The Washington times., 1921-12-19
md the recognition Of ! common par.


all and with enormous natural re-
sources scarcely tapped. In conse-
Quenoe. Roads are - yet not nearly
20 widespread ~ railways, abundant
good roads are found indeed only In
Western Europe and the better DO
veloped regions Of the United States;
there are . few good main roads In
such countries a. India, South Africa
and 20 forth. And In many parts OF
Europe now, and especially In Russia
roads and railways are soing out q
use.
Large parts Of the world are still
only to Be reached by specially EQUIP
ped expedition; they are a. tnaoces-
sible to ordinary travelling people AZ
the other side Of tho moon. And Il you
will probe into the reasons why road
and rail transport fails to develop
and 10 even over wide areas under.
going degradation, you will come IN
nearly every case upon political bar,
a national or an imperial rivalry.
These are the things that close half
our world to us and may presently
close most Of the world to us. And
we have; even those OF America or
Britain. how poor and uncomfortable
they are In comparison with what we
know they might be.
Hovols Amid Abundance.
And then take housing. I have
been motoring about little In Mary.
lano and Virginia and am astounded
at the many miserable wood houses
see, novels rather than houses. the
abodes very often Of white men. !
am astounded at the wretched fences
about the ill-kept patches OF cultiva.
tton and by the extreme illiteracy OF
many OF the poorer folk. white as we'll
as colored. with whom I have had
chance Of talking. have to remind
myself that ! am in what is now the
greatest, richest, most powerful cour-
try In the world. But with this coun-
try now as with every country, army.
navy, contentious service, war debt
charges and the rest Of the legacy OF
past wars consume the national rev.
enue.
America IL not spending q tithe Of
what she ought to be spending upon
schools, upon the maintenance OF q
housing standard ana upon roads and
transport. She improves In AL these
things. but at no great pace. because
Of the disunion of the world and the
threat Of war. England and Frame,
which were once far ahead Of her In
these respects of housing, transport
and popular education. are now on the
whole declining, through the exces-
sive fiscal burthens they are under to
pay for the late war and prepare for
fresh ones. But / ask you to think
what would happen to world from
which that burthen OF preparedness
was lifted. The first result OF that re-
lief would be a diversion Of the huge
maintenance allowance Of the war
god to just these starved and neglect.
ed things.
stanch that waste throughout the
earth, and the saved wealth and en-
ergy will begin at once to flow In
the direction Of better houses. to-
ward a steady increase in the order
and graciousness Of our unkempt and
slovenly countrysides. to making bet.
ter roads throughout the globe. until
enrichment and invigoration OF sdu-
cation.
Unity IL Not Uniformity.
How fair and lovely such countries
as France and Germany and Italy
war that keeps them 10 gAunt and
poverty-struck could be lifted from
them. Think Of the abundant and
various loveliness Of France and the
wit and charm Of it, varied peoples,
now turned sour by the toll and trou-
BILE, the fears and bitter suspicious.
the threat of further war holds over
them Think OF France, fearless and
at last shown. the world ~ what
last Italy. and Japan Japan. Think
of the green hills of Virginia.
covered with stately homes and cheer
full houses.
Think of world In which travel
In once mope free and in which every
country in absolute security has been
able to resume its own peace-time
Of its architecture. its
music and all It's arts in its own at
mosphere upon the foundations OF its
own past. Because world unity does
not mean uniformity; it means Sc
curity to be different. It 10 war
that forces all men into the same
khaki and ironclad molds.
But all this recovery OF t. visible
Of nations, all this con.
fident activity and progressive en-
richment which will inevitably ensue
upon the diversion Of human atten-
ton from war and death and conflict
and mutual thwarting to peace and
indication of much profounder
changes. Relieved OF our war bur.
dens, It will be possible to take hold
of education AZ educationists have
been longing to do for many years.
They tell US now that everyone
could be educated up to sixteen or
seventeen and that most people may
be kept learning and growing mentally
all their lives, that no country In
the world has enough schools. or
equipped schools, nor enough
educated teachers In the
schools We have. The supply OF uni.
versity resources Is still more eager.
There is hardly any one alive who has
not a sense OF things that he could
know but cannot attain and Of powers
he can never develop. The number
of fully educated and properly nur-
tured people in the world, people who
can be said to have come reasonably
near to realizing their full birth pos
is almost infinitesimal. The
rest of mankind are either physically
or mentally stunted, or both. This
slovenly old world has ber
rotten them, and starved them.
About 80 Per Cent Good.
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