The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-06-01
THE EAST AND WEST"

There is an oft-quoted saying by
Chesteron that a mans philosophy is
/ the most important thing about him.
] He illustrates the point by saying It
is more important for a landlady to
know the philosophy Of life Of a
would-be lodger than to know his
financial status. The latter may de.
eide his ability to pay, but the for
mer decides his willingness to make
false OF true representations and to
carry out his agreements.
The late Mr.. Morgan aroused much
interest when he said at Washington
that he attached more Importance in
banking to the character of the APP.
plicants for credit than to the ma
terial securities they offered.
The remarks Of Chesterton and
Morgan testify to the practical i'm
portance of what, in wartime, we
learned to call the imponderables in
comparison with things so tangible
that they can be counted and meas
ured: grit, stamina, loyalty, and
faith. What is true in this regard
of Individuals is true Of the peoples.
The spirit that the countries brought
to the meeting at Washington, the
spirit in which they proceeded to
execute the decisions of the confer
ence. is more important than the let
ter of the decisions. Those who are
cynical about the conference are so
because they do not believe in the
underlying good faith of the govern
ments concerned. They assumed that
negotiations are simply a hypocriti-
cal cover for series of chickering's
and maneuvers for special advantage,
and that profession of regard for
peace, justice and humanity are
merely part Of the traditional para
pherralia Of secret jockeying to get
the better of some one else. They
distrust, in short, the underlying
philosophy Of the existing govern
ments. II we go deeper, we realize
that many sources Of distrust and
friction have their roots in the fact
that different peoples have different
philosophers ingrained in their hab-
its and character. They cannot un-
derstand one another and they mis-
understand one another. II is fash
ionable nowadays to assume that the
causes of all difficulties between ma.
tions are economic. II is useful to
fix our attention upon these economic
causes and to see what can be done
in the way of adjustments. But
friction generated by the economic
competition and conflict would not
break out into the flames of war if
the atmospheric conditions were not
favorable. The atmosphere that makes
international troubles infammable is
the product of deep seated misunder.
standings that have their origin in
different philosophers Of life.
If we are to take steps to damper
the atmosphere. to charge with the
elements that will make fire-proof in
ternational relations, we must begir
with an attempt at an honest under
standing of one another's philosoph!
Of life. The difficulty is greatest be
tween the Oriental and Occidental
peoples. There are great difference
in the mental dispositions Of the tw,
civilizations of the East and West
1t is proportionately hard to secur
mutual understanding and respect
and proportionately easy for bot
sides to create suspicion and fear
One reason why misunderstanding
is so dangerous is that peoples
like individuals, tend to iudg'
one another on the basis of thei
own habits of thought and feel
ing. There are many question
| Of a directly practical nature tina
! cannot be understood or proper
: ly handled unless the larger bacl
ground be taken into account.
I Why are the Chinese so unperturs
r ed by circumstances that appear
foreigner to menace their countr
with national calamity? How ca