Evening star., 1925-08-16
Blind Mans Buff
in Diplomacy
By Herbert adams Gibbons,
Historian.

announcement. LnaL the new W dlleI
| Hines Page. School of International
Relations, soon to be opened as a de,
partment of Johns Hopkins Univer'
| sity, is going In for research work on
the same basis and in the same spirit
as the other graduate schools that
have made Johns Hopkins famous.
There will be frank round-table dis
cussions OF the economic causes of
wars, and the maladies from which
the world suffers, unrest, competitive
ornaments, hatred, are going to be
cold-bloodedly examined in clinics.
Scientific and unprejudiced han
ding OF the problems of foreign rela
| tions has never yet been attempted
| in an American university. Bias and
and bile, lack of balance, the influence
| of the subjective mind, have.been only
too apparent In the teaching of CO
| temporary history in our higher in
stHutions of learning, and the books
that they have written show that
many college professors make the
! study of international relations a
game OF blind mans buff. Bandaging
their eyes so that they will not have
to see the causes that give rise to the
problems they discuss, these gentle
men grope out into the dark, and
| what comes under their hand they
put In the seat OF honor, Hence We
| have secondary or minor causes OF
| friction among nations featured and
exhaustiVely examined. Vital issues
are passed over in silence.
At WilfiamstOwn Conference.
Each year at the Williamstown
| conference we have seen the game OF
blind mans buff delightfully."- played
I but it has never been more strikingly
| illustrated than this Summer in the
! bland advice given to Italy to control
her birth rate. A Fascist Senator had
| given powerful expose of Italy,s in
ternational outlook, indicating the
| causes OF conflict with other powers
Population was bearing down on food
supply; emigra tion TO the United
| States was cut to virtually nothing
Italy could find a certain measure OF
relief elsewhere, especially in North
| ern Africa, close to her own shores
| and in her own seas; but she could
| not brook the thought of losing tC
| Italian nationhood and culture these
| emigrants whom France was trying
| TO Gallicize, although, In the case ei
| Tunis and Morocco, France was sim
| ply the protecting power and not the
| owner of these former provinces oi
| the remedy was for the Italian gov
fessor answered in great detail that
| the remedy was for the Italian gov
| ernment to induce the mothers OF
! Italy to have less children. So every
| one at Villa mstowH excitedly com
menced to talk birth control, and the
Italians solemn warning was wasted
| Is Williamstown audience like the
| AtheRians who faced Paul on Mar!
| Hin?
Wants Place In the sun.
When Italy Is in the clinic al
! Baltimore, and an American doctor o
! international relations proposes birth
| control as the solution of her ma lady
! let us hope that some other doctor
will speak up and say that O) III.
+, proposition IS absurd. because ta) W.
are asking Italy to do something tina
! il forbidden by law in our own coun
: try, and (b) Italy is a Catholic coun
/ try and the church definitely forbid!
] what Prof. East suggests: and e
! that the Italian race, being likt
! other races, notably our own. is no
| seeking a means of bare subsista nc,
but Is dreaming of a place in the SUI
-as Germany dreamed; and is still
dreaming, and as Japan is dreaming
! came up at ma
waii recently, and the Americans haC
raised other minor issues as smok,
| screens, just as Prof. East di,
at Williamstown, and went on will
| futile discussion. The disease from
| which Japan, like Germany and Italy
is suffering, and which will inevitabl,
| lead to war unless we apply tn,
| remedy, was ignored
| When we get through our games o
| blind mans buff and take the ba
| ages from our eyes we cannot fai
to put our hands on the underlyin,
| cause OF wars which no League o
Nations, under existing conditions an,
| codification of international law. cal
reach. The worlds colonizing areas
raw materials. and markets are un
equally distributed. Great Britain al
over the world and France and III
| United States in large parts of III
| world enjoying advantages denied [,
other nations.
Disaster or War.
Their people have no need Of brit
control. and do not have to emierat
and lose their nationality or language
Their manufacturers have free acces
10 most OF the worlds raw material
ana markets. Their banks and meT
chant marine and export houses oper
ate under their own nag and thei
own laws. 1t Is not human natlir
for other powerful nations to accep
TINS state or affairs indefinitely. T.
change the existing world status qu
| they Will use the same means ths
we used in the past to arrive at ou
present position-war.
At Johns Hopkins these facts vii
be established, and then # is hope,
that we shall see clearly the aIterna
| tlVes; hnding a way to let other
share what we enjoy on equal terms
or maintaining large army an
navy TO defend our privileged posi-
ton.
| Copyright 1a25l