The New York herald., 1921-05-08

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observes present day conditions in
Europe with satiric aloofness He has
very little sympathy with the complex Eu-
ropean background He is eager to find
simple solutions for intricate problems. 1t
is very charming and naive attitude. How
ever, people are such strange critters that
it can't be done. He extracts all the humor
from situations which are in themselves
pathetic uncomfortable. Above all he
sympathizes with distress. In this he rep
resents the best attitude of America And
he is also American enough to crow little
bit over our world-wide philanthropic
achievements.
He says "n almost every central Euro
pean city one is apt to find photographs of
Hoover staring frowningly at him from
shop windows. Whenever Americans meet
in central Europe they invariably agree that
there is only one man in America who has
a thorough knowledge of the horrifying and
dazng mess into which Europe has fallen
and that Hoover is the man. The new
Prime MINISTER of Poland stared out of the
window of the former Russian Governor
Generals palace and informed me in a cold
and hard voice that there wasn't a child in
name of Herbert Hoover He also stated
Internationally that the people of Poland
viii establish an institution which shall per-
petuate Hoovers name forever"
Mr.. Roberts does not claim a like infalh-
bility He says: Everything from interna-
tonal boundaries to domestic postal rates
was in state of fiux. / make this state
ment for the benefit of people who like so
many others who have read my remarks
on E,urona ha INN ~
and ask whether it would be advisable for
a man with a capital of $117.54 to go to
Vienna or Budapest or Warsaw, to engage
in the automobile-or any other business. /
wish to answer these people now and in
the following way, to-wit: Their guess is
as good as dnybody's The statements in
the book apply only to the months when
they were being collected They were ac-
curate at the time The book is not guide
to conditions which exist to-day and which
Will exist next week but il is a record of
what ! believe to be the lowest spots of
Europes morning after"
Here is the authors description of the lit
tie two by four republic OF Rusina an adjunct
of Czecho- -Slovakia: You have the young
American who talks Pittsburgh slang and
becomes the President of a central Euro
pean State you have the natives in pictur-
esque embroidered vests. high black boots
and loose white pants with fringes at the
bottom; you have old castle on hilltop
in the double capacity of seminary and a
Presidents home; you have equal parts of
intrigue and scenery; you have everything
in fact, except Mr.. George NJ. Cohan.
The point of view OF those who talk United
states is well set forth by Mr.. Harris when
he says: ITO Americans who are accus-
toned to regard the founding Of Plymouth
colony and the courtship of Miles Standish
as the very dawn of history the European
history hound is an incomprehensible and
unmitigated bore" However he dimly
realizes that people who live in glass houses
should not throw dice He makes several
appealing admissions Of ignorance. He be-
lieves that the Magyar slaughter Of the
Bolshevik is not worse than our lynchings
although he Is scornful OF Italian super
stitionS and says of them: Somehow or
other these things do not sound just right
TO us intellectual Americans. who prefer the
more practical ouja board to such puerle
fances as dream books"
Mr. Roberts was very much struck with
the fact that hatred hourishes so per-
sistently in this region. He says: "A cen
tral Europe hate is ono Of the most per
sistent and acrimonious hates that ever
entered the hating business" and NO
Hungarian can outhate a Czech so long as
the Czech's hater has a single cylinder on
which to run"
However, the author has picked up the
hatred germ. and the subject Of his hymn
of hate ~ the Peace Conference. He says:
The Peace Conference has displayed as
much wisdom and judgment in settling the
affairs Of central Europe as n Hottentot
might be expected to display in repairing
badly damaged typewriter" Another sweet
iab is tho following MANY people ask why
Il Is that the Peace Conference should be
referred To an august assemblage or an
august body The reason is very simple.
August is month which makes everybody
in central Europe hot and SO does the Peace
Conference"
MIR. Robertss hatred Of tho Peace Confer
encc springs from belief that It's bungling
has added greatly to the untold misery or
humanity. Even the profound satisfaction
experienced by American statesmen in ex-
planning It's weak points 10 their admiring
countrymen can hardly make up Tor the oil
burdens left or the new burdens placed upon
European backs.
lie illustrates this point by what he says
of Austria: Austria Is q little country, but
she holds about as much misery TO the
square inch as any other nation ever held
The Peace Conference. as I said AT the be-
ginning has stripped her OF everything she
needs in order to exist, but it has left her
with enough hunger 10 supply all the other
nations with 4 liberal amount It's the only
thorough and complete job that the. Peace
Conference did"