Evening star., 1940-05-26
Worlds Path Always
The Same on Graph,
.Durant Points Out
Flow From Free Society
To Restricted and Vice
Versa Goes on EndIessIy
BY IRA WOLFERT.

AudIlOIlS VI tIlc paSG ndQ TeVe0leQ
anything that would throw light on
the future of the present-day world.
The doctors answe, was yes, and
thereafter he went into details. He
cited the Peloponnesian Wars, last
Ing 80 years, between Sparta and
Athens as Immediately comparable
to the war now raging-a war which
also may be regarded by the future
historians as one of a series.
Sparta" he said, was a great
land power of Nazi order, ferocious,
barbaric. glorying in war and sub
DUNG its citizens completely to a
war economy. Athens was a sea
power, and was like Britain, fur
ther, In being civilized-at least as
the most agreeable minds think of
civilization today. For 80 years,
Sparta fought-winnlng always on
land, but losing always because
Athens ruled the waves.
"Then Sparta built feet and
conquered Athens completely, but it's
triumph was short-lived. On the
periphery of this terrible struggle
for domination of empire grew Rome
much as the United States has
grown on the periphery of the strug-
gle for domination of empire in
Europe. And soon after Sparta S
triumph. Rome swallowed Greece
and swallowed Sparta. too"
At Work on Huge Task.
Nv xr,IN la;c
lastic career as professor of Latin
and French and continued it as a
professor of philosophy. is the author
Of the best-seller, STORY of Philos-
ophy." At present he is engaged in
a huge synthesis of 'the story of
civilization" so he has all these
facts, dates and long dead figures
of history at his fingertips and can
pick them over easily. Two volumes
of this series, carrying the story to
the decline of Greece, have already
appeared.
The doctor pointed out startling
number of similarities between the
careers of Napoleon and Hitler,
down even to the detail of Ma
poleon having Chamberlain of his
own-that is, an extraordinarily
placable appeaser-to deal with in
England. But he refused to con-
cede that, since the pale, pudgy
Crosican and the pale, pudgy Aus
trian have thus far followed, almost
step by step the same murderouS
road to power, it was inevitable
that their careers should be linked
right to the end, to hastily dug
graves.
Napoleon was flung up out of a
wallow of misery by his prowess as
general and organizer and Hitler
was flung up out of a wallow of
misery by his prowess as dema-
gogue and orator. Thereafter these
men proceeded to secure their power
by the same process Of outrage upon
the systems which had allowed
them to rise and attempting to deck
their outrages with the soiled rags
OF hypocrisy. Hypocrisy was the
only concession Napoleon was will
ing to make to decency, and so
with Hitler. Napoleon had his ia
and 'nein' elections, too.
War Economy No Solution.
Both men geared their nations
to a war economy as a means of
alleviating discomfort and solving
unemployment problems. Napoleon
found that this was no solution,
Hitler may find out the same thing
Then again there is precedent in
history for believing he may not
and that he may be able to make
the transition from a war economy
to productive economy, as Angus
tus Caesar did with his method of
demobilizing his army of 100000
men, an enormous army for his
time.
Napoleon never could demobilize
his army. A war economy produces
no wealth. 1t produces merely the
necessity for more war. War to
utilize the labor of men and the
triumphs of war to preserve power
at home. These are the dynamics
OF a war economy.
so, as Hitler has, Nalopeon went
warning for money and then found
he could do nothing but use the
money for more wars to get more
money. He invaded neutral, peace
full little Switzerland. Hol-
land and Belgium-to loot their
treasures of gold He held up Por-
tugal at the point of a gun, threat
ening to take it off the map unless
1t paid him not to. Portugal paid,
And always there was England
waiting and willing to fight and
playing the game of power politics.
Napoleon worked with fifth columns
and an extremely mobile army that
cut down defense-m minded generals
IN their tracks, but the situation re-
mained the same. A great power lay
across an impossible body of water
the English Channel-and nations
on the continent, Russia and AUS
tria-Hungary, for instance, could be
conquered. but could not be sub
dued.
U. S. May Take Britain's Role.
Even in conquering England, Hit
Ter may very likely face a similar
situation. If he conquers England
now, within the next year or SO, it
will mean-as you point out-that
the airplane has wiped out the Eng
lish Channel as a sea barrier and
England has become a continental
power.
But the airplane has not done
that yet to the Atlantic Ocean,
where the United States lies waiting
for Hitler, perhaps as England once
lay waiting. And there are signs
even now that the United States is
starting to play the balance e-of-pow-
er game in Europe as England has
-pitting one power or coalition
against another so that neither side
could become strong enough. How
ever, the analogy cannot be drawn
too far as England, being a small
island. forced to draw its nourish-
ment from the world, was compelled
to play the balance of-power game
and thu TInifal Cfo<ar &, ,,-S.. -