Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-25
DICTATOR IS HELD
EDUCATION NEED
Psychologist Says New Off
cialWouId Help U. S. Find
Civilization.
BY Consolidated Press.

BY Consolidated Press
NANTUCKET, Mass, August "a
said H. Addington Bruce, lis a die
tator, an educational dictator, Ma
tional Government official who, in mat
ters Of education, actually dictates.
His business would be to transform
America into civilized Nation"
Interrupted in work on a new book,
THE Fine Art of Living" the expert
on social psychology and social educa-
ton had taken under Amusement the
question Of what is civilization and
why hasn't America got it? For years
Mr.. Bruce has studied the problem of
civilization VS.. the American. While
he spoke a golden afternoon deepened
into calm which made meditation
possible, and most of the rest of the
United States continued to rush toward
nervous pro6tration or that crowded
mind which produces the awful bores
one meets nowadays.
Il hope we get him." continued Mr..
Bruce, referring to an educational die
tator. He'd be bad for business, be-
cause people wouldn't buy so much
But In any case America is likely to be
less rich soon, because of wealth you
must have brains, and Americans are
inertia. 1t isn't that the native intel
ligence Of the American people is
low. The trouble is that present
conditions have caused an increasing
mental inertia of the individual. The
intelligence is there but isn't being
used.
Divorce Rate Cited.
"Our divorce rate today is one to
seven marriages. Twenty years ago it
was / to IL. Our crime, suicide and
insanity ratio Is the highest in the
world. In 25 years the arraignments
in the magistrates courts of New York
City have increased from 10000 to
100000 annually: There are 10000
probably 10000 if We add the killings
by Speed-crazed motorists. Every sixth
person in the country has some nerv-
Gus trouble. Is this civilization?
Civilization is not the same thing as
financial prosperity. Look up the word
in the dictionary; civilization is the
condition OF being reclaimed from saw
age life and manners; of being in
structed in arts, learning. of being edu-
Gated, refined, humani2ed. In the die
tionary definition there is not a syllable
about money. imports or manufactures
ITO identify civilization with riches is
to drive a nation back to savagery. The
one thing which really counts for civil
1zation is the attitude of the Nation
toward the things of the heart, mind
and spirit. We need to alter our ma
tional outlook on life before we can
know what 1t means to be civilized.
American life is too crowded with
things, with people and with events.
This crowding resulted from industrial
ism. which forced the growth of cities.
1t is difficult to realize that as re-
Gently as 1900 there were in all the
United States only five cities with a
population Of over 10000. New York City
had less than 10000. With every decade
since the year 1900 there has been more
Of q drift toward the cities. In 1900,
90 of every 100 Americans lived on
farms or in towns of less than 10000
population. In some States today nearly
city population OF Rhode Island is
9712 per cent of the whole, of Massa-
chusetts almost IS per cent; of New
Jersey almost so, and of New York
State more than 30.
Crowding Of Mentality.
"when you crowd life with people,
things and events, crowding of the:
mentality follows The crowded mind
amused and shocked. Indeed, one has
only to read certain of the daily news
papers to appreciate the dominance of
crowd mentality; the mere fact that
this type of newspaper prospers speaks
volume for the mental state of a large
number Of newspaper readers.
I'VE need an educational dictator.
We need an improved system of ma
tional education. In any case we must
always go back to the home to find
the decisive force for a national making
or marring. 1t seems to me that par
ents are becoming again more con-
scious Of their responsibilities. In this
fact lies one great hope that perhaps
some day America will discover civtli-
cation"
Copyright. 1927