The Daily Missoulian., 1914-08-31

DIR. ]. r.. y
The Missoulian has already told of
the return home Of DIR. j. H. Under
wood of the chair of history and eco
nomics at the University of Montana
from Europe. A year ago DIR. Under
wood went abroad not to play. but to
study Since reaching home DIR. I'm
derWood has been very busy getting
settled again but has kindly stolen
time from necessary personal duties
| to write the following letter. Those
who read it will be very grateful to DR.
Underwood. They will long to hear
with unusual eyes. A little of what
he has seen he tells in Il charming
manner
| Missoula, Aug. 90
To The Missoulian. am asked to
give an account of myself" to give
The Missoulian a Astory"-as if anyone
WIZ HfiS pSeH TflIHDllltS apolt ILuiopC
ever comes home and gives an "ac-
count of himself
| But the present catastrophe makes
1 it much less difficult or odious for an
tirreverent person to tell how he really
felt about things in Europe. "A few
weeks ago / should have felt con-
strained to say nothing Of the gorgeous
Royal Guards with their immobile
land their ridiculous headgear and fan
|tastic clothes, and the temptation to
stick a pin in them to see if they are
men and the experiment of smiling at
of crack in their faces. | shauld have
dared to say nothing of the puppet
king of England, a sort of mace IN
the hands of MIR. Asquith, for the pur-
pose of aWing the medieval populace
and flattering the medieval nobility.
should not have offered to any respect.
able American paper any hint of Wha
/ thought in the gaudy and fantasti!
stone room and the banquet, halls ant
state rooms of the kaiser's palace a
Potsdam; nor of the myth Of German
civilization--nor a thousand othe
things / thought as I sat about idly il
the fascinating and instructive cafes
on the. streets, in the parks and il
the public places of the continent In
stead of getting a sound and usefu
parlor knowledge of the differences be
: tween Tintaretts and Titan, or of TIL
] details Of the arehitectures OF tn
r past, was more given to sitting abou
: or rambling endless hours in street
$ and fields and wondering about tn
$ people. Not that I did not see all til
J. pictures and cathedrals and castles an
town halls in Europe--heavens forbid
But in the interval of work, though
" about the people, things | expected I
keep to myself. II | should have con-
home and said too much about til
arrogant and stiff and stupid an
: staggering officers. who rode all til
promenades. loafed in all the cafe
: and had about all the fun in Europ
= while women toiied III all the fielt
. and men worked to feed these loft
. idlers-and, If possible, their own chi
dren. / should have expected to hes
the usual "doctrinaire,a. Heconom
!, theorist' and the rest
- But now the savagery and Enreasc
of militarism and aristocracy and des
: potism and commerce have come q
q together to their inevitable and logic
2 conclusion in driving all of their oM
victims of the loyal multitudes into
freZy of patriotism, and into an appa
ling determination Of superfiuous pol
ulations. Now 1 see what / thought
Is saw when watched the thrilling mov,
j. ments of the French cavalary, artillel
ID and zouaves on the 14th of July; whe
is Il saw arrogant and brutal office
6. bullying Austrian soldiers through r
1t, diculous and painful gymnastics
= Ragnas in Dalmatia. when. l saw
Q. Greek officer, splendid and ridiculous
1T clad, beat a ragged private with Il
butt of gun, for an united shoe lac