bear upon the whole life of the people. But religious ef- fort that begins and ends with the individual is not sufficient. Education and religion, it is certain, can only develop qualities and capacities that are poten- tially present; they cannot increase potentiality or create capacity where they do not exist. The de- fects are due to heredity and to defective social con- ditions; they can hence be corrected by changes in conditions and by a changed birth-rate. Some means must be found whereby the influx of foreigners of low mental capacity may be reduced and the pro- portion of births in low-grade families shall be low- ered. And in a more positive way, if America is to succeed and democracy is to be a reality, some means must be found whereby the proportion of children of high grade shall be increased. There are many factors and influences that must contribute to these ends; but in the last analysis these all function in and through the family. In the far future, if America fails, men will not find it difficult to name some of the chief causes of that failure. They will say that the American ex- periment began under the most favorable conditions and ought to have succeeded. The people had a great opportunity and were called to do a new and wonderful thing in the world; they had the people and the blood to make a great nation and to serve the world-wide kingdom of God. But alas, they forgot their high calling and sought success in the wrong way. The people wasted their resources and lived only for the present. They did some great things in the development of business and trade; The Preservation of the American Family 205 but they mortgaged the nation's hope in so doing. The people possessed initiative and individuahty to an unusual degree ; but their strength became their weakness. They allowed monopoly to grow, the cost of living rose, the industrial pressure increased, homeowning became difficult, and the family de- clined. The men and women of Puritan stock and English blood loved ease and lacked the sacrificial spirit, and so they refused to bear the burden of a family. They allowed men of other bloods and traits to outpopulate and displace the Puritan stock, and so America lost its distinctive mission and ceased to be Protestant, democratic America. The homes of the people were the finest in the world, but their cradles were empty. Thus the Republic mortgaged its hope and America ceased to be American. " If we can keep the Protestants asleep a few years longer," said a Roman Catholic leader, *' America is ours." No doubt about it, American Protestantism is asleep sound enough to satisfy the Romanist. Beyond question the Protestant stocks are declining and Catholic stocks are becoming dom- inant. If present tendencies continue for three gen- erations more, the Eastern half of the United States will be negligibly Anglo-Saxon and Protestant. It is not yet too late to change the issue. It may be too late a score of years hence. The supreme duty of those who believe that America is called to de- velop Anglo-Saxon institutions, to become a demo- cratic people, and to possess a free religious life, is threefold: to know the facts; to change the social order and lift the handicap against the family; to raise a family of children for the American Republic and the kingdom of God. XI THE AMERICANIZATION OF THE PEOPLE Is America called to reproduce the life and institu- tions of some old-world people, or to combine the ideals and institutions of a score of peoples and pro- duce a composite picture, or to be a distinct nation among the nations of earth with a life and charac- ter of its own? If we accept the first course it is evident that we really have no national calling and mission. If we prefer the second course we find that all history fairly discredits the experiment. But if the third question suggests the true answer, then everything shows that we are failing to make our calling and election sure. For peoples from all lands and nations are coming to us, peoples of dif- ferent bloods and race types, peoples with diverse social customs and religious ideas. It is true that many of these peoples are casting off their old cus- toms and are becoming Americanized in their ways. But when two bodies meet, each affects the other, and the resultant is different from either. America is in danger of becoming an aggregate of diverse peoples, a group of competing races, a mass of sec- tional interests, a people with a wandering goal. The duty to be itself, to live its own life, to realize its own ideal, to fulfil its distinctive mission, is the primary duty of every nation. Charity, we are told, begins at home. " He that careth not for his own, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." 206 The Americanization of the People 207 It is fitting indeed that America should be the ref- uge for the oppressed of earth. It sounds well on the Fourth of July to talk about our wide-open gates for all the nations. But there is another side to this question. Does not a nation owe something to itself and to its future? Can a nation fulfil a great mission in the world without a distinctive life of its own? If the history of Israel teaches any- thing, it teaches that Israel must become a distinct nation in order to have anything distinctive to give to the world. If America has any distinct mission to fulfil, then America must safeguard its own life and must not allow its own ideal to be lowered. The prophet of Israel rebuked his people for the rea- son that " Ephraim hath mixed himself among the peoples." The prophet in America would see that the peoples had mixed themselves among the Ameri- cans. And the result in both cases is about the same. I. The Need of an American Mind America must become a nation and develop a na- tional mind. We are now a people ; we are not yet a nation. We have a common life; we have little national consciousness. Many things have contrib- uted to this end — the emphasis upon local authority and government, and the incoming of large masses of foreign peoples. This has been accentuated by the diverse sections of our country and the growth of competing interests. We are in danger today of becoming an aggregation of competing groups and antagonistic sections. The employers and manufac- turers are creating a group interest ; and the work- ingmen are creating a different group solidarity. The social and industrial world is in danger of 208 If America FaU breaking up into two diverse and exclusive groups, with little common interest and no regard for each other's welfare. Not only so, but there is a sec- tional cleavage that bodes ill for the future. The West is developing a feeling of self-sufficiency — almost of contempt — for the East. The East under- rates both the intelligence and patriotism of the West. Besides, we are in danger of consolidating certain races and creating race groups. In politics, in business, in church affairs, the same disposition is seen. The American people are provincial. They have the provincial mind, the partial outlook. " I had rather be a lamp-post on Broadway than mayor of Cheyenne," is hardly a typical saying, but it repre- sents a point of view. In fact New York City, though it boasts of its cosmopolitanism, is probably the most provincial city on the continent. " I pre- fer the West with its democracy and hopefulness, to the conservatism of the East," is a common re- mark west of the Rockies. These people all love America and believe in its future. But there is lit- tle that can be called an American mind. At pres- ent we are little more than a group of sectional outlooks and partial interests. In case the flag were attacked all would no doubt rally to its defense at whatever cost. In the World War we exhibited a national cohesion and united spirit equal to that of France or Britain. Yet this is only half the story and does not guarantee a national spirit and com- mon mind. Beyond this, other lines of cleavage have appeared which may well cause anxiety. The World War has shattered many delusions both in Europe and The Americanization of the People 209 America. Every one knew that we were a people of mixed blood and ideals. But every one had sup- posed that the melting-pot was doing its work, and we were one nation. Alas, the melting-pot is a delusion, and we are still an aggregation of races. It was natural of course that the peoples here should feel strong sympathy for their fathers and brothers in the old homelands who were fighting for existence. No one censured them for this: in fact, it would have been surprising had it been other- wise. But lines of cleavage have appeared and suspicions and antipathies have revealed themselves that are deep and radical. All this shows the great need of the nation. America must become a nation with a national con- sciousness and a national solidarity. We must real- ize that the nation has a life of its own, and that in this common life each shall find his own life en- larged and glorified. America must become to all of us a faith, an ideal, a religion, the glory that warms our hearts, the cause that represents the will of God for man. II. The Americanization of the Peoples The nation that would be strong and enduring must be homogeneous and must assimilate the di- verse peoples that enter into its composition. This lesson is emphasized on every page of history, and to illustrate it in detail is to tell the story of the rise and fall of a hundred nations. No nation can live long and fulfil a great destiny that is made up of warring and repellent elements. Every great na- tion of the past has been a comparatively homoge- neous people. It is true that no nation has had a 210 If America Fail strictly pure blood ; for in the purest races there is a blending of bloods. But no great nation has ever been made of widely divergent racial bloods and types; a hundred times the experiment has been tried, but some national weakness has appeared, and the nation has dissolved. Another lesson history teaches: Where the races and bloods have been diverse, no real assimilation and amalgamation has taken place. They have never really stood on an equality. One strain or another has gained the advantage and has become predominant and finally determined the national life. Where lines of race and caste appear, perfect equal- ity is out of the question. In other nations this has been a source of friction and weakness. Here it will be a flat denial of our democratic principle. In our land there are scores of nationalities, repre- sented in some cases by millions of peoples; and some of these — English, Germans, Negroes, Chi- nese, Italians, and Magyars — differ a whole diam- eter from one another and from ourselves. We can- not grow a national soul and fulfil our national destiny with all these different elements remaining distinct. America must become a united people with a blending of races in terms of equality if it is to live long in the earth and realize the democratic ideal. We cannot here discuss the wisdom of permitting so many peoples of such diverse races to come faster than they can become assimilated, though this de- mands consideration. Certainly every nation has a right to maintain its own life and preserve its own institutions. It has a right to say who shall enter its borders, to declare that peoples shall come no The Americanization of the People 211 faster than they can be assimilated, to give the preference first of all to religious and political refu- gees of all nations and to determine the settlement of these peoples after they reach our shores. With- out discussing this question, we may notice the other side of our duty, which is even more urgent — assimi- lation of the foreigners within our land. There are many causes and influences at work keeping these various peoples apart and preventing their full assimilation. First is the tendency of these foreign peoples to flock together, to form groups, and thereby to sepa- rate themselves from Americanizing influences. A large proportion of these new immigrants have come from the villages of Southern and Eastern Europe ; nearly all of them are unskilled laborers and so they must take the first work that offers. Naturally enough they drift into the cities and industrial cen- ters; here they live together in districts of their own and have few points of contact with our own people. Many of the men are employed in railroad work and in mining-camps ; hence they are isolated