Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-10-02
BY III. G. WELLS.

T IEUT. COMDR. KENWORTHY Is one Of
the most vivid and provocative members
OF the House of Commons. He qualities
- great abilities by a certain tactlessness
which has won him an unpopuiarity altogether
beyond his merits. The other day. for example,
when he was in America he confided to an in
terviewer who quoted some trivial comment l
had made upon the Labor party that l had
gone gaga." In that manner he made refer
ence to my seniority Of 20 years He now asks
me to say something for his forthcoming book,
Peace or War" It u.s. I assume, respite
from the gaga sentence, and gladly do I halt
on the road to DR.. Voronoff or the crematorium
to salute the still unmellowed vigor Of my
friends intelligence.
He has done a very useful. very competent.
very stimulating book. / am happy to recon-
mend it, / do not think 1t would be easy to
better his summary of the complex forces that
make for in the world today. He has a
good, clear sense Of fact and Of the size Of
fact and the weight of fact, and il in his Gull
minating chapter, THE Only Road he does
little seem to fade, 1t is only where we all
fade. Because although the omens Of another
great are plain now as they were In
1907, the forces to which one can turn to stem
the drift seem relatively more confused
and feeble than they were in the days when
King Edward, the peacemaker fitted amiably
about the continent; David Lubin made his
treaties for economic controls with every coun.
ny upOII edIItl, llie LEAGUE VI 4>dtlOuS quietly
met thinly ever and again to hear the discreet
counsels of Sir Willoughby Dickinson and Mr..
Aneurin Williams, and Sir Charles Walston
preached a federal constitution for Europe.
In those days one relied pretty much on the
common sense of mankind.
will confess l was taken by surprise by
the great war. Yet l saw long ahead now II
could happen and wove fantastic stories ABOUT
it, I let my imagination play about ~ ou.
at the bottom Of my heart l did not leel
and believe It would really be let happen.
did not suspect that Lord Grey, the German
Emperor and the rest Of them were incompe'
tent to that pitch. .
And when at last it did happen and that
profession of ruthless insensitive mediocfties'
the military profession, was given power 1or
four wears Of stupid, clumsy and inconcluslve
massacre and destruction, I still chung 10 a
delusion that at the end the common sense OF
mankind would say quite definitely never
again to any such experience, and would De
prepared to revise its ideas OF nationality. EN-
pire, loyalty, race competition and propaga.
ton soundy and effectively SO soon as 1t could
for a. moment struggle out of the mud and
blood and reek in which 1t was entanged.
Whether the phrase, 1.-THE war to end war;
was my contribution to the world or not, can.
not now remember. My mistake was In at
tributing any common sense to mankind
X X *
Today the huge majority Of people in the
world think no more about the prevention of
war than a warren of rabbits thinks about the
suppression Of shotguns and ferrets. They just
don't want to be bothered about 1t. 1t Is amaz-
ing how they accept the things that will pres
emily slaughter them.
The other day my wife and were sitting
on the lawn of pleasant seaside hotel Charm
ing young people in pretty wraps raced down
to the water to bathe others came chatting
from the tennis courts The seafront below