Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-22
BY FRANK III. sIMONDs.

oh RAMA H. 0AHAONDCs
~ EYOND all question the proposal
- for a United States of Europe
constituted the dominating cir
- cunlstances Of the tenth Assem-
bly, of he League Of Nations
and promises to supply the basis for
political speculation for long period
to come. The reason Is not far to seek.
Whether one considers contemporary
Europe from the political or the eco
nomic side, 1t is clear that both peace
and prosperity depend upon not merely
a rapid but revolutionary change
alike In moral and material circum-
stances.
It Is perfectly true that United
States OF Europe is unthinkable II one
consider 1t In the light Of the past three
centuries Of European history. But it
is equally impossible to think OF any
permanent Europe on present terms.
Europe must unite not merely to escape
individual economic disasters, but to
| avoid collective suicide resulting from
conflicting nationalisms
From the age Of Louis XIV to the
French Revolution European history was
characterized by long series Of dynas-
tic conflicts, by the struggles Of Kings
to make their states great and to win
for themselves domination on the CONT
nent BY contrast. from the French
Revolution to the World War the strug-
gle was between peoples, and all the
wars, including the last and greatest,
had their origin, their occasion or their
precipitating cause In the pursuit Of
liberty or unity by some people.
AS a result Of these two processes
states have taken form almost inn
mutually and the ma ority Of every eth
mic group Is both free and united 1t
still remains possible to change existing
frontiers, but all changes must be at
the expense of one race and for the
profit OF another. Thus no real gain
for peace or permanence could possibly
result. The double process of the lib
Grafton and Decentralization of Europe
; has attained the limit Of the possible
A Hard Alternative.
In this situation Europe is faced bv
the alternative of endless war between
dissatisfied and satisfied peoples and CO.
operation to an extent that will lead
to. the ultimate reconciliation Of the
dissatisfied. Moreover, IL is clear that
as a consequence Of the development
Of modern industrial civilization the
older idea of distinct national states
based upon race has been gravely weak
ened. < "'
When agriculture was the main basis
Of the life of all nations big and little,
! the size Of countries was no: of eco
nomic Importance. The mass of the
population in every case lived upon its
own production. International trade
was reduced to a relatively few special
ties. Switzerland could be as prosper
GUS as France, and Holland better Oh
| than either.
Today. however. it is obvious that the
| larger the area OF country the broader
the home market and the greater the
| opportunity for that mass production
that means. alike cheapneSs and coma
fort. The United States, which has
never succeeded in imposing any meas
| ure of its political ideas upon Europe,
has completely upset the whole eco
| by its economic example. Vaguely but
with growing clarity Europe perceives
! that the basis of our material prosperity
! lies in our geographical magnitude.
! What the United States might be II
every State or each regional group OF
| States were politically separate and eco
| nomicaly competitive Is plain. The
attempt of New England to conduct an
: iron and steel industry in competition
with Pennsylvania. or the Eastern
! States to compete with the western in
| wheat and cattle, the division Of the
continent into well-nigh innumerable
small economic units, would preclude
practically all the industrial achieve
ment of recent years, which has taken
Europe by surprise, and left 1t far
behind. ,...- .....-
| Europe Has All. IL.
! In itself Europe has most of the
| things that are necessary to reproduce
| American prosperity; coal, iron, water
! power, highly trained technical experts
and q far cheaper labor supply. But
| no one can measure the amount Of
economic waste resulting from the
| effort Of small national units to do al
| their own business at home; to manu-
1 "a ct,,rn WHARF IL IN Yanst eYnenSiVe and