The Washington times., 1937-02-10
Bv LLOYD G. DOUGLAS
Production Coming to Warner Bros. Earle Theate
February 19)


Emergency measures OF an
economic nature inevitably up
set the morals which had pre-
vailed-for the ethical imperatives
cf a given time are, in most cases,
the product of economic condl-
tions. Cherished dogmas, vital and
useful yesterday but now defunct,
are skinned and stuffed for mu-
seums. Art-supposed long, in re-
lation to the fleetingness of time
yields to the clamor for reapprai-
sal, along with everything else.
A hectic p eric d that does
strange tricks of transformation to
the people appointed to go
through it. :"
"Appointed?" asked Patricia.
"I-think- declared n e
Dean, measuring his words. The
room was very quiet. Yes" he
repeated, after a little silence, Il
think so. Appointed to 60 through
it,"
Because they're stronger, bet
ter, fitter?" wondered Talbot.
"No-not necessarily. And not
appointed as individuals. The
time had come for another step
upward. The era-aS an era
had"
Had done its stuff" suggested
Corley, as the Dean heSitated mo,
mentarily.
Exactly! If a fair judge were
to have analyzed its personnel,
perhaps it would be seen that if all
the people participant in that
era were as forWard-looking as
per cent of them, the era would
have been much shorter, and if all
had been as sluggish as half OF
them, it would have been longer.
But-taking the era by and large,
it now had-as Mr.. Corley puts it
done its stuff. . No. Mr.. Sin
clair, the people who happen to be
in the line of march When des-
tiny determines that a grade is
to be taken may be no better, no
stronger than their fathers: no
filter than their sons. They just
happen to be in and of the Long
Parade when it arrives at the foot
of the ascending hill -"
Hard on the old folks
grinned Mr.. Sinclair.
quite. Whatever sympathy
may be felt for beWildered Youth
on these occasions, the people in
the Parade who lind the climb
most difficult and painful are
the mature. For they have learned
all they know about living under
the more or less stable and pre-
dictable RECOMMENDATION of the long
plateau over which they have
come. 1t does strange things to
them, as individuals. :"
Which gives the youngsters a
chance" declared Simps
brightly.
Who are too immature" said
the Dean, for such a responsible
ity. So-they all go scrambling
up the hill, everybody talking at
once, very shrllly. And, at length.
they reach the top and come out
upon a broad plateau; write off
their losses, tie up their bruises,
mend their tattered boots, and
the Long Parade trudgeS on. New
customs settle into laws. New
codes are framed. New ConStitu-
tionS written. New moral stand
ards agreed upon. And then"
Another haf-dozen genera
tions of that" assisted Norwood.
Yes, and when everything has
become nicely articulated again in
that era, so that the people know
practically what to expect of their
institutions, their schools, their
banks, their parliaments, their
methods of transportation, COM
munication, propaganda, social
welfare, then you need to look out!
It's about time to take another
grade!"
Why, we're taking one now"
exclaimed Elise, wide-eyed. Aren't
We?"
Ana we're having coffee in the
parlOr," announced Mrs. Crandall
They all rose and Simpson
stepped to the back of the Deans
rolling-chair prepared to guide it
out of the room. Dean Harcourt
raised his hand and they came to
attention, grouped near the door
way.
"A moment, before we leave
this" he said soberly. "As Miss
Graham has just observed, we are
taking one of these grades now. 1t
isn't asked of US whether or not
we would like to be members of the
Long Parade during this brief
period of hard climbing. We are
members Of it. And the only op-
ton extended to us as individuals
is our privilege to termi n e
whether we prefer to be dragged
up-in which case We are an OBJ
stacle and a liability, or to pro-
ceed under our own power.
They saw pat off on the mid