Evening Star Newspaper, January 18, 1925, Page 39

EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES EDITORIAL SECTION he Sundiy Staf WASHINGTON, D. C, Part 2—20 Pages WORLD AGAIN TURNING GAZE UPON MUSSOLINI Reversion to Force by Dictator Recalls . Circumstances Under Which Fascisti Came Into Power—Defeat Seen. SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 18, 1925. THE PASSING SHOW IN POLITICS BY N. 0. MESSENGER, RESIDENT COOLIDGE'S plan of main- taining close contact with Congress has become a fixed policy of the ad- ministration. When he assumed office he sought advice in the selection of his secretary and chose C. Bascom Slemp, who HUGHES MADE NOTABLE LATIN AMERICAN RECORD Great Progress in Promoting Amity Ef- fected by Series of Conferences and e Pronouncements of Four Years. menting upon the death of Mr. Foley, poli- . He was sponsor for the political career of Gov. Alfred E. Smith, and Gov. Smith in pay- ing tribute to him said: “My personal and po- questionably had much to do in counseling the President in the recent cabinet change: and diplomatio transfers and appointments, Politlolans realize the importance to both the administration and the party of close and friendly teamwork between the White House and the Capitol. For the remainder of this to Rome. Now it became the que: session It will be of benefit to the country in BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. HE recent and continuing crisis in Ttaly, the reversion of Mussolini to his eariter method of force—these circumstances once more bring to world at- tention what has been, perhaps, the most interesting and significant single political episode since the close of the World War. For tha Anglo-Saxon, perhaps one may say for the northerner, the whole episode of Fasclsimo and its master has been incomprehensible. There have been about it details which were out- side the experience and beyond the grasp of nations which have been ac- customed, as have we and the Brit- ish, to the dull routine of parlia- mentary and representative democ- racy. Mussolini the dull has seemed to adopt tha mestures of Napoleon and the languags of even lass recent conquerors in the age of moving pic- tures and of r The anachro- nism of the whole affair has been for us estonishing. Event Is Mys ying. Yat there is also no escape from the reality. In Its moment of arrival Fascisimo, beyond debate, represented some profound and significant stir- ring in the Itallan spirit. To this day, one can hardly have Itallan friends without becoming accustomed to ref- erences to this Itallan phenomenon in terms which are quite as mystifying &s the event itself. When Mussolini Shirts marched on Rome, Italy was obvlously sick. The red flag had made its appearance everyw Not alone political but economic life had brok- en down. Parliamentary govern- ment had shown itself incapable of maintaining order, the nation col- lectively felt ftself better than its masters, felt that through the inert hands of so-called leaders Italy was #lipping into chaos. The older of politicians, Giolitti- trained, seemed to have no other rem- edy than to let events take their course; something akin to anarchy seemed inescapable, Italy was drift ing toward a i fact which was only a | menacing tions s fering from ing and misery of war Italy herself. Step to Avert Ruln. of & sudden, In some curious fash the will of a great people to live scemed to make itselt felt. It disclosed itself in extraordinary ges- tures and disguises, vet the Black Shirts of Mussolinl were no more th baldi, and the supreme adventure of Fascisimo, the march on Rome, no more astonishing than the departure of Garibaldl's thousand for Sicily, The earlier venture had been to llberate Italy, to bring about the unlon which wag the ultimate expression risorgimento; the latter affair w undertak to save a liberated Italy from stic ruin And, at outset, it cannot be de- nled that Fascisimo brought relief and that the dictator, Mussolini, not mere- 1v arrested the disintegration of the nation economically as well as politi- cally, but In a brief period and by drastlc measures restored the eco- nomic life, arrested the paralysls of industry, brought order in the demor- alized railways. Force applied to the problems which had bafiled parlia- mentary prime ministers achleved miracles. The violence which ac- companied the operation, inevitable in all such Incidents, seemed dispro- portionately small when contrasted Wwith the beneficent results attained. Aware of Dangers, Mussolini, however, from the out- aet, seems to have been well aware of the dangers of dictatorship. His problem, from the beginning, was to find some method b which, when force had do! its necessary rk, to translate what was no more than an illegal dictatorship, justified by the conditions which had called it forth and accepted by the vast majority of Italians, Into some tolerable rela- tlon with demooratic Institutions, to got back to the basis of soverelgnty founded upon popular will, once popular will had been satisfled by the achlevement of the ends for which it sanctioned violencs. By the march to Rome, by the seigure of power, Mussolini and his followers had swept all the old polit- ical leaders into the discard; he had, bimself, pronounced sentence upon the Parliament, sentence of death, so far as it then constituted, but it was plain that when the danger had passed, when order had been restored, it would be impossible to con ue to employ the method which had been necessary i the supreme crisls. Tn a moment of deadly peril a mation will endure and even welcome a dictatorship, but the more success- ful the dictator in exercising the peril the smaller the permanent war- rant for his survival. Need for Curb. Again, Mussolini was faced with a sscond danger. He had drawn his lieutenants by accident, there were