The Washington times., 1937-12-25
A Realistic Picture

OOKING around the world very candidy this
IL Christmas Day, one finds it tough job to dis
cover any large or genuine quantities of peace earth
and good will to
Across the Pacific 40O,OOOOOO Chinese being
moved down by a well-oiled and ruthless japanese
war machine. Next door, Russia is bossed by man
with an assassination complex, bent upon killing every
close friend and associate
Further west, the people of Spain are passing their
second Christmas in the trenches. In the Near East
there is intermittent boodshed between Arab and Jew,
N.Y. while Mussolini pours forth
neapOHS " "" daily flood of propaganda poison
Oe"'S 1'"0''o" against the British from his
radio station at Bari.
In Europe, every government is rushing the con-
struction of guns airplanes, new warships,
new tanks in the greatest race the world has
Even in South America, peace i'll Ell Chaco remains
a matter of negotiation. Peru and Ecuador still are
dckerng over their boundary dispute, and the Domin
leans and Haitians at loggerheads
Taken on the surface, the world is not enjoying
very happy Christmas. But without being too Polly
annash there are two things worth keeping in mind:
1, our situation, which shines by comparison
against the rest of the world 2 few faint but
the less healthy trends in the wide world picture which
make it slightly better than it seems.
For the most part, these motivated by more
realistic outlook on the part of the world In France
England and the United States, people have begun to
realize what they up against and
n, nzeI" C"ce to face the facts without pussy
Potent F0ctOr footing.
In Central Europe, for instance, the French and
British have decided that it is foolish to try to keep
two German speaking countries like Austria and Ger
many apart and that any time they want to bring
about their anschuss there will be British
objection.
They have also decided that continued friction be-
tween the Czechs and the Germans within Czechoslo
vaka eventually will lead to war; and that the Czechs
should give the German mnorities more freedom.
Even in the Far East which presents the most press
ing problem from our viewpoint there is healthy
development. At least we now know what we are up
against. We know that there is important differ
ence between the Japanese people and the war lords
who dominate them, and that in the future we have
to deal with the lords. The latter are ultra
reaiss and have to be also The country seems
to be recognizing this fact
When we look over the situation at home, still
have room for lot Of realism. Labor has not been
any too realistic by continuing the old scrap between
its industrial and craft union ranks Employers-at
least some of them-have been woefully unreastlc
BY thinking they could continue outmoded and
oigarchic system of labor relations in United States
which has shot ahead 25 years in the last Ell ght.
But here and there the industrial horizon
can pick out few corporations which have recognized
OIL. u. the Importance not only of coop
1tOP W.. I11. oUS Grafton with labor but with gov
A'""e A''"0'""O ernnent. They realists.
Looking the latter situation it looks as if Mr.
Roosevelt also had become considerably realistic
He to be facing the fact that the Southern bloc
Of his own party will be with him anything
basically progressive, will most Of big business
In fact the sooner that part of the country which
still illusions about the past realizes that the
old days Of HooverCoodge rugged individualism are
gone forever, and faces the fact that in
of economic regulation, the happier our future
Christmases will be-