Pueblo chieftain., 1921-11-13
By WHLIA,M r. ELLIS

By WILLIAM T. ELLIS
A thousand pens and a thousand
voices are nowadays proclaiming that
the Pacific has become the center OF
the worlds problems and the place OF
political perils and decisions. Person
ally. l cannot see it so. That turbulent
stretch of territory around the head oi
the Mediterranean-never more omin-
ously disturbed than today-which we
call Bible Lands" - still the cross
roads of earth. the place where the
great settlements or unsettlements OF
history have been and still are being
determined. Despite the assumptions
which urderlie the epochal Washing
ton conference. now in session, the
central point of interest for mankind
Is that upon which the eyes OF the Sun
day Schools of the world are fixed
today, as they consider the Apostle
Paul. caught in n mesh of politico-ec-
ciesisstical intrigue.
1t would be cnlightening to consider
what may he called place proyidences,
or the geography OF power. as our
thoughts are divided between Paul, the
far-travelled. at Palestine, and pre-
sent-day world leaders at Washington.
Is it probable that the land where
Christ first turned the world upside
down is permanently the decisive
Point in earth's affairs? II so. we need
to look sharply into the issues OF Is
lam. Zionism. nationalism. racial un-
rest and European imperialism which
converge there. Washington will
never supplaht Jerusalem.
A MAN AND A CRISIS
As Lord Bryce points out in con-
nection with the paucity of the highest
type OF statcsmanship during the war.
II IL not true that n great occasion
always produces a great man: and 1t
still remains to be seen whether an
adequate figure will emerge at the
aa.~T aftt Il
son reveals. rising above the pomp and
trappings of state and kings and other
potcntates. the sublime figure of n man
who dominated his surroundings and
alone made them memorable. Paul
looms large In n scene where he was
officially rated only as a prisoner.
This oldes, Of all lessons, the sheer
greatness and supremacy OF person
ality, is written ON the very surface
OF our theme. Smaller men about him,
puffed UP with a sense of official i'm
portance, played petty politics with
great issues: Paul clave Close to the
essential thing. This spectacle Of the
prosecuted apostle. in all the loneliness
of real greatness. towering high above
the officially important ones at whose
feet he was supposed to stand, has
countless parallels.
one such occurred recently at the
meeting OF the League OF Nations,
when DIR. Nansen. the explorer. plead
ed in vain with the nations to forego
their fears and their sordid politics, and
extend bread-filled hand TO the
millions of Russian peasants who are
starving. Writing strongup upon the
incident. The Manchester Guardian
says. THE deaths 1t has been decided
not to avert are likely to be about
three times as numerous as the total
deaths of soldiers in all the armies
on both sides during the Great War"
1t describes DR.. Nansen as standing
out. "a detached figure of honor.
courage and simplicity. rising white
and columnar out of the ranks of the
ordinary diplomatists and politicians"
Again. "Dr. Nansen strove with them
TIL the going down OF the sun to avert
this collapse and stultification of 90
much honorable pride and so much
real sacrifices. But the powers were
not TO be moved. . Every detail q
Pilates attitude was theirs too. and
the new Russian Calvary Will have
everything traditional and regular
about it"
Rising white and columnar''
great man amid mean men,--such was
Paul at Caesarea, the hero in Mama
c1es.
Here we have an eternally contem-
eoraneous contrast between the Paul