from all Americanizing influences and may never come in contact with any Americans except the pay- master. In our cities there are many foreign sec- tions, with a Little Italy, a Little Russia, a Little Hungary, and so on to the end of the list. These diverse elements remain apart, and thus assimila- tion is impossible. There would be a serious prob- lem of assimilation even if these new-comers were scattered generally throughout the country where they would be open on all sides to American influ- ences and could be quickly reached. But the prob- lem becomes tenfold more serious when these peo- 212 If America Fail pies of different speech, of alien blood, with unlike traits and diverse ideals, are massed together in cities and in industrial centers with few friendly contacts with our American thought and life, and made impervious by alien institutions to American- izing influences. III. The Agencies of Americanization In much of the talk about Americanization there are some serious omissions. We expect these peo- ples to become Americans, to understand our Amer- ican ideas, and to fulfil their obligations, without providing either the incentives or the means. In a positive way, by intelligent means, we must promote Americanization. Many agencies and means must contribute to this end ; of these, there may be noted here the public schools, labor-unions, and the Chris- tian churches. For decades, almost from the very beginning, the public school has been honored as a great American institution and one of the most potent agencies of social assimilation. Here the children of all nation- alities sit side by side and use the same language. They study the same lessons, they note the great events of our nation's history, they consider the great ideals of the nation, and are taught loyalty to the one flag. The very atmosphere of school- room and playground does much to determine the ideals and attitude of the children. It is almost im- possible to overestimate the value of the public school as an Americanizing agency. But unfortunately strong influences are at work to thwart the beneficent purposes of the public- school system and to negative its results. For years The Americanization of the People 213 the Roman Catholic Church has pursued a policy of unrelenting opposition. It has done everything in its power to eliminate Bible reading and religious instruction from the schools, and then has turned around and denounced them as godless and immoral. Not content with this, it has established parochial schools, especially in the cities, among the foreign people, and has exerted its authority to the utmost to drive children out of the public schools and into its own schools. In the public schools the children are taught the English language; they study our American history in impartial text-books; better than all, they mingle freely with American people and acquire the American point of view. But in many of the parochial schools the children hear teachers who use foreign languages; the histories used have a Catholic coloring ; loyalty to the Church is made supreme; in many cases the children leave the Church schools untrained in speaking English, grounded in the doctrines of the Church but un- fitted for life in a democracy. The policy of the Roman Catholic Church with reference to the public school is making it difficult, if not impossible, to assimilate and Americanize the foreign children and train them in American ways. The American pa- triot who can contemplate all this without anxiety and fear, is very blind or foolishly optimistic. We must extend the public-school system and in- crease its efficiency as an Americanizing agency. There is a disposition on the part of many people to make light of the system, to regard it as a state charity provided for the benefit of the poorer classes ; hence the children of the rich are more and more being sent to private schools ; and large tax-payers P 214 If America Fail are objecting to the expenditure for the public schools on the ground that they receive no benefit from the system. No policy could be more short- sighted than this ; no policy could be more un-Amer- ican or more calculated to retard the necessary work of social assimilation. The public school is not in any sense a charity provided for the benefit of the poor and needy; it is one of the most potent and beneficent measures for the promotion of national life that has ever been devised by the heart of man. In many of our cities the public school is about the only agency that is at work in behalf of the assimi- lation of the people. The churches in our cities have weakly and wickedly run away from the people, and have moved up-town where " the desirable peo- ple " live. They have left the great, needy crowded districts of the cities to the public schools and the Roman Church. Without hesitation one can say that the schools are doing a hundred times more in some of our cities in behalf of the social assimila- tion of the various elements, than are all the churches. We rejoice in what the schools are do- ing; but we are anxious to have the churches begin to do the work for which they were placed here in the world. With reference to the public school, one duty is plain and paramount: the schools must be sustained in every possible way ; their efficiency must be increased to the highest degree; they must be made so attractive and so necessary that all Cath- olic parents will see their marked advantages and will insist upon sending their children to them. In this way we can either compel the reconstruction of the parochial school or can ensure the complete predominance of the American school. The Americanization of the People 215 The value of the labor-union as an Americanizing agency has hardly been recognized. In a real sense a trade-union is a school of democracy and citizen- ship. It is a democratic body. Questions concerning the trade are debated in open meeting. The value of team-work is emphasized. Men learn to look at ques- tions from the point of view of the group at least. The members, whatever their nationality, meet on terms of equality. Often, as I have sat in a labor meeting watching the proceedings and listening to the discussions, I have felt that here is one of the most potent training-schools in democracy. But unfortunately the labor-union, as we know it, is a very imperfect instrument. First of all, only a small proportion, not over fifteen per cent., of American wage-workers are members of trade- unions. In Britain the situation is reversed, and fully ninety per cent, of the workers are organized. Several things have prevented the wider organiza- tion of workers in this country. A large proportion of the immigrants who come here are unskilled workers. This stands in the way of their member- ship in trade-unions. Many of these men do not understand English, and so they do not seek or find membership in labor organizations. Thus far we have trade-unions in which men of like crafts are organized. And this means the virtual exclusion of unskilled workers. Perhaps the most potent in- fluence making against labor-unions has been the opposition of employers. In other lands the value and necessity of labor organizations are now ac- cepted by all. Here, however, large employers, es- pecially the great industrial corporations, have taken an attitude of determined opposition. This 216 If America Fail opposition is one of the most unfortunate facts in our American life. It betrays a fatal blindness on the part of the commercial leaders of the country. It is one of the chief causes of our industrial anar- chy. And it is one of the obstacles in the Ameri- canization of the people. Only a fraction of the workers are organized in labor-unions; these com- pose a kind of aristocracy of labor. The great mass of the workers, the foreigners mainly, those who most need the training of unionism, are left outside of the Federation of Labor. These unorganized workers are left to shift for themselves; they be- come the prey of demagogic agitators ; they fall out of sympathy with our American ideas and are a menace in our national life. The attitude of the American people must change with respect to the labor-union. Employers will surely not only recognize the value of labor organi- zations, but they will enter into sjnnpathetic coop- eration with them. Then there must be some radical changes in the methods and policies of labor organi- zations. Workers must be more generally organized. And the organization should probably be by indus- tries and not in narrow trades as at present. To allow the mass of workers to be organized or rather unorganized, as at present, is to prevent their Amer- icanization. Worse still, it is to create the condi- tions of social unrest and industrial anarchy. To encourage the organization of workers and to see in labor-unions a potent Americanizing agency and school of democracy, is the wise course for today. And this brings us to the last factor, the work of religion, and especially of the Christian religion, in the assimilation of the foreign elements and their The Americanization of the People 217 transformation into loving and faithful Americans. In all ages the mightiest factor in a people's life has been its religion. The chief factor with respect to a man, says Carlyle, is his religion; of a man or a nation of men. It was religion, the worship of one God, that transformed a number of suspicious and hostile tribes into the one people, Israel. We over- estimate the power of armies and underestimate the power of ideas in the government of a people. Thus India has said through Keshub Chunder Sen, that it is Jesus Christ and not Britain that rules India. " Our hearts have been conquered by him and not by your guns. And it is for Jesus, and for Jesus only, that we yield up the diadem of India." In the gospel of the Son of man we have a religion that can unite the diverse elements of our land and transform them into loyal subjects of the King of kings. In that gospel we have the fundamental con- ception of the Fatherhood of God, which implies the brotherhood of mankind. In the Son of man we have a center around which the men of all nations gather. In the one Mediator whom God has pro- vided, we find One who has broken down the middle wall of partition between Greek and barbarian and has made of the many his one kingdom. In the Cross of Christ is the power of God that can subdue the heart, transform the life, and renew the being. The other factors are all good enough in their way, and we can rejoice that by any means men are be- ing fitted for American citizenship. But the most important, the most potent factor is the gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully preached and lovingly lived. The gospel, and the gospel alone, can win these 218 If America Fail peoples and transform them. The gospel, and the gospel alone, can change them into loyal Americans and vital Christians. But it must be the whole gos- pel, the gospel of the kingdom of God, with its right- eousness, its love, its brotherhood; it must be the gospel in life and in action, the gospel that touches life on all sides and brings a whole blessing to man, a gospel proclaiming the Fatherhood of God, a gos- pel filled with a passion for justice, a gospel that shall find its issue in the democracy of all life. Apart from such a gospel there is no hope, no salva- tion, no future for America. IV. The Practise of Brotherhood Three-fourths of all the discussions of Americani- zation are based on false premises, and it is a ques- tion whether they are not doing more harm than good. Many persons would accomplish this most es- sential work by compulsion. They would prohibit the circulation of papers in foreign languages ; they would force the foreigner to learn the English lan- guage ; they would suppress every custom and tradi- tion, however dear they may be to these peoples; they would compel these people to adopt and ape our ways, be they congenial or not. In all this they complicate the problem and defeat real Americani- zation. Such methods have been tried a score of times in the past, and always with the same result. Those who would engage in this work should un- derstand the principles of social psychology. The most potent forces in life are indirect ; the influences that mold life are mainly unconscious. The psychic factors of life, as ideals and sentiments, traditions and customs, are the factors that color