The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-12

The League OF Minds, Good and
Bad, Behind the Disco. cry.
The Italians are not alone In per-
sonal satisfaction in the thoughts of
Columbus Day. The Greeks, the
Egyptians, the English, the Flemish,
the Chinese and the Spanish may
claim a fractional part Of the Dis
covery. Even in Italy Genoa may not
have all the laurels; Venice and Flor
ence have a right to sprigs. CoLUM-
nus founded his belief In a western
way to Asia on the knowledge. estab-
lished by ARISTOTLE and accepted by
all the intellectuals, that the world
PToLEMY he had the conception of
geography which held until CoPERNI-
Gus arrived. From the English monk
ROGER BACON he took a valuable err
ror which lured him on to truth. If
BACON had not miscalculated the
width of Asia CHRISTOPHER would
not have believed that only $500
miles lay between the Canaries and
Cathay.
A Fleming, the crusading monk
WILLEM DE RUBRuoUIs, was the first
to bring assurance to Europe that
east of Cathay was not swamp but
a sea. A Monaghan, KUBLAI Khan,
was first to permit view of the
population, civilization and wealth of
he East to a European who was able
10 make q report Of our consular
officers could only dictate such immor-
tal documents as POLO dictated y
which stirred the West to a hotter
interest in the land of mystery. 1t
was a Venetian, MARCO, who wrote
the prospectus for the Asiatic trade.
It was a Florentine, ToscANELLI,
who charted the Sea of Darkness for
COLUMBUS so confidently that the
Genoese could not doubt. 1t was
Spanish sovereigns who made the
great adventure possible. through
their pecuniary aid. Historians may
reject the folk stories of Irish dis
covery of America in the foggy CEN
turtles back of COLUMBUS, but 1t Is
certain that a man from Erin sailed
in one of the caravels and that he,
WILLIAM IRISH or HARRIS, the first
man of the British Isles to live and
die In the New World, was not an
Ulsterite or of Scotch-Irish extrac-
ton; for he came from Galway.
Whether he argued with the only Eng
lishman in the crew, ARTHUR LAWS.
on the subject of Home Rule, history
does not say, but 1t Is possible that
the Jew, LUIS DE TORRES, acted as
umpire Of a debate.
In distributing among the nations
the credit which directly or Indirectly
belongs to them let us not overlook
the Turks. Their reprehensible con-
duct in making the Mediterranean
unsafe for democracy was one of the
prime causes of the thrust westward.
II the Turks had not been wicked 1t
Is likely that America would have re-
NAMED undiscovered at least until
1900. when the Portuguese CABRAL
drifted or was driven to the coast Of
Brazil while trying to make his way
around the Cape Of Good Hope to the
west coast of India.
Thinkers of the broadcast vision will
say to-day that there was something
behind the sails Of the Santa Maria
which was far more potent than SCI
ence or war. That thing was the van
ity of woman. Not IsABEILA, but all
the women Of Europe who wanted the
fine silks and cottons of the East !;
who longed to deck themselves with
gems like those which the three Polos
brought hack to Venice sewed in their
clothing, and who hungered for the
spices OF Araby. When the one ia
mil1ar sea route was held by the in
f1del another route had to, be found.
for what woman wants she gets But
II selfishness and vanity were among
the root causes of the Discovery, so
also was error, as IN the mistakes of
RoGER BACON.
Still. in all the cosmopolitan group
Of factors in the great event. from
the Greek who was the greatest Of
thinkers to the thoughtless court lady
who must have her silken gown, tow
ers the figure of the middle aged man
with the fine, fair. rudy face and the
white hair: the sailor who went: the
Discoverer who died without knowing
what great thing he had done.
Where broadway elbows Central
Park his monument lifts itself toward
LIN. We cannot fancy that the statue