Evening star., 1938-11-11

democracleS still
remaining. ''1 A~"fe"'''
To conquer an army or a govern
. ment was thought 20 years ago a
means of making peace but it turns
out that peoples are not conquered
and that an unjust peace or the
imposition of unbearable burdens
OF an economic character operates
merely to SOW the seeds of new wars
and more bloodshed.
Today Germany, the defeated ma
ton of 20 years ago, has another
government much more menacing
to world peace than Kaiserism was
in 1914. For the worldwide propa-
ganda of Nazism has sunk its fangs
in democratic countries, raising is
= sues which have eaten like a cancer
into the cultural as we'll as economic
life of the other nations of the
world.
The art of making peace in the
manner Of the Versailles Treaty. has
been proved to be without enduring
quality. The nationalistic spirit
which rose in France under Poin-
plight of the struggling German re-
public was little understood in the
postwar years, but today the mis-
takes of those times stand out clear
~ as Illustration of much of what
= was attempted by the soldiers who
fought the battles of their govern
ments.
Maturity Comes to Veterans.
The soldier boys of 1918 are in
their forties today. The American
Legion of yesterday. the happy-go-
lucky boys who took the big ad-
venture in the stride of youth, is
today an organization of mature
men, taking their places in the life
and leadership of America with more
and more commanding prestige each
year. In the elections of this week,
the Legionnaires played a part-a
big part.
Looking back 20 years to the un-
certain economic conditions which
faced the returning armies, one sees
IN the insecurity of the present
world situation some of the same
worries which faced the generation
o. 1918. The principal cause of dis
.urbance is again economic. This
time the unbalanced trade situation
everywhere, the fight for self f-suffi-
cheney, the intensification of Nazi
and Fascist restrictions on the one
hand and Communistic totalitarian-
IAN on the other. present threats
which are on every side source
OF uneasinesss.
Under such circumstances and in
auch times. it is natural that talk
OF war should be heard again. Like
wise 1t Is inevitable that large arma-
ment programs should be planned by
our Government. Americas defense
line now includes the North and
South American continents.
Trade War Is Sign.
Against whom is that armament
directed? There is no longer any
doubt or secret about it. The alliance
OF Germany, Japan and Italy has
become so pronounced that the trade
war has been carried into Central
and South America and where there
\ are trade wars the possibilities al
ways prevail that other conflicts may
ensue.
But big armaments, while prepar-
ing nations against sudden attack
and enabling our Government to use
the language of force when talking
TO governments which themselves
understand only that language, can
not be any more effective in preserv-
ing peace than military defeat was
IN 1918. Something more far-reach-
Ing has to be devised to preserve
peace and save democracy and that
IS recognized now here and else
where in the world in the words
Moral Rearmament."
Abroad, especially in England, a
larger and larger group of prominent
statesmen are beginning to see that
more responsible individualism
must be built up and that justice
TO the other fellow must supplant
violent hatred among classes and
the cancers of resentment bred by
selflshness and greed.
When, as in Britain recently, men
Ike Lord Baldwin, the former prime
minister, speak publicly of the need
OF changing the lives of individuals
20 that they regain for themselves
and their families and their neigh
bors the spiritual values lost in an
spoch of materialism, something
really vital has come into the think
ing Of the world.
.As sentiments of these kind be-
e3n to be expressed by public men,
as the faith that men and women
everywhere have in the power and
wisdom Of Divine Providence is re-
newed and revitalized by willing
ness to look effectively at the COM
plants and injustices felt by other
persons and other nations, some
thing more durable may be built
between peoples. Leadership in the
crusade for better human relations
IN the world Is more necessary to-
day than 1t was when that misun-
derStood phrase of "a war to save
democracy" was first uttered.
Armistice Day has become a day
OF honor to deeds of the past but
In the face Of an uncertain future
which threatens the peace of the
whole world, it may become the
great Peace Day of coming years
when nations everywhere will bow
IN silent prayer that they may find
new ways and means to remove
friction between governments. and
between peoples and especially be-
tween classes within the democratic
countries themselves.
(Copyright. 193S)