thought and The Americanization of the People 219 determine volition. The psychic process of imita- tion and sympathy is the chief factor in man's spir- itual development and the prime condition of all collective mental life. The surest and shortest way to change the point of view of these foreign peoples and to prepare them for American citizenship, is to meet them in sympathy and friendliness; it is to make our American ideals attractive and our na- tional traditions helpful ; it is to surround them with just and generous influences; it is to show such a worthy spirit as shall awaken their sympathy and evoke their loyalty. This is less a matter of institu- tional effort and conscious propaganda than of hu- man fellowship and sympathetic contact. It is for us, therefore, to clarify our national ideals and make them attractive to the various peoples; it is to develop such sentiments and customs as will win the allegiance of all; in fine, it is to unite all the people in the bonds of a common faith and national hope. The agencies of Americanization we have consid- ered are all important, and separately and together can do much to interpret our American idea and adjust men in our national family. But beyond all, beneath all, it is evident, there must be a mind and spirit which alone can unify the people and make us a nation. The gospel of brotherhood well practised by American people themselves, will be a most po- tent influence in winning these new comers and sav- ing them for the kingdom of God. This is the one thing that can save them from irreligion and turn their national aspirations into the service of the Republic. America from the beginning has been a refuge 220 If America FaU for the oppressed of earth. This was so in the early days; it is no less true today. A large proportion of the immigrants who come to us from year to year have left the old homeland to escape religious and political oppression ; many are in revolt against the social injustice of the Old World, many are in rebellion against the church they have known. These peoples, young, vigorous, active, usually have come to this land believing it to be a land of liberty and opportunity. They come with a passionate yearning for justice and fellowship, with open minds and hearts, ready to throw themselves into any movement that makes for social justice and genuine democracy. They come expecting to find greater opportunity in life and to see a more Chris- tian and brotherly type of church life. But what do they find ? Many of them come here on borrowed money, and this means a chain around their necks. Speaking a strange language and unused to our ways, they are unable to take care of themselves; so they fall into the clutches of padrones and poli- ticians who exploit and fleece them often without let or hindrance. Many of them are massed to- gether in industrial centers with little regard for justice, decency, or health. Here they are driven by bosses and treated with every indignity. Every- where they find that our civilization is dominated by the materialistic spirit, that our cities are given over to industrial activity. Everywhere they find a misgovernment more subtle and more oppressive than any they have known at home. They find our people given to money-making and pleasure-hunting, and utterly cynical with reference to civic better- ment and social justice. They find themselves de- The Americanization of the People 221 spised by the American people and regarded only as mere labor units and industrial cogs. The Amer- icans whom they meet seem wholly absorbed in com- mercial interests and have no conception of the stir- ring social and philosophical movements of the world. The people they meet have no great historic ideals or national hopes beyond money and success. This is not all, but many of these people come here to escape the oppression of the church, and their hearts are in revolt against the forms of re- ligion they have known. This is the churches' op- portunity to meet these people with kindly deed and interpret to them our free American religion. The failure of the churches furnishes opportunity for sowers of tares. Among these foreign-speaking peo- ples all kinds of religious and social doctrines are preached by bitter and persistent agitators. In the Old World, socialism means social justice and eco- nomic opportunity. With some of these agitators here, it means the overthrow of all existing institu- tions and especially of that bulwark of injustice they call the church. What is the inevitable and tragic result? In a short time many of these immigrants lose their en- thusiasm for social justice and economic reform and become indifferent to all such things. They regard a vote as a political asset to be sold to the highest bidder or to be used in promoting one's own pref- erences. The fine idealism which would have made them splendid Americans, dies out of life, leaving them disheartened materialists; soon all interest and enthusiasm go, and existence suddenly becomes dull and stale and commonplace. They sink down into a sodden, inert mass in our cities, interested 222 If America FaU only in money-getting and given to pleasure-hunting like the rest of the Americans. Some of them re- main restless and ill at ease, ready to welcome any doctrine of social reform and change; not a few of them become bitter atheists in religion and de- structive anarchists in social thought. Thus the men who might have reenforced our national ideal- ism, become a dangerous element in our cities and a menace to our free institutions. Of the millions of immigrants who have come to our shores during the past generation, fully nine-tenths have been Ro- man Catholics. Fully one-third of these are lost in the first generation to the Catholic Church ; and fully one-half are lost in the second generation. But they do not become Protestants; in fact the Prot- estant churches are hardly making their presence known to many of them. They lose the only form of religion they have known; but they do not find a better type. They fall into non-religion and often into irreligion. They do not remain Roman Cath- olics ; but they do not become Protestant Christians. This shows a very serious situation and suggests a very definite duty. In her very significant volume on " The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets," Miss Addams indicates a positive line of action. We must meet these immigrants in a friendly spirit and turn to advantage their insatiable desire for justice and brotherhood. A distinct and well-directed cam- paign is necessary if this gallant enthusiasm is ever to be made a part of that old and still incomplete ef- fort to embody in law — ^the law that abides and fal- ters not, ages long — "the highest aspirations of justice." ^ > " The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets," p. 145. The Americanization of the People 223 We cannot save this fine idealism and turn it to advantage by neglecting the people and allowing them to be exploited by economic interests. We can- not meet and win them by the methods now in oper- ation in our cities, by starting a few poorly equipped mission stations where a narrow, doctrinal, individ- ualistic, self-seeking gospel is preached. We can- not meet their needs and interpret our Christianity to them and turn their thoughts to higher things by a few poorly printed tracts that deal only with the individual soul and ignore the social relations of life. Christianity is a social religion from center to circumference; and just so far as profession and practise of it are purely individualistic they are not truly Christian. Christianity by its very nature is an undying passion for justice and brotherhood, and when that passion dies Christianity is gone. These peoples have been accustomed to think and feel in terms of group life and welfare ; and to meet their need we must think in their terms. What we need, therefore, what we must have, is a religion that will set forth the great fundamental conception of the kingdom of God on earth, that will interpret our American ideas to the people; that will make them see that this longing for justice is the authentic voice of God in the soul. We must show them a religion whose signs are brotherhood and fellowship, a religion that will turn the ethical idealism of the people to the service of the Republic. Hundreds and thousands of Jewish peoples are coming to our shores bearing the pain of centuries of wrong but cherishing the prophetic hopes of their nation. If only these prophetic hopes could be released into our national life, they might revitalize our own fal- 224 If America Fail tering faith. If only the undying passion of this people for righteousness could be properly directed, they might fertilize the nation's life and lift it to- ward its goal. America, to be true to its traditions and to be an asylum for the oppressed, must show a more hu- man spirit toward the strangers who come here. It must receive them with courtesy and confidence ; it must follow them with advice and protection and place them to their best advantage ; it must not al- low them to be exploited in industry and herded like cattle in the cities ; it must surround them with helpful and not harmful influences and give them the full guaranty of the Constitution. More than that, it must nourish and not suppress the social as- pirations of these peoples. It must honor their idealism and turn it as a refreshing stream upon the social waste of our nation. Honored and nour- ished, the faith and idealism of these people may mean a new birth of freedom and justice; neglected and repressed, these aspirations and hopes may break out in anarchy and revolution. The material- ist is often a disenchanted idealist. The revolution- ist is often a dreamer repressed. XII THE SUPREMACY OF THE SPIRITUAL " There are two ways," says an early Christian manual, " the one of life, and the other of death. And the difference between these ways is great." These alternatives face men and nations, Life's business being just the terrible choice. Few men deliberately choose the wrong way, but myriads of men fail to choose the right way, and so the choice goes by default. " I do not wonder at what men suffer," said Ruskin, " but I wonder at what they lose." There is a danger that we may fail to read the meaning of the hour and that our choice may go by default. If ever any nation needed prophetic guidance, that nation is America. Per- haps there are prophets in our midst, but we fail to hear them for the clatter of the streets. It was Cassandra's fate to have her warning scorned in old Troy. It was Troy's doom that her warning went unheeded. This suggests the discussion of these two concluding chapters. I. The Power of Ideals It is the greatest mistake possible to construe life in terms of one factor and to ignore all others. It is not only contrary to fact, but it makes impossible any real understanding of life and any true progress in society. There are, as we know, certain physical 225 226 If America Fail factors that count much in a people's life and deter- mine the form of their institutions. There are also definite economic forces that are very potent and determinative. But in the last analysis the most potent and determining forces in the world, accord- ing to the sociologist, are not physical but moral and spiritual. The most significant factors in life are the work of mind and not the grinding of machin- ery.