Evening star., 1942-06-21

psychological factors involved. A peace
calculated to inspire fear, hatred and
the desire for retaliation is not settle
ment, but simply incentive to another
war. The humiliations and privations
of defeat and punishment create an
undying demand for revenge"
On the credit side of the psychological
ledger, however, stands the permanent
and pervasive will to peace. The power
of this ideal in the minds of men is
attested by the long list of organized
peace making efforts catalogued by Mr..
Hoover and Mr.. Gibson. And their own
timely study is further evidence of a
constructive instinct which no baser
emotion can permanently stifle through
out the brotherhood of man.
Indeed, the spiritual concepts of
peace have brought it to pass that every
war must be justified by its leader as
a war of defense and for the one pur-
pose of securing peace"
A Diagnosis in Perspective.
Our purpose" assert the two IA
nous authors of THE Problems of Last
ing Peace" 'is not to accuse or blame.
1t is to diagnose"
In that philosophic spirit, so vitall1
needed if the next peace is to prove
more durable than that of 1919, Messrs.
Hoover and Gibson examine the opera
ton of the dynamic forces, outlined
above, throughout the period from the
American and French Revolutions to the
present day. This historical background,
sketched with the utmost economy of
the readers time, is Of itself a notable
achievement.
Americans of our generation have
largely lost the sense of perspective,
the understanding of political principles
and the willingness to grapple with ele-
mental ideas, which so pronouncedly
characterized the men who established
this republic. So it is particularly re-
freshing, to see Herbert Hoover and
Hugh Gibson approaching the problems
of the postwar world with much the
same technique as was employed by the
founding fathers.
There is, indeed, more than trace
of similarity between the Federalist pa
pers of Hamilton, Madison and Jay and
this product of the minds of former
President and a former career diplo-
mat with 30 years experience in the
service of his country.
The Fundamentals of Thought.
The wisdom of the Federalst papers
has been tragically ignored in the recent
materianstic period of our history. But
it will be recalled that their great con-
tribution was a careful summary for
18th century Americans of the concepts
which needed understanding if per-
manent union of the 13 original colonies
was to be effected. And this is very
similar to what Mr.. Hoover and Mr.
Gibson have done with respect to the
far more difficult problem of perma-
nent association of modern States, prof
iting from the mistakes of the League of
Nations, in which it is now automatic
that the United States should actively
participate.
And much as the Federalist papers
first appeared as a newspaper serial,
directed to the intelligent self-interest
of the average man, so this current ex-
animation of basic political difficulties
has been written in a manner which will
stimulate, rather than strain, the atten-
ton of the unspecialized reader.
There is nothing accidental in the
reliability of The Problems of Lasting
Peace" The American people, the au-
thors justly say, must begin to think on
this subject in far larger frame than
ever before"
To accomplish this thinking our de-
mocracy must be provided with the basic
material of thought, with background
information more substantial than the
compilations of journalistic jottings
which now pour from the presses like
springtime flood. These wartime spe-
cialties owe their popularity to vivid
writing and good reporting. In order to
compete with them it is first necessity
for a more fundamental study to be itself
readable, interesting, even exciting.
1t is the accomplishment of former