Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-19
Democrucy's Burden

Democrucys Burden
This is not about War-although
war is being waged for it. Nor is it
the white mans burden" of Kip
hng-the attempt to bring the bene-
fits of Western civilization and sani-
tation to the ''benighted heather" of
the East. Rather it is the burden of
the people, Of any people, of which
Wendell L, Willkie spoke in his re-
cent address at Duke University.
Mr.. Willkie in that address took up
the cudgels for the liberal arts in
| education-the "humanities." He
announced at the outset that "the
greatest civilizations of history have
been the best educated civilizations"
Education, however, as Mr.. Willkie
insisted, is not special training to do
particular jobs. Rather it is learn
| ing the better things of life which
| give to man a freedom of the spirit
essential to the best living without
such education the very freedom for
which America and the other ma
tons now are fighting the Axis
powers will be as nothing.
Mr.. Willkie was led to this dis
cussion by demands which are being
made for special training of young
men and young women-especially
since war has engulfed the world
again. The demands are that Ameri-
can colleges and universities lay aside,
at least, temporarily, the liberal arts
SO that the youth of the Nation may
be better equipped through special
training to take part in the total
war which now is being Waged. I'm
fortunately, he said, the liberal arts
are being mentioned as luxuries.
Admitting, as he did, that it is es-
sential for the youth of the country
to abandon temporarily their educa-
ton so that they may go forth to
fight, Mr.. Willkie pleaded for a re-
tention of the study of the liberal
arts-for those men who, for one
reason or another, are not available
for military service, and for those
men obviously qualified for the
study and practice Of medicine, for
example, The manpower program
should leave nucleus in the COL
leges to continue in the tradition of
through the ages. 1t does not seem
| too much to ask
In addition, Mr. Willkie would
turn over in large part to the young
women of the country the duty of
| preserving the continuity of the lib
| eral arts. There are enough older
women to put to work In factories
and in fields without taking those
young women who in the ordinary
course Of events would go to college
| for a liberal arts education.
In recent years the tendency in
education In this country has been
to abandon educational methods
which lead to wide understanding
for the sake of specialized education.
| The insistence now that, for the
sake of war, the old methods of more
| liberal education be discarded, is
threatening to make this practice
universal. In the light of this threat,
President Hopkins of Dartmouth
College has said: ut would be a
tragic paradox If, as result of the
war, we were to allow our system OF
| higher education to be transformed
into the type of education which has
made it so easy for crowd of gov
ernmental gangSterS like Hitler's
| outfit to commander whole popu-
lation" President Hopkins warning
takes on added significance because
of the growing tendency of Govern
ment in this country to tell Ameri-
cans only what the Government
thinks they should know, Here is
real danger, If 1t persists,
The burden of democracy, there
fore, is to bring to the people
through liberal education the free
dom of the mind and spirit which
results in the highest civilization.
AS Mr. Willkie sees it, however, it
would be mistake for this country
to follow the suggestion made by
Vice President Wallace and attempt
to police" education in the coun-
tries which are now fighting us,
after the war Is over. Education"
Mr.. Willkie pointed out, must grow
out of and carry on a native
culture" To seek to force GER
tain brand of education-alien to
the land-would be as mistaken as
to attempt to force certain religion,
! and as deeply resented.