Evening star., 1937-11-14
BY II. J. HAsKEIe..
Editor of the Kansas CitR Star,

A ia DINNER in Nev1York City
n not long ago Katherine Day.
~ ton, playwright. H'ld Of a
4 a conversation with E3of. James
H. Breasted a short time ::oefore his
death last year. Prof. Eteasted Of
the University of Chicago yas a great
authority on the history of kle ancient
world. 4
Miss Dayton has asked hsn whether
he had come upon any ne.ss neg deals IN
MY dear" he had replica, Il have
dug UP at least a dozen"
Opened Fascinating Taeld.
: chance remark opeilad a fas-
= field for inquiry What were
,ditions that led to these ancient
eals? How did the new deals
Do they carry any lessons to
the modern worldo
Appeals were made to several ,a.l-
nent historians. Their replies called
attention to numerous new ideals in
the ancient world and in modern Eu-
rope. For various reasons. however,
1t seemed best to confine this eX-
ploration to the Roman republic aid
empire. Here especially valuable sug-
gestions came from DR.. Tenney Frank,
professor of Latin in the Johns Hop
kins University, a distinguished au-
thority on Roman history and author
OF many works on the subject. His
writings are mine of information.
A personal word is due about Dr.
Frank He was born at Clay Center.
Kans.. came to Kansas City for his
high school training and was grad
uated from the University of Kansas.
While making his way through the
old Central High School he supported
himself by working in the pressroom
of the Kansas City Star.
Civilization of Rome,
So much for the preliminaries. But
before We come to the Roman new
deals We must glance for moment
at the sort of civilization Rome built
up under the republic and empire, and
note its sinlilarities to the civilization
of the world about us.
1t was a visit to the Roman re-
mains In Southern France and then
to the remains disclosed by the Mus
solini excavations in Rome that gave
the writer his first real understand
ing Of the immense achievements of
this ancient state. At Mines he saw
the spacious amphitheater built 1000
years ago. and still used for open air
pageants. Near Avignon he drove
across 2,o00-year-old bridge. the
Pont du Gard, which supports a
great aqueduct 165 feet above the
River Gard-a magnificent piece of
engineering.
In Rome he stood in front of the
new Victor Emmanuel monument and
looked down the broad Via Dell
Imperio to the Colosseum. finished in
80 A. D. With its seats for $4,000
persons it is larger than most Amer
lean college stadia. He inspected the
vast dome of the Pantheon, 142 feet
across. its concrete as perfect as when
1t was first poured under the en-
peror, Hadrian.
AAuhNi NAS VI bCdubtlul
In Imagination he attempted to
construct general picture of the
Roman empire at its height, 1900
years ago. Throughout the basin
Of the Mediterranean from Asia
Minor across the north coast of
Africa, through Spain, France, South
ern Germany and England stood fine
cities with paved streets. great pub
lie buildings, libraries, clubs. beau-
tiful temples, public baths, with hot
and cold water. and comfortable, even
luxurious homes and villas. He re-
called modern historians remark
that never. not even in the 18th
century, did men live in such a sur
rounding of beautiful buildings and
monuments as in the first two CEN
turies of the Roman empire"
Paved roads connected the i'm
portant centers, and the mails went
through on schedules that were not