Evening star., 1922-06-11
ny THOMAS n. MARsN LII,
Former Vice President Of the
United States.


United States.
LONDON. June 3.-Some men
there are whose brains. either by
nature or training. are like well
appointed Offices. All their facts
are filed and indexed in such fash
lon that at any time they can i'm
mediately bring to their all any
thing they ever have heard. rcnd
or written. They are exceptional
men, however. Would were orc
Of them! l belong to the vast ma
jority who are different. What
we read. what we hear, even what
we think. is thrown into n barrel.
Rarely do We remember what the
barrel contains. 1t is matter If
luck as to what. II anything. comes
to the top.
In my youth. seeking a liberal
reading In English. ] devoted con-
siderable time to John Ruskin.
who wrote his name among the
stars of English literature. Sub
sequently he passed into the bar
rel along with others Of my fayor-
lite authors. Until the great war
came on, he remained forgotten
by me. I doubt II I had thought
OF Ruskin in forty years. Strange
that he ever should have come
again to my mind. However, out
of the barrel came one of hts
thoughts TO remain with me since.
90 not attempt to quote accu-
rately. but merely to give the sub
stance Of his thought which the
great war recalled. 1t was TO the
effect that the lives which should
be written for the benefit of future
generations are not necessarily
those of the great men who loomed
large in the public affairs of any
time. but. rather. the lives of In
conspicuous persons who do the
worlds wnrk--without the doing
of which all would revert again TO
chaos and black night.
Crossing the Atlantic. his
though, is reimnressed upon nv
consciousness hear much Of
Mr.. Lloyd George. of Earl Grey. of
Mr.. Asnu!th. Of President Poin-
care. Of President Harding and
Woodrow Wilson. In the days to
come can. no doubt. II wish.
the biographies Of these great
mon.
~ ~
would not, II could. nor could
I. II / would. pluck a single leaf
from the laurels of renown that
rest upon the brow Of any one
of them. But contemplation of
Ruskin's thought more and more
convinces me that greatness Is as
impotent as leprous hand un-
less it is backed up. not only by
the moral support of the men and
women who do the worlds work.
but also by their conduct I am
disposed to believe that the world
would sooner get back to a normal
condition il there were fewer hi-
of mediocrity published for the
guidance and consolation of man
kind.
Men and women arc crying.
Peace" And they are observing
that there Is no peace. at least
no peace such as renders a people
prosperous. happy. contented Too
Of their orbits by the great war
and too few yet realize that the
world must go on. under the
guidance of new principles. per-
haps, but certainly under the guild
ance of men of like passion as
those who governed before the
great war and who fought 1t.
1t is idle to expect peace with
out Contentment. 1t is vain TO
imagine that contentment can
come into the lives Of men who
are dissatisfied with their work
wages and environment. Yet no
one is foolish enough to think that
tho great war leveled all occupa-
tions. disposed finally of human
traits and characteristics or guar
anteed to any man a living. re-
gardless Of his Willingness to de-
serve 1t. As of yore. the fields
must be plowed, machinery must
move and men must guide and
control it, The combination of
man and machinery must continue