Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-01-09
UZNESCOActs for Peace
Continued From Page CID

boundaries, and If they follow dem
ocratic principles, they do so. Scien-
lists are intensely annoyed by bar
riers TO the free flow of scientific
knowledge and try to reduce them
in every feasible way. A great
artist or musician speaks to the
world in an international tongue. A
picture by Raphael or a melody by
Brahms Is the very essence of in
ternationalism. appealing to the
human yearning for beauty without
regard for geographic boundaries OF
racial or historic enmity. The great
religions of the world teach toler-
ance and the oneness of humanity.
Works for Understanding
The concept of UNEsCO makes
sense because 1t works for human
understanding through the particu-
lar people who are most predisposed
to act as its spearhead. But
UNESCO, to succeed, must become
q great mass movement, and the
American delegation at the Beirut
Conference lost no opportunity tt
emphasize this fact.
Intellectual cooperation mean!
far more than merely cooperation
among intellectuals. UNESCO mus
be brought to the masses and tn,
masses to UNESCO.
This basic principle is fully ap.
preciated by the United States Ma
tional Commission for UNESCO, q
group Of 100 leading Americans un-
der the craftsmanship of DR.. Mil
ton Eisenhower, President of Kan
sas State College. The nationa,
commission. which implements the
UNESCO program in the United
States, is probably the most ener-
getic and enthusiastic group of cit
liens ever organized in this coun-
try in support of any particular
program.
The United States National Com
mission includes representatives OF
the great labor and farm organiza-
tons, elementary school teachers
and youth movements, as we'll as
philosophers, scientists and reI-
gious leaders. 1t is convinced that
the people of the world must speak
directly to each other. Perhaps they
can make progress where foreign
Offices and state departments have
not.
Variety of Problems
UNESCO gives it's attention to a
great variety of problems in the
field of human understanding. Some
of these appear to be of minor con-
Germ to a world threatened with an
other great war, and they some
times give rise to ridicule. One OF
the minor proposals made at Beirut
for example, was that UNESCC
should seek to achieve universal
adoption of standard pitch fol
the manufacture of musical instru-
mentS.
More newspaper space has beer
devoted to scofflng remarks con-
corning this little problem thar
many of the great ard useful one;
which UNESCO is undertaking.
One of the important UNESCC
projects is to eliminate from the
textbooks of nations the excessive
nationalism which tends to main.
tain jealousies and enmity among
people. American educators have
accomplished much inside the
United States during the past two
generations to obtain a fair pres.
entation In American school book!
concerning the quarrel between tn,
North and South. If American
children on either side Of thu
Mason Dixon Line continued to b.
taught only the wickedness of tn
other side, the breach in our Natiol
caused by the Civil War neve
would have been healed.
Similar progress has been mad
in texts concerning the Revolution
airy War in Great Britain and tn
United States. But these wer
relatively easy cases and were unde