Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-01

for such findings of moment as he
may be able to bring to the surface
Of affairs Affairs that count for tomorrow,
and the next day, for this particular stretch
of country and for that on the other side OF
the world. Mr.. Wells, nor any other wise man,
needs to tell that are in a New World.
We know it. But, do We? Do We know 1t
more deeply, more inf1uentially, than a mere
repetition of the formula indicates? This is
q new and amazing world" Does the astound
ing fact change an item of our thinking of
our attitudes our actions, outlook with
its sequence of new purpose and new plan?
In a friendly way, Mr.. Wells would like to
60 over the ground with us in a search for
such changes as have been made intelligently
and forthrightly by virtue of having a
world to face, to meet. We agree with him
that in effect, science has turned the trick
of Transforming the world into neighborhood.
Indeed, into huddle. A change that imposes
new accommodations, new understandings, new
unions toward a common intent and common
action. But he thinks, and we agree. that
before outlining the future it would be no
more than good housekeeping Of national and
international scope to see what our stock In
hand looks like, to what extent it is calcu-
lated to meet the new order to what extent
1t must be scrapped to make way for COM
pletely new instruments of existence.
What is education the basic industry, doing?
Really doing? To what measure are its plans
and projects" fitted to the new and compli-
Gated technic Of daily life, in the home, in
the Office, in the workshop, everywhere? What
practical attention is it giving to the new
outrush of girls and women into industry? He
thinks that education is laggard. Not from
a desire to be that. For other reasons He
talks, in like tolerant mood. of professional
life, outside the teaching profession Talks of
the law, OF the church, of the press, of relief
programs and so on and SO on through the
run of staple occupations in civilization
He talks of war. Calls it not mere an
achronism, but sheer impossibility in the new
day so swiftly drawing near. Long distances,
wide separations. complicated technic of train
ing, enormous expense of support in peace and
greater expense in conflict itSelf-these all be-
long to the other day. That day before science
made warfare in the future a matter of holo-
cauSt, wide as and land together an -ex-
tinction of the citizenry as well as of the
soldiery. No war in the future is an i'm
possible conception. Therefore the "huddle"
must learn the lessons of understanding and
accommodation. Must, in a word. learn to
live somewhere near to the claim of humanity
that 1t Is, IN fact and in deed, human.
Yes. Mr.. Wells is an idealist And that
means whatever is put into the word by a
like spirit the one hand and by a resistant
one on the other. With either group he should
be welcome For here is a sincere and wise
man. scholarly man whose intimate knowI-
edge OF the past qualities him to look Sanely
and intelligently upon the present and off into
the future. most engaging man who is very
much in earnest, smilingly in earnest, over a
future which, certainly is not his concern
alone He is not speaking for himself 1t
seems to me to be both good common sense
and a bat OF deeply intelligent choosing to
take up, seriously. What Are We To Do With
Our Lives?" in a search for something definite
and supporting that we, each of us can do
about this business Of being alive in the most
demanding world that has, so far, been created.