^ " Civilization," says another writer,- " is at bottom the creation and transmission of ideal values by which men regulate their conduct." " While we are far from endorsing any idealogical theory, yet ideas and ideals have ever been, since civilization began, the chief instruments by which man has con- trolled his adjustments with his fellows." ^ The decadence and extinction of nations are due not to fatal necessity or physical causes, but to wrong choices, moral weakness, and national misjudg- ments. And the obverse is true, that the strength and life of nations are due to right ideals, moral valuations, and spiritual solidarity. " The founda- tion of every state," says Seeley, " is a way of thinking." The future of America, whether it be success or failure, depends upon the ideals we cherish and the valuations we make. It is vital that we cherish right ideals of national life, that we make true valu- ations of national greatness and seek worthy ends in national progress. It is not enough for a man to follow a light, for many a man has followed an ignis fatuus into the bottomless mire; we must be » Small, " General Sociology," p. 639. » Ellwood, in the " American Journal of Sociology," January, 1915. • Ellwood, " The Social Problem," p. 190. The Supremacy of the Spiritual 227 able to know the pole-star and to steer by its direction. But quite as necessary as this work of cherishing right ideals is the necessity of agreeing upon the ideals we shall cherish. A nation may cherish false ideals; it may also cherish diverse ideals. Suppose that the ideals of a people should be not only unlike but even conflicting; in that case the nation will break up into groups, each with its own ideals, its owTi standards, interests, policies. Confusion will result, friction will be engendered, the nation will lose unity and may crumble into fragments. This is precisely the situation that faces us to- day. In our society many things indicate that the old central loyalty is passing and a partial group loyalty is taking its place. The vital interests now are employers' associations, labor-unions, women's federated clubs, trusts, combinations, and countless other organizations and combinations. Everywhere we are met by groups and parties with divergent aims and ideals ; we see people arranging themselves around special interests and partial truths. Every- where we see men with one-sided views, with partial valuations, with class passions, with partisan poli- tics ; men are inclined to view every question in the light of their partial ideal; few are ready to view their partial interest in its relation to the whole. Any one who has met and talked with employers and bankers must be alarmed and saddened at their partial views of truth, their inveterate tendency to measure everything from the point of view of their own advantage and interest. Any one who has mingled much with labor leaders and fraternized with workingmen, has been no less grieved to see 228 If America FaU how prone they are to make partial valuations and to cherish class ideals. More than that, one who is familiar with people East and West, must have been troubled at the sectional interest and provincial at- titude of so many. Powerful centrifugal forces are at work in our civilization. There is danger lest society, like a whirling wheel, fly into pieces. This danger will increase unless there can be a strength- ening of the centripetal forces. All informed people feel the centrifugal pressure and realize the danger. But few see the real need and try the right remedy. Some are trying to meet these divisive tendencies by denunciation and sup- pression; many are looking to legislatures and courts; a few are trying the power of propaganda and campaigns. But these all fail to meet the situ- ation for the reason that they deal with symptoms and not causes. There is only one way to save the day and unite the people ; and that is to bring them under the power of a moral idealism and a religious passion. " Where there is no vision, the people perish." In view of this it is necessary to cultivate a spirit of moral idealism and to learn to live in the pres- ence of our ideals ; it is necessary to learn to cherish right ideals and to begin to agree on the ideals that are primary. " If there is hopeless disagreement in opinions and ideals among individuals, it is idle to suppose that their social life can be characterized by harmony and unity." * Americans must there- fore learn to think and see and feel together. There must be an atmosphere of love and good-will, of sympathy and service between man and man, be- * Ellwood, " The Social Problem," p. 192, The Supremacy of the Spiritual 229 tween class and class, between peoples of different bloods and traits. We need a new soul, a contented state of mind, an American set of standards, a com- mon vision of our destiny. America must be a faith, a vision, a chivalry, a religion, before America can ever become a great people, ensure its future, fulfil its destiny, and live long in the earth. II. Destroying the Dominant Mammonism It is necessary to destroy the current mammon- ism and to moralize wealth. To us as a nation great prosperity has come. Wealth is being created at an unparalleled rate; the comforts of life are mul- tiplying, and the condition of many people is im- proving. And now what shall we do ? " Do ? " cries the spirit of the age. " Why, go right on in the same way; build larger cities; make every one more comfortable; extend our commerce, and fill the seas with our ships; control the trade of the world and become the bankers of the nations. Do? Why go right on and develop our resources. Speak the masterful word among the nations; let us be- come the strongest, richest, and most comfortable people on the globe." This way went all the na- tions of the world — Egypt and Assyria, Babylon and Rome, whose ruins now fill the earth, and whose stories make the tragedy of history. The people are bewitched by the prevailing mam- monism. They are in danger of confusing their moral standards and losing the sense of spiritual values. They are mistaking means for ends and are turning moral values upside down. Under the dominance of the current industrialism man has be- come the means and capital is the end. The last Q 230 If America FaU term in the industrial process, the determining fac- tor in every issue, is profits and not people. To increase profits we are robbing the children of their rights and making them bear the burden of our prosperity. To increase profits we are compelling women to leave the home and are ruining their sa- cred powers of motherhood. To increase profits we are making mad the pace of industry and are scrap- ping men at forty-five. To increase profits we are building hideous, unwholesome, unsanitary cities and are filling them with dwarfed, spiritless, and unhappy human beings. It is time to call a halt in this cult. The gospel of wealth has been preached for generations in sea- son and out of season, in college classroom and from the lecture platform; it has been inculcated at the mother's knee and emphasized in the Christian pul- pit. " Thee must get rich, my son," said the Quaker mother to her boy; "thee must get rich honestly; but thee must get rich." One does not wonder that Carlyle should characterize the economic doctrine of his day as " that dismal science " or should say that this doctrine of mammon was the falsest gos- pel that had ever been preached. We do not wonder that Ruskin should flame out against the economic doctrines of his time and should declare that " The model man of this dismal science was fit only to sit for the portrait of a lost soul." The spell of money over the people must be broken that the soul of America may be liberated. The mo- tive of industry must be reversed, from industry for profits to industry for service. " Let there be worse cotton," said Emerson, " and better men." Woe to the nation that offends against the little child, said The Supremacy of the Spiritual 231 the Son of man. It were better for a nation that its industries were sunk into the depth of the sea, than that it should build its prosperity upon the bodies and souls of little children. What can break the spell of this mammonism and liberate the soul of America? So far as I can see there is only one thing that has power to do this, and that is Chris- tianity. But unfortunately men are not agreed con- cerning the meaning of Christianity and are not ready to go the whole length with Jesus Christ. And unfortunately Christianity has itself too often come under the spell of the world; in fact Protes- tantism has too often sanctioned if not sanctified the accumulation of wealth.' Whatever may have been its failure or success in the past, its call and duty are clear today. It must break the spell of money if it would be true to itself and would save the nation. Men must be brought under the spell of the true Christian ideal. We need to realize in what the true wealth of a nation consists. There is a gospel ring in these words of Ruskin : ^ " There is no wealth but life, life, including all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human beings." Again he says in words with a pathetic and prophetic appeal : It may be discovered that the true veins of wealth are pur- ple — and not in rock but in flesh. Perhaps even that the final outcome and consummation of all wealth is the produc- ing as many as possible full-breathed, bright-eyed, and happy-hearted human creatures. . . Nevertheless it is open, " Mecklin, " Introduction to Social Ethics," Chap. 11. * Ruskin, " Unto This Last, ad Valorem," and " The Veins of Wealth," 232 If America Fail I repeat, to serious question whether among national manu- factures that of souls of a good quality may not at last turn out a quite leadingly lucrative one. We need to set more value upon the riches that are within, and less upon the riches that are with- out. We need a generation of men who are so con- vinced of the worth of man that they will set small value upon merely material good. "Among us English-speaking peoples especially," says Prof. William James, do the praises of poverty need once more to be boldly sung. We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise any one who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble with the money-making street, we deem him spiritless and lacking in ambition. When we of the so-called better classes are scared as men were never scared in history at material ugliness and hardship ; when we put off marriage until our home can be artistic and quake at the thought of having a child vdth- out a bank account and doomed to manual labor, it is time for thinking men to protest against so unmanly and irre- ligious an opinion. The fear of poverty among the educated classes, he declares, is the worst moral disease from which our civilization suffers. And so we come back to the great truth taught long ago but so despised in our day, " A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth." We repeat the truth taught so early and reaffirmed by the Son of man, "Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word of the Lord doth man live." America is growing rich in material values. But what shall it profit a nation if it gain the whole world and lose its own soul ? We may show the greatest per capita The Supremacy of the Spiritual 233 wealth of any people in the world. But what amount of material wealth can a nation give as a substitute for its soul ? The besetting danger of America is industrial- ism — the exploitation of our natural resources, the dominance of capitalism, and the subordination of everything to wealth. We have already gone far on the road toward this blighting condition. We are losing our love for the soil ; we are building in- dustrial cities and are luring into them our youth and hope; we are rattling into a land of factories, chimneys, machines and movies; we are being be- witched by the cheap glamour of street lights and electric signs. And we are bartering our heritage of health and happiness for mere money wealth, and a very inequitable distribution of wealth at that. To resist the present movement seems almost as hopeless an undertaking as to whistle down the north wind. Yet this is the very work that must be done by the churches and by all who love the Republic. The dollar has reigned long enough in our land. The time has come for us to establish a new scale of values, to humanize industry, and to make man the end and wealth the means. We must say that values created by society shall belong to society. We must refuse to be dazzled by the shows of wealth and must say aloud that wealth is to be honored just so far as it is honorable. We must teach all to believe and say that no gifts to charities and churches can atone for greed and cunning in gaining money. We must say that no man can make money as a pirate and give it away as a Christian. In the seer's vision he beheld a city whose streets were of pure gold like 234 If America Fail unto transparent glass. The vision of the seer is the duty of the people. Gold will never find its true place in this world till it goes down under foot and becomes the servant of man. The time has come to think of this earth not as a mere counting-house whose symbol is a dollar-mark, but as a shining planet on which God's children love and sing. III. Exalting the Spiritual Honesty of heart, coolness of head, steadiness of will, a