Evening star., 1935-02-22
How Shall the Nations
Reach Understanding? ?
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
An Associated Press dispatch quotes
Senator Thomas Of Utah as urging
on the United States the Japan stu
dents exchange plan "as a means Of
better and necessary understanding be-
tween the two countries" The idea has
already been tried as between the
United States and Germany before the
war, by having exchanged professors,
but we know that it did not prevent
war. In fact, most foreign nations,
including China and Japan, have al
ready sent students to American uni
versities, and because, or as direct
result Of 1t, they seemed to have lost
the high regard they used to have,
when their national information in
cluded little more than the story about
Washington. Had these foreign visitors,
students and others found over here,
or in their contact with American vis-
itors to their own respective countries,
types representing Washington or
Lincoln the following story would not
have appeared in the papers some
years ago.
A representative English-speaking
person talking to a learned Chinese
official asked him to explain the rea-
son why you all speak of us, blue
eyed peoples, as devils" The Oriental
replied that he would not like to Of
fend his feelings by telling why. On
being again requested to be candid
about it, to the Englishman's surprise,
the Celestial, unable to explain the
philosophy back of their national i'm
preston, said: Because you look like
devils"
However. do not propose to ridi-
cule or minimize the idea of cultivat-
ing amity between nations, but rather
that, being satisfied with palliatives,
people are apt to overlook the need for
the discovery of genuine remedies or
solutions to such vital problems. There
are others again, who pin their hopes
on Esperanto, forgetting that English
as a common language between the
Irish and English has not brought
about any too good feeling, thus show
ing that language is not a factor.
Others again used to depend on COM
merce, when commerce is itself the
cause Of international rivalries. Nei-
ther do we advocate religion any more
than education, for both of these had
had all the opportunity to prove their
merits for national or international
peace.
But, after, all there must be an ade-
quate, intelligent, effective method of
handling problems Of international or
world scope, and that means a mind
commensurate to comprehensive
knowledge of big issues, bigger than
finance, business, banking, engineer
ing or production or distribution of
either employment, of wealth, or even
allotment OF quotas of armaments.
For all these are conditional, condi-
toned or dependent on the superin-
duced or inducible common consent of
all nations, tribes and religions to
one common objective or aim. To this
there are certain prerequisites, among
which the chief one is a reasonable
guarantee or offer of satisfaction,
security or respect of the rights of all,
in accordance with their several needs,
aspirations or wants. 1t may be
asked, rs there a mind capable of
encompasSing such thought to the
extent of reducing it to a practical,
presentable and universally acceptable
fOrmula?" 1t may be answered, If
America is great enough to believe
that her institutions might have pro-
duced this. as well as other types of
geniuSeS, the Nation may have its
highest ideal of a human mediator
between all interests for the asking"
To doubt that America includes this
ideal type of mind would amount to
an admission of national incomplete
ness or inferiority complex. But we
hope that the hour has come, when
men and women see and act on the
basis that "a soul is greater than a
state" and that states and inStitu-
tions have had their beginnings and
developments by and through the
initiative of some single individual,
very often ignored and doubted at first
by his own people.
PHILIP CALPAKIAN.