Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-11-14
COLBY COLLEGE
Hunger and Ignorance
Real Threats to Peace
Says Journalism Teacher

! Saturday evening at the Colby
chapel about 700 people heard Pro-
lessor Walter B. Pitkin, professor OF
q sity speak on the subject: 1.-The
Dilemma of the United States in the
Far East" Professor Pitkins is a
man who is well versed on the sub
ject of China and Japan. Professor
. J. William Black, head of the de-
partment of history at Colby, intro
duced the speaker and stated that
to-day there opens in Washington
great international conference of the
principal powers of the world. at the
invitation of the United States, to
ornaments, the diminishing of ma
tional debts, the lowering of taxa
ton and the weighty problems of the
Far East. Thinking people are di-
vided into two classes as to the out
come of the, conference, the optim-
lists and the skeptics, but all agree on
its importance and its connections
with the issue of peace or war in the
future. It is my great pleasure to
! introduce Professor Walter B. Pit
i kin. who is known as very well in
formed man on the questions Of ia
pan and China"
Professor Pitkin then came for
ward and for an hour and a quarter
spoke on these questions and said
I that if any of the audience. at the
close Of his address wished to ask
any questions in regard to his state
ments he would be very pleased to
answer them. He said that it was
his purpose to discuss Americas
difficulties in the conference as to
the problems of the Far East.
9TH real crisis in America" stated
Professor Pitkin, in opening his ad-
dress, "iS primarily crisis in educa-
ton. The disarmament conference
will fail to achieve it's purpose I'M
les. in the next decade or two the
United States awakes and faces the
facts. especially those relating to
China and Japan
1.-The real peril tosworld peace is
not the peril of the big navy. The
! real peril is hunger and ignorance
Hunger respects no laws Of God or
man. The hungry man takes food
and shelter where he can find it.
| Six hundred millions of the worlds
population are either starving or on
the ragged edge, both as a result of
| the World War and because they
| were always that way in the past"
He stated that ignorance and indif-
ference of America aid the di-
lemma and center Of the difficulty in
China. Imperialism of the most ag-
gressive, economical nature is the way
Japan handles the things. The work
, ines of the Japan government is old
fashioned. The Japan representatives
| of Congress are extreme militarists.
So one can easily see that the remov-
i al of the American and British navies
from the Pacific ocean would help the
Japan imperialism by removing the
only external restraint.
| Six peculiarities of the Chinese
characters are first: patience. for the
Chinese will not resist the japanese,
| they can stand anything. Cowardice
| is the second. They will not fight the
Japs. The third is reverence for their
families. The ancestry spirit remains
| in existence. They produce large
families for this reason and the re-
suit Is that many paupers and degen-
crates. The large families corrupts
the Chinese politics and business
through family favoritism. The fourth
popularity is the regard Of appear
ance. A Chinese will not expose a
CRATER and in fact will do ANYTHING
to save his face. The fifth is the
lack Of administrative faculties. for
they can run their OVID government
or business corporation. The sixth is
superstituticn. This hinders their
business for they will not build fac
tories. believing in the superstition
that the chimreys Of the buildings
will bring trouble. The removal of
the Anglo-Saxon restraint on the
Pacific will leave Japan free to do
with the Chinese rs she pleases, aid
ed by the inability Of the Chinese to
resist. which results IN large measure,
from the pecultarities OF the Chinese
characters.