Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/297

 NOTES AND ABSTRACTS 283

Democracy and the Expert — We have made ourselves the laughing-stock of the world by our easy credulity toward any political quack and by our unwill- ingness to appeal to the men who have devoted years to the special study of a matter that comes before a legislative committee. But democracy's attitude toward the expert is the result of the expert's attitude toward the common people. The doctor, the lawyer, the man of science, the railroad president, has declared : "You do not and cannot know. The things I deal with are of a sort from the comprehension of which you are by nature excluded. No amount of study on your part, no explanation on mine, would be of any use." Their attitude toward the layman has been esoteric and mystical. Let the expert frankly submit him- self and his knowledge to the judgment of the lay intelligence and he will find that the people will have faith in him as they bad in Lincoln in a supreme crisis. Let the expert popularize his knowledge and draw aside the curtain that shields his mysteries and he will gain increased respect from his fellow-citizens and will be of greater social service. — ^Joseph Lee, Atlantic Monthly, November, 1908. L. W.

Social Inequality and Social Progress. — There is nothing more inter- esting to the social student at the present time than the character of the dis- satisfaction which is spreading among the poorer and middle classes regarding existing social and industrial condition. The cause of this movement is striking artificial inequalities — surpassing riches and dire poverty. There is no greater obstacle to the progress of mankind than the artificiality which creates social inequality. The strength of the modern movement is in an awakening con- sciousness among all classes that life must be humanized ; that radical changes in the social environment must be introduced scientifically so as to give mankind a chance to rise. Mankind is enslaved economically and, accordingly, socially so that intellectual and political freedom has become practically valueless to the great mass. The work of civilization is to leaven primitive tendencies by creating new motives. The greatest obstacle to social improvement is not human nature, but tlie distorted, artificialized nature which bad environment has created. There is nothing human in it. That stupendous social changes are impending is manifest to those who recognize the influence of diffused education and quick- ened social feeling. — R. G. Davis, Westminster Review, October, 1908. L. W.

Depopulation et Sensuality. — It becomes increasingly more difficult to consummate marriage and more easy to break it. The sexual desire grows while the wish for children diminishes. The economic problem is not the only one in the situation. It is necessary to fall back upon I'individualisme amoureux and the sensualite of the Latin race to which the child is the enemy. There is a growing separation in the consciousness of women between the sex desire and that of maternity. The whole situation must be traced back to the intense individualism and crowded condition of modern life. — Alfred de Tarde, Revue de Psychologie Sociale, January, 1908. L. L. B.

Is an Honest Newspaper Possible? — There is now a strong demand for truth and honesty in news to which it would seem the great dailies would respond. But frequently their policies are largely controlled by advertisers upon whom they are dependent for support. In other cases they are prejudiced or lack intelligent editing. No New York daily is both honest and popular. The need is for an independent newspaper to correspond to the newly arisen independent voter. — ^A New York Editor, Atlantic, October, 1908. L. L. B.

Alcohol and the Community. — "One-third of all the recognized pauperism in the most highly civilized communities of Christendom results from bodily and mental insufficiency due to alcoholic indulgence." Fully one-fourth of all cases of insanity, two-fifths of neglected or abandoned children, one-half of the moral delinquencies of convicts, and four-fifths of the cases in jails and work- houses — to say nothing of the much larger percentage of cases of less overt misery in life, are due to the same cause. — Henry Smith Williams, LL.D., McC lures, December, 1908. L. L. B.