New-York tribune., 1918-01-22
The Sensitive Plant

The psychology of pacitlsm offers an
interesting study in mental eccentrlclty.
One reader of The Tribune, Mr.. William
Bradley Otis, offered one theory the other
day-to wit, that pacfism was the product
of an extreme intellectualism so CONTROL
ling as to nullify the instructive emo
tional protest which Boche tactics arouse
in normal human beings. To-day Mrs
Elsie Clews Parsons in a letter on this
page, defends the pacitists from this
charge and takes the quite opposite posi-
ton that the pacifist attitude of nos,
resistance flows from "a very passionate
resistance against adding to the pain and
suffering of the world
Is there such thing as passionate
pacitist? Obviously yes, if we include in
the term those masquerading pacifists
whose faith flows, consciously or uncon-
sciousy, from a strong pro-German bias.
Also yes, if we include the gentle I. ".
w. pacifsts, who are for peace between
nations, but for war to the last knife and
bomb against capital But what Of the
other and rarer type. the sincere non
resistant that Mrs. Parsons defends? 1t
is difficult business, guessing at the
mainsprings of faith and action in an in
dividual, let alone a class. The culmi-
mating decision by which man or woman
has to-day become that marked and ex-
ceptional being, pacifst, surely rests on
many years Of thought, feeling and con-
duct The formula differs for each per
son. The most We can do is to talk in
terms of more or less, Of probabilities
and types.
The large factor that intelectualism
obvious. 1t is easy to understand why
our first correspondent, Mr.. Otis, laid
such stress upon it. Intellectuals of a
certain type the world over, from Roman
ROLAND and Bertrand Russell to David
Starr Jordan, have shown leaning
toward pacitism. The sort of mind that
thinks any human problem, however COM
plex, can be solved by reason has un-
doubtcdly gone overwhelmingly for peace.
incidentally, for the mass Of human
beings intellectualism has received, there
fore, a black eye which it will be a long
time recovering from.
But is intellectualism the root of
pacifism, as Mr.. Otis argued? We think
not Here again, as SO often in human
history, the mind has arrived upon The
scene long after the real decision was
made; it arrived in time to spin beautiful
ca post facto reasons, to fortify and
justify the decision; but it was hardly
more important than coroner's iurv
sitting on the corpse. The original de-
clslon for pacifism flows oftenest, in our
opinion, from a constitutional dislike of
violence amounting to a controlling phvs
ical aversion, and carried to a pitch that
produces hesitancy toward action of anv
kind. Most of us had felt a growth in
this direction before the war broke out
In all save that small remnant which
stayed pacifists the tendency was over
whelmed by an outburst of fundamental
human passion, of wrath against bar
barty, of devotion and sacrifice for
our national ideals. By this theory the
pacifist was the superrefned, the over
sensitive, that could not stomach the
world as it was suddenly revealed to
startled eyes in August, 1914.
1t this explanation is true, passion
seems strong word to apply to such
sensitive plants. Emotion, nerves, were
involved, yes-but largely of negative.
shrinking character. lntelectualism was
an accompice after the fact. 1t is worth
remarking that extreme intelectualism is
usually located in nature of high]v
strung nerves and great sensibility and
was therefore in many cases ready to
hand with reason and we'll chosen uords
to support the first instructive reaction.
BUT the original decision, the determining
factor, was primarily Instructive To
that extent we gladly agree with Mrs
Parsons's argument