The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-03-31
SHELVE EVERY
MAN OVER 80,
AUTHOR URGES
Worlds BIunderS Laid to
Doddering Minds of
SeniIe Leaders.
WILD ANIMAL IN PANTS
Prof. Pitkin Flags Tiger of
France for Vast World
War Loss.
BY III. ALLEN SMITH
United Press stan Correspondent

NEW YORK, March 31.-Eco-
nomic stability never will return
until every person more than 81
years old is retired, Walter B. Pit
kin, psychologist, author and pro-
lessor at Columbia university, sale
today.
Pitkin, who is 81 himself, added
that ANY person past so ought tc
get into a rocket and take off fol
the moon. He would be better off.
Doddering minds and stupidity
are blamed by Pitkin for most of
the worlds great plumbers, in his
new book, which he calls "A Short
Introduction to the History of HUI
man Stupidity" to be published
April Fools day.
Young people should do the rul-
ing" he said. Young people should
be in charge of Wall Street and
Washington. The average bankers,
so or past, is incapable of the ac-
ton that is needed to pull the world
out Of the present hole.
Whiu 10 III bnC dsk
1.-THE man over so thinks in terms
of the past, functions in the man.
ner of the past, and goes blunder-
ing along toward the grave. 1t is
a terrible error and must be
changed if civilization is to endure.
The worlds ten classic plumbers
due to human stupidity were named
by Pitkin as.
l. The creation of the world.
2. The Irish races persistence in
raising potatoes.
3. Mussolini's dictum TO increase
the population of Italy.
4. Prohibition.
5. The Civil war.
6. The World war.
Z. All other wars.
7. Lord Kitchener'S conduct dur
ing the World war.
9. Napoleon's Moscow campaign
10. The department of all farm
ers.
THE tragedy of the World war,
for example, can be attributed di-
rectly to doddering minds" Pitkin
said.
Wild Animal in Pants
when the war broke out,
Clemenceau was 70, Hindenburg
was &C. Moltke was IS, Kitchener
was Ga, Foch was So, Joffre was g.,
Asquith was 81 and Wilson was SO.
Some of these gentlemen we're
ready for the padded cell in 1914.
"Clemenceau was wild animal
in pants. His mind stopped grow
ing half a generation before the
war. Europe has paid a pretty
price for this man-millions OF
corpseS and billions of money
History, according to Professor
Pitkin, is filled with such instances
of human stupidity, but one doesn't
need to go to the history books tC
find it.
Look around you he said, "anc
see what you see. Look at the cot
ton farmers. Look at MuSSolini
Look at the politicians. Look at the
New Workers, who, year in anc
year out, vote for Tammany Grim
inals.
Look at Henry Ford-whoSe ideas
certainly are a menace to the world
He means we'll. But he is nothing
more than a 100 per cent farmer
mechanic. When he begins tc
think of social problems he makes
a terrible botch of it. He is man
born to tinker with machines, not
with people
Some Not Stupid
Every genius, Pitkin said, is usu-
ally stupid in matters outside of the
particular accomplishment which
makes him a genius.
Some great men, he admitted,
we're almost wholly free of STU
pidity. These included Goethe,
Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas
Aquinas, Disraeli, Francis Bacon,
Thomas jefferson, George Wash
ington and Benjamin Franklin.
Julius Caesar" Pitkin said, was
a genius and, at the same time, one
of the most stupid men of history.
He represented all the genius of
Rome and all its stupidity.
THE practice nowadays of COM
pairing America to Rome is justified
in this respect. Americans don't
give damn about the future. The
resemblance is very striking"