The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-01-31
A Timely Editorial
Elihu Root, Educator
(New York W orId)

Elihu Root, speaking to the Ma tional Civic Federation's Commit tee of One Hundre<, made an elo- quent and impressive argument in favor of popular education in re- spect to foreign relations. It is a subject that MT. Root is abundantly qualified to discuss. He has been Secretary of State. He has been a senator in the congress of the Unit ed States. He has served on inn portant diplomatic missions and he is profound student of information al law. Democracy has taken over the control of foreign affairs, and MT. Root is right in his thesis that unless democracy displays a high sense of responsibility disaster is inevitable. There is no escape from the judgment that he pronounces: An ignorant democracy controlling foreign affairs leads directly to war and the destruction of civilization. An informed democracy insures peace and the progress of civiliza- tion."
 As MT. Root knows, the Ameri- can people have had few opportuni- ties to study foreign questions at first hand. They inevitably follow their leaders, and they act wisely or foolishly according to the kind of leadership that they are persuaded to accept at any given time. In 1920, for example, perplexed and bewildered by the staggering prob lems bequeathed by World war, they were persuaded to reject everything that MT. Wilson had done and to follow men who promised to reverse the entire foreign policy. that MT. Wilson had defined. The consequences have been disastrous, and the American people have suf- fered along with all the other civ ilized peoples. Under this leader ship the American people have been taught that all other nations are wicked, avaricious, greedy, menda- cious and crooked; that we alone are pure and high-minded and that our only security lies in a fictitious isolation that will protect us from the contamination and rapacity of Europe.
 MT. Root greatly deplores this sort of thing and truly says that If prejudice and passion and igno- rant whim are to control the foreign affairs of the world, then civiliza- tion is bound to come to an end" Nobody could define the foreign policy of the Harding administra- tion more precisely than MT. Root has done in this Sne sentence, and it follows that the way to educate American democracy is first to ed- ucate the Harding administration. Let MT. Root. therefore, start with the President himself. After teach ing the elements of foreign affairs to MT. Harding, he could then pass on to the Secretary of State and inaugurate the education of Charles E. Hughes. The rest of the cabinet could safely be disregarded for the time being while MT. Root moved to the capitol and took up the diff ficult task of instructing the repub- lican senators led by Henry Cabot Lodge.
 Here MT. Root will have to deal not only with prejudice and pas sion and ignorant whim," but with calculated demagogy and with or ganized insincerity. He must en- deavor to instruct men who do not wish to be instructed. men who re- sent instruction, men who regard instruction as source of political weakness, as liability. The fact that they do not wish to know is all the more reason why MT. Root should insist on their knowing. Their mental and moral deficiencies ought to be an additional incentive to him, because nobody can under stand better than he how serious it is that any control over foreign relations should be in the hands of men like these. It is most desira- ble that 1o0.000,o00 Americans should be rightly educated in for eign relations, but if MT. Root could manage to educate fifty or sixty republicans in Washington, all holding high official positions, he would already have made extraordi- nary progress in the way of estab- fishing intelligence and moral re- sponsibility in the conduct of for eign affairs.