Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1921-12-16
WRITE rs PROMOTE
THE|R OWN '|SNS'
EACH lNTERPRETs MEANINGS
OF ARMS CONFERENCE AS HIS
PREJUDICE DICTATES.
READING PUBLIC CONFUSED
Certain Results Of the Great Meeting
Have Been and Will Be Reached
Despite the Exploitation Of Individ-
uaI Ideas.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK

! BY EDWAKD b. CLAIM
Washington. There is full, and, if
confession be made, personally sat
isfactory opportunity during these
days of the meetings of the great con-
ference to use the old, old saying that
1.-THE wish is father to the thought"
There is an official interpreter in
the conference chamber who turns
French into English and English into
French. There are several scores of
writer interpreters of the meanings
of the meeting and large part Of
them make the wish father Of the in
terpreted thought.
Ought one to. say this? Well, yes,
because it is everlastingly true. HUI
man nature cannot be changed even
by a conference which looks toward
ultimate peace in the world. If a
writing interpreters thought is read
his wish generally is read.
If the American reading public will
take the speeches made by the chief
delegates to the great conference, and
will read the straight news of the de-
veloping events of each day and will
do it's own interpreting, it will prob
ably be better off than If it reads the
entirely contradictory interpretations
of the proceedings, past, present and
future, which are put forth by writ
ers of almost as many minds on the
subject as there are words in the min
utes Of the days procedure.
Each Writer Follows His Bent.
In the writing craft as assembled
in Washington there are all kinds Of
"isms'' represented everything from
militarism to pacifsm and actual yell
lowism. Does any sane person expect
any one Of these men or women to
change the current of lifetime
thought and belief into channels in
which they never ran before? Is it
to be expected that the men and wom-
en- who came here as haters Of France
can see anything good in Brands
argument on the subject Of land dis
armament2 Is it to. be expected that
any man or woman here who is given
over to the doctrine of total disarm-
ament for the United States, and car
ing nothing about the disarmament
of other powers, can see anything good
in Secretary Hughes plan for only a
partial scrapping Of the forces of our
navy? Is it to be expected that any
man or woman who came here hold
ing Japan as a suspect in everything
that it does, or has done, can write
anything but suspicion Of Japan's
4 q 1ff fNP
Washington? Is 1t to be expected
that any contemners of Great Brit
aims acts, past, present, or outlined
| in the future, can write anything in
| Interpretation of the acts of the con-
ference which will not be inimical
in spirit to the flight Little Isle"?
Speeches are made In the confer
ence chamber by leading men Of ev-
cry country which is here represent
ed. These men are daily written down
as truth tellers, or, under a semi-po-
lite veil, as liars, and all this more
| than occasionally in obedience to the
writer's thought which is the off
spring of his wish in the case.
Results That Won't BE Changed.
There are certain facts thus far to
come out of the conference which can
not be gainsaid. 1t is perfectly use
less to write that these facts ought
not to be facts, and that something
else ought to have been done. The
results have been reached and they
will stand until something or other
happens in the universe to knock
| them down.
/ Navies are to be reduced. An agree
ment is to be made among the nations
collectively that certain things shall
be done for China. A happy way,
virtually, has been found out of the
difficulties which involved the Island
Of zap, and some other things al
ready have been definitely settled.
Men and women have been moved
| to attendance on this conference as
| listeners and as writer's by desire
either to attack or to defend certain
nations and their ideals, or, as it may
be, their lack of ideals. Washington
also has become the exploiting place
| Of a variety Of "isms'' which have no
spiritual or physical connection with
the conference as called by the Presi-
dent Of the United States.
| The proceedings of the conferees
have been straight-away thus far.
They have tried to get into one path
and in that path to proceed to the
end sought. 1t must be edifying to
the foreign visitors to read banners
| carried in the hands Of fatuous ones
proclaiming ''Do This" or Don't
Do That" The fanatics, like the
poor, we have with us at all times
and they are sight worse plague
than the poor. OF course the for.
eigners have become familiar in their
own land with manifestations of men
! talities diseased, but not quite enough
so to demand the victims RELOCATION
to the asylums, but the wonder is today
just what the foreigners think of the
peculiar brand of American fanatic
which is making a pestilential show
Of himself or herself on the sidewalks
| of Washington today.
Ships That Won't Be Strapped.
If the outcome of the conference on
EARTH's ATTRACTION
| 49, e 49, 4, IN