Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-16
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

The outstanding trend of civiliza-
ton is in the direction of getting bet
ter acquainted with international
neighbors through official conferences.
Undoubtedly, the World War had
much to do in starting or developing
that tendency, since the war, the radio
and now the airplane have almost
wiped out distance, and go far toward
destroying national prejudices. The
whimsical incident of Charles Lamb is
illustrative of the effect, although 1t
occurred so long ago and applied then
only to individuals.
Lamb saw across the street total
stranger, and he turned to a friend
with the vehement declaration, 81 hate
that man.
"Hate him? Why, you don't even
know him."
"Of course not. If I knew him ]
could not hate him."
So when nations talk to each other.
regardless of ocean barriers, and when
men fly over oceans as if they did not
exist, and when international "con-
ferences' take place almost daily, and
upon almost every conceivable topic, it
is impossible to go on with interna-
tiOnal hate" We soon discover how
very like ourselves are the total
strangers across the street.
X X X X
There are dangers as we'll as ad.
vantageS In these international con-
ferences-dangers coming from per-
sonal climbers" or pernicious busy
bodies, processing, without adequate
authority, to represent their respective
nations, and ostensibly committing
the nations to policies which even the
bogus representatives are far from
compromising.
For example, there is now in ses-
sion in Honolulu a Pacific con-
ference" whose aim is to ascertain
what are the points of friction be-
tween the East and the West-a
rather large order" Perhaps the
self-appointed delegates have read
Kipling's challenges:
'Oh, East is East and West is West,
And never the twain shall meet"
But if so, so much the worse for Mr..
Kipling, for they now meet at Homo
lulu, where, with a few hours Of
speeches from English, Americans,
Japanese and Chinese, it will be re-
solved that the United States policy
of excluding Orientals from immigra.
ton is all wrong, and, in the interest
Of humanity, Congress will be re-
quired to reverse it's policies. When
Congress refuses to comply with the
request, so much the worse for Con-
gress, which thus demonstrates it's
lack of world vision"
It is noteworthy that these con-
ferences are not official; they are not
participated in by the State depart
ments of any of the nations, yet they
purport to discuss and commit the
nations to a settlement Of intricate
and historic problems which have
baffied the ripened statesmen of Con-
crosses and Parliaments. Broadly
trained diplomats are not consulted
only amateurs and college professors.
Quoting from the London Times re-
port Of a speech at the conference
made by Sir Arthur Salter, director of
the financial section Of the League OF
Nations, Sir Arthur averred:
probably the most urgent and i'm
portant thing at present was that
governments should definitely adopt
the recommendation of the confer
ence, and declare their intention to
make their policies conform to them.
He would like to suggest in the
barest outline what the chamber and
its members could do.
Members, each in his own country,
could arouse and maintain public opin-
ion. assist their governments to adopt
the policy of the conference and to
make declaration similar to those
made by Belgium, Germany and
Czechoslovakia and secure that actual
commercial and economic policy is
modified accordingly. The reso-
lutions relating to trade barriers were
unanimously adopted"
BY trade barriers is meant Gus
toms tariffs-in the United States, pro-
tective tariffs equalzing the difference
in cost of production under American
| wages, making possible American
standards of living, and production
| under European and Asiatic condi.
tons. The conference voted "unani-
mously" Americans, British and
Asiatics-in favor of free trade, wiping
out al trade BARRIERS" and 50 en-