consciousness of God, a hungering after righteousness, a devotion to duty, an exaltation of the spiritual — these are the things that ensure na- tional permanence and power. Immoral things, un- brotherly, unjust things — greed, injustice, suspi- cion, disunion, division — these are the things that mar and destroy nations. The great things that move and sustain states are not material but spiritual. The decline and death of nations have their sources in the life and character of men. Men have unjust and unbrotherly laws, bad politics, and wrong industrial systems, because they are selfish and unjust themselves. The nature of the units determines the nature of the mass. No builder, however skilful or powerful or wise, can make a strong wall out of crumbling bricks. Deeper than the need of a new political program is the need of more character in the people. No scientific process, no social system has been devised that can make a golden society out of men with leaden in- stincts. Along with the demand of the hour for better social institutions is the demand for men who love truth and hate lies, men who hunger and The Supremacy of the Spiritual 235 thirst after justice, men who fear God and hate cov- etousness, men who love the nation and are ready to sacrifice for its sake. We need more character in the rank and file of the people, more sincerity of heart, more energy in our will, more dynamic in our religion, more love, more brotherliness. There are many evils in our nation, many dan- gers that menace ; but the greatest dangers just now are in our own national blindness. There is a bald materialism which makes material values and in- dustrial expansion the supreme interest. There is an engrossment in personal interests with an almost complete neglect of public welfare. But deeper than all, more subtle than all, is a blind optimism which makes it impossible for us to realize that there can be any danger, and coupled with it, a fatness of soul which makes us insensible to spiritual values. America, like Laodicea, is rich and increased in goods and feels that it has need of nothing except more goods and wider markets. And all the time America, like Laodicea, knows not that it may be poor and naked and miserable and blind. Above all, we need a fresh, clear, vitalizing faith in God. Religion, we have seen, is the chief factor in man's life and the most potent force in a nation's growth. From history we ham that the great function of religion has been the founding and sustaining of states. And at this moment we are threatened with a general dissolution of states from a decay of religion.'^ Belief in God has been called the conservative and progressive principle ; it is the cement of a nation's ' Seeley, " Natural Religion," p. 202. 236 If America Fail being and the chief source of a nation's greatness. Suppose there is a decline of religion, suppose a nation loses God out of its consciousness; then the beginning of the end has come with swift and inevi- table decay, and the temple crumbles into dust. No man has seen this more clearly than James Bryce in his great study " The American Common- wealth " ; and no one has more clearly discerned the national danger than he : ^ Sometimes, standing in the midst of a great American city and watching the throngs of eager figures streaming hither and thither, marking the sharp contrasts of poverty and wealth, an increasing mass of wretchedness and an increas- ing display of luxury, knowing that before long a hundred millions of men will be living between ocean and ocean un- der this one government — a government which their own hands have made — one is startled by the thought of what might befall this huge yet delicate fabric of law and com- merce and social institutions were the foundations it has rested on to crumble away. Suppose that all these men ceased to believe that there was any power above them, any future before them, anything in heaven or earth but what their senses told them of. Suppose that their consciousness of individual force and responsibility, already dwarfed by the overwhelming power of the multitude and the fatalistic submission it engenders, were further weakened by the feel- ing that their swiftly fleeting life was rounded by a per- petual sleep: Soles occidere et redire possunt; Nobis, quam semel occidit brevis liix, Nox est perpetua una dormiendafi Would the moral code stand unshaken and with it reverence for law, the sense of duty toward the community and even •"American Commonwealth," p. 582, 583. • Suns may set and rise again, But we, when vanished this brief light. Must sleep in an unending night. The Supremacy of the Spiritual 237 toward the generations to come? Would men say, Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die? History, if she cannot give a complete answer to this question, tells us that hitherto civilized society has rested on religion and that free govern- ment has prospered best among religious peoples. We must hold fast to our own faith in God ; we must realize that he is our life and the length of our days. (Deut. 30 : 20.) America is called to do a great, new, wonderful thing in the world — to exalt man and to put down things from the place of dominion into the place of service. It is called to be a just, brotherly people, to take thought for the least and lowliest, and to give him an equity in the common heritage. Have we the courage to accept our commission and do this great new thing? Dare we become a Christian nation? IV. Finding Our True Strength We must find our strength and confidence not in wealth and armaments but in justice and truth. The way of life for a nation is the way of justice, of fair play, of faith — faith in the power of truth, faith in the right of righteousness to be triumphant, of confidence in the moral texture of the universe and of assurance that " the meek shall inherit the earth." The way of death is the way of greed and ambition, of trust in numbers and wealth, of mili- tary preparedness and big navies, of cunning diplo- macy and national bluster. Men do not always read the meaning of history ; they interpret events according to their point of view. Some say that the World War shows the folly of a nation being unarmed and unprepared 238 If America Fail for war and proves the utter futility of the policy of non-resistance. Yet has not this world catas- trophe shown that preparation for war not only does not avert war but is itself the very cause of war? Armies and armaments do not prevent war but invite it. Two facts stand out clear and dis- tinct in the history of Europe: The nations jealous of one another prepared for war; and the nations thus prepared found what they prepared for. If then we adopt the policy of militarism and enter the race for large military preparations, we shall simply transfer to the new world the rivalries of the old. If we begin arming ourselves we shall alarm the other nations, and they will arm to match us. Then the mad race for first place will begin afresh. As we increase our armaments, two or more nations may form a league against us, and thus the race will never end till a cataclysm befalls. Besides all this, if we rely upon battle-ships and armies we shall feel secure in our might and will not think it necessary to be just in our international dealings and to cultivate world-wide good-will. America is called upon to do a great and Christian thing and not the common gentile thing. Has it the faith and courage to do this? Or will it fail in the hour of testing and do the smaller and worser thing? If we join the mad race for naval supremacy and military might and cease to cultivate justice and good-will, we shall lose out of the word America everything that gives it meaning in universal his- tory. In so far as we seek to become a military power we reject the teaching of Jesus Christ and put our trust in carnal means. In so far as we put our trust in battle-ships and armies, we deny our faith The Supremacy of the Spiritual 239 in God, in justice, in equality and brotherhood. Granted that the other nations of the earth think it necessary to maintain standing armies and create war material; we are not called to reproduce the life and institutions of the old world. To do that is to renounce our national ideals and commit national apostasy. The exaltation of the spiritual and the pursuit of justice contain the only guaranties of national security and world peace. We need to remember that war has causes ; and these are mainly economic. No man can make a thorough and impartial inquiry into the causes of the present European conflict without perceiving that their roots run deep into the soil of trade rivalry. . . Modem wars are primarily trade wars.^o So long as capitalism rules the nations, so long as we have surplus capital seeking profitable foreign investments, so long as nations feel free to exploit weaker peoples, so long as armies and navies are used to protect investments abroad, so long will the causes of war be at work and war itself be inevi- table. But let capitalism come under the control of society, let industry become cooperative and demo- cratic and be conducted for the sake of life, let so- ciety end the reign of injustice and oppression at home, and let the nations eliminate international competition for the markets of the world, and the causes of war will have ceased. To talk of national security while allowing the economic causes of war to grow, is sheer self-deception. To hope to end war by preparing for it, is fatuous and foolish. To seek true values and democratize trade will carry us " Hill, " The Rebuilding of Europe," pp. 33, 34. 240 If America Fail a long way toward true peace. Is this impossible? Then peace is an empty dream and the kingdom of God is a mirage. Will the nation know the things that make for its peace? If we seek to be like all the nations and become a warlike power, if we seek to steal our neighbor's trade and try to control the world's com- merce, we shall deny our calling and lose our way. If we live by sight rather than by faith, if we seek to build our greatness upon bigness and wealth, we shall make the Great Refusal and shall take the road to the world's rubbish-heap. If America dared to be just in all its dealings and believed that this is a righteous universe, it could rest its case in the justice of its cause and could feel secure. But be- cause we forget God and are proud in spirit, be- cause we are willing to exploit others and live for trade, because we cultivate race prejudice and class spirit, we fear to trust in God and fall back upon battle-ships. In America as in old Judah, there sounds out the voice of the prophet : " In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and confi- dence shall be your strength." This sounds like sentiment to our modern unbelievers and so-called practical men; and so it sounded to the little poli- ticians in Jerusalem. But Jehovah also is wise ; and he has laid the foundations of the earth in the bed- rock of righteousness. Today as of old, " The fruit of righteousness is peace, and the effect of right- eousness is quietness and confidence forever." If divine revelation has any permanent message for the world we may well heed the prophets of Israel. Above all we may heed the word of the Son of man who declared, " The meek shall inherit the The Supremacy of the Spiritual 241 earth." The great prophets of the Old Testament, without a changing word or deviating line, all de- clare that the peace and security of Israel in her international relations were to be secured only when within her own borders oppression ceased and jus- tice was done; not till the people were themselves just could the sword be beaten into plowshares; but when justice was done within, the nation was se- cure without. And the Son of man in charging men to seek first the kingdom of God and its right- eousness, gave the divine assurance that all other things shall then be added. There is no instance in history of a wholly just nation that has ever been crucified for its faith and fidelity. And if some na- tion, like the Christ himself, should be crucified by the strong, its cross would become the power of God unto the world's redemption. It may be neces- sary for some nation to become a Messianic nation for the sake of the world's redemption. Would that America were fit for this Messianic part, either with or without the crucifixion! The nation that has not the courage to be just within and