New-York tribune., 1920-11-21
From Alluvial Slime to Flanders Mud
English Writer'S History Begins When the
World Was Young

Franklin, George Washington, Patrick
Henry, Thomas jefferson, Madison, the
Adams brothers. Alexander Hamilton.
"Somc writcrs,' he explains, "even
American writer's. impressed by the
artificial splendors Of the European
courts and by the tawdry and destruc-
I've exploits of q Frederick the Great
or Great Catherine, display snob-
bsh shame of something's homespun
about these makers of America. They
feel that Benjamin Franklin, at the
court Of Louis XVI. with his long hair,
hi plain clothes and his pawky man
LEI, va sadly lacking in aristocratic
distinctions But stripped to their per
Sc nalities. Louis XVI was hardly gifted
enough 0. nobleminded enough to be
Franklin's Y.>let'
After this, Who can complain abou,
the comparatively sighting treatmen.
OF our war for Independence?
Even Includes the Future
It must be kept in mind that THIS
Outline OF history begins back in the
NN 81 NN''N e-NSt'l lNdi past, DelO1N even
life had invaded the dry land, and
pprsucs al uNbrokcn course up throug,,
the Versailles peace conference. No;
content with leaving US in the present.
Mr. Wells appends 3 chapter on the
future. concerning mis- model state vii
the unitication of the whole world int.
one community of knowledge and will
Some persons will be unkind enough.
TO intimate that this last chapter is
the whole purpose Of the book, that
Mr.. Wells leads US up cautiously TO his
pet hobby and springs it unexpectedly
with the history of the last 400 900 900
Years to back up his opinions Some
even Will brand the whole thing q
piece Of sociaistic tract
We think this is an unfair view to
take. Quite plainly he wrote the his
tory because he knew he would enjoy
The work and because he thought his
tories should be written by as many
people as possible. We think his is a
sincere effort. While Mr.. Wells can
never completely detach himself and
his opinions from his writing. there
is less speculative material in his
history than one might expect. He
has consulted authorities frequently
and collaborated with specialists where
il seemed necessary. Naturally, he
does not overdo the authoritative side
o. it,
Through most of the pages we hnd
him wandering about wagging his head
Enthusiastically and signing about how
little the world really knows. Educa-
tion is the keynote Of his model state
And his state is not to be dismissed
too lightly Among other things, it
s.bolishes all custom house officers
Education for All
This world state" Mr. Wells writes,
"wll be sustained by a universal edu-
cation, organized upon scale and Of
4 penetration and quality beyond all
present experience. The whole race,
ard rot simply classes and peoples,
Will be educated. Most parents will
have technical knowledge of teach
!rg. QUITE apart from the duties Of
percentage, perhaps 10 per cent or more
Of the adult population will, at some
time or other in their lives, be work
ers in the worlds educational organi-
z1tion. And education, as the new age
viii conceive it, viii 90 on throughout
life; it will not stop at any particular
age. Men and women will simply be
come self-educators and individual stu
dfnts and student-tcachers as they grow
older
Mr.. Wells feels that most Of the
: blunders Of history can be accounted
for by lack OF general education
At least, he says so until he comes to
a particular instance where he invari-