Evening star., 1940-09-29

, who do not know better (and youth had
no opportunity to know better that
we were drawn into war contrary to our
interests by propaganda. The book was
greeted with acclaim and only q few
were acute enough to see 1t as q too
we'll disguised paciflst tract Of biased
diplomatic history" or to observe, as
F. H. Simonds did, that 1t was "an at
tempt to explain emotion by means OF
a post-mortem examination. All the
evidence is at hand save the spirit. but
that has disappeared irrevocably." When,
after taking that book as gospel youth
now sees Mr.. Mills calling upon the
United States to declare war at once
(as he did two weeks ago. they may well
be skeptical.
Hundreds of thousands Of them have
heard Senator Nye speak either in per-
son or over the radio or have gotten
secondhand his speeches, supported by
a long investigation at Government ex-
pense. He preached in season and out
of season, without arousing any effective
effort at contradiction. that the United
States was drawn into the war by NUM-
tions makers who wanted profit and
by international bankers who sought
to fatten upon the woes of mankind
When Senator Nye now votes money to
buy munitions, youth may well be
puzzled.
They have been assured over and over
again and virtually without denial that
30 he oF
here. that democratic controls must be
not only suspended. but probably ended,
that dictatorship can be fought only by
using the methods of dictatorship and
that total war involves totalitarian
methods. This they have been told by
public officials. by the newspapers. by
experienced commentators such as Gen.
johnson.
Logic Accepted Usually Too Late.
Recent developments have seemed ia
mean simply that you cannot resist
Hitler without first surrendering
spiritually to Hitler. that the effort to
save democracy by arms means losing
democracy even before the clash Of
arms begins. Youth have seen, as the
war has gone on, the way in which the
democracies have step by step, and
usually too late, accepted that logic
The key to what is wrong with the cCl-
lege students of America is very simple.
They are our children We bred them
We brought them up and they have be-
lieved too pathetically what their elders
have told them. Now that we rather
hastily say, But we didn't mean it in
the way you took it," they betray evi.
dences of confusion. seem to see some
evidences of confusion even among their
parents. 1t is not the fault of youth
that they were born of a disillusioned
generation.
Naturally enough youth shows mere
ardency in championing causes, less re.
straint arising from experience In other
respects they display the characteristics
of youth. But if any one doubts their
courage, he is simply doubling his own;
If any one questions their loyalty, he is
simply casting stones as to his own
capacities as father and citizen.
Having said so much which might be
thought to justify youth in believing
that there is no ideal worth lighting
for, I return to the point at which I
started to say that any such generaliza-
tion about American youth is absurd on
the face of it. Il do not know the
method of drawing up an indictment
against an whole people," said Edmund
Burke. No more can you indict the
youth of America. They do not run in
any standard pattern-and it is both
foolish and stupid to suppose that they
do
Having been a teacher at the time of
the last war, I know at first-hand that
youth did not then spring to arms with
a song on their lips or any bright and
starry illusions as to the glory of war.
Time to Stop Worrying.
1t is time to stop worrying about youth.
I like to remind myself that the greatest
missionary who ever went out of Brown
University was an atheist in his college
days; that the greatest philanthropist
graduated in the first half of the exist
ence of the university was such rascal
that when, 20 years later, he came back
to pay his respects to the president, the
old gentleman said, Il am nervous IN
your presence for fear there is fire.
cracker under my chair: that the great
est educator turned out by the univcr-
sity was not much of student. The
essential difficulty with youth is ;nat
they are young. You will not cure that
by quarreling with youth. Time will
cure it all too soon.
Let their elders, if not their betterS
renew their own faith, refresh their own
courage, adopt a less defensive tone.
express less apprehension in the face
of a German victory, and more de-
termination. If the older generation
stands up to its responsibilities, 1t need
have no anxious thoughts for the NOR
row Of American youth.