Evening star., 1939-01-01

about which we are really ignorant. Here and
there, some of the more inaccessible jungles of
Brazil and New Guinea and some of the
completely waterless parts of Australia re-
main as yet to be explored, and that is all. But
can the rest, however carefully it has been
delineated on our maps. be opened up to
civilization and can it be turned into home
for some future race of refugees or settlers?
Suppose that we begin at home with our
new western hemisphere. l have an atlas of
America before me, as hope that you will
have when you read this article. Everything is
there, from Baffin Land to Cape Horn. All
sorts of extra maps tell US about the mean
annual rainfall and the prevailing winds and
the political divisions and the magnetic
variations and the mean annual cloudiness.
But please pay very close attention to two
little charts which are tucked away in
rather obscure part of that useful volume.
They are supposed to show us the CONNER
cial Development" and Chief Occupations
of the various regions. Those are the SUBJ
titles which interest us most of all when we
are looking for new haven for the dis
inherited masses of this earth. Those two
tiny maps to which nobody ever seems to pay
much attention tell the whole story: and let
me warn you right here that it is not going
to be very hopeful story, either.
Of course we must find place for all these
exiles. We are not the sort of people who can
live happily while millions of others starve
to death or are doomed to life of bondage;
it is just not in the American character to sit
by with folded hands and let such things
happen But off hand. must express very
serious doubt about most of the plans that,
until now. have been brought to our attention.
1t was very generous of some of Europe's
leading statesmen to offer those hundreds Of
thousands of square miles (which sometimes
belonged to them and sometimes did not to
the poor exiles from Central Europe. But
wouldn't it mean that they were being thrown
FROM the frying pan into the fire? And would
the wilderness be more merciful than the con-
centration camp?
As said moment ago. let us begin at
home for then most of US will know much bet
ter what we are talking about. There is that
immense tract of forests and plains in the
northern part of the Dominion of Canada
which is usually referred to by the name of the
Northwest Territories. There is land enough
there. if you divide humanity by the number
of square miles available, to take care of the
whole population of this earth. But what
kind of land is it? The map that shows the
commercial development colors this region
delicate pink and then in small letters informs
you that delicate pink means regions ul-
timately capable of commercial development
but at present undeveloped." That. fear, is
expressing it very mildly.
Three hundred years ago that same legend
could have been engraved upon all this ter
ritory. Three hundred years ago, too, there
were political and religious and racial up
heavals which forced large numbers of people
to look for a new nome across the Atlantic
Ocean. New England (the name tells the
story was settled by people who so COM
pletely despaired of the Old England that
they wanted to start all over again land from
scratch) in new and happier part of the
world - in new England
Those Pilgrims and Puritans, by the way,
are an excellent example to show us what
would happen today if we tried to move
city and village population to country of
virgin forests Most of the earlier attempts to
gain foothold along the Atlantic seaboard
(Continvsd on pogo ~