In His Image

by William Jennings Bryan

We should also join the world in creating a tribunal before which every complaint of international injustice can be heard. If reason is to be substituted for force the forum instituted for the consideration of these questions must have authority to hear all issues between nations, in order that public opinion, based upon information, may compel such action as may be necessary to remove discord.

It does not lessen the value of such a tribunal to withhold from it the power to enforce its findings by the weapons of warfare. In the case of our own nation, we have no constitutional right to transfer to another nation authority to declare war for us, or to impair our freedom of action when the time for action arrives.

Then, too, the judgment that rests upon its merits alone, and is not enforceable by war, is more apt to be fair than one that can be executed by those who render it. A persuasive plea appeals to the reason; a command is usually uttered in an entirely different spirit.

There is another difference between a recommendation and a decree; if the European nations could call our army and navy into their service at any time they might yield to the temptation to use our resources to advance their ambitions. As the man who carries a revolver is more likely than an unarmed man to be drawn into a fight, so the European nations would be more apt to engage in selfish quarrels if they carried the fighting power of the United States in their hip pocket. For their own good, as well as for our protection and for the saving of civilization, it is well to require a clear and complete statement of the reasons for the war and of the ends that the belligerents have in view, before we mingle our blood with theirs upon the battle-field.

Our nation is in an ideal position; it has financial power and moral prestige; it has disinterestedness of purpose and far-reaching sympathy. When to these qualifications for leadership independence of action is added we can render the maximum of service to the world.

It matters not what name is given to the cooperative body; it may be a League of Nations or an Association of Nations or anything else. The name is a mere form; the tribunal should be the greatest that has ever assembled. Our delegates should be chosen by the people directly, as our senators, our congressmen, our governors, and our legislators are, and as our President virtually is. Representatives chosen to speak for the American people on such momentous themes as will be discussed in that body should have their commissions signed by the sovereign voters themselves. We cannot afford to intrust the selection of these delegates to the President or to Congress. The members of our delegation should not be discredited by any flavour of presidential favouritism or by any taint of Congressional log-rolling.

Delegates, selected by popular vote in districts, would reflect the sentiment of the entire country, and their power would be enhanced rather than decreased if they were compelled to seek endorsement of their views on vital questions at a referendum vote. Their authority to cast the nation's vote for war ought to be subject to the approval of the people, expressed at the ballot box. Those who are to furnish the blood and take upon themselves the burden of war-debts ought to be consulted before the solemn duties and the sacrifices of war are required of them.

Our nation can, by its example, teach the world the true meaning of that democracy which was to be made safe throughout the world. The essence of democracy is found in the right of the people to have what they want, and experience shows that the best way to find out what the people want is to ask them. There is more virtue in the people themselves than can be found anywhere else; the faults of popular government result chiefly from the embezzlement of power by representatives of the people—the people themselves are not often at fault. But, suppose they make mistakes occasionally: have they not a right to make their own mistakes? Who has a right to make mistakes for them?

The Saviour not only furnished a solution for all of life's problems, individual and governmental, national and international, but He also called His followers to the performance of the duties of citizenship: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's," was the answer that Christ made to those who were quibbling about the claims of the government under which they lived.

The citizen is a unit of the community in which he lives and a part of his government. Our government derives its power from the consent of the governed; what kind of a government would we have if all Christians were indifferent to its claims? No rule can be laid down for one citizen that does not apply to all; each citizen, therefore, should bear his share of the burden if he is to claim his share of the government protection. The teachings of Christ require that we should respect the rights of others as well as insist upon the recognition of our own rights. In fact, the recognition of the rights of others is a higher form of patriotism than mere insistence upon that which is due us and the spirit of brotherhood is calculated to create just such a community of interest. Each will find his security in the safety of all—the welfare of each being the concern of the whole group.