ss 
FIFTEENTH REPORT. 
virtuality, such as the privacy of liis house, and the choice of his wife, 
though eugenics is on the high road to deny him this privilege. 
It seemed perfectly obvious to me that the rapid spread of the con- 
sciousness of common interests across national boundaries would make 
socialism the ultimate direct means of eliminating war. Their creed 
readies the artificiality of boundaries, and that producers of different 
nations are much closer together than the diveise interests within a 
nation. The people at large have not realized the spread of this move- 
ment as it has not had the sympathy of the “capitalist press." but along 
with half a dozen other movements claiming the same thing it has been 
the most remarkable fact of the last decade. Just as I was beginning 
to make my disarmament speeches more violent through my convic- 
tion of the inevitableness of this socialistic eventuation, I happened to 
run across another movement arising from almost the same revolt that 
has caused socialism, and as great in area and psychological force. It 
has come so rapidly that if has hardly been recognized as one of the 
most potent of the present states of social consciousness. For want of 
a better name we call it National Feeling. It is class consciousness for 
a common language or traditions. It does not correspond to present na- 
tional boundaries, but rather to historical or even imaginary boundaries. 
It is really a struggle to get national individuality. Just as socialism 
has been a revolt from the coercive control of men by wealth or arbitrary 
government, so this national feeling is a revolt against the control of a 
people by any power which tended to diminish its race consciousness. 
The people are doing on a large scale what persons do on a small scale 
when they fear the deindividualizing effect of socialism. We know 
that whatever social changes may take place they must prove to be 
harmonious with the spirit, and the growth of national feeling seems to 
me to be a development of the spirit that is quite antithetical to so- 
cialism. The socialist motto, “workingmen of the world unite,” has a 
powerful purpose in if, but I think there are definite limits beyond which 
if cannot at present be carried. 
Socialism began to make progress about fifty years ago. but has made 
its marvelous advance within the last decade. The development of 
national feeling has been almost contemporaneous in both respects. 
Labor has been oppressed since war first made slaves, and nations have 
been oppressed since war first made some groups conquerors and others 
subjects, and until very recent times no one thought anything else pos- 
sible. The policy of Europe has been the control of various areas and 
peoples by several great powers. Of late years there has been relatively 
much less war, and much strengthening through internal organization. 
Thus the German empire was consolidated rather peaceably. Austria 
has established its domination over it heterogeneous aggregation of 
Germans, Foies, Bohemians, Slovaks. Slovenes, Oroations, Bosnians, Dal- 
matians and Italians. Russia has increased its control over Finland 
and Poland. Italy has become strong through the union of small king- 
doms. But I venture to assert that there was never a time when there 
was so little assimilation. I do not know Germany so well as Austria 
and Russia, but T am sure that Bavaria and Saxony love Prussia no 
better than before they became integral parts of the German empire. 
I anticipate that the time is not far distant when disintegrations and 
relignmeiits will become general. They are likely to be made peaceably 