without, must perforce depend upon the sword. The nation that dares to be just, that dares to make the Most High its habitation and defense, has the prestige of the universe behind it and can stand as long as the Throne stands. The strength of a nation is in the loyalty and co- hesion of the people ; the foundations of its institu- tions are laid in the faith and ideals of men. If the study of national life in the light of psychology teaches anything, it teaches that the cohesion and discipline which are so necessary, cannot be formed by legislation nor be produced by machinery, but 242 If America Fail must grow naturally out of the people's life; they must be the result of a moral idealism, a religious passion. But this is the very trouble. This relig- ious flame, this moral passion, seem to be lacking. We have plenty of churches and millions of mem- bers ; these are devoted in a way to their causes and interests. But there is so little passion and flame in all this; there is no unifying ideal which fuses the hearts of men ; the churches cannot witness for unity and brotherhood while divided as they are. What is needed — the only thing that can save our civilization — is some new interpretation of religion, the great Christian ideal of the kingdom of God, which shall sweep the world, lift us out of our de- votion to small and petty things, fuse our hearts in a common devotion, and send us out to live for the common good. In the next chapter we shall note the meaning of the Christian ideal and the things that have yet to be done to bring the nation under its dominion. XIII THE CHRISTIANIZATION OF THE NATION It is necessary to be very definite and concrete in this discussion. It is easy to deal in generalities and miss realities. No doubt some may object to the foregoing statement of remedies on the ground that too little has been made of Christianity, too much of other things. Everywhere the plea is ad- vanced that the one great need of America at this hour — the one and only- thing that can save us — is the Lord Jesus Christ. What we need is more of Christ, more of his spirit in the hearts and lives of men, more obedience to his will, a thorough ac- ceptance of his principles. This is precisely the thought that is implied in all the chapters of this book. But instead of merely talking about Jesus Christ, I prefer to show what his life means to us and what would follow if his spirit were honored in our land. One could use some of the hackneyed phrases of religion that might satisfy the unthinking but would mean little. I pre- fer rather to indicate the things that are implied in the practise of Christianity in the life of the nation. Let us beware of mere patchwork, of mistaking form for substance and of taking a part for the whole. It is the mission of America to realize the democratic idea. We must create an American race and preserve the American family. We must es- 243 244 If America Fail tablish social justice and conserve our national re- sources. But all of these things are parts of a whole ; and the whole is more than the sum of its parts. We might have all of these things, separately or to- gether, and yet fail in our mission. These things one and all are incidents in a larger issue. That paramount issue is the religion of Christ. If Amer- ica can become a Christian nation in the best sense of the term, it will realize and safeguard democracy. For democracy is impossible without Christianity. Only in the Christian truths of divine Fatherhood, human brotherhood, the sacrificial spirit, the ideal of the kingdom of God, do we have the gi'ound and guaranty of democracy. It would be easier to build a house in the air than to build democracy without religion. If America can become Christian it can become and remain America. The Christianization of America is therefore the supreme issue before the nation at this time. And as this is the su- preme task, so it is here that Christianity makes its supreme failure or most glorious success. I. The Lesson of History For nineteen hundred years the gospel of Jesus Christ has been at work in the world. Like a mighty conqueror the Son of man has marched down the centuries, bringing men unto God, sav- ing them from their sins, overturning an evil here, ending an abuse there, breaking the shackles from millions of men, lifting the gates of great empires from their hinges, and changing the whole drift of history. The gospel has achieved some great and far-reaching results. It has saved millions of souls and has created the Christian home. It has created The Christianization of the Nation 245 the fellowship of the spirit, known as the church, and has done great things in the development of truth and the blessing of man. It has inspired the missionary enterprise and has sent men forth to the ends of the earth to carry the message of life to lost men. It has greatly influenced man's social life and has inspired a thousand forms of helpful service. Some noble and notable attempts have been made at va- rious times to interpret the Christian ideal in social terms and realize a Christian social order. Savona- rola in old Florence had a vision of a Christian city and bravely sought to make Jesus Christ king of the city. The Anabaptists in Central Europe caught a vision of the kingdom of God, and both preached the gospel of the common man and tried to realize a Christian order. John Calvin in Geneva believed in the redemption of all life and tried to build a Christian city. Knox and his colleagues in Scotland saw in vision a redeemed people living in covenant relations with the invisible king; and they sought to bring all life under the divine law, from the king's throne that should be established in righteousness to the merchant's balance that should be used in faithfulness. The Puritans and Pilgrims in Massa- chusetts colonies, the Baptists in Providence Planta- tions, and the Quakers in the Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, sought to found a social order in the name of Christ and to realize his purpose in all life. Yet, as we survey the history of the centuries, we are puzzled and distressed. The gospel seems to fail in achieving the largest and longest results. It is potent within a narrow circle, but seems ineffec- B 246 If America Fail tive in the wider social and political realms. In age after age, in many lands, it has been at work doing great things for God and man and giving promise of the Christianization of life as a whole. And yet in every age and in every land, we find it pausing in its career and stopping short of the largest suc- cess ; there is an arrested development. Men accept the gospel message and profess allegiance to the Son of man ; but they fail to accept his full program and hesitate to go the whole way with him. They see the kingdom in part and enjoy some of its blessings ; they fail to see and to seek the whole kingdom of God and its justice. The results of this arrested development are writ large upon the face of history. In no place, either in Asia, in Europe, or in America, has the gospel been able to prove itself the power of God unto the salvation of the nation. It has saved individuals, but it has not saved society. Nations that received Christianity have declined and failed. The social conditions in some of the Western lands are far bet- ter than in lands where Christianity has not been known. But the condition of things in these lands excludes all boasting on our part and awakens se- rious misgivings. The gospel has been preached and known for nineteen hundred years, and the re- sult is Christendom — the heaviest handicap that Christianity has to bear. There are students not a few, who declare that in Protestant lands Chris- tianity is running out and is losing its power as it has done in Catholic and Eastern lands. No nation thus far has received Christianity fully enough to be saved itself or to show what Christianity can do. I realize fully that this is a partial story. I may The Christianization of the Nation 247 be accused of pessimism and blindness in that I have shown the dark side and named the evil things, and have not sufficiently recognized the influence of Christianity nor measured the good forces at work. Many of these good influences are at work in our land today ; here are many of the bravest and most devoted men and women the world has ever seen. Above all, Christianity itself is here, with a peren- nial power of revival and renewal ; and this changes the whole story. No one believes in the power of the gospel more than I. But we must have an intel- ligent conception both of Christianity itself and of its method of work. The fact is that Christianity can do its work just so far as men give it the oppor- tunity to work. The gospel is no mere impersonal force that breaks down opposition and bends history to its purposes. The gospel works in and through men and is limited by the means it finds. Chris- tianity is a moral and spiritual religion ; its results in the life of men and nations depend upon its own qualities and upon the will and cooperation of men. In a word, the disobedience and folly of men, the vices and conditions of society, may limit the gospel and may negative its beneficial purposes. And this brings us to a second thing that is vital here : II. The Power of the Gospel The gospel of Christ, to save America, must be accepted in its fulness and applied in all its bear- ings. If the history of the past teaches anything, it teaches that the formal profession of Christianity by a people counts for little in national life ; merely individual and ecclesiastical religion is not sufficient to save society from dissolution; a partial applica- 248 If America FaU tion of Christian principles can neither save the na- tion from decay nor Christianity from decline. Perhaps Christianity came too late to save the Ro- man Empire; the canker of evil had eaten too far for any remedy to avail. But it was received by Syria and Armenia, by Arabia and Greece, by Italy and Spain ; yet it has not saved any of these peoples. We know the sad story of the decline of religion and life in Western Asia; we know the story of medieval Italy and Spain. We know the failure of every nation thus far to create a Christian civili- zation. History either indicates that Christianity is weak in the wider realms of life and has no power to save a nation, or it proves that men and nations have misunderstood Christianity and have not given it a fair trial. The latter alternative, we believe, is the one abundantly demonstrated. In the words of Chesterton : " Christianity has not been tried and failed ; it was found difficult and has not been tried." The reason for this failure is not far to seek or hard to find. Men were willing to accept Christ as Saviour and teacher ; they were not willing to accept him as Lord and King. They were willing to seek the salvation of their souls and to make Christ the priest of their church; they were not willing to make his law supreme in the nation and to organ- ize society according to his will. They were ready to commit their eternal interests into his hands; but they refused to follow Christ all the way and to seek his full kingdom here. They refused be- cause they were not willing to pay the price of suc- cess and could not stand the justice of the kingdom. They were willing to follow Christ for what they could get from him — the forgiveness of sin and the The Christianization of the Nation 249 hope of heaven. They were willing to do some of the things he commanded and were ready to feed the hungry and nurse the sick; but they were not willing to make his Cross the law of their lives and to hold their possessions in trust for his name. They would not accept Christ's demand for justice and organize their social and political life on this basis. They were ready enough to believe in Christ as Saviour and call him " Lord, Lord," in the church. But they were not willing to put away their injus- tice, to surrender their special privileges, to give up their profits out of men's necessities, and to be just and brotherly toward all men. And so they failed to honor the gospel, to give it a chance to show what it can do, to realize the full meaning and power of Christ. They failed to save the nation, to keep society from decline and corruption and to give any real conception to the meaning of Christianity. Now a partial Christianity is really no gospel at all. A half gospel may delay the decline