our duty to their beloved dead.
"For a long time I have known that this hour would come, and that there
would be those of you who would stand affrighted at the momentous change
from constitutional government to despotism, no matter how pure and
exalted you might believe my intentions to be.
"But in the long watches of the night, in the solitude of my tent, I
conceived a plan of government which, by the grace of God, I hope to be
able to give to the American people. My life is consecrated to our
cause, and, hateful as is the thought of assuming supreme power, I can
see no other way clearly, and I would be recreant to my trust if I
faltered in my duty. Therefore, with the aid I know each one of you will
give me, there shall, in God's good time, be wrought 'a government of
the people, by the people and for the people.'"
When Dru had finished there was generous applause. At first here and
there a dissenting voice was heard, but the chorus of approval drowned
it. It was a splendid tribute to his popularity and integrity. When
quiet was restored, he named twelve men whom he wanted to take charge of
the departments and to act as his advisors.
They were all able men, each distinguished in his own field of endeavor,
and when their names were announced there was an outburst of
satisfaction.
The meeting adjourned, and each member went home a believer in Dru and
the policy he had adopted. They, in turn, converted the people to their
view of the situation, so that Dru was able to go forward with his great
work, conscious of the support and approval of an overwhelming majority
of his fellow countrymen.
CHAPTER XXVII
A NEW ERA AT WASHINGTON
When General Dru assumed the responsibilities of Government he saw
that, unless he arranged it otherwise, social duties would prove a tax
upon his time and would deter him from working with that celerity for
which he had already become famous. He had placed Mr. Strawn at the head
of the Treasury Department and he offered him the use of the White
House as a place of residence. His purpose was to have Mrs. Strawn and
Gloria relieve him of those social functions that are imposed upon the
heads of all Governments. Mrs. Strawn was delighted with such an
arrangement, and it almost compensated her for having been forced by her
husband and Gloria into the ranks of the popular or insurgent party. Dru
continued to use the barracks as his home, though he occupied the
offices in the White House for public business. It soon became a
familiar sight in Washington to see him ride swiftly through the streets
on his seal-brown gelding, Twilight, as he went to and from the barracks
and the White House. Dru gave and attended dinners to foreign
ambassadors and special envoys, but at the usual entertainments given to
the public or to the official family he was seldom seen. He and Gloria
were in accord, regarding the character of entertainments to be given,
and all unnecessary display was to be avoided. This struck a cruel blow
at Mrs. Strawn, who desired to have everything in as sumptuous a way as
under the old r間ime, but both Dru and Gloria were as adamant, and she
had to be content with the new order of things.
"Gloria," said Dru, "it pleases me beyond measure to find ourselves so
nearly in accord concerning the essential things, and I am glad to
believe that you express your convictions candidly and are not merely
trying to please me."
"That, Philip, is because we are largely striving for the same purposes.
We both want, I think, to take the selfish equation out of our social
fabric. We want to take away the sting from poverty, and we want envy to
have no place in the world of our making. Is it not so?"
"That seems to me, Gloria, to be the crux of our endeavors. But when we
speak of unselfishness, as we now have it in mind, we are entering a
hitherto unknown realm. The definition of selfishness yesterday or to-
day is quite another thing from the unselfishness that we have in view,
and which we hope and expect will soon leaven society. I think, perhaps,
we may reach the result quicker if we call it mankind's new and higher
pleasure or happiness, for that is what it will mean."
"Philip, it all seems too altruistic ever to come in our lifetime; but,
do you know, I am awfully optimistic about it. I really believe it will
come so quickly, after it once gets a good start, that it will astound
us. The proverbial snowball coming down the mountain side will be as
nothing to it. Everyone will want to join the procession at once. No
one will want to be left out for the finger of Scorn to accuse. And,
strangely enough, I believe it will be the educated and rich, in fact
the ones that are now the most selfish, that will be in the vanguard of
the procession. They will be the first to realize the joy of it all, and
in this way will they redeem the sins of their ancestors."
"Your enthusiasm, Gloria, readily imparts itself to me, and my heart
quickens with hope that what you say may be prophetic. But, to return to
the immediate work in hand, let us simplify our habits and customs to as
great a degree as is possible under existing circumstances. One of the
causes for the mad rush for money is the desire to excel our friends and
neighbors in our manner of living, our entertainments and the like.
Everyone has been trying to keep up with the most extravagant of his
set: the result must, in the end, be unhappiness for all and disaster
for many. What a pitiful ambition it is! How soul-lowering! How it
narrows the horizon! We cannot help the poor, we cannot aid our
neighbor, for, if we do, we cannot keep our places in the unholy
struggle for social equality within our little sphere. Let us go,
Gloria, into the fresh air, for it stifles me to think of this phase of
our civilization. I wish I had let our discussion remain upon the high
peak where you placed it and from which we gazed into the promised
land."
CHAPTER XXVIII
AN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS
The Administrator did nothing towards reducing the army which,
including those in the Philippines and elsewhere, totalled five hundred
thousand. He thought this hardly sufficient considering international
conditions, and one of his first acts was to increase the number of men
to six hundred thousand and to arm and equip them thoroughly.
For a long period of years England had maintained relations with the
United States that amounted to an active alliance, but there was
evidence that she had under discussion, with her old-time enemy,
Germany, a treaty by which that nation was to be allowed a free hand in
South America.
In return for this England was to be conceded all German territory in
Africa, and was to be allowed to absorb, eventually, that entire
continent excepting that part belonging to France.
