Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-06-02

|, Why not preparedness IL II be something
other than traitors game? Thou pacifist'
visit the Philadelphia Today and Tomorrow
Civic Exposition and let percolate into your
brain the lesson of Americas mission, born
in blood, preserved by blood and accom-
plished only through the conflict between
the "imps of baseness and darkness on
one hand and the carriers of what Matthew
Arnold calls sweetness and light" on the
other.
without meaning to be, that exposition
is a convncinT argument for the sort of
preparedness ch will make II impossible
for America-t,sr to know defeat 1t tells
what America stands for: and in so telling
II not only hits the pacifist a blow of might.
but the commercialzed cynic who would
make of preparedness simply creed for the
worship and defense of Dollars and Cents
is at least 'peeved" by it-''peeved" simply
and not knocked out because the CONNER
cialized cynic Is dull. can't be influenced by
an ideal of sweetness and light" and is so
much of a brute that only brute force can
ever keep his thumb out of the huckleberry
pie.
INSPIRATION OF HISTORY.
Americas most inspiring history is that
of its struggle against the commerciallzed
cynlc, but every step taken forward has
been only at tremendous cost in human
lives. The commercialized cynic. the free
booter of civilization. requires war to rid
the world of his rule And Americans OF
1875 made the worlds first real effective
fight for economic liberty.
There had been wars before-plenty of
them-wars for religious dogmas, wars of
kings with kings. wars of mobiles with
kings but never a war fought on the issue
that when man is ruled by government
he has the right to say what that govern
ment shall do. Taxation without repre-
sentatlon" was In It's time a most startling
innovation as political slogan. 1t meant
that an, individual counted more than his
government, and, to think of 1t, that must
have sounded outrageous, dangerous and
anarchistic to King George and his con-
servatists for they were the government.
All this is inspired by long analytical
look at the uniforms worn by the Revolu-
tlonary heroes. The uniforms are on view
at the exposition, and are some of the fea-
lures of the exhibit of the Quartermaster's
Department of the United States War De-
partment. Today the romanticists run to
the theatre or the movie" which advertlses
sex drama; but Eleanor Glyn, Laura
Robert Chambers and the other neurotics
of literature never had so wealthy field
for romance as is to be found in the birth
and emancipation of new race.
DISTORTIONS OF ROMANCE
Frizzle -headed females and putty-brained
males gaze with eyes and mouth wide open
and thrills running up and down their
spines at a portrayal of alleged soul-seek-
ings, and the commercialized cynic of the
pen wakes rich in royalties by catering to
this nervous disorder, 1t isn't romance by
long shot just plain. common, ordinary,
everyday superficial "mush" that calls for
peace. any old sort of peace, so that the
''mushing" won't be disturbed.
But look at that Pilgrim father OF 1920 /!
He 'mushed" all right enough-remembe
Priscilla and John Alden-but he was also
ready, even eager, to fight and die for his
country-the haZy realm OF hopes and
ideals. He had too much self-respect to
submit TO injustice, so he founded new
nation dedicated to the principle that later
was expressed as taxation without repre-
sentation is tyranny"
And the Revolutionary soldier did more
than die for his country he starved for it.
shivered at Valley Forge for II, took the
smallpox for 1t. Romance? Where is there
anything more thrilling or melodramatic? I?
In American history are to be found all the
elements OF the drama-the "low-brow"
drama, with its blood and thunder and the
'high-brow" drama as well, with its psy-
Geological excursions. character studies and
everything else that the highly intellec-
tual" refer TO as essential.
If the Pilgrim Father hadn't been true
10 the ideal of mental liberty. If the Revo-
lutionary patriot hadn't been true to the
ideal OF economic liberty. there would have
been no American democracy. no Philadel-
phia Today and Tomorrow Civic Exhibit
What nation other than America could
produce such exhibits and in such a fash