Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-11-06
THEoRY-TIME
(By HENRY w. FARNAM.)

ISES-ISto1 anu was III 6u9Idno1 OF uto
way to Germany, when the war broke
out. The uncertainties Of the situa-
ton led Columbia University to sus,
pend for the present its professional
exchange with Germany, and Profes-
sor Farnum returned 20 New Haven
in September-Ed.) From Yale Al
umni Weekly Of October Is, 1914. s.
In justice to the gentle reader who
has been fed during the summer on
the horrors of war. the writer feels
bound to begin this paper with a con-
fession. Though one Of the many
| thousand American travellers who
have been in Europe during the sum-
mer, he has no tales of personal hard
ships or adventure to tell. He spent
all of his time in England and there
fore saw nothing of the mobilization
Of the continental armies. He was
not arrested as spy. nor was he even
under the Illusion that he was being
chased on his return trip by German
cruiser, and the reader who expects
any thrills is advised to pass on to
the next article. But in such time
personal hardships are not needed to
give reality to the great tragedy of
the age. Anyone who can remember
the war between Prussia and Austria
of 1866, and who visited France In
1871, realizes only too well the terri
bic possibilities of the present con-
flict, and appreciates what a thin
crust separates our boasted civiliza-
ton and prosperity from the subter-
ranean fires of our political cosmos.
Now that the public are becoming
somewhat Injured to the daily reports
Of carnage and suffering, the battle
Of words is beginning to rage, and
charges and countercharges indicate
that, even when peace is restored, his
torians and publicists will long he
fighting over the question. who was
Ito blame?" Nm
Want u. s. Good viii. 80 = :,
A significant phase of this debate Is
that so many different nations seem to
desire the good opinion of the United
States. This very fact puts upon US
a responsibility which j think II esDe-
|cially important for educated men to
realize. It is easy enough to pass
snap Judgment upon world events.
Whatever weight, however, our opin-
ion may ultimately have. will depend
upon Its intelligence and its fairness.
II we oppose one country, because we
do not like the manner of fits citizens
whom we have met, or favor It be-
cause we have been we'll treated there
by personal friends, or because we like
its cooking or its hotels, we may. as
well shut our mouths, and keep our
opinions to ourselves. To have an
opinion which Is worth anything
means good deal Of study and hard
thinking, because of the extreme COM
plication of the questions involved.
We often speak of the war, but in
point Of fact there were no less than
13 declarations Of war between the
end of July and the end of August,
and as each war involves two partici-
pants, we have at least 26 sides to
consider and weigh. Everyone ought,
therefore, to express no opinion which
he is not able to support by facts, ard
to remember that light, not heat is
what is most needed. / do not mean
by this to argue for fabby indiffer-
ence. ! simply uree the impartiality
CT the righteous Judge who withhoIds
his opinion until he has examined the
evidence and heard the arguments but
then delivers it without fear and with
cut ambiguity. va
As to the "Papers.n
Much of the discussion has turned
upon the diplomatic preliminaries of
the conflict These can be studied in
the papers which have been issued by
the several governments, and reprint
ed here. But back OF diplomacy there
lie certain great facts and forces,
which have been operating for years,
and which have created a situation of
extreme difficulty for statesmen. how
ever wise or far-seeing. refer to
such things as the geographical situa-
ton Of Germany, the disproportionatel
increase in the populations of Ger
many and France, the growth Of ma
tionalism, the peculiarities Of national
temperament, and above all the mill
tary history Of the past two centuries,
each one Of which might easily torn
the subject of an extended mono
graph. In this paper / shall speak
only of that one of the many anteced-.
ent forces to which can make a mere
direct and personal contribution than
/ can to the others ] refer to the
political theories which have been es-
peciallv associated in the public mind
with the name CT Heinrich Won Treit-
schke A prominent magazine recent
ly contained an article on this man.
in which his name was consistently
misspelled from beginning tc end, and
in which he was referred to as ian odd
little man, with voice so had itsccpld
hardly be understood in college lecture.
rooms" Treitschkei was in2 fact a
very large man, with a strong face
and a decidedly impressive personal
ity, and the defect in his sbeech was
due TO deafness caused by sickness in
his youth in consequence of which he
was unable to modulate, his voice. It
was indeed so difficult for a beginner
to understand him at all. that during
the first BALI Of the first lecture of his
which I attended 7 could not make ont
what he was talking about, and felt
that / should have to give up the.