Japan, it seemed, was to be taken into the agreement and was to be given
her will in the East. If she desired the Philippines, she might take
them as far as European interference went. Her navy was more powerful
than any the United States could readily muster in the far Pacific, and
England would, if necessary, serve notice upon us that her gunboats were
at Japan's disposal in case of war.
In return, Japan was to help in maintaining British supremacy in India,
which was now threatened by the vigorous young Republic of China.
The latter nation did not wish to absorb India herself, but she was
committed to the policy of "Asia for the Asiatics," and it did not take
much discernment to see that some day soon this would come about.
China and Japan had already reached an agreement concerning certain
matters of interest between them, the most important being that Japan
should maintain a navy twice as powerful as that of China, and that the
latter should have an army one-third more powerful than that of Japan.
The latter was to confine her sphere of influence to the Islands of the
Sea and to Korea, and, in the event of a combined attack on Russia,
which was contemplated, they were to acquire Siberia as far west as
practicable, and divide that territory. China had already by purchase,
concessions and covert threats, regained that part of her territory once
held by England, Germany and France. She had a powerful array and a navy
of some consequence, therefore she must needs to be reckoned with.
England's hold upon Canada was merely nominal, therefore, further than
as a matter of pride, it was of slight importance to her whether she
lost it or not. Up to the time of the revolution, Canada had been a
hostage, and England felt that she could at no time afford a rupture
with us. But the alluring vision that Germany held out to her was
dazzling her statesmen. Africa all red from the Cape to the
Mediterranean and from Madagascar to the Atlantic was most alluring. And
it seemed so easy of accomplishment. Germany maintained her military
superiority, as England, even then, held a navy equal to any two powers.
Germany was to exploit South America without reference to the Monroe
Doctrine, and England was to give her moral support, and the support of
her navy, if necessary. If the United States objected to the extent of
declaring war, they were prepared to meet that issue. Together, they
could put into commission a navy three times as strong as that of the
United States, and with Canada as a base, and with a merchant marine
fifty times as large as that of the United States, they could convey
half a million men to North America as quickly as Dru could send a like
number to San Francisco. If Japan joined the movement, she could occupy
the Pacific Slope as long as England and Germany were her allies.
The situation which had sprung up while the United States was putting
her own house in order, was full of peril and General Dru gave it his
careful and immediate attention.
None of the powers at interest knew that Dru's Government had the
slightest intimation of what was being discussed. The information had
leaked through one of the leading international banking houses, that had
been approached concerning a possible loan for a very large amount, and
the secret had reached Selwyn through Thor.
Selwyn not only gave General Dru this information, but much else that
was of extreme value. Dru soon came to know that at heart Selwyn was not
without patriotism, and that it was only from environment and an
overweaning desire for power that had led him into the paths he had
heretofore followed. Selwyn would have preferred ruling through the
people rather than through the interests and the machinations of corrupt
politics, but he had little confidence that the people would take enough
interest in public affairs to make this possible, and to deviate from
the path he had chosen, meant, he thought, disaster to his ambitions.
Dru's career proved him wrong, and no one was quicker to see it than
Selwyn. Dru's remarkable insight into character fathomed the real man,
and, in a cautious and limited way, he counseled with him as the need
arose.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE REFORM OF THE JUDICIARY
Of his Council of Twelve, the Administrator placed one member in charge
of each of the nine departments, and gave to the other three special
work that was constantly arising.
One of his advisers was a man of distinguished lineage, but who, in his
early youth, had been compelled to struggle against those unhappy
conditions that followed reconstruction in the South. His intellect and
force of character had brought him success in his early manhood, and he
was the masterful head of a university that, under his guidance, was
soon to become one of the foremost in the world. He was a trained
political economist, and had rare discernment in public affairs,
therefore Dru leaned heavily upon him when he began to rehabilitate the
Government.
Dru used Selwyn's unusual talents for organization and administration,
in thoroughly overhauling the actual machinery of both Federal and State
Governments. There was no doubt but that there was an enormous waste
going on, and this he undertook to stop, for he felt sure that as much
efficiency could be obtained at two-thirds the cost. One of his first
acts as Administrator was to call together five great lawyers, who had
no objectionable corporate or private practice, and give to them the
task of defining the powers of all courts, both State and Federal.
They were not only to remodel court procedure, but to eliminate such
courts as were unnecessary. To this board he gave the further task of
reconstructing the rules governing lawyers, their practice before the
courts, their relations to their clients and the amount and character of
their fees under given conditions.
Under Dru's instruction the commission was to limit the power of the
courts to the extent that they could no longer pass upon the
constitutionality of laws, their function being merely to decide, as
between litigants, what the law was, as was the practice of all other
civilized nations.
Judges, both Federal and State, were to be appointed for life, subject
to compulsory retirement at seventy, and to forced retirement at any
time by a two-thirds vote of the House and a majority vote of the
Senate. Their appointment was to be suggested by the President or
Governor, as the case might be, and a majority vote of the House and a
two-third vote of the Senate were necessary for confirmation.
High salaries were to be paid, but the number of judges was to be
largely decreased, perhaps by two-thirds. This would be possible,
because the simplification of procedure and the curtailment of their
powers would enormously lessen the amount of work to be done. Dru called
the Board's attention to the fact that England had about two hundred
judges of all kinds, while there were some thirty-six hundred in the
United States, and that the reversals by the English Courts were only
about three per cent, of the reversals by the American Courts.
The United States had, therefore, the most complicated, expensive and
inadequate legal machinery of any civilized nation. Lawyers were no
