The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-12-12
WRITERS PROMOTE
THEIR OWN 'IS|MS'
EACH iNTERPRETs MEANINGS
or ARMS CONFERENCE As HIS
sj@. PREJUDICE DICTATES.
READING PUBLIC CONFUSED
Certain Results of the Great Meeting
Have Been and win Be Reachsd
/ Despite the Exploitation Of individ-
ual Ideas. j. ~ sr y. Z u ~
BY EDWARD g. CLARK

"a IL
Washington. There is full, and, il
confession be made, a personally sat
isfactory opportunity during these
days Of the meetings Of the great con-
ference to use the old, old saying that
s''the wish is father to the thought
! There IS an official interpreter in
B 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 canaot be changed even
by. 4 conference which looks toward
ultimate peace in the WORLD. If a
writing Interpreters thought is read
his wish generally is read.
f. IL the American 5redding public will
take the speeches made by the chief
delegates to the. great conference, and
will read the straight news of the de-
ve!oping events Of each day and will
DO its own interpreting, it Will prob
ably be better off than If it reads the
entirely contradictory interpretations
o. 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 ip the min
utes OF tho days procedure.
=. Each Writer Follows His Bent.
In the" writing craft as assembled
in Washington there are all kinds OF
''is1ns'' represented-everyth1ng from
mihtarism to pacitism and actual yell
lowisIn. 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 1t
to be expected that the men and wom-
en- who came here as haters Of France
can see anything good in Brands
argument OH the subject OF land dis
armament? Is it to be expected that
any man or woman here who is given
over 70 the doctrine Of total disar4n-
ing nothing about the disarmament
Of other powers can see anything good
in Secretary Hughes plan for only a
partial scrappfng of|the forces OF our
navy? Is 1t to be expected that any
man or woman who came here hold
Ing Japan as n suspect In everything
that It doec. or las done. can write
anything but suspicion OF Japan's
words and acts today in this city Of
Is IT. to be expected
that any .cOntemners of Great Brit
AIMS acts past present, or outlined
lin the future, can write anything IN
Interpretation Of the acts nf the con
ference which will not be inimicnl
! in spirit to the fright 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 semi-po-
lite, veil, as liars, aud 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 70 write that these facts ought
nat 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. LA &l~
!; Nuvies are to be reduced, An agree
tment is to be nude 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 Yap, and some other things al
ready have been definitely settled.
Men and women have been moved
to attendance on this conference rs
listeners and as writer's by desire
either to attack or to defend certain
nations and their ideals, or. us 1t may
he, their lack Of ideals. Washington
alSu. HIS UCCViuG SApIVAtAhSs itaIV
of variety Of 'Isms" which have no
spiritual or physical connection with
the conference us called by the Presi-
dent of the United States.
4. The proceedings OF the COnferees
have been sstraieht.nway thus far.
THEY have tried to get into one path
and In that path to proceed to tho
END sought. 1t must be edifSing to
the foreign visitors to read banners
carried in the hands of fatuous ones
fproclaiming II "DO This" or a Don't
iD0 That" The fanatics, like the
.jpoor, we have with us at all times!
and they are a sight worse plague
than the poor. or course the Tor
teigners have become familiar in their,
own land with manifestations Of men
italit1es diseased. but not quite enough
so to demand the victims relegation
TO the .asylums. but the wonder is today
lust what the foreigners think of the
peculiar brand of American fanatic
which is making a Presidential show
OF himself or herself on the sidewalks
of Washington today. ...f'
8,.#s5: Ships That Won't BE Strapped.
If tile outcome of the conference on
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