“I stand at the end of the past, where the future begins I stand, Emperors lie in the dust, others shall rise to command; But greater than rulers unborn, greater than kings who have reigned Am I that have hope in my heart and victories still to be gained. Under my feet the world, over my head the sky, Here at the center of things, in the living presence am I.” CHAPTER XXX INDUSTRIAL REPUBLICS While democracy as a form of government spells ruin, democracy in society spells America in her best estate. The possibility of industrial republics is suggested. While talking about democracy in government we seem to have lost our conception of democracy in society. What better can we expect from democracy in government than France’s experience, when the voice of the people was declared to be the voice of God? But social democracy is a very different thing from a democratic form of government, and has well nigh become a lost blessing. When the socialist talks about “Industrial Democracy” he means a democratic form of government, with all industries under popular management. That is one extreme. The capitalist demands industrial autocracy. That is the other extreme. In a previous chapter I have tried to show that when the Fathers formed this government, their experiences, as well as their knowledge of history led them to fear the monarch. The French Revolution was about to burst into what its promoters promised should be the purest form of democracy which the world had ever seen, and the Fathers were justly apprehensive. Dreading the mass quite as much as they feared the monarch, they chose the middle course. They chose representative government. I wonder if there be a middle course between industrial autocracy and industrial democracy. Is it possible for business concerns and manufacturing plants to create within their organizations industrial republics where each employee shall have some actual voice, and through their representatives sitting in deliberative bodies, analogous to our legislative branch, originate and recommend or approve reforms and improvements subject, of course, to a veto by a cabinet?