Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-22
OUR PRESTIGE ABROAD
William 7. staad Predicts the
Americanization of All Europe.
Kipling's oft-quoted lines:
What do they know of England
Who only England know?

AARAAltSo - Wv NisASuS>A Ai'>'''
What do they know of England
Who only England know?
may be applied with equal force to
Americans whose range of vision is
limited to the United States. OF such
there are many millions. Nothing sur
prises me more in talking to the average
educated American than his ignorance
Of the extent to which American ideas
are transforming the world.
OF the fact there can be no doubt. In
the evolution Of the Slavs of the Balkans
the Robert College, that American in
stitution on the Rosphorous, played a
part more important than that of any
foreign Office in Europe, excepting that
of st. Petersburg.
The most important development OF
internationalism that has taken place
of late years was tho opening of the
International Parliament of Agricul-
ture in Rome, where the King Of Italy
hopes it may develop into a universal
parliament Of the world. That insti-
tuition, the full significance of which is
Us yet but little appreciated either in the
Old World or the New, was the direct
product of American thought. Mr.
Lubin, citizen from the Pacific Coast
brought the idea to Europe, where 1t
found d cordial welcome and perma.
nent home.
need hardly refer to the influence OF
Americans at the recent conference at
The Hague The American idea was
felt to be greater, more potent than any
OF the American delegates. Mr.. Car.
ncgie locked in to see the foundation
Of the Temple Of Peace. for which he
found the money. Mr.. Choate, General
Porter. Admiral Sperry and l. B. Scott
worthily upheld the honor Of their
country.
But behind them all. invisible as the
atmosphere whose pressure all men feel,
was the American idea-the only forma-
tive idea inspiring the conference-th
idea Of free federation Of sovereign
independent states, living together in
fratcrnal equality and settling all their
differences by the impartial judgment
Of an independent supreme court.
Of these things many Americans have
heard. But how many, or rather, how
few have SO much as heard of the latest
and in some respects the most startling
illustration of the dominating, all pene-
trating influence of the American idea
aow many are aware that on the
twenty-ninth Of March there will
assemble at Rome an international
Congress of eminent men from every
European country, who will come to-
.setner for the express purpose Of dis
cessing what should be done to bring
about the federation of Europe on
American lines?
Eut such congress is to meet in
Rome near the end of the month 1t is
proposed that an international Com
mittee of representative men should
be formed for the purpose of forming
federation leagues in every country
whose object is to bring into existence
the United States of Europe on lines
approxilnating, as closely as possible
to the United States of America
The assembly of European notables
is the outcome of continental pilgri-
mage undertaken by Sir Max Waechter
a naturalized British subject, born in
Germany rs far back as 1887.
Sir Max Waechter makes no secret
of his admiration of American He
made a comparison between the United
States of America and the disunited
states of Europe, and came to the con-
clusion, that, to quote his own wor DIS;
Europe is gradually losing it's position
in the world, and, this will in course OF
time be usurped by other nations,
which are rapidly coming to the front,
unless we pull ourselves together and
abandon the vicious system now pre-
vailing in Europe which handicaps us
so seriously in the commercial strug-
gle for existence"
There is only one answer to that.
Europe must be Americanized or Eu-
rope is lost.
But, it will be asked, what chance
has this bold German Briton of carry
ing out his Americanizing project?
1t was to find that out that Sir Max
Waechter last year made political
pilgrimage through Europe In con-
versation, which Mr.. Charles Lowe re-
ports in the Contemporary Review, Sir
Max Waechter declared that so far
from finding the sovereign statesmen
of the Old World hostile they are pre-
pared to consider their inevitable Amer
icanization with an open mind.
So Sir Max is sanguine Septuagen-
arians are often optimists, and the
congress is going to be held, and I hope
it may be my good fortune to be there
to see how we wise men of Europe pro-
pose to Americanize the Old World
William T. Stead, London correspond
emit of the New York American.