Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-04
Speed and the Depression

little Fabian chaff in the air. II just
hints at reasons hidden in the deep
caverns of his intellect. cannot be-
Heve That ne was more serious ABOUT
speaking Of the poetry of Homer and
Shakespeare.
Appealed to Smart Set.
Shaw appealed directly to the large
and growing smart set in England and
America, who had felt the influence of
the Court of Edward VII and whose
main purpose was to be merry. Many
OF them were bored by their husbands
and wives and all the restraints of relt-
gion. Their prophet had thrown the
church and its holy nlatrimony upon his
mountain of waste.
Is it possible that any one is so simple
minded as to think that the world is
one great rubbish heap and George
Bernard Shaw and the Soviet govern
ment? Can any one imagine that even
Mr.. Shaw believes it?
Mr.. Shaw has the Superman attitude.
He does not trouble himself with eluci-
cations. We are often in doubt as to
whether we should blame our own
intellectS or his.
once knew a lawyer who won I'M
portant cases with nothing but a super
man attitude. With an air of divine
could understand. Judges and turieS
believed him. They were ashamed TO
admit that he was too deep for them.
They concluded that he must be right.
His career ended when q clever lawyer
answered him as follows:
"Hic hoe maurus multicauluS emen-
ciet thoro rutabaga centum. Gentle
men, do you understand me? OF course
not. 1 90 not understand myself. And
yet you understand me as well as you
understood the fogmaker who has,
fear, caused you TO lose your reckoning.
Do not through modesty blame the
wrong intellect. 1t is simply 'emenciet
thoro rutabaga centum.' He may do TO
practice law among angels, but this Is
world OF men and most OF lis want TO
know the facts before we reach n de-
cision. 1t is our right and our duty 20
to do"
read in a declaration Of Albert Elm.
stein: Neither can I believe that the
individual survives the death OF the
body, although feeble souls harbor eucn
thoughts through fear or ridiculous
egotism'
Here is another smasher in the shock
troops 1 make no. argument against
the thesis Of this distinguished gentle
man. He speaks of egotism. I ask, was
there ever such sublime and shocking
example of 1t as this statement OF Mr..
Einstein? He may be a great man, but
I must be permitted 70 doubt any
man can get far enough in his quest
for knowledge to warrant an attitude OF
unparalleled arrogance. However much
he may know, he is only at the threshold
of the great house Of mystery, and he
would better be humble.
Shining Lights Included.
In effect he tells us that the shining
lights Of htstory-Lincoln. Webster,
Hamilton. Jefferson, Franklin, Wash
tngton, Gladstone, Disraeh, Pitt, Fox,
Burke Newton, Cromwell, Milton, Ba-
con, Shakespeare, Cicero. Jesus Christ,
the martyrs-these were all feeble
souls" Mr. Einstein, in his notion OF
his own superiority, shows no hesitation
n his use Of the word feeble. 1t reminds
one Of the old Kings who appointed
themselves partners of God.
Mr. Robert Millikan is a philosopher
in whose judgment we may have some
confidence. He says: "Fullness of knowl-
edge always and necessarily means some
understanding Of the depths of our ig-
rorance. It Is always conducive to hu-
mility and reverence"
Mr.. Dresser is another captain Of the
shock troops who are besieging the
stronghold of time-honored opinions. He
says that the moving throngs at Broad
way and Fifty-seventh street remind
him OF Darkest Africa with its predatory
beasts. serpents and insects, each sus-
tanning itself at the expense of another.
He declares that on this planet robbery.
oppression, false witness cruelty. vanity.
gluttony, sodomy. are all fortified and
intrenched and that the weak or def
Gent, as in the jungle, are preyed upon
by the strong.
The things in his black list are un-
doubleday here. The world we live In is
very imperfect, or good men would have
no great work to do. Save for intoler-
able wrongs there would have been no
Abraham Lincoln, no Benjamin Frank
lin, no Oliver Cromwell. But evil is not
the dominating note in human life. The
world has made some progress since it
was ruled by Nero and Caligula. Let US
not be traitors to our time and abandon
hope Of It,
Stand in the crowd at Broadway and
Fnty-Seventh street long enough and
you will be amazed by its generosity. In
day f1ocd Of silver passes to the
lame, the blind and the unemployed.
Here comes boy. He IS shabby and
depressed. He has had nothing to eat
for day. He is from Texas. saw him
with my own eyes. He has come to New
York to find work. He has failed to
find it. He has a good face. He is tell
ing man Of his troubles The man
says: Here is a dollar. Go and get
yourself fed up Then come TO my ONCE.
Wen have little talk and I'll see what
can be done for you" That kind of
thing happens often IN our crowded
thoroughfareS.
Truth About Main Street.
have seen the long lines of the I'M
employed eating the bread of charity
furnished by the strong" I have seen
the mills and factories bled white by
keeping up the wage scale of unneeded
men. have seen the suffering OF disap-
pointed holders of stocks and bonds
whose interest had been spent to pre-
vent unemployment. So I am not able
to agree with Mr.. Dresser that the
crowd at Fifty-seventh street and
Broadway Is like the hyenas and boa
constructors and lions Of the Kongo.
Sinclair Lewis of the new army is an
artist for whose work I have a sincere
admiration. 1t is a pity that he did not
tell the whole truth about Main Street.
knew it well in my youth. The look
OF 1t was quite as drab as he has drawn
It, but below the surface was a beautiful
spirit. Many men ana women In the
sacrifice and toiling beyond their
strength to give their sons and daugh-
tiers an education.
After all imperfect as 1t is, and rough
and hard as my way has been, like the
world we live in. The great, vital things
filled with the sacrifice and wisdom Of
the innumerable dead are not easily
moved. Even the conceit, the follieS, thI
vanities, the wickedness of men con.
tribute to their strength. Their founde-
tons are deep and wide. Above then
the ages have slowly added their dc
posts of wise revision which are Ike
the gigantic rules of geology.
Races disintegrate, nations rise and
fall, believer and unbeliever, saint and
sooner go quickly to the dust. The
praying, the playing and the laughter