of a peo- ple but cannot save it from ultimate failure. A gos- pel half applied may do something for men, but can- not save even itself from final decay. Ruskin says that the Venetians in the early days of their history were the most religious people in Europe; but they kept their religion confined in their churches and their homes. They said it would never do to mix such a sacred thing as religion with their business and politics. " The consequence of all this was," con- tinued Ruskin, " that their business and politics be- came hopelessly corrupt; and this corruption in- fected their churches and homes and destroyed the religion practised there." The gospel of Christ, if 250 If America FaU itself is to be saved, must be accepted and applied in all its scope and power. The mere profession of religion, the building of churches in honor of Christ, the presence of good individuals, cannot save a peo- ple from decay and failure. That Christianity may avail, its principles must be built into social cus- toms and political institutions; its spirit must per- meate and transform all relations and realms; its ideal must become the rallying-center for the peo- ple's faith and effort. In speaking of the Christianization of America, therefore, I use the words in no formal and external sense. The Christianization of America does not mean a mere lip service, the insertion of Christ's name in the Constitution, the legislative ratification of the Sermon on the Mount; least of all does it mean the dominance of the Church over the State, the acceptance of a set of doctrines by a majority vote of the people. It is something deeper, truer, more real, more vital. The Christianization of America means the possession of His mind, a pas- sion for justice and fair play, humility before God and mercy toward men; it means the permeation of all life by his spirit, the acceptance of his law of love and brotherhood in all relations of society, the realization of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit by the person, in the Church, in the family, the community, the State, the industrial order. The fact that America is what the Supreme Court pronounces " a Christian nation " is not enough. The fact that we have many persons who believe in Christ and love God, will not save us. Religion must be applied. It must determine the relations The Christianization of the Nation 251 of man with man. It must create the national mind and inspire the national policy. The principles of Christianity must be interpreted in terms of social life ; they must determine our treatment of the soil and the quality of our home life; they must create a national purpose to establish justice in the nation ; they must break down the antagonism between em- ployees and employers and unite them in a common purpose; they must become the very spirit of our laws and the life of our institutions; Christianity must make good individuals and good citizens; it must inspire human lives, and it- must be incarnated in national life. III. The Final Test 1. The one only thing that can save America, make it great, and enable it to fulfil a high destiny, is the possession of the spirit of Christ. The life of Jesus Christ is the revelation of the very being of God and the interpretation of the law of the uni- verse. He tells us that he came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. The mind that was in Christ when he came into the world and gave himself in service of man, is the only mind which has warrant for itself in this universe of God. The mind of Christ is not some esoteric word of religion ; it is not the special attainment of a few select souls ; but it is the mind which all men, churchmen and citizens, are to have in all the relations of life. The mind of Christ is the law for the throne of God, for angels, for men, for churches, for families, for nations. If any man and if any nation have not the spirit of Christ, they are none of his. 252 If America FaU The Christ has given us a further interpretation of the law of the kingdom. Among the nations, he says, they who are great seek to rule over others; and a man's greatness is measured by the way he makes others serve him. But it is not so in the kingdom of God. Here greatness is measured not by position but by service. The great in the king- dom are not those who rule over others, but those who serve them. The greatest nation is not the nation that conquers the most territory and rules the most people, that boasts of its power and uses this to control others. It is rather the nation that serves the family of nations and gives of its best in love, that lives not to be ministered unto but to minister, to give itself for the redemption of all. The great nation is not the one that domineers over the weak and takes away their liberties. It is the nation that upholds the weak and establishes jus- tice among men. In the long run, therefore, Amer- ica will be great in kingdom values in so far as it serves the family of nations and lives to bless others. America can never become truly great by control- ling the world's trade, becoming the world's banker, having the strongest navy, speaking the masterful word in world politics. This way the nations have sought to take; but this way lies failure. The na- tion that would find its life unto the kingdom must first lose life unto itself. The way of the Cross is the way to the throne for Christ, for men, for na- tions; and there is no other way under heaven re- vealed unto men. Men and nations will try to climb up some other way; but there is none other than Christ's way. 2. Christianity can save America just so far as it The Christianization of tlie Nation 253 makes men unselfish and brotherly, just and justice- loving, good citizens, good workingmen, good em- ployers, good parents; it can save America just so far as it makes a better home life, with men and women bearing children for the Republic and lay- ing their lives on the altar of service; it can save America just so far as we conserve our national re- sources, save our forests, conserve our fuel, feed our soil, and guard our forests and water-supplies; it can save America just so far as it teaches us to assimilate the various peoples here, to make our cities more sanitary and wholesome, to prevent the growth of an industrial proletariat and to establish industrial brotherhood. There is enough intelli- gence, conscience, and religion in any community in America to transform it from top to bottom, to abol- ish its slums, to purify its politics, to advance it far toward the City of God. But it is an individual in- telligence, a personal conscience, a church religion. The making of good individuals is not enough and can never save America. We must have men who are good citizens, who live for the common good, who build their conscience and faith and religion into social customs, industrial systems, and national policies. We need a community conscience, a civic blush, a social religion. The earth is holy and intended to be the home of God's children. To waste its resources, to ruin the soil, is a sin. A nation may profess allegiance to Jesus Christ ; but if it permit the earth to be monop- olized and the soil ruined, that people's religion is vain. The nation is one great family, and this de- mands that men take thought for the common good and subordinate personal advantage to the common 254 If America Fail welfare. To create a monopoly and force up prices, to make the child's loaf small and the family's room dear, to be silent in the face of injustice, to go off, one to his office and the other to his merchandise, and allow groundlings to control the state, is both sin and cowardice. A people may build churches and be jealous for the honor of its creed; but if it permit corruption to thrive, childhood to be wronged, and greed to control society, that people's religion is Christless. 3. This work of applying the teachings of Christ to the nation's life demands faith and courage: faith in the truth of Christ, faith in God, faith in man, faith in the right of righteousness to be tri- umphant ; and courage : the courage to follow truth wherever it leads, courage to study causes and lo- cate responsibility, courage to grapple with all in- justice — social and political — courage to be just and brotherly all along the line of life. The church has never yet had the faith and courage to follow Christ all the wsLj and seek supremely the kingdom of God. No generation of people has yet been willing to ac- cept the will of God. They have not wanted the kingdom and its justice. It would disarrange their plans. It would rebuke their policies. It would can- cel many of their privileges. It would end monopo- lies and compel men to be brotherly. It would oblige them to restore the earth and its resources to the people and to treat one another as equals. Wall Street is no more prepared to follow Jesus than was the Sanhedrin of old. Berlin, Paris, Lon- don, Washington would give him no kinder welcome than did Nazareth and Jerusalem. Dare we be Christians? Have Christian men today the faith The Christianization of the Nation 255 and courage to seek the whole kingdom of God and follow the Lamb whithersoever he leadeth through the nation and in the social world? In the answer to this question is found at once the measure of our national faith and the hope of our national destiny. Christianity must be supreme or it ceases to be Christian. No nation can endure half Christian and half mammon. The American Republic can never fulfil its mission with anything less than the whole of Christianity and the complete Christiani- zation of the nation. 4. The final test of men and nations is the king- dom of God. In the way they serve the kingdom and its uses do we read the measure of their suc- cess or their failure. The kingdom of God is com- ing in the earth; the Eternal has spoken, and the decree has gone forth : " The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and of his Christ." The kingdom of God is coming with us or without us. In the long reaches of the universe it may matter little what we do and are. But it matters everything to us whether we accept the kingdom and go on with it to victory. The king- dom has been offered to many a people in the past; it was offered to the Jewish race, to the Greeks, to the Romans, to the Spanish and Germanic races. They one and all failed to see it, and so have been cast aside and left behind. That kingdom is now offered to us ; and we may do much in our place to serve its uses and hasten the great consummation. But we may also fail as others have done. 5. The Potter holds in his hand the clay of this nation ; the wheel whirls as the years go by. In so many ways, at so many points, the clay is unre- 256 If America Fail sponsive and stubborn ; generation after generation, it refuses the potter's thought and is resolutely- bound to have its own way. At times one fears that the vessel will crumble in his hands and will be marred on the wheel. The marring of a life is a fearful sight ; how much more tragic is the marring of a great nation with its hopes and possibilities. Shall we go as so many other peoples have gone? Must the Divine Potter cast us aside in the end as so much crumbled and ruined clay? Let us not be high-minded but fearful. If Israel marred on the wheel, what reason have we to expect a different fate? If we refuse God's will, if we cherish evil practises, if we make gold our trust, if we resent God's touch and become, unbrotherly and divide up into classes, if we withhold our testimony for right- eousness, if we go mad after pleasure and the native stock declines, what else can happen but that we shall lose our election and go the way of all the na- tions whose fragments make the world's scrap-pile? It is too early as yet for any one to see the result. But history and science lend no sanction to the easy- going optimism of our people that all is well. Both contain sharp and solemn warnings. There is no warrant from history to suppose that our fate must necessarily be different from that of other peoples. From science we gather not one presumption against the decline and failure of our American society. Have we any reason to believe that we shall succeed when others have failed? Can we stand prosperity? No nation ever has been able to stand it. Signs mul- tiply that we cannot. Can we establish a real de- mocracy? We have been trying at this task for some