Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-23
THREE ENGLISHMEN PUT
TRUTH ABOVE PATRIOTISM
Loves Dickinson, H. g. Wells and G. K Chesterton Join
Shaw in Constructive Criticism of
War-Girt England
BY the Literary Editor

TN THE face Of Ireland Easement, orders
i IN Council and the censor. this much
nav be said for England and this much
nav make her the noblest as she has often
..ened the gasest Of the belgerents;
Among her writer's OF repute she has pro-
suced more critics Of her own national
-,.a,tnesses than all the other fighting coun-
sres together. France has Romaine Roll
,.nd; Germany has Macmillan Harden but
a. Barnard Shaw's voice, which spoke out
loud and clear even in the beginning Of
conflict when many we're Alnad and many
] .iient she has added the voices Of II. G..
welfs, Loves Dickinson and G.. K Chester
ton When warning countries blaclten their
snenies and themselves with the pitch OF
verbal atrocities, IL Is splendid record and
n record that should mean much toward the
: saner more tolerant and moro intelligent
world which Is necessary petore war VIII De
snded.
OF the three new books from these Eng
/ ,sh writer's Loves Dcknson's The Eu-
rooean Anarchy" macmillan Company,
( New York; ~ easily the soundest and most
valuable. He makes his apologies for Eng
land in the first few pages. He finds Eng
land "as ambitious. as quarrelsome and as
aggressive as other states" He admits
that in the matter of peaceful intentions
.,our past inevitably dlscredits our future.
And when we profess peace IL is not un-
natural that other nations should suspect a
snare." He sees that TO achieve peace I'VE
must give up. in all nations this habit Of
dwelling on the unique and peculiar wicked
ness of the enemy"
pesinning deep in the historical back
grounds of the early nineteenth century, he
states and analyses the conflicts and al
liances which have linked half dozen Eu-
ropean nations in n dozen different COM
binatlons. In them he finds the common
factor Of an International anarchy which
has thriven marvelously of late years on
the new lease of life given the political
philosophy Of Machiavelli by the spirit Of
bismarck. It has made every budding
statesman and historian solemn or
cynical defender of the gospel of force. But
though this be true, we have no right
therefore, to assume that there Is some
peculiar weakness which marks off German
policy from that of all other nations. Mach
iayellianism is tho common heritage or
Europe 1t is the translation into idea OF
the fact of International anarchy" He rec
ognlzes with Walter Lippman's stakes OF
Diplomacy" the common resting place OF
all conflict in the common rush for the un-
developed countries.
Z Tracing thus the course of European con-
flct, Loves Dickinson sees the only hope
for peace in the abolition of anarchy through
International action to enforce peace. Here
he has q message for America apropos OF
Preparedness: Preparedness for what? To
enter that European competition for arma-
ments, which alone is sufficient cause for
war? Or to put armaments, Jointly with
other States, behind law and against ag-
gression, from whatever Power aggression
may be threatened?"
Naturally this man cannot look on Crush
ing" foes and setting up commercial wars
as producing anything but "a bitter and
pnf iyin haf n araiRn forever
tween the victor and the vanquished."
There Wells and Dickinson split. Wells is
as ready to excoriate England He knows
that she is never sure whether she lis
crowned republic or a Germanic mon
archy." He has no time for "anti-German
leagues" and for people "who profess TO
believe that all Germans to the third and
fourth generations (save and except the
Hanoverian family domiciled in Great Brit
aln) are a vile, treacherous and impossible
race a race animated by an incredible
racial vanity, a race which is indeed scarcely
anything but a conspiracy against the rest
Of mankind" He recognizes that, after
all the Prussian dream of world empire
Is but an initiative response to the British
Empire and the adventure of Napoleon
But when II comes to the trade alliances
and contemplated trade wars of what Wells
delights to call "the pledged Allies" he
cannot see the. sowing of dragons teeth.
Wells is such a natural optmist and such
an enthusiast for his desires that he can
bend even this sinister move into step
toward world federation.
n wells's book what Is Coming" (Mac-
milan Company. New York;, is full of a
great deal besides. and n great deal that is
rich. thought-provoklng and always good
reading. He reflects on lawyer govern
ment" the corrective of the press new
education to replace oxford classicism the
min Faut. Al.a 90 90
military dangers of the munition factories
a new and natural" map of Europe, with
Ireland and Albania under cantonal govern
ment. Bombay and Constantinople interna-
tional cities, Africa under the rule Of
Latin league and Arabia a nation risen
again; world navy directed by Great