men of every fort in the Facisti movement, and it was itself a violent expression of a natlonal emotion. Could he restrain the zeal, the vie- lence, the passion of the extreme wing of his following when victory had come? Would it be possible to bring back his fighting followers to \s ordinary restraints of life, when the need and the excuse for violence had vanished? It is difficult not to believe that Mussolinl early realized the acute danger which would come to him through the ill-advised acts of his followers. Yet, it was not easy to restrain those who had shared with him in the great adventure and con- iributed mightily to making it & muccess. He must risk either losing the support of his friends or he must hamard the slow, but certain growth of resentment against these friends &3 their continued violence gradually affronted a public sentiment which, feeling itsell from the dangers of the t, naturally now sought to escaps from the discomforts incident to the conduct of some of its #aviors. and the Black than to hen, the Hurt by Murder. The murder of Matteot!, the ac- counts of which have for weeks filled the foreign dispatches, was for Mus- molinl a deadly injury. It was beyond debate the work of some of his fol- Jowers. It was not alone indefens- fble In itself, but it outraged the sense of the nation which was now eager to pass from the first stage of recovery to the later condition of health, of peace, of order. And this murder gave to the hitherto silent opposition its first legitimate and advantageous basis for attack. The problem was no longer the salvation of Italy from that chaos and bolshevism into which it had been sinking before the Fascistl came ical than the red shirts of Gari- | tion of curbing the excesses of those who had saved Italy, to be sure, but were now becoming a menace, per- haps @ nuisance, in any event. Not impossibly the effort of Mus- solinl to transiate his dictatorship into some solld constitutional edifice was Itself defeated by this very mur- der. It was the signal, as I have said, for the emergence of all the old poli- ticlans, who had long awalted their chance, but it was also the signal for the creatfon of a new opposition, which found in the measures of the dictator ground for legitimate pro- test. Founded on Force. After all, the difference between a good dictatorship and a bad dictator- ship must in many directions be in- discoverable, for the methods of both Wil be identical. Fascismo was founded upon force. It represented armed strength and the methods of violence; it had employed violence against its enemlies, although, to be sure, It did not go to the extremes of the bolshevists of our own time or the Republicans of the French Revo- lution. But it had employed violence. The press had been silenced, free spsech had been measurably abol- ished. Murder had been notably rare, but in the case of Matteot! one mur- der had been more disastrous than many would have been in the earlier period And so in the final crisis Mussolint was thrown back upon the old method. He found himself fighting with his back to the wall. His effort to change from violenc€ to constitu- tional methods had encouraged his enemies to attack; had discouraged his friends, who knew no other thing| than resort to that force which had won the first victory, My Italian friends who know Mus- solini acquit him of any Napoleonic ambition, of any desire to retain power simply for the gratification of vanity. Their judgment of the pres ent crisis is rather that Mussolini is the victim of events; that he has falled to escape a danger which he foresaw and strove to avold by transforming the charcter of Fascisti control. For them this latest crisis is a tragedy, because they see quite clearly that to rule solely by force is in the end to fall, since the day of the permanent dictator is over. Difference Is Cited. Now, if one compare the British or | the French situation with the Italian| the difference is impressive. Both | these older democracies went through pre ely the same period of dis- fMusionment with respect of thelir war leaders. Parllamentary govern- ment proved in London and in Paris Inadequate to deal with post-war conditions and popular discontent was unmistakable Elections held while the war emotions were still dominant gave both Britaln and France con- servative majorities, which lasted for years after the end of the fighting. But last year both France and Britain passed into the control of representatives of radical parties. We had MacDonald in Britain and we still have Herriot in France. Nevertheless, neither the brief rule of the British Labor premier nor the already limited control of the French radical brought in their course the evils which resulted from the prompter arrival of radical control in Italy. And in a brief time, and by purely constitutional methods, through the medium of another elec- tion, control passed from the British radicals, as {t is.bound to pass shortly from the hands of Herriot and his followers in France. Had Previous Experience. In reality, none of the disappoint- | ments of the war or the post-war | periods served as a temptation to either the French or the British peo- ple to break with their systems of government. More than 250 years had passed since in Cromwell the British made their single experiment in & dlctator. It is half that time since the French turned to Napoleon to translate Into imperial forms the results achieved by the revolution. But the first Napoleon, after giving France 10 years of glory abroad and order and prosperity at home, inflict- ed those disasters which cost the French the Rhine barrier, while a sec- ond and tawdry Napoleon, later by half a century, sacrificed Alsace and Lorraine. Today, in the midst of as grave problems as yesterday, when the enemy was still within range of Paris, France has not