The Washington herald., 1921-12-08
DELAYED Wisdom.

L HE apt though inelegant proVerD concerning
i the disparity of foresight and "hindsight
is highly applicable to about all the dongs OF
the human race, but particularly to international
affairs.
How CLEARLY we all now descry the nevita-
bity of the world war, how certainly its train
of economic evlsl But we saw far too late to
modify conditions which produced the unparalleled
struggle and again we behold too tardy the bale
full effects of its prosecution to do more, immedi-
ately, than apply pallatives.
After all, the man in the street can't be
blamed for not rising with the strident voice OF
prophecy when this tough old world may seem
to be galumping along to another fall It's the
scribes who to blame, that is if one is per-
mtted to gauge their deductive powers as to
future events from their writings on world politics,
and the like, of the recent past.
Specifically we refer to the vast mass OF
printed matter offered daily, weekly and monthly,
20 the woeful condition of friends, the
Germans, and the dire effects of their present
dilemma the whole civilized world
When, not so very many months ago, the
reparations commission of the league OF nations
announced fits findings, loud hurrahs were heard
every hand, in type and out. The well-known
Staggering total" of gold marks which the van
pushed foe called upon toss into the Golfers
of the allied nations string OF figures over
which the expert economists gloated for column
after column. So far reading disclosed.
there was not protest registered against a
finding which the consensus of informed opinion
today condemns.
The allied troops occupied three important
Rhine cities to supervise customs and compel the
payment of indemnity installment, and again
there were cries of appreciation. 1t only after
he nj hutd med he ex-
perts discovered industrial paralysis liable
to be the result.
So things moved to the apparent definite
schism between French and British policies, to the
accompaniment of unemployment explosions from
the latter and the jngling of sabers and peal of
trumpets from the former Now, with Germany
all laid out hardly knowing whether she is corpse
or a subject for further major operations, to hear
her statesmen and bankers tell it, the experts
have about decided that things have indeed been
handled wrong.
They advance thesis after thesis of length
and profundty tracing with unimpeachable clarity
the mistakes that have been made in the handling
of the German situation 1t makes great reading
and gives one sense of being uncommonly erudte
when one has assimilated the most recent crop OF
findings. But the troublous thought continues to
recur: "Why didn't they think of all these things
before they turned to direfu consequences" En-
rant ministries might have been turned from their
courses, economic losses of millions averted, the
resuscitative methods about to be employed rem
dered unnecessary
The plain truth is, that the proverb previ-
ousy noted is most everlasting true, in the cases
OF both layman and expert. Both stand astounded
at developments OF which the portent written
on the skies. The difference is that the experts
are much more adept at assembling their surprise.