generations; but the democratic government The Christianization of the Nation 257 in America is under an eclipse. Can we establish a stable and enduring democratic state? The study of history is not encouraging at this point. Can we become a Protestant nation? Has our Protes- tant type of life those survival qualities which are necessary? The Protestant emphasis upon individ- uality and liberty has been necessary ; but an over- emphasis here may lead us into atomism and dis- union. The Protestant character has been marked by its initiative, its energy, its liberty and power. But these alone are not the survival qualities that are needed. Have we that cohesion and union, that sense of solidarity, that unselfishness of purpose that will lead us to subordinate all for the common good ? It yet remains to be seen whether our Amer- ican clay possesses those qualities that will yield the vessel unto honor. " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked; whatsoever a nation soweth that shall it also reap." Every nation that has sown disunion and injustice, that has lived in luxury and has for- gotten God, has marred on the wheel and has gone to the rubbish-heap. Why should America think that it can have any special exemption? It is not yet too late to avert national failure. It is both a folly and a crime to trifle with fate. The making of a just, brotherly, Christian nation is the supremest achievement possible to any people. Beside this, all other attainments sink into insig- nificance. In this supreme achievement are included all partial successes. Some time on this earth a na- tion will exist that believes in the kingdom of God, honors the law of Christ, dares to follow his ideal, and promotes the advance of the kingdom. Some- where a nation will appear that has the spirit of 258 If America Fail Christ, prizes the true riches, lives not to be minis- tered unto but to minister, and holds its treasures in stewardship for the redemption of the weak. What is the name of this nation? It might have been Israel, or Rome, or Germany, or England; it may be America or some yet unknown nation. The fate of America is a fact of profound signifi- cance not alone to ourselves but to the whole world and to all ages. For the success of the American experiment will hearten the race in its age-long struggle toward the kingdom of God ; its failure will discourage men till the last syllable of recorded time. The experiment of founding a democratic state and creating a Christian civilization began here under the most favorable auspices. In the matter of posi- tion, soil, resources, and people, the experiment was most fortunate and favored. So far as we can see it will never again be possible for the experiment to be tried under such favoring conditions. If Amer- ica fails therefore, it will mean that the attempt to build a democratic state and create a Christian so- ciety is at best a doubtful undertaking, that a strong presumption exists against the success of any such experiment in the future ; it will mean also that the realization of the Christian ideal must be delayed for generations, perhaps for millenniums. More than that, America's failure would discount the value of the gospel and give intensity to the charge that Christianity is unable to meet the largest demands and has no power to save society. Is democracy a great and winning principle? Is the democratic state the best and strongest form of government? Is Christianity the power of God unto the salvation of the world? Is human history a weary process The Christianization of the Nation 259 without meaning or goal? These are some of the questions that are being answered for the race in the American experiment. The God of nations has given us an unparalleled opportunity. We are called with a high and holy- calling. We are offered the most magnificent oppor- tunity that has ever come to any people. We are indeed a people with the clear stamp of God upon us. We stand in the very forefront in the march of time. We know what are the things that make for peace and perpetuity. Behind are all the knowl- edge and the experience of the ages. We live in the full light of all the great and culminating centuries. For these reasons we cannot plead ignorance of the causes that have destroyed the nations of the past. Nor can we say that we did not know what would be the result if those same causes are permitted to work unchecked in our own nation. No, if we sin today we sin in the broad light of universal history and are without excuse. If we fail and fall, it will be because of wilful blindness and perverse heart. If we make shipwreck of our national faith and forfeit our calling in universal history, our fate and our failure will be without a shred of excuse or shade of palliation. America is indeed a people upon whom the end of the ages is come. The generations of the past de- sired to see the things which we see and did not see them. The nations of the earth turn toward us in hope and longing, feeling that the time of their de- liverance is at hand. In a hundred lands today peo- ple are looking across the seas to learn what democ- racy means, to know what Christianity can do for a nation. There never has come such an opportunity 260 If America Fail and such a responsibility to any people. If we fail the world is struck to the heart and its brightest hope is chilled. If we succeed, a hundred peoples will yearn after democracy and will believe that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. If we fail — ^the words tremble on our lips as we speak them. If we fail, the most splendid experi- ment of the ages has failed. If we fail, the word democracy will be fatally discredited in the vocabu- lary of men. If we fail, men will doubt and ques- tion whether Christianity is really potent enough to redeem any nation and to create a Christian so- cial order. If we fail, the progress of the kingdom may be delayed for a thousand years. If we fail, and the kingdom of God shall be given to another, we shall have lost all meaning in universal history except to point a warning. If we succeed — ^the words go forth as a prayer and kindle our faith. If we succeed, we shall prove to the world that democracy is the finest type of na- tional life. If we succeed in establishing a Chris- tian type of social life, we shall prove that Chris- tianity is indeed the power of God unto the salvation of the world. If we succeed, we shall both glorify ourselves and shall promote the coming of God's kingdom in the earth. INDEX INDEX Absentee landlordism, 77. Addams, on Americanization, 222. America : messianic service of, 18 ; mission of, 14 ; a refuge, 219 ; an unparalleled opportunity, 259. American mind, 207. American policy, 82. American race changing, 97. American stock decreasing, 71, 82, 90, 94. Americanization of the peoples, 206, 222, 224. Amiel on democracy, 147. Anglo-Saxon race, VI. Aristotle on liberty and monopoly, 57. Army tests, 70. Bancroft : on early colonizers, 10 ; on Protestant principles, 16. Batten : on meaning of nationality, 85 ; on unfinished tasks of de- mocracy, 154. Birth-rate: wrong, 34 ; in America, 91. Brotherhood in democracy, 148. Bryce on decay of religion, 236. Burbank on human selection, 98. Burke on the nation a partner- ship, 138. Capitalism in control, 43. Carlyle, quoted, 6. Carver on absentee landlordism, 77. Cassandra in Troy, 225. Chesterton states Christianity has not been tried, 248. Children, number of, in family, 197. Christian nation, 257. Christianity : in the centuries, 244 ; arrested development of, 245 ; must be accepted, 247 ; applied to all life, 253. Church, the, and justice, 121. Colonizers, early, 10. Columbus discovering America, 7. Conklin on decline of American stock, 71. Conscience needed, 112. Conservation program, 134-144. Cost of living, effect of, 66. Cromwell on England's calling, 3. Davenport : on race characteris- tics, 86, 87 ; on changes in America, 97. Democracy : defined, 15 ; an un- finished story, 146, 152 ; in its positive aspect, 150, 160 ; in in- dustry, 153-158 ; its unfinished tasks, 154, 163 ; a universal principle, 158 ; testing-hour of, 184. Depew on power of capital, 53. Deserts are man-made, 131. Distribution of wealth, 59. Eliot on degeneracy of nation, 81. Ellwood : on distribution of wealth, 59 ; on power of ideas, 226 ; on diverse ideals, 228. Empty cradles, 205. Factors of life, 191. Family affected by social condi- tions, 199. Family and nation, 188. Family life made more stable, 200. Farm land and tenants, 50. Fortunes, how made, 56. Fremantle on Tyndale, 39. French colonies in Canada, 11. Revolution, 46. 263 264 Index Get back the land, 142. Giddings : on mixed races, 99 ; on American mind, 101. Gladden on right to the land, 1S7. Gold, love of, 40. Goodsell on decline of home, 76. Gospel in Americanization, 216. Governors, conference of, 130. Grant on the passing of the great race, 86. Greece, decline of family in, 32. Hamilton on economic power, 155. Hebrew race, 99. Heredity a determining factor, 192. Hill, D. J., on economic cause of war, 239. Hill, J. J. : on decreased produc- tion, 126 ; on social destruction, 127. Hobhouse on survival of best, 202. Hodges on genius for sale, 45. Holt on changes in national stock, 90. Howe on land monopoly, 49. Huns and Vandals, 78. Ideals in nation's life, 225. Immigration : stimulated, 89 ; un- wise, 210. Individualism passing, 165. Industrial accidents, 168. Industrial democracy, 156. Industrial proletariat, growth of, 72. James, Prof., praises poverty, 232. Jellinek on rights of man, 15. Justice, defined, 117. Kellor on faith in people, 161. King on distribution of wealth, 54. Kingdom of God : America serv- ing, 19 ; final test of, 255. Labor unions in Americanization, 215. Land belongs to people, 136. Land monopoly, extent of, 50. Law must be supreme, 110. Lawlessness in America, 114. Liberty : and monopoly, 57 ; " nay and yea " of, 147. Lincoln : on the suicide of the Republic, 81 ; on reverence for law, 117 ; on ruling others, 155. Lloyd George on land monopoly, 120. Lower-standard people, 69. Luxury a blight, 29. Macaulay on America's future, 79. McDougall on national peculiari- ties, 192. Mack on industrial accidents, 168. Mackenzie on social justice, 119. Mammonism must be destroyed, 229. Marsh on soil destruction, 27. McGee on water supply, 133. Mecklin on Protestantism and capitalism, 231. Mixed races, 99. Nash, Prof. H. S., on writing his- tory, VIII. Nationality, meaning of, 85. Nations, causes of decline of, 22. New England towns, 93. Parkman on French Canada, 11. Patrick on decline of civilizations, 105. Pliny on ruin of Italy, 26. Potter and clay, 255. Preparedness, true, 173. Preparedness, a cause of war, 238. Profiteering in America, 170. Protestant : principles, 10 ; stocks declining, 195. Public affairs, lack of interest in, 166. Public school preserved, 212. Quebec, battle of, 12. Races, diverse, in America, 74, 99. Racial types : persist, 85 ; in America, 189. Racial unity necessary, 98. Index 265 Religion, decay of, 36, 236. Resources : conservation of, 124 ; wasting, 170. Roberts, on " unfinished program of democracy," 163. Roman Catholics and public schools, 213. Roman Catholic peoples, 194. Ross on national decadence, 29. Ruskin : on true wealth, 231 ; on Venetians, 249. Seager on control of capital, 60. Seeley on decline of religion, 235. Self-discovery, time of, 5. Simkhovitch on ruin of soil, 28. Sin defined, 37. Small : on capitalism, 43 ; on do- ing as you please, 143 ; on spiritual factors, 226 ; on un- selfish citizenship, 182. Smuts, General, states that " Tents have been struck," 164. Social pressure, 163. Socialization defined, 177. Socialization of industry, 179. Soil, destruction of, 24, 28, 125- 134. Spanish settlements, 129. Spiritual : forces, 226 ; exaltation of the, 234. State control of resources, 139. Strength of nation, 237. Superior race, decline of, 31, 64. Taine on French Revolution, 46. Tyndale on pope-holy religion, 39. Types in nation, 189. United States Steel Corporation, 74. Usher on challenge of the future, 6. Van Hise : on conservation of re- sources, 126, 134 ; on wasting resources, 170. Wallace on soil robbers, 129. Wealth : power of, in America, 42 ; concentration of, 45, 47, 53-55. Webster, prophecy of, as to America, 80. Westcott defines democracy, 15. Whetham on the family and the nation, 33. Williams on soul liberty, 12. World War : the close of an era, 5 ; disturbed our peace, 172, H 15 88 ^