been tempted to trust her fortunes to a soldler or a civillan dictator, and only a few months ago expelled a vigorous man from the Elysee Palace because as President it was charged that he had sought to interfere with parliamen- tary control. Hard to Understand Here. As for the United States, not only is & dictator unthinkable with us, but it is practically impossible for us to understand those processes of rea- soning by which any people can per- suade itself to surrender its destinfes to a Mussolini, a Nepoleon or even a Cromwell. Nevertheless, before our eyes fn Italy there IS unfolding one more experiment in national salvation through the appeal to the individual savior. Mussolinl was not an ad- venturer who seized power by any accidental stroke. He was not a suc- cessful general who by foreign vie- tory constructed a domestic dictator- ship. If he came to power through violence, he was bevond debate the expression of a nation’s will when he actually took office, not by elec- fon, but the demand of a nation ex- pressed by a monarch who was wi enough to dissociate the crown from that opposition to Fascismo which had been discredited and was In the act of being defeated. Not Like Lentn. Mussolini was not, like Lenin, the master of a small group which had itself laid hands upon the machinery which controlled a vast empire and was determined to use this fortuitous control to fasten upon a great but inert peopls theories and doctrines which were meaningless to those whose ultimate misery they {nsured. Fascismo itself was not the creation of a few doctrinaires; on the con- trary, it was as unmistakably a na- tional emotion, as much a national faith as Risorgimento itself. Yet one is bound to note that while Risorgimento had Cavour as well as Garibaldl, Fasclsmo has had only Mussolini. Cavour knew when to in- tervene, when to take advantage of ribaldi's genius, when to impose | upon the great liberator those re- straints which Garibaldl himself could not recognize to be necessary and could not always or even quite his colleagues in the House. other hit with the House the Senate, too. leagues. consideration at convention one time at ator Butler of Massachusetts In dent and his polictes. The situation is analogous to existed in President McKinley's tion, and keeping policies. in touch with intrenched in thelr regard. it by statesmanship which began where adventure could not continue, and prepared for what adventurs could alone achieve. Future Is Uncertain. When I ask my Itallan friends now what is coming in Italy, most of them say with great frankness that they do not know. I feel sure that most of them belleve that for the present Mussolini can hold on. Recognizing that perhaps all of them are friends of the dictator in the sense of being supporters, I find still food for thought in their conviction that, de- spite present difficulties and disturb- ances, Mussolinl still holds the ma- jority of his countrymen and that the opposition has not the strength which is ascribed to it in our world, where dictatorships are not only in- explicable but to a degree disap- proved. But this {s not to say that they do not perceive that the present explo- sion {8 In itself not only a disquieting but a disappointing sign. This hope, which they disclose a little by indi- | rection, was that Mussolini would be able to make the transition from dic- tatorship to orderly democracy: that, having surmounted the perils and abolished the dangers which con- fronted Italy and called him into power, he would be able—and these friends say it was his desire, as events would seem to indlcate it was his purpose—to restore parilamentary government and merge his dictator- ship into a constitutional system, perhaps modified from the old, but certainly no longer relying directly upon force. Friends Are Disillusioned. And the fact that Mussolini has been compelled again to rely upon force is for them a bitter disillusion- ment. They do not for a moment hold Mussolini directly guilty of hav- ing by choice reverted to force, of pretarring it, of finding in new dan- gers a fresh pretext for invoking it. No. Rather they see in the recent course of events the proof that Musso- linl has been forced to confess defeat in his effort to get away from force. And they see, finally, the inescapable fact that permanent rellance upon force ineluctably leads to reaction, begots opposition, and, what is more disheartening, graduaily clothes the opposition with a measure of moral strength of its own. On the whole, Mussolini has always had a good press agent in America. He has seemed to many as the man who saved Italy from that immediate peril of bolshevism which remains hateful to Americans beyond any- thing else In recent history. He has heen judged very considerably by the results which Americans who have seen Italy before and after Faclsmo gained control report have been achieved. Even now, despite resort to force again, it is probable that a ma- Jority of Americans still hope for his triumph. Enemies Are Successtul. Yet his own fellow-countrymen, and Europeans as well, see far more clearly the dangers which henceforth menace him. We are little aware here of the Intensity of the fight which has been made upon him, of the character of the attacks which have been showered upon him. Yet one thing must be plain, and that is that his enemlies have been successful in blocking his effort to carry Facismo over from the single violent act of rescue which it performed in the hour of supreme danger into some form of permanent usefulness—to harness it, it T may use the figure, as man har- nesses the floods of the river to turn the machines of his industry. The spectacle of France in 1792 rushing to the frontlers to meet the oncoming Europe which brought the old regime its baggage and strove to restore what had been expslled was in & sense no more marvelous a spec- tacle than that of Italy of our own hour suddenly rising with equal unan- Imity and similar patriotism to march, not upon the foreign enemy, not to the frontlers, but to Rome; not to save the fatherland endangered by alien enemies, but to rescue a coun- try sinking under the weight of do- mestic madmen and worse. That was Facismo at its best and greatest mo- ment, comparable, as I have said, to risorgimento in its own great hours. Young Men’s Movement. There was in it the expression of hope, of faith, of youth, because it Was 2 young man's movement—some- thing profoundly stirring and moving. It had absurdiiies, the theatricalism which leaves the Northerner cold when it does not make him hot. You cannot make the same impression with castor ofl as with cannon, even it you can accomplish some of the same results. But in a history of cotemporary Europe, wherein the story of the rise, advance and ulti- mate repulse of bolshevism is re- counted, the Itallan episode will have a conslderable place. If Italy had gone red” fhree years ago. the his- forgive. Ttaly was liberated by a curious combination of the romantic and the practical, by adventurs and tory of Europe for several decades might have been different, and, at the "7 (Continued on Third Page,) was at once a politician and who enjoved the personal acquaintance to a notable degres of In selecting Representative Everett Sanders of Indlana to succeed Mr. Slemp, the President makes an- spectally, and with Mr. Sanders is recognized as a man of abil- ity and is exceedingly popular with his col- It is to be recalled he was under the national in Cleveland as possible timber for the Republican nomination for Vice Pres- ident, and only the personal objection of Sen- ator Watson of Indiana prevented his being presented to the delegates to the convention. The President will lean heavily upon Sen- along with the present leaders in that body the legislation proposed to be enacted for this co-operation to exist and be effective. The secretary to the President who will carry on during the remainder of this session can do much to facilitate this co-operation, and the incoming official who will take hold after March 4 bids fair to continue the good work when Congress agaln takes up its labors. So the Republicans on Capitol Hill are feeling very comfortable over the outlook of harmony. * ok ok ¥ This week is expected to witness a flare-up in the Senats over the adoption of the com- mittes report of the ofl Investigation. Sen- ator Walsh of Montana, who prosecuted the oll inquiry, will demand a vote on it. This will be probably the final flickering out In Congress, at least, of the great ofl scandal, while the legal proceedings will drag through the courts. has passed. The the Senate, *drys” have lost the first round in their battle drive through a strict State prohibition en- forcement law. Republicans holding a caucus and getting be- hind the bill to shove it through. Morris, Republican State chairman, after con- ference at Washington with Senator Wads- worth and a number of the New York dele- gation in the House, advised the Republican leaders in the Legislature not to attempt to force by the caucus method any Republican State Senator to abandon his own conviction on the enforcement question to support the legislation proposed decision Is expected to be the end of agitation who are in personal sympathy with the Presi- when Senator Mark Hanna, as chairman of the Republican natioual com- mittee, was looked upon as the representative of the White House in dealing with politicians legislation and Senator Butler is sald to be enjoying the full confidence of his senatorial colleagues. He is making no pretensions nor assuming any airs of overimportance In his close per- sonal relations with the President, but is well Among Senators is said that the Massachusetts Senator un- it 1s recognized that that which administra- remaining proved. in fact, The country has long * % The death of Thomas F. Foley in New York last week removed practically the last of the old-time Tammany leaders. in one way, In that he held his leadership for the love of the game of politics and not for He might easily have been the leader of Tammany Hall instead of a mere assembly money. district leader, Looking back to the presidential campalign, which so much was expected in political effect, the most complets the history of campaigns. grotesque futility as a campaign undertaking. and will probably pay little attention to its expiring sputterings in the Senate. the oil sensation, of “dud” in It was indeed a voluminous since been tired of it * ¥ He was unique ing” in Is the Male in Retreat? BY IDA M. TARBELL. can be depended upon Are there any signs of a masculine to follow where man goes. But Is it equally true that he goes when she arrives? I have friends in co-edu- cational colleges who tell me-that is what is happening In their field. The men are leaving the humanitarian and cultural courses to the girls They are flocking into engineering, chemistry, mechanics, sclence in gen- eral. My own observations, limited, to be sure, confirm those of my col- lege friends. Last commencement T watched the degrees given in one of our small colleges. For the Bachelor of Arts, woman after woman, but only a sprinkling of men; for Bachelor of Science, man after man, scarcely a woman, The onlookers, thoss more or less responsible for the direction of the institution, grew restless, whispered to one another, “What does it mean?" “Are men abandoning the humanities Two Reasons Assigned. They put the question to the dean. “Yes,” he came back, “there is no doubt about it. And there are two reasons. The first, founded on praoc- tical calculation; the second, mascu- line instinct. “Boys seek them the bhes leave college. that which will give send-off when