The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1926-10-15
EUROPE GETS TOGETHER


BY Alfred Lowry, Paris represen-
tative of the American Friends
Service Committee.
The Sixth International Peace
Congress, organized by Marc San
gnier, was held this year during the
month of August, at Bierville, an
old chateau standing in beautiful
grounds, about 40 miles from Paris.
1t would be hard to imagine spot
better suited for the Peace Month.
Each week something quite diff
ferent was planned. The first weeks
program consisted of various meet
ings and demonstrations in towns in
the North of France, Including
Rheims. During the second week,
there was a sort of Summer School
at Bierville dealing with various in
ternational problems. The Congress
proper was held the third week,
with, of course, many more in at
tendance than during any other
time. The last week was given over
to excursions to number of points
of interest, giving the partakers still
further opportunity to get acquainted
with one another.
In all, about 5000 people were in
attendance. OF this number, one
half were Germans and about one
half of the remainder French. There
were something like ESQ English
delegates and great many countries
had small delegations of from one to
six or ten members. There were
about half dozen Americans
present.
The Congress was made up Of
persons Of all ages and of many
opinions, from extreme conservative
to extreme radical. A special effort
had been made to bring young people
of all nationalities together. and one
had the impression that the Con-
gress was predominantly youthful,
though a great deal of the speech
making seemed to be done by older
people.
The big camp, up on the hill, pro-
vided for about half the Congress.
This camp had been installed by the
French War Ministry, due to the
interest in the Congress of Mr..
Painleve, who was in attendance one
day. Splendid new hopsital tents
were used for dormitories, and the
big mess tent, over hundred yards
long, able to seat at least 1000
people, was really impressive. The
Congress met in the open-air theatre,
the admirable acoustic properties of
which were supplemented on oc-
casion by specially installed loud
speakers.
With a throng of such size and of
such varied opinions, sessions of the
| Commissions were often confused
and occasionally somewhat strained.
The numerical Importance of the
Germans and French, in comparison
with the scattering delegations OF
other countries, made the Con-
gress seem like a Franco-German
gathering.
The Invest question of all appeared
to be that of the right of Con-
scientious Objection to compulsory
military service, and it was my own
impression that the interest of the
Congress focused more and more
upon that problem. The Germanf
stressed the idea that CONSUMPTION is
an outrage to the human conscience
The prevailing French thought ap
peared to be that, though they wish
ed justice to the sincere DIRECTORS
they did not want to appear to be
upholding in any way the malingerer.
The Congress received abundant
notice, for the most part of 9
favorable and sympathetic character
in the daily and weekly press OF
many countries, but especially where
it was most needed-in Germany and
France.
For many who were there the
experience of the Congress was
something new and fresh and there
fore the more impressive. They
could not have left Bierville without
the realization that there exists in
Europe today deep and serious
movement composed of earnest, in.
telligo2t people, whose balanced
thinking is the very opposite of
Ifanaticism, working ardently for
goodwill amongst the peoples.