The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-11-13
Liberal Viewpoint
by DIR HARRY ELMER BARNES

A RMISTICE DAY, like the Fourth Of July,
n has tended to be an occasion for school ex-
ercises which whOOp up the glorles OF war and
call attention. in particular, to the stirring and
gratifying results of the late World war OF late,
however, there have been certain gratifying evil
denceS of a change of attitude and some SYM
toms Of thoughtful sobrety.
The most notable instance which has come
to my attention this year is the Armistlce day
number of the Scholastic. the National High
School Weekly. If this issue does not rock Sec
ondary education in the United States and goad
the super patriots to fury. then certainly the
country as a whole must have arrived at a new
state of sanity on the question Of war.
1t starts out by playing up the resolution
against war adopted by the National Educational
Association at Washington last July:
War is the greatest menace to civilization.
AS an important step toward the elimination OF
war, legislation should be passed by the United
States congress prohibiting profits on the manu-
facture and sale of munitions and other war
equipment. Children should be taught the
ideals and in material wealth. The Journal Of
the N. e. A. should carry frequent articles con-
;erning war, its costs and its consequences.
DUT the editor does not duck the response
ID bility of putting himself on record. He fiat
footedly backs up the n. E. A. resolution:
The common sense Of educators has brought
them to see that schools 10 longer can play
ostrich and stick their heads in the sand in &
world where war is always just around the cor
ner. The resolution of the National Education
Association quoted on this page is frank state
ment of the act that education must either de-
Stroy war, or war will destroy it, and with it
everything else that makes civilization possible.
In this Arnstice Gay number Scholastic makes
it contribution to the N. E.A.s plea that young
people shall be taught the truth about war"
The editor also goes to thu root of the matter
by pointing out that the only certain way to put
an end to war is to make peace time conditions
sufficiently decent SO that war will not be in
vited by the misery of the masses:
1--WE must make peace good We must de-
wise an economic system that works, to provide
adequate food, clothing, houses, and some of the
minimum pleasures of life 4or all. When we do
that, we will automatically rid ourselves of the
war danger. Build a society so satisfying hat
men will not wish to escape from it by going to
war, and you hammer nail in the coffin Of the
war god"
INSTEAD of Boosting of the glorious and happy
Il results of the World war, striking exhibit
is run indicating its colossal costs, and based
upon the authoritative study of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace.
1t points out that the staggering World war
costs of 100000 100000 would Cd Provide every
family in the British Isles, France, Belgium,
Germany, Russia the United States, Canada and
Australia with a So 500 house on a $500 f1ve-acre
lot and furnish it with $1,000 worth of furni-
ture; 90 would provide $5oOO,OOO library and a
S1OOOO,O0O university for every community Of
10000 in all of these countries; Cd would create
sum which at per cent interest would yield
enough to pay $1,000 year to an army of 1885,
900 teachers and $4,000 nurses, and "a would
still leave enough to buy every item of property
in both France and Belgium combined.
This, in addition 20 -5,988,371 dead, missing
and unaccounted for and an even greater num-
Der of wounded was what it cost the world to
allow Serbia to realize its natonalistic ambitions
for expansion and bloated frontier, to enable
France to get back AlSace Lorraine to help Rus
STA get the straits (Which she did not get after
alb and to aid Great Britain in destroying the
German colonial empire, navy and merchant
marine.