The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-05-29

take theirs upon the inefficiency plan.
"Like the Meteor
"All in all, the civilization of the
east is better than that of the west.
We think of China as country in
which rival tuchuns and their armies
march to combat, but what shall we
say of our western civilization in
Europe, where the armies are infin-
itely greater and jealousies between
countries make those between the
provinces and districts of China look
like child's play? Our western civili-
zation will eventually consume itself.
1t goes on headlong from one catas-
trophy to another. 1t is like the me-
teor which travels at such terrific
speed that it burns itself out. There
civilization after the late war 1t
would have been hard to find the
place where anything solid enough.
for us to build upon, hit the ground
after that spectacular performance"
what is the comparative status of
civilization"
81 think it is most hopeful in the
east. 1t may be that the Russians
can disturb the calm and poise of the
east but 1 doubt it. Neither the
British nor the Japanese have been
able to do it. Did you ever realize
that in China we have the only sur
vivor of those ancient civilizations
which howered in Egypt, Babylonia,
Persia, Greece and Rome? 1t has
known and survived them all. think
did not realize it until lived in
China. l learned then to respect the
ancients. Probably this precious her.
itage would have been denied us had
not China been guarded upon her ex-
posed side by the great Cobb desert.
All the enemies that ever crossed
that desert China absorbed They
did not keep on coming like the
waves of the seas as they did upon
Rome.
China has had for thousands of
years a continuous evolution. She is
fluid now. She turns eagerly to US,
for instance, in politics and science.
She is trying to have republic, and
her young men are in scientific
schools all over the western world.
China does not want what is bad in
our civilization. She does not want
to make Asia a vast battlefield such
as we have made of Europe. The
+ols rf will re
lessness, it's readiness to oppress the
weak, it's preoccupation with purely
material aims and its sham Christian
ity are all abhorrent to China. 1t is
her capacity for absorption without
making herself over that has kept
China going. When she adds to what
we know what we have forgot she
will have civilization such as the
world has never seen.
''The East has Ethics"
what the east has that we are
without in our western civilization
| is ethics No such sure and lasting
| tion. What we have to teach the
east is not morals or ethical maxims,
but science and technical skill. The
east needs to acquire western knowl-
edge without acquiring the mechan-
istic outlook. / do not know whether
it can do that or not. If it cannot,
then there will not be any civiliza-
tion anywhere worthy the name l
suppose it will be unlawful every
where then to eat uncanned meat.
"One of the most interesting
things happening in civilization just
now is the discovery in orient that
without science the orientals are at
the mercy of the occidentals. The
Japanese were the first easterners to
| adopt western science and make
themselves equal to westerners. The
Turks learned science from the Ger
mans. They are now quite capable
of taking care of themselves. Science
is also the end of old-fashioned gov
ernment in the east 1t is introduc-
ing democracy. 1t would be inter
esting to know if this is to mean that
all the east is to become westernized.
| hope it means only that it is to be-
come capable of defending itself.
"Bolshevism is not the factor in
eastern civilization that may be sup
posed. 1t implies communism, and
the orientals are not communistic.
They are intensely individualistic.
Al orientals love to trade. They
would not exchange that passion for
anything Bolshevism has to offer.
This is particularly true of the Chi
uese Communism is lost upon them" J"
(Which of the European nations is
the most civilized"
''rhe French Honor Art
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