The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-12-15
GAce INreRpRefs MEANINGS
or ARMS CONFERENCE AS HIS
PREJUDICE DICTATES.
READING PUBLIC CONFUSED
Certain Results Of the Great Meeting
Have Been and viii Be Reached
Despite the Exploitation Of individ.
uaI Ideas.
BY EDWARD 8. CLARK


days OF the meetings of the great con-
ference to use the old, old saying that
''the wish Is father to the thought"
There Is an official Interpreter In
the conference chamber who turns
French into English and English into
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 1t Is everlastingly true. HUI
man nature cannot be changed even
by conference which looks toward
ultimate pence In the world. IL a
writing interpreters thought Is read
his wish generally Is read.
IL 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-
velOpng events Of each day and will
do Its own interpreting, 1t will prob
ably be better of than II 1t 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" resented-everything from
militarism to pacifism 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 1t
TO be expected that the men and WON
en- who came here as haters of France
can see anything good In Brands
argument on the subject of land dis
armament? Is II to be expected that
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 1t to be expected that any
man or woman who came here hold
ing Japan as suspect In everything
that Il does, or has done, can write
anything but suspicion of Japan's
words and acts today In this city Of
Washington? Is IL to be expected
kat Of 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 inimica'
In spirit to the Tight 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 Of
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. Ii 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
then down.
Nlvies are to be reduced. An agree
merit 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 writers by desire
either to attack or to defend certain
nations and their ideals, or, as II may
be, their lack of Ideals. h 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 Presl-
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 70 proceed to the
end sought. II mrst be edifying 10
the foreign visitors to read banners
carried in the hands of fatuons ones
proclaimine a "Do This" or a Don't
DO That" The fanatics, like the
poor, we have with us at all times.
and they are "a sight worse plague
than sthe poor. ot 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 relegation
TO the asylums. but the wonder is today
just what the foreigners think Of the
peculiar brand OF American fanatic
which is making pestilential show
of himself or herself ON the sidewalks
OF Washington today.
Ships That Won't Be Strapped.
II the outcome OF the conference Oh