Evening star., 1923-12-02

! stay for some time in various places
! Of the United States and giving him
self the trouble to get acquainted
! with what we are now calling 1.-The
| psychology Of the Masses" would OF
/ necessity have to come. At home
wherever he came from, they might
have told him about Americas craze
: for mere facts" For statistics" and
| hasty news items without the genesis
or analysis of these facts, statistics or
+, news reporterage, or without-aS ii is
already called-the psychology of
events! But during his stay in the
| United States the conclusion, however
/ becomes unavoidable for the analytical
onlooker, the conviction of the growth
and the deepening out of a historical
sense Of things in Americans; even, per-
| haps. unto the hallowing and intensity
| ing of the general consciousness Of an
! abiding reality in past national events.
Things OF Great Reverence.
| I'll specify. Your stranger. globe trot-
ter as he may be, will remember no
i country where the birthplaces Of de-
| parted rulers, the homes once occupied
by them or their personal souvenirs are
| the object of greater reverence or more
4
, the spirit OF Washington and Lincoln,
! of Grant, Mckinley and Roosevelt, to
| name only but a very few, live every
| where among our living generation in
names of cities. states and counties,
| suburbs and streets, in memorials, i'm
! posing public monuments or highways.
| in the intimacy Of specially dedicated
/ shrineS and muSea?
J Everywhere throughout this vast
| country these historic names and struc-
4 ind 1ifi f,f tnda nf he
psychological perspective of his coun-
/ try, of his political past, of its states
! men, of the historical traditions or as
! sociations. Look then at the corporate,
social life, hallowing solemn days of re-
| membrance - Thanksgiving. Independ-
| ence, Columbus day, the. birthdays OF
! Washington and Lincoln, Memorial
Armistice or Labor day, not to speak
, of the many other legal or public holi-
! days of certain states.
; Further, scrutinize the lists OF
American biographies and histories
I new books of the last quarter OF
/ a century-and you'll be amazed
| Glance over the titles of recent plays
| by Drinkwater, Emerson Hough, ReH
! Beach, or Rida Johnson Young, with
! her charming Little Old New York,
| and observe the same thing. Photo
| plays, of course, tell a similar tale
!, since years ago Griffith's productions
| over the world. Now we have THE
| Courtship of Myles Standish" and the
| Pioneer Trails" the fllm-version OF
"The Covered Wagon" and "Rober'
! E. Lee" and numerous episodes ou
| of the lives of many a. great Amer
lean, taken from the national history
One could also mention the varied
magazine literature, the epic ballad
and popular songs. There are al
sorts of expressions of the historica
theme in art. style, and even in tn
fashions, right from the development
of American architecture. the specific
note Of the beautiful American home
interior, to the peculiarly American
touch and coloring in modern fem
mime dresses. millinery and whs
not! There are, moreover, the mil
itary. social and fraternity organiza
ttons, all psychological utterances o
the slogan: Lest we forget"
Blind Fetishism Denied.
This means certainly not a NOR,
blind fetishism, superannuatec
hero worship or sentimental patriot
ISM, nor reactionary leaning TOWARD
the Dead Things Of the Past.
Rather does 1t signify a healthy
virile determination to search fol
the facts among the experimental
IDEAS Of earlier cultural advance. I
is there only that an analysis o
personal interpretations of thes'
ideas, through the minds and the ac
tions of the will of the great his
lessons to be drawn from the actor
Of these ''doers of deeds" becom
:or posterity most valuable mine o
tested mental experiences, out o
which constructive. II not creative
new ideas and motives are evolved
nIs s-h avH1 rfrt0 -sao
ent in it's conscious preparation o
the state of-mind Of the future.
More than ever are American
! eager to understand the psychology
not only of their own growing his
Tory. but also of the spreading wav
of nationalism in the old world
Europe's history today is leading u
-apidly to crisis-period Of unparal
'eled gravity. The outstanding fac
IF the firmly established Marxial
principles, as an attempted form o
government for nearly 200.ooo,o00 in
| Habitants of eastern Europe, may b
. allied a psychological problem, tn
solution of which involves really al
nations of middle and south eastern
europe: for the constant, if subtle
! influence of Revolutionary propagand:
,mong half Slavonic races of centra
| Europe Is always at work. The stat
Of mind of north Germans, Bavari
ans, Saxons or Rhinelanders Of to
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,rinces or socialist leaders of to
, morrow: this psychology of tn
masses Is really the incalculabl
factor, the "imponderabilia," in tn
development of events, in the making
| CT history!
Historic Parallel.
It has been stated that the historic
parallel Of the aftermath Of th'
Franco-Prussian war probably come:
nearest to the present condition o
| affairs on the European continent
THE splendor Of Napoleon's empir,
dazzled no longer the popular imag
;nation Of the French in 1875, foul
years after the peace treaty. Mar.
shall MacMahon's government. sine,
the fall of Theirs. was regarded BY
Bismarck's cabinet with anything
but favor. The marshal, who had re
luctantly accepted the honor thrus
upon him, was generally regarded
as French Gen. Monk. But which
of the three pretenders was to b.
his Charles II remained a matter o
complete uncertainty. The election
Of some of the Orleans princes II
1871 had given rise. to inconvenien
political supporters. who. kept o,
pressing for the repeal of the Law
disqualifying that family. Thier
had yielded on the point of the ad
mission of the princes, for th'
Orleanists were weakened by thei
6issentions with the legitimists Gun
der the Comte de Chambord). Th'
Bonapartists appeared to cause tn
| government the most anxiety, be
I cause their party had made mucl
progress in the country. The moder
ate republicans included in thei
ranks many honest and respected
men. but had to contend with tn,
extreme unpopularity of the govern
ment of national defense. unde
Theirs. in which they had formed
the chief part. The extreme repub
licans finally endeayored to make III