Evening star., 1937-07-18
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
HALF million words.

women-economists journal
lists, members of Congress, educators,
diplomats clergymen, soldiers and
business men-have been in session at
the University OF Virginia
They have concentrated their dis
cussions on one questionable next
war and why?
They have produced half million
words, more or less Very many more,
OF course, If all the discussions which
never reached the mimeograph ma
chine were included.
The saddest thing about it was that
even the most optimistic Of them
seemed to be whistllng in the dark.
All saw the horizons dark with war
clouds. They assigned various reasons
for the coming catAstrophe-rangln
from devaluatlon OF the world s
currency to the necessity in some
countries of providing soft jobs for
rich mems sons. Their attitude to-
wards 1t was precisely that attributed
to the pastor Of the late Calvin
they were opposed 70 it.
No Practical Solution.
And, one and all, they seemed to
have very little idea OF what could be
the next war Will be terrible, eSpeci-
ally on the folks at home AS one
speaker said the only persons who
Will be reasonably safe will be the
generals When it came to ways OF
preventing war. nearly all were forced
back into talking neralties-reform-
ing human nature. changing the habit
pattern of human thinking, etc.
These were busy men and women.
They hadn't journeyed to Charlottes-
weren't talking just to hear them
selves talk. They expressed, proba bly,.
fair cross section Of American n
opinion. The various views, OF course
can't be dealt with quite fairly in
brief abstracts.
Delving into the half million odd
| words. we emerge with the fortnight
remarks Of Maj Gen Smedley D
Butler. Gen. Butler knows a lot about
war. He hates it. He said:
Every war which Americans have
fought, or may fight in the future,
/ outside their own continental bound
aries, has been or will be a racket-s
mean. cruel. filthy racket"
"Rot-pure, unadulterated, sicken-
ing rot" he termed such erstwhile
respectable slogans as making the
world safe for democracy" or "hghting
war to end wars"
Two Avoidance Methods.
The way to keep out Of war, Gen.
Butler believes. is by rigorous honesty
and pitileSs publicity The nation that
follows this path, he thinks. will be
reasonably safe in the perllous days
ahead.
There will never be congressional
investigation" Gen. Butler said, Into
the steps taken or the methods
| adopted which saved us from a war
There would be nothing to investigate
| Men who took part in peace would
be only too willing to publish to the
! world al their moves Men who rush
| into wars never rush into print with
proud statements Of how they did the
| job
Lying propaganda Is almost GER
the pitch where men kill and women
| give their boys to be killed. No lying
/ is necessary TO keep nation al
peace.
In other words. he thinks that II the
/ people knew the actual reasons fo1
wars, they wouldn't nght The average
man doesn't relish being killed OF
killing somebody else.
| He suggested as q national slogan
Mind your own business
! While no one is entitled to be
sanguine. l am convinced that no one
is entitled to be hopeless was the
view of r. Walton Moore, counselor Of
the State Department.
Memory and Fear Remain.
Regardless Of how mad nations gel
at each other Mr. Moore believes
folks still remember the last war and
are afraid. 1t would require a brave
man indeed to take the final step over
the brink OF armed conflict and risk
the universal execratiOn which would
be heaped upon him.
apparently" Mr.. Moore said, "it
is no longer the case that there are
strong thinkers who regard war as
natural and inevitable condition
| 1t is an encouraging fact that here
after no war can be started withou,
any premonition. inaSmuch as there
is now in progress vast and con-
tinuing debate caused by the dread OF
war and desire TO find a means foi
preventing it."
The very horrors Of modern war
fare have set the world against 1t
Mr.. Moore believes. The conflict IL
Spain, he indicated. has worked bott
ways. 1t may have incited lot OF
national animoSities. but the sutferings
OF the civilian population have giver
the world clear warning Of what tc
expect if it gets out OF bounds In this
respect, he holds, both the newspap pers
and the radio are potent weapons fol-
peace. They have enabled folks thou
sands Of miles away to identify them
selves with the Sufferings of the
Spaniards and their souls are scarce
with its horrors"
WelleS More PeSSimistic.
More pessimistic was Sumner Welles
Undersecretary Of State. Horrible as
Spain has been, he stressed. it has been
manifesto ton Of more deeply root
ed disease disease from which mos
OF the world is suffering 1t is a
different sort OF war than the world
has known for some centuries. The
trouble springs, he held, from the
economic and spiritual maladjustment
which followed the World War. He
said:
"A vicious circle has been created
No one set Of these problems can be
solved without simultaneous ad-