The Washington herald., 1916-01-02

with group OF friends, all associated with the
teaching staff, casually talking "Ive spent most
of this afternoon doing nothing" he remarked with
a sigh. One of the group, known for his sarcastic
w.t. shrugged his shoulders and said: "Thus the
day goesi"
| The Italian drew pencil from his vest pocket
and, leaning forward marked on the wits white
collar the figure 500. "I just want to make a
record" he said, "of the number of times I've
heard that joke"
| Such exchange of courtcsies is hardly pretty
But it illustrates the spirit that crops out at the
most unexpected times and in the most unexpect-
ed places against any people the world is inclined
| to patronize. OF recent years it has become the
fashion in this country to call the poorer Italians
l"Dagoes." Soon after the term was fastened on
them it increased its scope. So now whenever we
feel inclined to say something disagreeable about
an Italian, we tempted to call him "Dago."
And whenever we hear Italians quarreling or
whenever one Italian wishes to express scorn Of
another Italian may be sure that there will be
| a resort to that offensive term.
| What is the moral of this odd situatons Is II
not that prejudice spreads like disease? When
once it is established there seems to be way Of
undoing the harm. But, a matter of fact there
is way. 1t is for each of US to resist 1t and to
keep minds and hearts free from its poison
Have you ever seen two negroes quarreling? 1t
is very amusing. And it is pathetic, too. For,
almost invariably, in the heat of anger, they will
begin making insulting references to each others
color. The shame that the world has put upon
them each will apply to the other. e
1t is curious to see how, under such circum-
stances, human beings will snatch up the very
weapon that has been used on themselves. One
,rht xI-.-
them horror of having anything to do with the
weapon. On the contrary, the very knowledge of
the pain it can inflict makes them all the more
eager to it.
Incidentally, the habit of the negroes may give
us realizing sense of one of the most harmful
effects of the spirit of persecution The suffering
may leave on people dshguring mark that will
last from generation to generation And it may
come, not merely from the persecution itself, but
also from the way the prosecuted bear it, from
their liability to rise noby beyond it and to grow
not less fine, but finer.
In several American cities few seasons ago
there was great excitement the production OF
la play by the distinguished Irish dramatist Synge
"The Playboy of the Western World" Many play
lovers of Irish blood bitterly resented it They
it represented phases Of coarse and immoral lv-
ing that far from being characteristic were essen
TALLY at variance with Irish life. When the play
was presented, there were scenes of violent dis&
order.
Those incidents brought upon the incers to
the strife great deal of rdiculc. OF course they
were absurd In writing "The Playboy OF the
Western World the author had not intended to
libel his people. He had not meant to assert
that this particular study of Irish life characterized
all Ireland. He was merely giving a realistic
presentation Of one phase in multitude of phases
If he alive today he might say, just as his
defenders said, that the whole excitement was
absurd.
And yet there is something to be said on the
other side. Although those excitable playgoers
showed themselves to be supersensitive and un-
comfortable and unwise, they expressed a quality
worthy of respect race pride
One might argue that it would be hard to con-
ceive of self-respecting Englishmen or Americans
creating public riot and having actors arrested
on account of the presentation of play where
certain phases of American English life were
held up for laughter. English and American audi
ences would be superior to such childish sensibty
Quite right. But what would happen under
similar circumstances, with the members of
French audience' They would be likely to behave
with some violence. And their love of their coun-
try and of their customs is likely to make them
sensitive where these are made ridiculous
But far more than the French the Irish have
reason to be sensitive 1t is not mere matter of
racial excitability and emotionalty Behind all
the resentment expressed over "The Playboy of
the Western World there lay the memory of
long endured persecution The feeling related itself
to the spirit of rdicue and contempt and injustice
from which the fathers and the grandfathers and
the great grandfathers of those angry playgoers
had suffered.