Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-11-11

material of this nature. The content of
certain documents now in the vault of
the library is such as to fix embarrassing
responsibilities upon men who are still
active in European politics. On the
basis of information now open to use
in the Heron papers. for example. the
enemies of certain men living in Austria
today might have charged them with
treason. The charges would not be
dangerous at this time. for events have
proved that Austrians who tried to bring
about an early peace were as patriotic
and somewhat more clear-sighted than
their more belligerent fellow citizens. A
short time ago, however, these docu-
ments might have been defir.K Fly in
eliminating.
When it is recalled that almost all
of Europe east of the Rhine has been
under a revolutionary government at
one or another time since the war, it
is clear that many men who were once
connected with an unsuccessful revolu-
tionary or revolutionary party
are the safer and happier the less is
known of their earlier activities. It
speaks well for their sense of RESPONSE
bility for the future that these men
arrange that the records of their ex-
periences should be ultimately opened to
the light of historical research. 1t
speaks well also for the integrity of the
library that these men are willing to
intrust to its care the documents which
show their part in these dangerous
| enterprises.
Close Guard Is Kept.
The State Department itself guards
no more strictly the archives in it's
keeping than does the Hoover War
Library the sealed packets in its vault
and the documents which it makes
accessible to students. A numbered list
is kept of the officials of the library
who are intrusted with confidential
information. Should an indiscretion
| occur personal responsibility could be
fixed without question. The use of
material for research is controlled BY a
signed pledge book The fact that the
library undertakes this responsibility
has made 1t possible for it to be intrust-
ed with valuable papers which might
otherwise have been burned or concealed
by the owners.
european governments today OCCASION
| ally find embarrassing the information
contained in another set of documents
called Delegation Propaganda" coll
!ected by Prof. E. D. Adams at the
Peace conference. Called to Paris in
| 1918 by Mr.. Hoover to lay the founda-
tlons OF the Hoover War Library, DR..
ADAMS secured from each of the delega-
tons at the Peace Conference a set of
the propaganda material being distrib-
| uted to influence opinion there. A
careful record of the acquisition of the
material was kept. so that the actual
source OF many propaganda pamphlets
OF that time is definitely known through
the Hoover War Library catalogue.
Allies knitted One Another.
When the list of Delegation Propa-
ganda" was published recently a certain
! Central Eurorean diplomat estimated
that of the $500 titles there listed there
are at least 800 which the responsible
governments would now diSavow If they
could. The information collected at
this time by Prof. Adams Is troublesome
to these governments. for it appears that
trusted allies were knitting one another
/ in the back. Poland was issuing PAM
| phletS favorable to Hungarian interests
in order to cripple Czechoslovakia. and
otoher powers were conducting propa-
| ganda campaigns which they would
wish now to forget they had ever I'M
| dertaken.
On the other hand, it has been a
source Of much satisfaction to certain
governments that important records
have been saved from destruction and
preserved in the library. AS curious
result of the Hungarian Red Revolu-
ton, for example, these archives con-
tain official government document ma
terials which the state archives at Bu-
dapest do not possess. Immediately
after the Hungarian revolution of 1919
Hoover War Library agents secured sew
eral cases of the documents issued by
the Red regime in Budapest.
When the White counter revolution
airy party arrived an attempt was made
to destroy all vestigates of the Red re-
| gime. Officials of the White govern
ment burned all the papers and posters
| they could lay hands on. They went
through Offices and private homes, re-
questioning seizlng and burning right
and left They came to the Office in
which lay two large packing cases of
Soviet documents marked for Transport
tation to the Hoover War Library They
tried to seize these cases and destroy
them, but were warned off by an Amer
lean guard. Thus despite its own
agents. certain of the records of the
Hungarian government were preserved
for its future use. A representative of
the ministry of education of Hungary
visited the library not long ago to make
copies of some of those documents for
the files at Budapest.
Defeatist Literature.
1T is not only in Hungary that the
library serves as a depository of docu-
ments elsewhere unsafe. zone afternoon
in London. as Prof. Adams walked near
crowded Piccadilly Circus. a stranger
pressed a package into his hand and
disappeared quickly into the crowd I'M
recognized. The package contained the
publications of an organization opposed
to CONSUMPTION, together with a note ex-
planning that the possession of one of
the pamphlets had caused a conviction
under the defense of the realm act
This collection of defeatist and anti
CONSUMPTION literature is now in the
Hoover War Library. 1t is doubtful If
any British library possesses a copy of
this set of publications
The collapse of Russia during the
World War and the violence of the Rus
sian revolutions have resulted in an I'M
usual diSorganiZation Of the records of
recent Russian history. The library is
attempting to preserve full account of
this critical period by bringing together
as complete collection as possible of
the publications of the Soviet and the
anti-Soviet groups. Each group tells its
own story of the great events of the war
and revolution in Russia.
Scholars who ere trying to under
stand Russia must have at hand the
expression of both these points OF 'iew.
But, since the en- gre literature is not
much circulated in Soviet Russia sn1
scholarship under the Soviet is still
suffering the shock of : the revolution,
some questions of recent Russian MS
tory and economics can be better
studied in the Hoover War Library than
in Russia itself. Prof. Ian. Lytoshenko