Evening star., 1922-06-02

to past principles for guidance, past
facts are possibly facts no more.
The truth seems to be that we are
not going to get back to "normalcy'
ever Nineteen fourteen was a cli-
mactic date. The world has changed
the situation of the United States
has changed, our very minds have
changed Taking accurate stock of
these changes, observing, anslyfzing.
facing the circumstances clamly and
without sentiment, our aim must now
be rather to better ourselves at build
ing the future than to sit signing
over the past. In this new taking
of stock, of course, We shall find
that apart from principles there are
many things which, happily, have not
been and probably will not be trans
formed. We shall find that there are
even certain points at which we may
still, with advantage and fair pros
pect of success, endeavor to bring
back 1914. But at number of other
vital points We shall discover in
evitably that the past has gone for
ever and that the need is for adapta-
tion, readjustment, initiative-not SO
much for reconstruction as new con-
struction; or, if you will. the new
normalcy, a new world equilibrium
social, economic and political, differ
ent from the old; worse perhaps. OF
perhaps-if we make it so-better.
There is scarcely an individual to
whom these remarks do not apply
Workman, farmer. merchant manu-
facturer. office employe and profess
sional man-all may with profit take
stock. asking how the war has af-
fected their own community in its re-
lation to the world, and themselves
in relation to their community; then
boldly make the suitable readjust-
ments. But what is true of indiyid-
uals is even more true of nations
and in particular OF the United States
Why U. s. In Mentioned.
I say particularly the. United Sta tes,
because, except for few. individual
statesmen. and unlike most other peo-
pies, we have never learned to think
nationally and effectively. in terms
of our situation and our interests,
There was q day. in the infancy of
our independence, when this def
cheney in national thinking threat
ened us with ruin. Wise policies of
wise men. almost against our will,
saved us. In the long, happy period
Of favorable circumstances prior to
1914 it did not seem to matter par
ticularly, so far as our affairs were
Hconcerned, whether we thought ma
tionally or not. A time has now come
however, when once more it matters
| d EtedI ucdI. AS sui ely dS Tie w al
of 1875 gave us our independence;
as surely as the war OF 1860 involved
US in a protracted era of exclusively
domestic development and preoccupa-
tions; as surely as the war of 1895
endowed US with colonial dependen-
cies and responsibilities and pro-
yoked dim awakening again to a
realization of our foreign relations
just az surely will the war of 1917 De
found, sooner or later. to have given
some entirely new orientation. pro-
found, fundamental. perhaps decisive
to our national existence. For US, az
for other nations, the cataclysmic wal
has marked an end and beginning
The world transformations which
have taken place about US affect US
vitality. How should II be otherwise
Yet up to the present 1t Is as il I'VE
had made no serious endeavor either
objectively to understand or defi-
nitely to adapt ourselves to our new
situation. 30