The Washington times., 1921-11-13
r viii be . bridge or . bungle.
That IL the only safe pre-

The stated addresses and the formal
]. exercises. IKE the preliminary fore
casts. left the people somewhat ut
: sea m to how tho conference will
turn out.
Mr.. Berah was given no place of
prominence. Men responsible in the
first instance for the gathering were
in the background. The earnest
peace advocates sat in the gallery
IL they got in at all.
Officialdom had all the seats and
sounded all the notes. There was
not wanting sincere desire to find
a bridge. either a pontoon or steel
one. to span the chasm between re-
lection Of the Covenant and the
League Of Nations and q world
agreement. But nobody seemed to
know how to build 1t.
Mr.. Roehling was not present to
design Q structure durable enough
to permit the passage over. and the
great American naval cruiser and
transport feet that bridged the At
lantic and carried 100000 men to
France. has been dispersed 30 that
material seemed lacking for a pom
toon.
PRACTICAL MEN JOINING
THE DERDED IDEALISTS.
Men. who . year ago were rails
= ing hullabaloo against any agree
msnts with European nations. are
now talking about world upder-
standing" and the necessity Of re-
Aucing the cost of standing armies
and big navies. and reducing gov
eminent expenses. They had heard
the sober second thought from
back home" Last year those who
talked of the possibility Of world
agreement to make this war-less
world were held up to ricidule as
dreamers and idealists and as un-
American. Washington had warned
US against "entangling alliances"
and any approachment toward
united action to prevent war was
deemed q disease against which poo
pie should be vaccinated.. As long
a. idsalists and professors and
preachers alone had the vision of a
world at peace. It was easy to flout
the immortal idea. But today the
chambers Of commerce. the captains
of industry. the power of high
finance has come to see that Ameri-
can prosperity II 20 interviewer with
world stability that they are max
ing the most insistent demands that
the conference be made a real
bridge to the League Of Nations or
its equivalent.
WHEN PHILANTHROPY
AND s PER CENT TALK.
And, when philanthropy and
Five Per Cent" decide to talk. they
know how to make themselves
beard when preachers and teachers
and idealists are compelled to be Ike
enc "crying in tho wilderness"
When 20 gayly and 10 wantonly
the League Of Nations was done to
death in the United States Senate.
business. SNUG and prosperous. did
not see that world instability would
sfvs America an army Of unemploy-
msnt OF S.o0o. 900 men. would de-
rnoraliss foreign exchange. and
would deny to America foreign Gus
toners upon whom its industrial
prosperity depends. It required
hard times at homo and depression
to show that what was called IDEAL
ism In 1919 was tho most practical
and workable program ever formed
b. Statesmen In the history Of the
world. Therefore. We see today in
wsshfnston representatives Of the
most practical business interests
trying 10 make the disarmament
conference Q bridge from Washins-
ton 10 0snsva. It viii b either .
bridge or . bungls. Whichf
THE NAVY HELPING
BUT NOT WILLINGLY.
A few days before tho confer
enos assembled. I passed down the
corridor Of the new Navy build
ing. That structure and the
adjacent counterpart built by tho
navy for the army II the out
standing pieos OF construction work
Of the world war. 1t was largely
due to the wisdom of Swager
Sherley. chairman Of the House
Appropriations COMMITTEES. that the
susgestion Of tho Navy Department
to build . fireproof concrete build
ing was adopted 1t II the largest
and best office building in the
world and was finished within five
months after breaking ground. All
the other slaxy fire-trap quick
construction war buildings have
gone. This remains durable and
proof Of tho wisdom Of its con-
struction-
49, --s-~A 49, tA> oo~vSA~-~