The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-12-04

tent brain might really have chosen
the more obvious way. ana the more
obvious way would have been the
fatally wrong way. The obvious
thing would have been to take up
disputed aspects of China one by
one-to begin by quarreling about
tariffs in a state of mind made acri-
monious by dispute. That course
would have led to the maximum Of
controversy.
But the theory upon which Mr.
Root led of was based on cinsider-
ing, first. not the points Of contro-
versy about China but the points
of agreement The theory was first
to enumerate and set down those
aspects of China as to which there
was no dissent, and leave for later
discussion those things which were
described in the invitation to the
conference as the remaining
Among other advantages this
method Of approach had that of
creating in the conference a spirit
of harmony and agreement with
which to take up afterward those
aspects of the question which re-
quired the smoothing out of differ
ences. In this spirit Mr.. Root form
ulated the statement of principles
to which all subscribed. Since then.
for the present and so long as the
discussion of China continues, II is
merely a question of testing one de-
tail after another as to whether II
falls within or without the prin-
ciples agreed upon.
Process Is Intellectual.
By this mechanism of discussion
obstacles fall aside like cards and
dissension or angry emotion has
literally no chance to arise. 1t is
a mere matter of matching the
given set of facts with the prin-
ciple involved, a coldly intellectual
process that not only involves no
heat of emotion but actually puts
all anger or selfishness in the po-
sition of an impossible intruder.
Mr.. Root engaged in this pro-
cess is a spectacle to enrich the
Imagination. At an age and with a
relation to the world that frees
him from any necessity for oonsid-
erations of party or fractional or
personal interest, he takes the
visible universe for his client and
lays down a course of action whose
results will have a fairly large de-
termining influence on what the
world is to be a century after Mr..
Root has departed from 1t.
China is infinitely the most peril
GUS and difficult part of the con-
ference; but there can be no pos
sible doubt that men of reason, fol-
lowing Mr.. Roots method of ap-
proach, will arrive at agreement
Here is a world in which civiliza-
ton has become a relatively small
island surrounded by the chaos of
Russia's two hundred millions, with
Central Europe's hundred millions
and midas three hundred millions
tottering towards a degree of COL
lapse that the men in the confer
ence know better than any one else.
Under this set Of conditions, II is
possible that the nations that COM
pose this receding and imperilled
island Of civilization will choose to
add four hundred millions more to
the sea of chaos? Even on the basis
of cold self-interest the short.
sighted selfishness that would di-
vide China up must yield to the
moro enlightened self-interest that
will restore 1t and maintain it for
civilization. The men Of reason who
compose the conference will see
that the thing to do about China
is not to steal it. but to heal it.
-tcspyiisht. lss1.)