The Columbia evening Missourian., 1921-07-12
THE NEW BOOKS
salyaging of Civilization.

With imperturbable optimism, amidst
the prevailing collapse Of moral and po,
litical standards, Mr.. H. G. Wells con.
tinues 10 build his graceful sand-castles
Of theory and fantasy. But If we use
The word optimism. we do SO with diff.
ference; so shrewd an observer as Mr..
Wells. Of course, is not n,isled about the
menacing condition of modern .<riyiliza-
ton. Indeed. he begins in "Salvaging
of Civilization as reviewed in The Lon
don Daily Telegraph. by admitting that
the whole system of progress has been
violently checked, and perhaps alto
gether arrested. and he goes on 10 face
with perfect frankness the advancing
threat OF universal demolition of social
idealism. His optimism lies not in the
evasion Of facts, but in the invincible
conviction that world of theory can
still replace world of fact, that Utopia
is moi YET a dream. and that one of the
best services that a. modern thinker can
render 10 the State lies still in the elab-
oration Of yet another OF those ideal re-
publics, whose wreckage is scattered
over the face Of literature from the days
Of Plato 10 those OF Mr.. Wells himself.
Surely such optimism, busily at work
with spade and pebbles, is miracle Of
complaccnt confidence, within hearing
of the rising tide. Yet here is Mr..
Wells still industrious and hopeful-an
indomitable tribute to the persistency Of
human hope and human Imagination.
The experiences of the last seven
years, says. Mf. Wells in effect. have
discrediied war for ever; the idea of a
League of Nations has broken out sim
ultaneously, wherever men Of intelli-
gence have foregathered. What has
bred this idea? Ii is due TO the in
crease in military resource, resulting
from Science bending all her best en-:
ergies TO the service of war. No longer
rs war question of hand.io,hand fight.
ing for the possession Of fortified places.
No Notifications could Withstand the as.
saults Of modern science. II, then, war
is to return, it will return in an aggra-
vated form. The only salvation from a
state Of barbarism will be found in the
control Of pugnacity, the supersession Of
the warlike spirit itself But this could
only be achieved by the reconstruction
of society. A great and immediate
creative effort is essential TO the safety
of civilization.
| Mr.. Wells's specific is world.control,
under world-governmeut. He believes
that local patriotisms could be merged
in world patriotism, and an assured
and strong world-law constructed to hold
the world at peace. For thousands of
years men Of vision have made passion.
ate effort to ,bring ordinary men into
some relation Of service 10 the greater
issues Of life. If something Of that sort
cannot be achieved now. the world can
hardly be saved from complete disrup.
lion. America. perhaps. might go on for
another hundred years; shesis political
unity on a big modern scale. But Eu.
rope cannot possibly go on, unless the
net OF boundaries which strangles her is
dissolved away. But how about the pre-
yalling sentiment of local patriotism?
America, our author believes. supplies an
analogy. 1t is a huge State. composed
oil different units, but il is essential,
patriotic. Why not extend this idea
until an overriding world comnlanweaI
prevails over the multifarious ideals Of