Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-19

Another great favorite of the readins
world of the 'S0s ana '9Os was Marie
Corelli, a young Englishwoman who
became famous overnight with "a Ro.
nance of Two Worlds"
We picked up her "TheIna." an.
other sure-flre hit" of those fine Ole
days trying to see If we could And on
! why we liked it when we read it many
years ago.
Yes, it was and is a good tale, in Q
melodramatic way, but that was MOI
what interested us most IN this second
reading.
Time can do a great deal to one
there is no doubt of that. The chic,
interest in the rereading Law in the
amusement derived from COMPARING
Miss Corelli's opinions on government
art and so on, as set forth in "Thelma, >
with the present-day verdict of history
and men upon the same.
Her verdict on America, as expressed
by one of her characters, is amusing, tt
say the least. It shows that the tend
ency to look with alarm Is no new
thing.
"Progress!" exclaimed Guldnar. mo
a bit of it! 1t is all a going back.
ward; 1t may not seem apparent, but
it is SO.
England, for instance, is losing thu
great place she once held in the world.
llistory-and these things always hap.
pen to all nations when money be.
comes more precious to the souls of the
people than honesty and honor.
II take the universal widespread
greed of gain to be one of the wors
signs of the tines-the forewarninG
the effects of which no human ninc
can calculate"
Let us stop long enough to say thai
here Marie Corelli. considering thai
'Thelma" was written about 1888, die
pretty good job of predicting the
World War. OF course, prophets anc
prophetesses always have been in,
clined to dabble in great upheaval,
and disasters" but that fact canno
detract from the fact that she did pre-
| dict "a great disaster, the effects o
| which no human mind can calculate.
The London Conference bears that on
amply.
But let Guldrnar continue, even NOR,
significantly:
1T am told that America is destinec
! to be the dominating power of TIT
| future-but I doubt It'll Its polite
| are too corruptr-its people live too fas
and burn their candle at both ends
which is unnatural and most un
wholesome; moreover, it is almost des
titute Of art in its highest forms-anC
is not its confessed watchword 'tht
| almighty dollar?
And such country as that expect,
to arrogate to itself the absolute swa,
Of the world?
II tell you, no-ten thousand time
mol 1t is destitute of nearly every
thing that has made nations great ant
all-poWerful In historic annals-and m,
| belief is that what has been will b.
again-and that what has never beer
will never be-"
All this sounds extremely familiar.
Yes, Europeans in large numbers ar
still shouting it to any one who will
listen.
Our politics are corrupt! We liv
too fast! We burn the candle at boil
ends. indeed!
And especially are we destitute of ar
in its higher forms!
All, yeS
| And our confessed watchword Is 9Th
almighty dollarl"
Miss Corelli however, got the jumI
on her compatriotS by many, man,
years. Yet the change of the years
| helped by that great disaster, that tire
mendous upheaval known as the Worl,
War, has done much to make Americ;
the dominating power of the world
even II she has not arrogated to her
self "the absolute sway"
| y
| Miss Corelli had q very poor opinion
| evidently, of the American girl. Sh