they They figure that the training and equipment of the scien- tific courses are more useful in the modern world than that they get in the academic courses. But that is not all. They are look- ing for & place in the world where the upper stages are still uninvaded by woman. As a mass, they instinc- tively run from woman. They fly the pursuit they feel in her constant presence. “Then thers is pride. The girls take the majortly of the prizes hera, In some of our best fellows I see an in- clination not to compete with them. They take no satisfaction in beating a girl. They will race with their tellows, but not with her. I know of another college—a state institution—well equipped for the teaching of languages, of literaturs or history. But the men call these “sissy courses” and flock to engineer- ing, mechanics, chemistry, econom- ics—these things are male! There is a group in this place that refuses to read outside of the “tough” text-books. Reading is something “soft,” and the man who persists in literary and philosophic studies has often a hard time in making the fra- ternities. He is a “sissy’—likes “skirts"—"queens”—not for them! Like it or not, this is what we are getting, and while the practical na- ture of the world's call has much to do with it, the desire of the mass to escape the woman Is partially re- sponsible. Flock to Business World. But how about the business and in- dustrial life of today into which women are flocking in such numbers? hegira there? I have known factories half emptied of men because of the coming of women. And it is certain that woman has largely driven men trom behind the counters of the dry- goods stores. I can remember when a woman was a rarity there. But with her coming man has moved on into the aisles—a floor walker to keep her In order! But is this anything to worry about? I do not think so. I am in- clined to belleve that so far as in- dustry and business are concerned this replacement is bound to be a splendid exchange—for the man Take the clerical world. What business, after all, has a man to be a clerk? Study the type of creature produced by the foreign bureaucra- cles—countries where classes are fixed, stable things, not as with us in constant flux. I have heard intelli- gent Frenchmen wail over the de- struction of masculine virllity that life in_the bureau causes in their land. “What do we get,” they ex- olaim, “but a class of intriguing, mud- dle-headed, spineless, flat-footed crea- tures, their manliness destroyed by the work from which our habits make it impossible for them to escape? Once a clerk always a clerk with u We have something of that kind here—not so bad because we have not cnough of that fatal thing that peo- ple call “class consciousness™ to make us afraid to take a plunge. The pub- llc here applauds the plunge which, under a highly classified civilization, is deplored as treason to your class. Benefits From Pushing. And now hers comes the woman, {n- vading the bureaucracies, the cleri- cal world. Say what you will, it does not ruin her femininity. She makes a better clerk than he when she settles to the business. She is exact. She is punct- ual. She s orderly. Thers is no inva- sion of her natural powers. Let her push him out. Nothing could be bet- ter for him. And he is needed. Take the cry of industry today for men—men for the building trades, factories, the land— for men that bring brains as well as muscle. A man can use of all him- self struggling with machines, work- ing with the land, building things. It we are going to keep our immi- gration down, order our industry so that it will go on month in and month out, regardless of seasons, bulld and develop as we are called to build and develop, we need the clerks. Shove them out and let the women take thelr places. Glve women the “white collar jobs.” Let man escape before he is too softened, too deterio- rated to dare the harder things. Woman has saved man more than once in the history of the world. It may turn out that this invasion of his preserves which he so instinctively resents will again save him—save Bim from softness, degeneracy, the detestible thing that the “white col- lar job” so often makes. (Copyright, 1924.) More Spiritual and Cultural Progress Held Needed in U.S. BY DREW PEARSON. “Why does the world hats America?” T put the question to Victor Murdock of Kansas. “Why is it that though we have spent millions to feed the chil- dren of Europe our motives are called Selfish? Why, after helping to win the war and straighten out the tan- gles of FEurope, should we alone be blamed for her chaos? Why do Euro- pean editors berate us, Asiatic speak- ers denounce us and South American business men discriminate against 87 “I fired these questions at Victor Murdock not merely because he has poked about into almost every coun- try of the world, but because, above all, he knows the United States. Murdock of Kansas, after a number of brilllant terms In Congress, de- serted the House to become chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Murdock was the Federal Trade Com- mission. He lived it, loved it and bullt it up. A few months ago he resigned to return to Kansas and edit his paper. “Victor,” as folks call him out in Kunsas, admitted that the world" » opinfon of America was mone too complimentary, and then proceeded in his quaint but forceful language to explain why. Dislike Our Power. “We have bedome the most power- ful nation in the world,” he said, “and nobody loves an all-powerful nelghbor. People abroad compare us to Rome, and predict that, like Rome, we shall decay and fall to pieces. “It's worth thinking about—that comparison. There is, you know, a sort of pendulum that swings back and forth and beats time for the march of the ages. It swung to civi- lization’s highest peak with the Ro- man empire, then back to a long black night, and