Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-13
Continued From First Page.)

(ConClnue0 from f1TSL FaBeJ
Of mind are continually increased by
the radio, the newspapers, the tele-
phone, the airplane and other methods
Of swift communication, the RESPONSE
bility of the leaders of these crowds be-
comes continually greater. We are, In
fact, developing an entirely new type
of leader. In a simpler state of civil
lization the leaders of the community
were the overload Tor most powerful
mani, the teacher (moSt learned), the
and most experienced). The authority
Of each of these was based on some per-
Sonal claim to superiority, and the ra-
dius of influence was very small.
How different today! Under present
conditions almost any man whose voice
sounds well on the radio can sway hum
dredS of thousands of people scattered
all over the civilized world. He can
tell them that such and such food
product will make them healthy and
strong, and Immediately, without fur
Their investigation, they will march in
regiments to the stores and buy that
food product. Almost any woman with
a mediocre intelligence but persuasive
voice and face that screens well can
influence the dress, manners and moral
conduct of hosts of other women.
In a picture in which Gloria Swanson
was starred about two years ago the
actress picked up perfume bottle OF q
peculiar shape and dabbed some Of its
contents behind her ears. No sooner
had the picture been released than doZ-
were beSieged by eager women asking
for the perfume sold in that particular
shape of bottle. The mere suggestion
in this case unintentional-had aroused
regiments to action.
Crowd psychology has in it two i'm
portant elements, the attitude of the
crowd toward its leaders and the atti-
tude OF the members of the crowd to-
ward each other. The leader occupies,
in a certain sense, the position of a
father ("father of his people" father
of his country'O. He becomes the re-
pository of all virtues and all ideals.
Any effort to reveal him as less than
perfect is fiercely reSented-unless some
other leader, whose specially Is idol
smashing, springs into greater popu-
larity.
Thus an aura Of mysticism is thrown
about the leader, and If his influence
continues he gradually becomes a god.
Many modern examples Of spiritual
leaders who have assumed divine pro-
portions in the eyes of their followers
will occur to the reader. The con-
sistent silence maintained by ex-PreSi-
dent Coolidge and by Lindbergh has
done a great deal in each case to in
crease this sense of mysticism, and
hence to strengthen their leadership
The idealization of the young flyer was
revealed in some of the pictures circu-
lated at the time of his return from
Europe. These showed him rising from
ETHEREAL clouds and bathed in shafts OF
heavenly light, much as medieval peo-
piles depicted their saints. One church
has exalted him in a stained-glaSs
window.
The individual members of a crowd
even when they are not in actual con-
tact, are held to each other by a COM
mon repulsion, a common interest, or
by narcissism; that is, love of self
per sc, or love of self as one sees one S
own qualities reflected in some one else.
Though love Is, of course, the prime
unifying force, hate or fear of some
outside person or thing may also weld
an unorganiZed mass Of people into a
mob. This reaction, rather than pride,
is, of course, the basis OF most patriotic
feeling. Much Of the wartime propa-
ganda, notably those items designed to
SAfO WIG A1AR4CSoAOAA SAAnb VAC N1CA hAdAAc
were melting down the bodies of dead
soldiers to make soap, was fabricated
in order to keep the pot of hatred boil
ing, weld the citizens of the warning
nations into herd state of mind, and
thereby increase their suggeStibility and
susceptibility to leadership. The uni
flying power Of hate is especially well
recognized by certain political orators
who not infrequently wave the bloody
shirt when they want to transform an
unresponsive audience into a reSpon-
Sive and Sheep-like gathering.
Fear and hate are the emotions which
turn a group of individually peaceful
men into a lynching party, and it is
an interesting psychological fact that
of any two people the one most likely
to lynch for a crime is the one most
likely to commit that crime himself,
given the proper combination. of cir
cumstances. We are 1oudest in con-
demning others for those faults which
we recognize subconsciously as our own.
Thus modern psychology throws a new
light on the old warning Of the Bible,
Judge not. that We be not judged"
One Of the most effective means OF
creating a crowd state of mind is to
introduce an issue Of some sort, such
as a political campaign or a religious
controversy. Under these circum-