Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-14

employment. This fear has some
ground, of course, in country which
Is not sufficiently productive, and too
much Of Europe, unfortunately, Is given
over to unproductive work. Bad as the
monotony in the American factory may
sometimes be, it. is yet sacrifice in the
interests OF stupendous production Of
wealth, in which the workman shares.
What can be said for even greater mo-
notony which is absolutely unproduc-
tive?
Much as love M Caillaux's country
I know no land where one more fire.
quently sees n1onotonous labor of this
sort. During the last Winter 1 have
watched the men at the gates of Paris
who ask every taxi entering or leaving
how much gas there is in the tank, and
who then give the driver a ticket regis
tering the amount so that tax can be
collected on the surplus when he comes
back. It is the least practical way man
could imagine to collect tax on gaSo-
line. OF course, nobody ever has the
wrong amount when he comes back,
and the man who hands you out the
ticket and the man who asks for it
again both know the operation is futile.
Will Get State Pension.
When these men have gone through
these motions a SUFFICIENT number of
years they will receive a pension from
the state. So with the other petty
officials at the other octroi stations in
the land, whose days and nights are
given supposedly to the collecting Of
revenue but in effect to the slowing up
of traffic and the interruption Of cir
culation. Our own way of handling
the matter may not be ideal, but we
collect a tax on each gallon of gasoline
sold. The tax Is really collected. and
we avoid the army of unproductive
officials.
Or my readers may remember the
exaSperating ceremonies you must go
through to get into a French theater.
I say nothing about the endless and
futile clerical work over which
French business employe spends his
monotonous hours and ruins his eye
sight. But such a process as buying
theater ticket involves at least four
people at the box office. and sometimes
six You buy a piece of paper ad-
hitting you to the region OF the house
you wish to sit in. and you then take
the paper to three able-bodied men In
a row behind a high desk, who by
their joint efforts assign you to par
ticular seat. All three men are. from
the American point of view. useless,
and worse than that, since their un-
productive activities make dreadful
congestion in the corridor. A machine
can print the precise number OF the
seat on each ticket-but If our methods
were followed I suppose some real
work would have to be found for the
three men, and Europe shoulders at the
problem.
While I was In France last year !
had the privilege of visiting, with
other tourists. famous castle, long
associated with American memories.
The present owner. q man OF the beau
tiful culture which M. Caillaux admires.
had restored it. 1t is perhaps unkind
Of me to insert the fact that the
American money which came into the
family through marriage So far as
the historical aspects OF the castle are
concerned, the restoration Is superb.
The past Of the building in which the
owner and his family live when they
visit the estate is the last word in re-
finement and comfort. The kitchen.
however. which supplies the owner and
his guests, is still where 1t was hun
dreds of years ago. under ground. and
nearly 100 yards from the dining room.
Retinue Enormous.
The retinue of servants is necessarily
enormous. Some able-bodied human
being has to travel 100 yards and up
boiled egg to the table. We Americans
would feel it none Of our business to
criticize these arrangements. If M.
Caillaux were not so hard on us for
having brought that kitchen above
ground. and for having made mental
tasks less mental. That is what our
civilization stands for. And most OF us
would rather take our chance with 1t
than with the European civilization
which can enjoy a meal produced by so
much unnecessary drudgery.
Meanwhile. NJ. Caillaux's fears for
our cultural future are somewhat
diminished in my mind by the fact
that the artists, the writer's, the must
clans in his country and in other parts
of Europe eventually find their best and
most profitable audience in the United
States.
The leisure and the economic free
dom which our civilization Is produc-
ing is turned to account in just those
directions which leisure and economic
freedom have always sought. since
human nature is not radically dif-
ferent in the two continents-as soon
he will try to satisfy the bafiled hum
gers of his soul and reach for the
beauty and the satisfactions which
have hitherto been denied him.
II M. Caillaux replies that am an
optimist,' that have too much faitn
in man, reply: not too much for
America. And I add that unless
Europe can acquire faith in man. its
civilization will certainly. Is he fears,
perish.