now it is on swing up again, to the greatest civilization yet. We are it. “Rome was a_great old empire, but we have gone Rome a few better in some things. Had Horace lived to- day he would have been syndicated. And Livy would have run in the Sun- day supplements. Socrates was one of those old kickers, a perpetual grouch, who was always agin the government. The chances are we statesmen on effort to obvliate an extra session of the new Congress through appropriation bills. be successful, face a long dry season. the news writers say at the end of nearly every short session, and yet somehow It gen- erally falls out that news will keep on “break- in other branches of the Government or international the typewriter and the telegraph instrument still is heard ticlans say that with his going some of the romance and adventure of Tammany politics * % k¥ % the New York Legislature to They had counted upon the George K. by the “drys.”” This upon the subject. * ok k % Only a few days more than six weeks re- main before this Congress expires, with its record of legislation, and the the Hill are exerting every the failure of any of the Their efforts bid fair to and Washington is likely to Now, that is what affairs, so that the click of in the land. would have tarred and feathered him instead of using rat poison. “There were several things wrong with Rome. For one thing, she was overorganized. An excess of auy- thing is a catastrophe, and Rome had an overdose of government. Had she been loosely organized she would have lasted longer. Rome had an overdose of the ego. It was I. 1 am a Roman. 1 am the Roman empire. A Roman citizen was the state, and when he showed up in any part of the Mediter- ranean folks just backed off the face of the map, “That,” boomed Victor Murdock, bringing his fist down on a cigarette table so hard it jarred the matches off, one pointer we can take from Rome. None of this overdose of gov- ernment, this overorganization for us. Long Black Night. “So Rome disrupted and there came absolute night. It was a long night, and the world pald in blackness and blood for every ampere and kilowatt of light which had gone before. Yes, sir, it paid In full. “Then came the awakening, with it some new things. The Indi- vidual began to assert himself. The state took a back seat this time, and men like Columbus and Drake and the Cabots and Americus Vespucius began to get out on their own and do things. They were individualists and it was men like that who made America. We have been putting the individual rather than the state foremost ever since. “After the dark ages came the first real assertion of the crowd—the first hint of democracy. Then began the age of folks. Crowds are thumby, awk- ward things to handle, and they had a devil of a time governing themselves at first and stil do, but gradually ma- Jority rule took form. Best System of Government. Now when you look the world over it seems as if we had about the best system of democratic government right here in the United States. We have some faults, but we come nearest to being a government where the people really run things. That's point number one, and the real beginning of this in- terview. “Point number two Is this: We are the most highly energized peo- ple In the world. Other people may be quicker with their fingers, but we are the wonders of the world when it comes to fast-working ma- chinery. The United States has been bullt on the creed of Ell Whitney when his Invention gaye quantity production to cotton. To make a thing in great numbers and make it cheap is the Idea which made this nation's industry. Riches Belie U And here is my third point: This highly energized individual lives In a wonderful environment. He lives in a great stream of commerce— healthy because it is based upon the four essential commodities which man must have. They are fuels—that fis, coal and petroleum—to keep him warm and run his factories; foods, including meats and cereals, to feed him; fabrics, which means wool, cot- ton and hides, to cloths him, and building material, chiefly lumber and steel, to house him. “Now, look at the position of the United States in these. We have greater coal reserves than the rest of the world combined. We produce two-thirds of the world's petroleum. ‘We are first in cereals and meats. Wo are strong in wool and have a monopoly on cotton. We lead in lum- ber and are supreme in steel. Hated for Gold. “Now, given the most energetic man in the world, and give him all the materials the world needs, and he becomes master of the world. But we have something else—one-half of the world’s gold. Is it any wonder the world hates us? “Now get the headlines,” sum- marized Victor Murdock as If dic- tating to one of his reporters in the Eagle office: “The world moves In rhythm “We have the best democracy in the world. “We have the people. ‘And the greatest wealth in the world. “And this pendulum of the ages keeps swinging. It is moving up toward the peak of our great civil- ization. WIIl it move back to an- other age of darkness?’ Murdock paused as if awalting an answer. I did not volunteer one, and he continued: “Now, isn't this the point? Can't we save this pendulum from swing- ing back to total darkness? Can't we avoid the night by turning from material to spiritual things? We've got a genuine streak of the right stuff inside us. We are by some mir- acle of God unspoiled. The world says we are sordld, selfish, money mad. But I submit the evidence. We have never been appealed to in vain. When some distanct part of the world is suffering we give. We don't even expect to be thanked. We (Comtinued on Third Page.) and most energetic By HENRY L. SWEINHART. O great have been the achleve- ments of Charles Evans Hughes in the European fleld of inter- national activity during his term as Secretary of State that the number and Importance of his accomplishments on this hemisphere during the past four years are some- times lost sight of. It is not untll one stops to scan and count up the results that thelir true significance is realized. During this period the relations be- tween the United States and the other American republics have been im- proved; and lasting benefits, it is be- lieved, ~ have been brought about through the negotiations which have been undertaken, the conferences which have been held and the de- cisions and agreements which have been reached under his wise guldance. His friendly Interest in the welfare of all the nations of this continent, which has been manifested in many ways; the spirit of good will and fairness in which he has approached all the problems which have present- ed themselves to him; his broad in- terpretation of the Monroe Doctrine and the true spirit of Pan-American- ism; and his recognized justice and honesty in dealing with all questions, have made an impression which, it can be confidently asserted, will have a favorable reaction throughout Lat- in America for many years to come. Outstanding Results Achieved. A list of all the accomplishments wrought in the Latin American fleld as a result of Secretary Hughes' Initiative and leadership would fill a much longer article than this. Some of the outstanding features alone can be mentioned. These in themselves cover a wide range, both geograph- ically and in the diplomatic sense; and they affect directly or indirect- 1y practically every nation in the American group of republice. First in importance, in the opinion of authorities on international af- fairs, was the agresment of Chile and Peru to submit their long-pending Tacna-Arica territorial controversy to the arbitration of the President of the United States. The conference between Chilean and Peruvian dele- gates which resulted In the protocol later approved by the two govern- ments, was held In Washington in the early days of the Harding admin- istration, and Secretary Hughes play- ed an Important part as friendly ad- viser in the negotlations which re- sulted so successfully. Several times when it seemed as if an impasse had been reached between the two dele- gations, the Secretary used his good offices to untangle the differences. Because of the importance of the countries involved, the significance of the problem and the interest which practically all the other South Amer- ican countries have taken in this in- ternational difficulty constantly threatening the peace of South Amer- ica, the permanent value of Secre- tary Hughes's contribution to Latin Amierican good relations through th work can scarcely be overestimated. The decision of President Coolidge as artiter in the Tacna-Arica case is ex- pected in the near future. Pan-American Relations Improved. Now to summarize some of the concrete results of the Hughes poli- cles toward Latin America. They may be stated as follow: 1. The negotiation of two claims conventions with Mexico whereby the two nations agreed to settle their differences; and the resumption of friendly diplomatic relations between the United States and Mexico. Many delicate situations arose fn connec- tion with the handling of this prob- lem. and the tact, diplomacy and skill of Secretary Hughes became manifest through the successful com- pletion of agreements satisfactory to both nations. The conclusion of thess Of approximately 13,000 school chfldren undergoing vision tests con- ducted by the United States Public Health Service, 37 per cent were found to have defective eves with less than standard vislon, according to a statement by the Evesight Con- servation Council of Amerlca, which, analyzing the results, calls such con- ditions deplorable as constituting neglect of evesight in the Nation's schools. One-tenth of the children examined under the direction of Dr. Tallaferro Clark, In charge of fleld investiga- tlons in child hygiene, had one-half standard_vision or less in one or both eves. Only 10 per cent of those badly in need of glasses, It was pointed out, were provided with them. The tests, part of a general physical examination made by officers of the Public Health Service, according to a report of the service complled by Selwyn D. Collins, associate statisti- clan, embraced 9,245 native white children from 6 to 16 years of age, in four Eastern areas, Spartanburg, S. C. and nearby villages; Frederick County, Md.; New Castle County, Dela., and Nassau County, N. Y. In addition, 2,535 white children underwent exam- Ination in Cecil County, Md. Only 63 Per cent Normal, The results of the visual acuity tests, made with standard test type, include, it is stated, only the mani- fest defects. These simple tests showed that 63 per cent of the chil- dren wers normal In both eyes; 27 per cent wers moderately defective, and 10 per cent had only five-tenths standard vision or less in one or both eves. “When separated according to age,” says the statement of the Eyesight Conservation Councll, Interpreting the conditions revealed by the , Public Health Service, “it was found that the number of children with marked defects of vision at 16 years of age was an increase of over four times the number at 6 years of age with marked defects. There seems to be but slight relationship between de- fective vision and sex, although there were more girls than boys with moderately defective vision Also, there were just about as many de- fective right eyes as there were de- fective left eyes. “It was shown that generally the vision was approximately the same in both eyes, but in many cases good vision in one eye was found combined with very poor vision in the other.” The council, which is directing nation-wide effort for better vision in education and industry, calls the eport prepared by Mr. Collins ‘striking evidence of the limited ex- tent to which the evesight of school negotiations with Mexico and the re- sulting recognition of the Obregon government have been a beneficial in- fluence, it is believed, toward general improvement of mutual relations be- tween the United States and all the other American republics. 