Evening star., 1941-12-06
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henri.

By Thomas r. Henry.
War is a way to crafty subconscious
desires to destroy and kill.
Most persons have them. Civiliza-
ton forbids acting in accordance with
them. few become gangsters and
murderers and end up in jail or the
electric chair The rest must wait for
holy cause" before letting loose these
wild, buried impulses.
Such is the psychoanalysis of war pre-
sented by one of Americas foremost
psychiatrists, DR.. Karl A. Menninger,
president of the American Psychoan-
alytical Association. For many years DR..
Menninger has specialized in the "ag-
gression" complexes of the human mind
which drive men to murder and suicide.
DR.. Menninger does not speak as a
pacifist. He warns against allowing
such motives to find an outlet In Amer
ica's present defense preparations so as
to destroy their efficiency.
WAR" he says, appeals to people for
the same reasons that the Fascist phil
osophy appeals to people. 1t stimulates
the wish to exert power over other peo-
pie, to be aggressive, dominant, COM
manding, possessive.
"Civilization restricts such impulses In
all Of us only with great difficulty and
when the program can be promoted,
whether 1t is the Fascist philosophy of
Europe or the military organization of
our own country which gives some indi-
Vduals power over the lives and behavior
of other people, 1t often attracts the
wrong type of person to do this and
creates envious ambitiousness OF an un-
healthy type In many persons. All of us
have secret yearnings. Of which we are a
little ashamed, TO act in ways that would
bs permissible only II war existed
This I think, Is more important than
the excitement. the novelty, the sporting
element Of contest, and all the other ele-
ments OF glamour and romance in war,
which only those can feel who are not
personally wounded by It,"
But all the time in the subconscious
Of millions. DR.. Menninger said, is an
even more dangerous yearning than that
to injure and kill-the yearning to sub
NIT and thus throw of all personal re-
sponsibility.
1T Is a great satisfaction to certain
deep. subconscious urges" he said, Ito
be able to relegate authority TO some
one else, to submit meekly to what one
is told TO do. and to expect in payment
for this obedience. protection, patronage,
praise and pay. It is comforting to
many individuals to be able to lay aside
the responsibilities Of maturity. not VOL
unfairly, but by of1cial degree, and to
resume a childlike relationship to an
authority comparable to that of the
parents.
But this authority must not only
and support us. Thus war and prepara-
ton for war arouse two repressed ten
dencies within us-aggressiveness and
| passivity. They are tendencies which all
civilization. all psychological growth, all
social maturity oppose"
While these subconscious motives are
common to all wars, DR.. Menninger
| points out, they add nothing to the
actual fighting efficiency OF a country.
| With deeper understanding which has
| come in the past few years, he stressed,
| the United States has an opportunity
for the first time in its defense training
| program to place It's cause on rational
side and eliminate the elements of child
| lshness and savagery
Otherwise, he stresses, there will be
] thousands of individuals in the Army who
will be costly and dangerous liabilities,
especially In the future, when Uncle Sam
will be called on to support them.
| ~
strange pest Of leguminous crops
beans, peas and even clover-has ex-
tended its depredations over most of the
Eastern United States in the past 20
| years.
The advance of this insect, the Mexi-
can bean beetle. is described by DR.. Will
| liam H. White of the United States De-
| partment Of Agriculture, in a paper lust
| published by the Smithsonian Institution.
First found in Alabama shortly after
the war. its range has spread rapidly
| until now 1t seems to have reached a
status quo One reason for the advance
| OF the insect is that single female has
been known to lay as many as 1,5OO eggs
in season. The average Is nearly 5O0.
The eggs hatch in from to IA days.
| the larva requiring from IS days to three
weeks to complete their development.
Thus, several generations may be found
in the same field at the same time.
Each August the beetles become par
ticularly restless and at this time the
greatest dispersion takes place. Flight
| experiments conducted with large num-
| bers Of marked beetles show that an
| insect will travel as much as five miles
IN two days. The bug Is q native Of
Mexico, where 1t is kept in check by
| various predators. None of these have
followed it into the United States and
attempts to introduce them have met
with only Indifferent success.
Actually Mr.. White points out, the
beetle probably has been present in the
Southwestern United States for rs years,
having been introduced during the Mexi-
can War. Little attention was paid to
it, however, until 1t appeared in Alabama
in 1920, probably introduced in ship
ments of alfalfa.
In the East it spread rapidly by flying
in general northeasterly direction, prob
ably because Of prevailing winds. By
1882 1t was present in all the States
east Of the Mississippi with the exception
| Of Florida and Wisconsin. Since then,
| however its spread has been retarded