Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-28
By vIscoUNT CECIL OF CHELwooD

By VISCOUNT CECIL OF CHELWOOD
M TRANGER" or foreigner" means
~ enemy" in many primitive Ian
guages. 1t has the same sig
- nif1cance still in the minds Of
many, IL not most, men and
women today. To the Frenchman the
foreigner is still the barbarian until the
contrary is proved. M. Grasset admits
as much in his candid reply to Herr
Sieburgs brilliant essay, "Dieu est il
Francais?"
The more typical the Englishman, the
more intolerant he Is OF those lesser
breeds without the law" Of whom Kip
ling, with the borrowed self-righteous-
ness of the chosen people, so insolently
sang. OF the Middle West Americans
contempt for the picturesque, ridiculous
Europe. OF which he knows nothing ex-
cept that 1t owes his country good
money, there are many classical ex-
amples
whatever We do" concludes Judge
Bausman in his Facing Europe" we
are cursed. What Is left TO us but to
arm ourselves against people unreason-
able and ungrateful?"
Perhaps the most extreme case of the
thought of a whole people being organ
lied to regard the foreigner as an ag-
gressive enemy is the educational syS-
tenn Of Soviet Russia. One could null
tiply instances Of such international
Misunderstanding of deliberate
and organized Observation-Disclosures
Indefinitely.
Here is the greatest obstacle to peace.
For If 1t Is true of affairs Of the heart that
tout comprendre c'eSt tout pardonner.
it is almost equally true of the dealings
of nations with one another. BY ma
women who go to make up that power
called public opinion, which every gov
eminent, whether parliamentary or die
tatorial, must ultimately obey. If they
could only learn the mental discipline
Of trying to put themselves in the place
Of the foreigners upon whom their news
papers and their politicians ask them to
pass judgment, that judgment would
rarely be an unfavorable one. Is it
too much to say that one already sees
the beginnings Of this mutual compre-
hension?
Improvement in Few Months.
There has been within the last few
months a quite extraordinary improve
ment in the international situation.
The end Of 1890 saw an irritable ma
tionalism very rampant and very vocal.
Franco-Italian relations were nl-tem-
pered; German arrogance at the Draft
Disarmament Convention and exasper-
alton with the conduct OF the Polish
elections caused much wild talk about
Germany's leaving the League The
prospects of the Disarmament Confer
ence were black, There was grave I'M
rest in India.
The forces which caused these con-
fiicts or gave rise to these forebodings
al efilI NTH hut
seems to be winning the victory The
Just and wise action Of the League 8
Council has greatly eaSed German
Polish relations. The naval agreement
which am proud to think ministers Of
my own country helped to negotiate in
Paris and Rome has not only allayed
the mad but dangerous prophecies of
conflict between France and Italy, it
has completed the task Of ending COM
petition in naval shipbuilding between
all the great powers of the sea.
This Is Of good augury for the sue
cess Of the Disarmament Conference:
so, too, Is the report of the budgetary
experts. which has proved that 1t really
Is practicable to restrict and conse-
Quently cut down ornaments by limi-
tation Of national military expenditure.
The cause Of arbitration has been ad-
vanced by the final acceptance in both
the brlClSn ana french ParnamentS OF
the general act. And the agreement
reached between the Viceroy of India
and Mr.. Gandhi will be hailed as a
triumph of reason by all who are con-
scious of the immensely of the problem
OF reconciling the East to the West.
Effort at Understanding.
Will this improvement last? Only, !
believe. II the peoples reSolutely deter
mine to understand one another: that
Is, to make on q greater scale a suS-
tanned effort to appreciate the other
mans point Of view, for 1t is that effort
alone which in each one of the in
stances which have cited above
brought success to the patient negotia-
tors and conciliators.
To the bulk of the people direct per-
sonal Acquaintance with foreigners is
denied. and it is precisely this ignorance
Of the stranger, this unimaginative
lack Of sympathy with other nations
that the Nationalist newspaper or dem
aSogue trades upon. 1t is not the press
and the politicians alone who encour-
age this delusion: they find their work
more than half done for them by the
schools. There Is not a single country
where the state schools have not been
used, as matter Of course, to incul-
cate q sense Of ones own nations
glory and of other nations inferiority
The process is a very modern one.