2. The holding in Washington of a conference on Central American af fairs, and the drafting of a number of treaties and conventions looking to the establishment of permanetly peaceful relations among the five Central American republics. Although all of the pacts agreed to at that con- ference have not yet gone into e fect and aithough there have been serlous internal disturbances {n Hon- duras since, which have interfered with the regular progress of events, it is belleved that the final results of the conference will make for the lasting peace and prosperity of Cen- tral America. Ald For San Domingo. 3. The withdrawal of the United States marines from the Dominican Republic after eight years of Amer- fcan military occupation, and the practical aid rendered by this govern- ment In the establishment thers of & constitutional government which, ac- cording to all reports, is functioning in orderly fashion The announce- ment also has been made that the marines which have been stationed {n Nicaragua for 12 years past are to be withdrawn in September, leaving it in the hands of the new Nlcaraguan government, set up on January 1, to ace 4. The final ratification of the treaty with Colombia wh by that government agreed to recognize the ice of the Republic of Pa ama; and later, through the good s of the United St e esta lishment of diplomatic fons tween Colombia and Panama and thelr agreement to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce and a treaty settling their boundar: differences ‘The latter pact was recently approved by the congresses of the two cou tries; and they are now expected to proceed with the drafting of the other convention. Settled Boundary Fight. 5. The settlement by Hughes of a boundary di tween Panama and Costa Ri had brought them to the war just at the time that office. In fact, the first of which he signed after becoming retary of State was a virtual matum addressed to Panama Costa Rica calling for ned sation of the hostilities which broken out over the boundary ques tlon. Panama had declined to ac- cept the Interpretation given by the late Chlef Justice White of the Un ed States Supreme Court to a form boundary award; and Secretars Hughes maintained thaf award o Chief Justice White was binding and that Panama must abide by It. 6. The granting by razil and the United States to each other, uncond tionally, of most-favored-natio treatment in customs matters. Important pronouncements by the S etary on the Mouroe doctrine ¢ the occasion of the hundredth anni- versary of that policy; his visit to Brazil at the time of its centenary of independence celebration and speech in which he announced that the only desire of the United States in Its Pan-American relations is to “see throughout this hemisphers an ablding peace, the reign of justice and the diffusion of the blessings of beneficlent co-operati ‘—these and other efforts on the part of Secre- tary Hughes to promote a true Pan- Americanism should be mentioned as an important part of the work he has accomplished Secretary of State of the United States during the past four years Secre pute he ult Coprig Large Percentage of Children Found With Defective Eyes children adding: “Thers is such a large proportion of school children with defective vision that every possible effort should be made to discover those who are needlessly handicaped and to bring the matter forcibly to the at- tention of parents.” Only a ¥ew Have Glasses. is being given attention, The report emphasizes as most strik- ing that but a small proportion of chil- dren with very poor vision were wear- ing glasses to improve their sight. Among the older children, 14 to 16 years of age, only 23 per cent of those need- ing glasses had them. Only 109 per cent of the 925 children with vision five- tenths or less were wearing glasses. A large proportion of girls were wear- ing glasses than boys. Only 22 per cent of the children with such poor vision as three-tenths or less in both eves were wearing glasses and only 10 per cent of those with three-tenths vislon or less In one eve and good vision in the other had glasses to aid the vision of the poor eye. Still lower proportions provided with glasses were found in gToups with less severe defects. “Such conditions are deplorable,” comments the council. “How can chil- dren handicapped with poor vision be expected to keep up with thelr classes and gain the education which is right- fully theirs?” The council advocates regular pe- riodic examination of the eyes of all school children at least once each year. “Children,” it was asserted, *'should be taught how to care for thelr eves, aml all conditions conducive to eyestrain should be corrected. “Attention should be given to the natural and artificial lighting of class rooms. Shades should be provided all windows to control the light. Desk tops should be dull finished to eliminate glare; blackboards should be placed where they will receive good light; the type In books should be clear and large in order to avold eyestrain. ““These are some of the more Important things that can be dons to conserve the eyes of our future citizens.” Loyal to Alfonso. With the object of demonstrating their loyalty to the King and. their abhorrence of the anti-Spanish cam- palgn which is being conducted abroad, the central committee of Spanish Catholics has decided that Catholics In the provinces shall, en January 23, the fete day of the King, send telegrams or visiting cards to his majesty, and that Catholics in Madrid shall likewise sign their names in the visiting book at the royal palace on that day.