The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-01-07
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL :
Information Bureau
FREDERIC ). HAsktN, DirecsoF.
washington. d. o.
CONFERENCE As EDUCATION.

Washington, d. c., Jan. 4.-That the |
most important Accomplishment OF
the conferences has been to afford the
American people a free course in in
had. before, is an opinion often heard
here as the great meeting draws to
Pubic interest in the deliberations
is now perhaps declining. but at the
start it was KEEN. And never has such
la high, level Of newspaper comment
on a great political event been seen in
this country. s. -,,,... ,,-,--st3
It is true that every nation poured
out its propaganda, by the familiar
methods, but these partisan state=
ments stood side by, side with dis
cnssion by experts which reached the
very highest level of, impartia1ity., A.
famous socialist wrote from his own
point of view under his own name,
and his writings were printed by many
papers who by no means shared his
views An economist. of international
reputation discussed the matter from
an economic point of view. College
professors, army and navy officers.
radicals and, conservatives. all have
had, a hearing 80, ,..a w.. on
: Doubtless such a Symposium Of con
f1icting viewpoints is sometimes cons
fusing; yet never has the intelligent
reader had a better opportunity. TO
4
And never before have the motives
behind diplomatic moves and preten-
sions been, more clearly unmasked.
Compare the meeting to that at Yer
sail1es, where se1f-iAterest always adj
vanced behind a barrage of platitude.
The work of Public Opinion.
| In the first place, the common man
! has seen what public opinion can ac=
/ cornplish. For it was undoubtedly
public opinion that created the. con-
ference and that deserves credit for
whatever it may accomplish, The
! Borah resolution, providing for such
a gathering, at first attracted no at
| tention at all. Neither the American
| government nor, any of the other gov
ernments seemed at all interested in
| it. But the Borah. suggestion had
| fallen on fertile popular soil. 1t soon
became apparent to the administered
| ton that there was a general popular
demand for such a gathering.
Thus the average man is brought to
| realize that he is the ultimate arbiter
| in matters of peace and war. If the
common man would not fight and pay
taxes, there would be no wars. If
governments could not drum up a war
to decide who. shall have the oil in
Mesopotamia or the trade in Nom
golias then the oil and the trade would
be peaceably divided up. OF course,
the trouble, is. that some peoples make
more rapid progress than others in
getting oyer their capacity for being
| fooled. A people with something left
in them of the medieval war spirit is
q menace to the whole world.
None the less in this slow but steady
popular revulsion against war is the
one real hope of permanent peace.
Doubtless a great world tribunal will
also be necessary. but that organiza-
ton. Will simply be an expression of
the popular will against war, and until
such a will has been developed, no in
terpational organization will be. any
more effective than the League of Ma
To realize the slow growth of this
will against war you must look long
way back. You must remember that
in medieval days. kings made aggres-
siye, war. deliberately. in accordance
with thier divine right, and that their
subjects dared not refuse to. follow
them. Now every war is made with
elaborate apologies. and with a thou
sand pretensions of high moral in
tent. The real rulers of modern ma
tons are simply. the ,property-owners
in them, and these property owners
make war for profit just as the me
. dieval kings did, but their puppets
the politicians, must provide for them
a vast smoke screen of apology and
pretense.
Pooling the Public.
In other words. once it was not even
necessary to fool the common man.
Now it is necessary to fool him, but
how painfully easy it Isl The ques-
ton now is to what extent he can get
over his amazing capacity for being
fooled. Just before we entered a the
World war the American peop1e were
in most pacific mood. They did not
want war, They reelected a president
because he had kept them out OF war
, The actual declaration, of war found
the greater part of the country tpdifTi
ferent. apathetic, And yet within g
few months a state of hysteria ha6
exceeded in the. Middle Ages. By. g
dozen bugaboos the people were
harassed into a state of feverish bel
2 licosity. ,,
, 1t is not meant by this to 1mpugr
f the motives, with which we entered
the world war, but simply to recall
in a period of reaction against war
t how easily the war spirit is WORKED
r up with flags and drums and speeches
. Some wars are just wars and SONS
1 wars are necessary, but the point i:
e that the methods by which wars are
upon the merits of the case. Our at.
tack on Spain was fomented, more
81 than by anything else by the phrase
y Remember the Maine" but it wa.
7
Spaniards blew up the Maine anC
i there is not the slightest reason to be.
S lieve that the Spanish government had
Z anything to do, with it, .--. 80 49,.
The point is that as long as mel
retain this primitive responsiveness t.
= war spirit, as long as they respond t.
8 speeches and flags and drums with al
a historical yelling. excitement, just. a.
savages respond to the beating of
y tom-toms, Just so, long as diplomats
= politicians, demagogues generally cal
make wars at will And as long a
| they can make wars, they will do so
Wars are made in the same way tina
S P. T. Barnum made his fortune-b.
n taking advantage of the public's enor
q nous capacity for being fooled. Per
haps that capacity is inherent and un
> | changeable. But as far as war is con
5 cerned, another element now enter
= into the situation. War is no longe
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