Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-06

sive inhumanity Of one race as contrast
ed with others, but the limitless disaster
which has resulted for Europe from the
explosion Of ethnic nationalism precipi-
tated by the World War. As a conse-
quence political frontiers were drawn In
defiance of geographical circumstances
rich cities like Vienna and Danzig were
sentenced to death, great provinces like
Slovakia were condemned to decay, ma
jorities were released to satisfy ethnic
conditions, but others were subjected to
racial rules as unreasonable and as UNI
happy as before. Always, too, the UNI
the. passion Of free majorities Of the
same races dwelling on other sides of
imaginary lines. But revision of the
peace treaties could only create new
Enincrities predestined to suffer from
the traditional persecution.
Nevertheless. this fostering sore Of the
minority question Is today poisoning the
whole body Of Europe. Out of this In
calculable sum Of human agony there
Is developing state of mind which
without foreshadowing immediate war
forbids any confident forecast Of endur-
ing peace. The ever-increaSing accumu-
lation OF tragedies In the lives of little
people. the incalculable mass of niseries
and stupidities are for many, many mil
lions Of Europeans reducing to the
grotesque all proposals for a United
States OF Europe, every announcement
in favor of disarmament, every utter
ance Of noble distractions like the KEEL
logg pact. Even the League of Nations
itself has lost value in the eyes of peo-
Piles whose appeals for aid go consist
emily and necessarily unheeded at
Geneva.
Lose Faith in Justice.
These millions of suffering people and
their race brethren have lost faith in
any conception of international justice,
ship, in the willingness of foreign peo-
pies to do justice, in any means Of
escape from their intolerable misery
save that Of force. They see their plight
as the result of deliberate design. they
conceive that the intention of other
peoples is to condemn them to racial,
intellectual and moral extinction.
All this ethnic phenomenon is indis-
solubly linked with the economic. Even
where frontiers have been drawn with
faithful regard for racial circumstances
they have turned cut economically and
geographically patiently fantastic. More
over, the effect of the passions excited
by the ethnic circumstances interposes
to make economic exchange or co-opera-
ton impossible for political reasons.
Hate resulting from existing wrongs or
fears awakened by the possibility of
treaty revision send peoples who are
natural customers of each other out into
the world to buy more dearly and sell
less advantageously, while responsible
ministers are afraid to make economic
bargains with unpopular neighbors lest
home sentiment destroy them
Economic distress, thus provoked. ex-
acerbates minds darkened by ethnic
persecution, the material decay incident
to political boundaries is fastened by
moral effects of military oppression.
Trade treaties in all the area of Central
Europe wait upon the exorcism of this
spirit. but steadily and progressively this
spirit intenSifies. Thus not only the
rivalries of great powers. but the con-
f1icting rights and wrongs of peoples
large and small interpose seemingly
impregnable wall between statesmen
and any rational solution of economic
dificulties.