Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-16

Doctor Carrel evidently did not agree
with the Kitchener length.of.the.war
psychology. People kept Fostering the
eminent physician for his opinion. Why
he was singled out is hard to say. But
to stop them he gave his dogma unhesl.
tatlngly. "The war" he said, will last
fifty years.
Habit Plays Its Part
The workaday habits of peace, of
course, run in such deeply cut channels
in mems minds that it is next to impos-
sible for them to go along without a faith
of some kind in the day of delivery from
wars dislocations. Business, with it's
contracts and plans for the future in.
volving so much precision of forecast,
is not to be lightly told to throw all its
preconceptions of the future into the dis
card. A group of Philadelphia business
men were asked the other day to write
on separate pieces Of paper their pre-
dictions, concealing the papers till all
had set down a date The results were
surprisingly uniform. None guessed the
date of peace earlier than April /, 1918,
and none guessed it later than June IS,
1918.
Americans, with their love of quick
action, have never conceived a war as
a lasting thing. In 1861 both sides went
into the field in the firm belief that all
would be over after one battle. So conf
dent were the Confederates of this that
after the first battle of Bull Run, when
they had chased the Union army back
to Washington, whole companies, ana
in some cases regiments, Of the victors
took 1t for granted that the war was over
disbanded and started for home withou,
waiting for orders.
MObilizing Opinion
As important as any other tntegration
Of effort is the mobilization of public
sentiment, and, as short, catchy phrases
-"slogans"-are most easily remembered
and passed on, they play an enormous
part in binding a nations millions of
| minds into one determined purpose. Quite
as famous as Kitcheners THE war will
last three years" was Asquith's great
formula, usually given in the abbreviated
| form as I'VE shall never sheathe the
sword until -" His formula was rather
too long for a slogan, but nevertheless
multitudes Of Englishmen memorized it
and are able to repeat it. As it did much
to mobilize British opinion, it is worth
while to quote this historic excerpt from
the former Premier's Guildhan speech:
We shall never sheathe the sword
| until Belgium RECEIVERS in full measure
| all, and more than all, that she has sacri-
| feed, until France is adequately secured
| against the menace Of aggression until
the rights Of the smaller nationalities OF
Europe are placed upon an unassaiable
| foundation and until the military DOM
| ination OF Prussia is wholly and finally
| destroyed.
This was repeated by orators all over
the British Empire. A Toronto news
paper still prints it every day as its
leading editorial. In the schools the
teachers caught the music Of this magnifi
cent sentence and taught it to the chill
dren. 1t ranks with another great one
"The world must be made safe for de
mocracy."
While these slogans catch and hold and
unity the popular Imagination, it must be
remembered that other slogans, just as
often repeated and well-meant enough
! have done their share of temporary
harm. Mr.. Wilson has had as much bad
luck as good luck in his phrases. Peace
without victory" was not the happies
garment for his idea. peace withou
crushing victory" was the import of tn,
paragraph taken as whole. All thu
Allied nations became indignant over tn,
three words. But in the light OF late
circumstances the daring phrase mus
be considered rather as a diplomatic ant
opportunistic utterance than as a perma
nently accurate formula. II was evi
IDENTIFY intended as a challenge to Europ
to define war aims more and NOR,
clearly And in consolidating Russian
and American sentiment it has perhap
| nade I'M for all the ground Il lost a