Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-11-11
ARMISTIcE ANNIVERSARY AND
THE WORLD STILL WAcS
TWO Years Of Peace After the World
opheaval Have on the Whole Moro
Embarrassed the AIarnIst
Than Any One Else

the close OF the world war Ia concerned
opinion is in the negative. The fame Of
ecstasy Is feeting, self. destructive by its
very intensity. 1t is the ashes that endure
chill, drear, depressing under the test Of
| contrast.
| There is consequently a very general sense
| IN tne world that the joys of the original
hrn''stice Day are unfulflled. Adverse
Judgment is supported by thnt readily adap.
taole apparatus. the horoscope. In dis.
illusioning times readings from this instru-
ment arc dark. The tendency is the reverse
IN PERIODS that are specously bright. Thus
In the decade Immediately preceding the uni.
Versal upheaval the majority of forecasts
were blandly cheerful. Yet certain forces far
more potent in their furtherance Of mill
| taristic evils than the wraiths Of those ex-
listing today were then at work.
Difficult to analyze or apprnise Is a sea-
son OF reaction from terrific shock be IL
one OF exaltation or of disaster. The world
conflict was both. Poignant thoughts about
| the past, forebodings concerning the future
nave created state of mind somewhat lin
responsive to the present or to events in
immediate relationship Herewith Even Mr..
"els, whose convenient time machine 80
| easily explores the profundities of the van
ished cons and the unresolrcd cycles ahead,
admits in his compendious Outline Of His
tory that "clunsily or smoothly the
world. II seems, progresses and will pro.
gress."
| tnquestionably some of the movement
since the first Armistice Day has appeared
crablike. But this impression does not war
rant the discounting of certain definite ac-
complishments. That these neither Justify
the Wholesale alarmists nor fulfill the high
est hopes Of the SUMMER minded is reason
enough for examining them.
The war inculcsted in both sets of bel.
ligerents the dangerous habit OF thinking in
intense blacks and whites. 1t is the grays,
however, and other less definable hues which
dominate save In times OF extrerHe crisis
Forgetfulness Of that fact had really more
to do with the rhapsodes Of November II,
1918. than any childlike belief in an ap-
preaching millennium. There was, Of
course, the major fact Of deliverance from
the war shamblcs. That compelling motive
for rejoicing will naturally become decreas-
ingly convincing as the event recedcs.
BY whatever forces or conditions peace Is
length of preparation for another outbreak
or by reasoned actions based on high prin.
ciples, 1t can never be so vvidly dramatized
in the popular consciousness without close
proximity to the horror of war. The best
that can be hoped for men and women is
that they will never again be plunged into
the frenzy of happiness the claims of which
were so irresistible only two years ago.
Many Of the changes that have occurred
since that eventful November are of that
battling type on which no authoritative YER
dict can be pronounced. Historical per-
| spective, that invaluable endowment enabling
us to speak sately long after the event, Is
lacking. None the less 1t Is permissible to
note the havoc wrought by facts upon the
most elaborately developed prophecies.
No cataclysm comparable to the war has
smitten Europe.
The governments Of France Italy and
Britain have wsathcred a variety of storms,
| some exaggerated In their significance, others
of ntrinsicaly formidable character.
Signals of world revolution have been de-
lusory.
Slowly, painfully, dimly, evidences Of re-
| construction are at hand.
The Ebert regime in Germany, once so
| freely secuted, has displayed an endurance
which must be adjudged remarkable when a
more comprehensive historical viewpoint can
| be gained.
Belgian rehabilitation has been swift.
Czecho- Slovakia is said to be putting its
! house in order with noteworthy efficiency.
The stability Of Greece seems not to be
| seriously menaced by dynastic compiled
tions.
From the vistula to the Atlantic, from the
| Mediterranean to the western end OF the
Baltic, there Is peace in Europe
Confounding as is the case OF Russia to
both optimist and pessimist, aspects OF 1t
are undcnably emerging from the fog.
| Real conditions have been variously ap-
praised by numerous observers. bertrand
| Russell has confessed his disillusionment re
| gsrding the efficacy of bolshevism. His YER
diet is supported by other radicals ordinarily
| inclined to view the experiment In the most
| favorable light. As a world social gospel,
| the soviet doctrine stands condemned.
| On the other hand, the solidarity Of the
Russian people Is vvidly displayed In the
| unity against outside interference. The war
so disgracefuly provoked by Poland, dizzy
| with new national consciousness, demon
| strated both the inability Of the Soviet armies
to challenge successfully the outside world
and the equal folly Of the Poles in embark
| ing on a program OF conquest. The tragic
aftermath Of the armistice has ended in
yirtua, military exhaustion of both parties.
The wrangel episode is of another nature.
The present precarious position of tho anti
soviet forces is ultimate proof that change
in the government Of Russia must come from
within.
American observance of the armistice
anniversary must naturally be Of different
complexion from any abroad. Despite the
distress still existing in France, Germany
Austria, Hungary; despite the prolonged
| disputations of the Italians and Jugo-