Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-11

w tAc lsCN0OH OOSefDey. OF irNtCb htVs
GGrUin Is chief editor as tceH as editor
OF the Encyclopaedia Britaai'ica.
"oDAY is the Fourth of Jul!
with q difference date o
extraordinary interest in thu
u history Of the United States
and one which ought to I'll
S4his country with reflection. BY {
series OF condolences it is a triple an
niversary. The birthday of the Amer
lean nation is that of its President
Mr.. Coolidge, whose quiet habits ge
with his mighty position. Just q hun
dred years ago died Thomas jefferson
and another of the fathers and Presi
dents, John Adams.
jefferson left his ineffacable STAMP
on American democracy and tbs
world. On that same date. exactly
so wears before-the original Fourth
OF July. 1776-he had written his owr
name among many signatures TO TINS
Declaration of Independence. but ne
was the real begetter of the document
which called the United States into be
ing and reacted OH Europe to open
whole modern epoch of revolutions nE
to the climax of the great war
Struggles for unity and independence
are chief key to the history OF all
that age.
Looking back from the high stand
point of this Independence day upon
the astonishing record of their prog
ress, Americans may divide It clearly
into three half centuries. Britain aho
Europe, instead of taking for granted
the familiar miracle, may well ask
themselves what are the present
propositions of that miracle, by what
means has it been accomplished. what
are the saving lessons to be drawn
from-it and what its consequences are
sure to be in the future?
America Half Grown.
America within itself, for all Its
present wealth and power, Is only
halfway to full development: America
as a world influence is only beginning:
when jefferson died on this date OF
1926 he had seen the Republic grow
erom three millions of citizens 70
twelve. Half century later. when
the centenary of the foundation OF the
Republic was celebrated in 1876, the
population had risen to somewhere
about 45 ,O00, 000-equal TO that OF
Great Britain today. The raVages OF
the Civil War We're repaired, railway
. CONSTRUCTION on a. colossal scale was
oDeuing up the West to agriculture,
and massed manufacture. though new
born. was already an infant Hercules
Graded in iron.
Frouf then TILL now. during the
memory of hosts of people still NY
ing. the third half century OF the
Renublic has been the most marvel-
Gus OF ALL A bare statement OF Iacls
reduces rhetoric to impoteaee. s. u 11as
this. Fourth of July the popHiat ao
of the United States.ais nearly lzu,-
0fo 900. It's wealth. stiil larger IN
nronortion. is at least seven times as
prreat as that of this country. per-
hans 10 times as great. and Is draW-
ing still further ahead every day.
r. Yields q tremendous mechanical
no1,innoent. necessarily improved.
Based on the resources of haf or the
continent. America still Is mainly
eelf. contained and self De-
Tended on both sides. not by narrow
.ess h,,t wide oceans, America is
inpregnabie and irvulnerable, enjoy
ing the happiness of political ana eco
noY,aic security never known at any
time In the Old World.
New Standards Set.
To conceive this reality we must
shake off all pre.war impressions
aho,,t the United States and rise far
above all European standards OF COM
narison. America Is a giant among
nations Keeping to the eloquenee
Of round numbers, 1t is enough TO say
tba Renublic produces over 70 per
cent az the worlds wheat, over Az
narF cent of all its coal, over 80 per
cent of its copper, nearly gu per cent
Of It's cotton, fully 90 per cent
Of its steel and 10 per cent OF Its OIL.
Relatively to this vast, unlhea 90
Getty. pulling together at present bet
ter. Than any other, economic Europe
is an impoverished chaos.
let no man imagine that this is a
spectacle merely OF triumphant ma
terialism Those who take that View
understand nothing.
An increasing amount of wealth IS
going lust where it should. America
spends as much upon education as al
the rest of the world put together.
In architecture she leads granny.
That kind of excellence has always
been the index of progress in the
other arts.
Paul Bourget thought the Ameri-
ran mastery of steel as inspiring as
the Greek mastery of marble. There
Is no finer book printing In the world
than the best that America now Gre
iates.
Art Flow Justified.
II fhe artistic treasures of Euro
nean countries flow steadily into
American collections, let us remen1-
her that Rome, Venice, Florence,
Spair,. France. England and Germany
81 different times made similar use
of their wealth to the utmost. Eng
land. Far instance, when her relative
position In the world was very IKE
hat OF the United States today,
collected Elgin marbles.
Religious forces OF all KINDS are
more actively powerful in America
than in any European country what
ever You may call fundamental
ism. primitive and intolerant; YOU
cannot call it materialisttc.
Where do machines spring from
n not. like Minerva, from the brain?
We shall glance at a few further
reasons for thinking that the prodi-
giotis success of the United states IN
making material wealth and IN Oil
fusing it among the mass OF the peo-
Pile would have been Impossible with.
out the force of character ana moral
energy which, have entered into its
progress.
We come to the question of lessons
and consequences for Europe. and,
above all, for Britain. The first les
son is social. Among ourselves 9
deadly conflict between capital and
labor has ragged from the war 70 the
general strike.
Factors in Trade War.
To too large a degree the temper
of capital has been as hard and mar
row as a knife. Labor given over
to the imagination of vain things, has
done just about all It could TO i'm.
poverish itself.
BY contrast, the American people
as whole have reached q level Of
general well.being far above anything