The Washington times., 1921-06-20

Free Trade, Free Travel.
Europe's Foolish Fences.
Alaska and immigration.
Read Wells latest Book.
ARTHUR BRISBANE
tcopyrishs. 1854,

(Copyright. JsSi)
The war is far enough into the
distance to make it clear that
much foolishness went with
noble aspirations" about self
determination, Independence for
q raft of little newly-created, or
re-created, nations.
Europe, in its chopped-up con-
dition, is like a good-sized field
cut up into dozen small fields,
each fenced of in such q way
as to make all Of them a nui-
sance, unworkable.
II. G. Wells, able to think and
not afraid to follow the truth
wherever it may lead, has pub
lished a book called "The Sal
vaging of Civilization" He deals
with the probable future Of man.
kind, and with problems Of the
present. This book, published
by the Macmillan Company, is
one that you should read. It
makes clear in a few pages the
uihCACuCc UCSWScu COIiOitlOIl3
here and in Europe, and the
great advantages of the United
States, a collection Of great ma
tions, without passports, custom
houses or meddlesome officials to
hamper travel
"All the European boundaries
Of today" says Wells, "are i'm
possibly small for modern con-
ditions." Wise Statesmen"
helped a lot of little countries
that never knew how to govern
themselves to build all sorts Of
boundary fences criss-crossing
Europe, with official formalities,
paralyzing European life and
intercommunication.
Last Friday Scott Bone, ap-
pointed Governor Of Alaska,
spoke at a dinner in his honor
given by John II. Perry, publish
er Of the Seattle Post-Intelli-
gencer, and Courtland Smith,
head of the American Press As
sociation, at the Waldorf Hotel
Mr.. Bone spoke of the possible
development Of Alaska, which
has already given to Uncle Sam
more than q hundred millions for
every million we paid for it. He
told Of his coming trip, thou
Bands Of miles to the northwest,
and his hope that he would live
to see Alaska, territory Of unlim-
tied wealth and possibilities, be-
come the forty-ninth State Of
the Union.
Mr.. Bone will travel across the
continent from ocean to ocean
without changing cars. without
questions asked, and on to the
great Alaskan empire, still under
the same laws, within the same
frontiers and with no questions
asked. Any American man can do
the Same.
Consider conditions in the
United States as Wells presents
them: "An American wants to
travel from New York to St
Louis He looks up the next
train, packs his bag, gets aboard
a sleeper and turns out at St
Louis next day ready for busi-
ness"
Take now the European parallel:
A European wants to travel from
London to Warsaw. Now that is
a shorter distance by fifty or sixty
miles than the distance from New
York to st. Louis. Will he pack
his bag and get aboard train,
and go there? He will not. He
will have to get a passport, and
getting a passport involves all
sorts of tiresome little errands.
One has to get photographs to
stick on the passport. The good
European then has to take his
passport to the French representa-
tive in London for French wise,
or, If he is going through Belgium,
for a Belgian wise. After that he
must get German wise. Then he
must go around to the Szecho-Slo-
yak office for a Czecho-Slovak
wise. Finally will come the Polish
wise.
"The other day I had occasion
to go to Moscow" says Wells,
"and / learned that it takes three
weeks to get wise for Finland and
three weeks to get a wise for Es-
thonia. You see, you can't travel
about Europe at all without weeks
and weeks of preparation"
You might think that flying
would simplify Europe's travel
ing problem. Hear Wells on
that point: