Evening Star Newspaper, July 13, 1930, Page 19

EDITORIAL SECTION he Swndiwy Star, Part 2—10 Pages DELAY OF TREATY ACTION ASSURES NO INTERFERENCE Extra Session Prevents Swamping of Measure by Other Legislative Activities Being Considered. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. HE postponement of discussion of the naval treaty until the extra session insures that there would be another chance for the pub- lic to consider the merits of the London accomplishment with no such complicating details as tariff and pen- slon legislation. Moreover, it is un- mistakable that so far the treaty has excited only languid interest, and rati- fication has been regarded with resig- nation rather than with any real en- thusiasm. It is patent, however, that the only real criticism—that coming from the naval authorities of all ranks—has on the whole failed to enlist public sup- port. On the whole, the opposition of the naval men has been the single real contribution to the forwarding of the treaty. Yet there is an obvious paradox in all this. We are living under an ad- ministration which more than any| other places value upon experts and commissions. From prohibition to The effect of such a blockade upon American trade—upon the farmer even more quickly than the manufacturer— would be disastrous. All the circum- stances of 1915-16 would inevitably be reproduced. Moreover, if we accepted the blockade, as we did substantially that of the allies in the World War, then we should be in fact, an ally of the League. But just as obviously we should be the enemy of the nation or | nations at war in definance of the League mandate. It may easily be argued that this is the course that we should follow; that we are at the least in duty bound not to feed, munition or finance such an aggressor. But the trouble is that we| have adopted no such policy, and on the | whole stand firmly against it. To assist | in disciplining Italy or Germany, to| help Europe make war to preserve peace, is not at the present hour any part of American intention. But since our present policy is clearly, as Mr. Wilson once phrased it, “‘to wage neutrality,” to maintain not alone our aloofness from actual conflict, but to panics, the inevitable resort has been to the so-called “best minds,” to the spe-| clalists and the experts. That is pre- | cisely what makes the official attitude toward the naval experts rather im-| pressive. For with exceptions which | are too inconsiderable to make any real | differences, the admirals, the captains | and the commanders—the best minds in | the Navy—are in accord in opposing | the treaty. | Agree on Defense Here. ‘The great difficulty with the case of the admirals against the treaty lies in| the fact that it is presented to the civilian mind, which is not in the least trained to consider technical or strate- gic aspects and has an instinctive dis- trust of the uniform and of the soldier | or sailor. ~Nevertheless, there is one| phase of the protest of the sailor men | which deserves an attention it has not yet had. All the naval experts who have testi- | fled have agreed that the so-called | treaty Navy is adequate to defend the| shores of the American continent, to maintain control of the Caribbean; in a word, to conduct a passive defensive | within the vital areas of the United | States. They are at one in tesfl(ytngl that neither the British fleet in the Atlantic nor the Japanese in the Pacific | can constitute a menace to our home Tritory. | ‘To the untrained civilian mind this| seems not only much, but enough. Why should the United States desire to send a fleet to invade British areas in Eu- rope or Japanese in Asia? The diffi- culty with the situation lies in the fact that there is a complete failure on the part of the layman to perceive the fact which is uppermost in the expert mind, namely, that the fleet of the| United States which is adequate to| defend home shores is not equal to the task of maintaining the actual policies of the Nation. | Affected by Policy. For it is a truism that the size of the | fleet of any nation must be bl.sedi upon the character of its policies. The | first step in the reduction or even the limitation of armed strength must be the modification of national policies, to carry out which is the sole purpose of the Army and Navy. The real case of the admirals against the treaty is that it reduces the means to carry out poli- cies which may produce collision with- out in the smallest degree cutting down the policies. Broadly speaking, the United States has three policies which could carry it into collision, one with Britain and two with Japan. These policies may be de- scribed as neutrality in European con- flicts, the retention and defense of the Philippines, and the maintenance of the | open door in the Far East. As long as our Government and people adhere to these policies, they are bound to main- tain the military and naval forces ade- quate to support them. As to the policy of neutrality, the situation is simple. The great powers and the small of Europe, bound by the covenant of the League of Nations, have adopted a policy of enforced peace. They have bound themselves to common action against any country which resorts to war in deflance of the rules and regulations of the . In theory they would be bound to use economic, financial, military and naval resources against the aggressor. And in the calculations of all the League states the first and most im- portant weapon is naval, and is pri- marily the British fleet. If Germany should one day seek to recover the Polish Corridor by force in violation of existing treaties, if Italy should apply Mussolini's recent and familiar words | to any one of many questions, the | League powers wouid be bound to unite in common action and the first step would be the employment of the British fleet for purposes of blockade, along with economic and financial pressure. Anti-U. S. Blockade Disaster. But the United States is not a mem- ber of the League; it is not considered either with German or Italian aspira- tions. It would have no part in the discussions and “wnu:\uut‘lo‘m wmg: receded the application of force. Ehe other hand, it would immediately be affected by any blockade which in the nature of things would go beyond any existing warrant in international Jaw, as was the case during the World ‘War. |ain, avoid vast losses incident to an illegal blockade, it becomes necessary to have a fleet equal to that of the greatest of the League powers, namely, Great Brit- For it is manifest that Britain will not engage in a League of Nations en- terprise to preserve peace on the Conti- nent of Europe if such enlistment in- sures actual collision with an American fleet of equal strength. The existence of such a fleet in itself provides the certain barrier to such British action, | and is thus the guarantee of American neutral rights. Admirals Entitled to Hearing. If the Government and people of the United States are ready to join the League, if they are prepared to agree in advance to waive their neutral rights when the Council of the League shall pronounce some nation guilty of aggres- sion and liable to sanction, then the whole case of the admirals falls to the ground. We have no need of parity with Britain, because there is then no conceivable cause of conflict. But if we refuse to join the League, if we adhere to our traditional views as to neutral rights, then the admirals, as the ultimate executors of our policy, are entitled to be heard upon the question of the means which are required. It is not only their province, but their duty, to inform the country in advance if in their judgment the existing Navy or the | treaty Navy falls so far short of parity as to be incapable of performing its mission. A European war is today at the very least a patent possibility. Such a war would at once compel the League to take action, and such action would in- evitably involve us. If President Hoover and Secretary Stimson could in- form the admirals that they would not | be called into question, that we were prepared to remain neutral, but along with nominal neutrality to act as the benevolent associate of the League pow- ers, then they would have no case and no temptation to go beyond their im- mediate duty. But if we are to wage neutrality we must have a Navy adequate to the task, so completely the equal of the British as to preclude any British action which might bring a collision. And, of course, the same is true in both the Asiatic issues. If we are determined to de- fend the Philippines, the London treaty deprives us of adequate naval resources. The increase of the Japanese ratio au- tomatically gives Japan strategic supe- riority in the area in which we must defend our island possessions. And the same is even more the case in the mat- ter of the open door. Policy Real Case. If_we are prepared to retire behind the Hawalian Islands, if we are on the one hand ready to resign our purpose to defend the Philippines and on the other to renounce our policy of equal | opportunity commercially in China, then the admirals’ case against the London treaty falls to the ground. But, on the other hand, if we are not prepared to renounce either policy, it is clearly the business of the admirals to tell us that ‘we are pursuing policies with inadequate resources. ‘The real basis for the limitation or reduction of armaments is the adjust- ment of national policies which may lead to collision. To reduce the size of navies, for example, while maintaining in full vigor policies which may neces- sitate the use of navies is like reducing the carrying capacity of a new bridge without making any prior reduction in the size of the load it must carry. At London the single conceivable cause for Anglo-American dispute, neu- tral rights, was rigorously excluded. Colission was thus made no less likely, but vastly more risky for the United States. And that is the case of the admirals. Reducing the number of ships and the size of guns to be employed in war and maintaining in full vigor the poli- cies which may produce war is not & step toward peace. With the making of these policies admirals have no proper concern. But they are entitled to ask for the naval means to carry out the political policies which the Govern- ment has ad and to testify if the means are lacking. What the irals have said in substance is that the treaty fleet is not adequate to sustain the na- tional policy. That is the situation to (would establish his date. (Copyright, 1930 Austria Makes Economic Advance by Pushing Production to Fill Its Needs A.—How much ground Austria h‘\erENN recovered economically is indicated strikingly in a recent statement by Chancellor Schober, who reported wheat production, which in 1922 was only 26 per cent of domestic consumption, has risen to 52 per cent. In rye, barley and oats the production is now 85 per cent of consumption. In potatoes there is a surplus, al- though in 1922 production was only r cent of domestic needs. In sugar fieh pm(‘lnctllon l.umup to lg per eerll:., in spite of a large increase in consump- cheese consum prlalu e the Alpine dis- quires for the current year 103,000,000 schillings, but the tobacco revenue al- lotted to it amounts to 479,000,000. Trade Barriers Removed. On his return from The Hague repa- ration conference, Chancellor Schober was received with bell ringing and other manifestations of jubilation. The Cen- tral Europe settlements made there 2 | have lifted a considerable burden from the Austrian people and have also re- moved barriers to trade among the suc- cession states. Austria will benefit from this through finding & larger market for her manu- factured products, thereby balancing more = h, her lfpofll and im- ports, wi 18 her most pressing eco- nomic need. hereased| Horse-Drawn Wagon Electric output has shown & notable nlmw'?n 1919 there were 309 with an annual um de- 2are 484 plants, with hours; now there are an annual maximum development of 2,949,000,000 kilowatt hours. Austria’s debt was 2,544,000,000 schil- in 1927. Now it is only 1,987,000,- ‘schillings. The debt service on the from the League of Nations re- Replaced by Ministry A symbolic change has just been made at the French ministry of finance—a horse-drawn wagon which used to take the ministry’s daily mail to the various railway stations has been replaced by a motor v:n.."’nm hghm.‘;“reu: otnt.?fi bygone , was the only one working for one of the French minis- mumditwucunouswmu:eh'mh - ' %0 WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY" MORNING, JULY 133. 1930 May Be Hub of Learning Great Congressional Library May Be Center of Scholarly Research for Nation’s Students. CONGRESSIONAL LIBRARY WHICH MAY BE CENTER OF LEARNING IN UNITED STATES. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. HE next quarter of a century is likely to see the development on the brow of Capitol Hill of a great academic community. This even may be considered a probability rather than a far-fetched possibility. The evolution of the Library of Congress seems to be shaping_ inevi- tably something of the sort. During the past few years this evolution has progressed with breath-taking rapidity. Those closest to the situation, busied with adjusting themselves to the changes, have had little opportunity to speculate on its full import. So the form this academic community will take still is highly speculative. It romises to constitute an institution of ngher education and research unique in the modern world. The closest analogy probably is to be found in the great universities which sprang up spon- taneously in medieval Europe—Bologna, Paris, Leyden and the others. How Communities Grew. A celebrated theologian or philosopher headquarters in some particular place, generally a mon- astery with a library, and _students would gather from ail corners of the continent to lay their ideas before him, listen to his lectures and, possibly, to read his books. The presence of this one teacher would draw other teachers. Eventually academic commuities grew |be in progress. up, without planning or any artificial | cohesion. The scholarship of Europe | congregated, as if drawn by an actual | force, in certain centers. Eventually these academic communities either dis- appeared, like some of the great Irish | universities, or became systematized | and are represented today by such in-| stitutions as Oxford, Cambridge and | the Sorbonne at Paris. | Now there is considerable reason to | believe that the first part of this process, | the spontaneous birth of a great center | of learning, is about to be repeated in | Washington. The possibilities chal- | lenge the imagination. There seems no | reasonable limit to what can be expected. Product of Evolution. Such an institution will be most de- | cidedly the product of evolution rather than of deliberate planning. Its possi- | ble significance in both the cultural and material history of Washington hardly can be overestimated. The Government is not going into the business of higher education. Rather, it seems, higher education is going to make use of the Govetnment's facilities | without sacrificing in any way its cher- | ished independence thought and action. Here some idea of the evolution of the Congressional Library is essential for an understanding of what seems to of It was established as a reference library for the two Houses of Congress. Legally such is its status to this day. But no limitations were laid down for its functions. Congress was free to deal with it as it pleased. The first collection of about 5,000 volumes was composed largely of such publications as Congress might need for reference purposes. This when the British burned the Capitol in the War of 1812. It was necessary to start all over again. The way this atart was made was a momentuous step in the evolutionary process. It was pro- posed to purchase the library of Thomas Jefferson. The sage of Monticello had gathered during his long life of varied interests a large miscellaneous collec- tion of bool literature, sclence, philosophy, law. But they were not especially suited as reference books for the National Legislature. Was there to be in Washington a “national Ii- brary” or just a library for the prac- tical use of legislators? Jefferson’s Library Bought. Jefferson’s library was purchased after a rather acrimonious debate. was a notable victory, for the author of the Declaration of Independence had entertained ideas sharply at variance with of the accepted thought of his time. His books were described as immoral and atheistic. But the pro- ponents won and from that day. with- out any definite statement of policy, the was destroyed | books, Tt | States. Congressional Library has grown stead- ily more and more a national library and not a strictly legislative reference library. The old idea may be said to have been abandoned for all time when itol Hill was erected. library for the Nation under the juris- diction of Congress. The collections of , periodicals, documents and man- uscripts in its stacks are priceless. It contains practically every publication of value ever copyrighted in the United States. It has besides a vast reservoir of manuscript and document material, including the state papers and letters of most of the Presidents. Naturally students are attracted here. There has been a steady increase of them from year to year, working both independ- ently and under the direction of faculties. Library Becomes National. Here another factor enters this story of the evolution of an institution. The Library has become “national.” It is for the use of the people of the United Consequently it is the natural custodian of literary material whose owners wish it preserved safely and in- tact for the use of all the people. Large glfts have been made of books and papers. ‘These are attracting othcrs, ‘Without deliberate intent a *center of learning” has been built up, a collec- (Continued on Fourth Page.) An Aristocrat—Laborite The Rich Sir Oswald Mosley and Family Precipitate Political Crisis That May Net Leadership. BY C. PATRICK THOMPSON. VERNIGHT he has become the most intriguing and enigmatic figure in British politics—this tall young aristocrat with s sonorous voice, an un-English fastidiousness, an air of irony and a dark, handsome countenance to which a twist of the mouth under its dandiacal mustache lends an expression at once supercilious and sophisticated. For six years he has roosted like & gilded cuckoo in the rough nest built by Labor’s old guard—roosted there and within the last' 12 months brought in his wife also, one of England’s lovellest and most elegant women. Until two years ago no one took him very seriously. And until that dramatic and exciting afternoon in late May, when he suddenly arose on his long, slender legs and flapped his dark wings and voluntarily took flight from the ministerial heart of the tumultuous Labor nest no one quite realized his potentialities or what occult forces he ht be able to command or what conceivably he might mean. No one knows now—quite. Circum- stances, in this matter, count for so much. All that is pellucidly clear is that he is a portent. He is ominous. He is a challenge. He is the young ad- venturer who has been daring enough to rub the socialistic lamp, which no other responsible member of the Labor-Socialist government has dared to lay finger on; and at the misty mon- ster it has glimpsed at the rubber's back the entire ministerial team has started back in affright. Given prosperity, of course, Sir Os- wald Mosley, M. P., chosen by Ramsay Macdonald to occupy the minor minis- terial post of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, would not amount to a row of in the island life. But the same remark sp‘)lud to Robespierre, to Lenin, to Mussolini in their respective fields. Given this, given that, the story of mankind would not be what it is. Sir Oswald Mosley knows his history, revolutionary, political and imperialistic, back to that young and impudent Roman, Scipio, whom he so closely re- sembles in outline. Sciplo saw his op- munuy in Hennibal, who for years ravaged the Italian peninsula and precipitated crisis after crisis in the upper and the lower chambers of the republic of Rome, until the rulers of Rome were ripe to be stampeded by the ambitious young careerist, Scipio—and were stampeded (unluckily for Hanni- bal). Economic crises are the Han- nibals of the scientific age, and what the formidable Carthaginian was to Rome and Scipie, unemployment today is to England and Mosley. Glance at Political Crisis. In consi the M menon and 'hndl?‘::‘.y mfimphmou it is perhaps most _illuminaf to_glance again at the political which he precipitated (and which has only been postponed), before look at this odd A‘V'nln‘l raditions.” and his superbly beautiful wife, ::h:: ?:nm for a uxmry d cen| , &N marchioness, the daughter of ‘ashingto: his the late Mr. L. Z. Leiter of W n. Ammhm-ruenwerthegum- ment"ll_lI unfln&l:wymem policy. '-glll way: The rty had mised the lectorate that i “ o Z|and forgotten by socialistic politicians land | this problem which baffies the THE LEFT-WINGERS Commons, and, with the aid of the Lord Georgian Liberals, they formed their government. In that ministry Macdonald handed Mosley, his young friend, the office of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is an ornamental post, but teeth can be given to it, and in this case teeth were given to it by Macdonald’s de- cision to let Mosley, “Peter Pan” Lans- bury and Tom Johnson (the latter two old guardsmen) assist Jim Thomas, the rallway men's leader and now lord privy seal, in the enormous job of find- ing the solution of unemployment. Jim Thomas did not welcome his aids, but they had been loaded on to him and he had to put up with them. ‘Thomas, like President Hoover and every other industrialist and practical man of affairs and business the world over (outside Soviet Russia), knows that you cannot cure unemployment by legislation or by tampering with the capitalist system which runs over the civilized and a large part of the uncivilized portion of the planet (Rus- sia always excepted). A government can alleviate distress and ald private enterprise,'and that is all. Of Limited Experience. But Oswald Mosley, 34, entirely with- out practical experience outside the fleld of politics, sheltered an aristocrat, a member of the squirearchy’s most ex- clusive London club, conferring with his private secretary and intimate friend, the Socialist son of the late Leo Stratchey, editor of the Tory Specta- tor, found himself competent to solve hest wills and most minds of the world. He produced a now celebrated memo- randum . which advocates vast state loans, state control of industry and state purchase of wheat imports and other full-blooded socialistic nostrums which are aired in debating societies when they with the prac- get saddl of & government, t | SIR OSWALD AND LADY CYNTHIA MOSLEY—THEY HAVE ENCHANTED OF BRITISH LABOR. —From a Lithograph by Eric Pape, and especially a minority government. This was a direct challenge to his nomi- nal chief, Jim Thomas. Thomas threat- ened to resign if this memorandum were given serious consideration. It was, however, referred to a cabinet sub- committee and turned down flat. Philip Snowden jumped on it with both feet. Meantime, however, unemployment had gone from bad to worse. It had risen by nearly three-quarters of a mil- lion since the advent of the Labor: Socialist government elected expressly to cure it. And the advisers of Jim Thomas were telling him—and he was passing on the information—that it looked as if the figure would rise to 2,000,000 by the Fall. The Tories thereupon challenged the government on the unemployment issue, and the Soclalist Left Wingers, who al- ways have wanted to skin the capitalists alive, revolted and abstained from vot- ing, with the result that the Macdonald ministry escaped defeat only by the skin of its teeth. Mosely weighed up ‘the situation and decided the time had come for bold ac- tion. Jim Thomas had to make a speech defending the government policy. Mos- ley sat through it and then announced his resignation. He could not continue to hold his office while the government pursued a policy on unemployment which was inconsistent with its election pledges and its socialistic doctrines. Confusion and Alarm. The government and alarmed. The Tory die-hards rushed round to the office of their chine and urged steps to turn out the | news. government. Lloyd rushed round to Macdonald and told him that if he did not come across with propor- tional representation (without which the Liberal party does not quite see how it can survive as a party in the next election) he would withdraw the Liberal support which so far has kept the Mac- donald team in office. controller mlmfi but went one better by bit- [ on Fourth Page.), tory, emergency meeting of the parliamen- tary party, and meantime told his or- ganizers to get election literature ready in case the big blow was coming. But by the time the Labor men assembled | the government leaders knew that the moderate Tory leaders in control of the ‘Tory machine had pointed out to the die-hard element that the last thing they, the Tories, wanted, was to take over the twin babies of unemployment and India at this stage. “Let 'em carry their bables for a while longer,” the die-hards were told. Reassured, therefore, they called their wild men to order. Mosley emerged pledged to support the government—at the time of his resignation he had openly challenged on the unemployment pre “The party shall judge between us,” he had said in effect. The official Labor organ was most friendly to him. He had a wonderfully good press all- round. Thomas may have said hard things about him in private, but the elder Labor statesman, Lansbury, an- nounced publicly that on the question of socialism there was no difference at all between Mosley and the rest of the government, while Ramsay Macdonald hastened to inspire the statement that now the naval treaty was out of the way he intended personally to interest himself actively in unemployment. Mosley smiled his reticent, secret smile. For a rebel minor minister he had done pretty well for himself. When the men you challenge and affront hasten to pacify you and smooth you down things are on the move. Case Fully Presented. Young Scipio-Mosley took steps to state his case in the widest circulated of the Sunday papers, and also had a “talkie” interview done for broadcasting over “movie” theater chains. He emerges in sharp outline now, the hope of the Left bloc, the champion of socialism in our time, the man of noble renunciatory gestures, representative of the younger generation, leader of the New Guard bound by the mere virtue of youth presently to take over the reins of power from an Old Guard who have fought and waited so long for power, and now, rather tired and old, grasp it too late, 'when the vigor and daring of youth have gone. Oswald Mosley comes of the squire- archy and owns around 4,000 acres of the soll of England. He is the sixth baronet. The fortunes of his family were founded in the sixteenth century by an astute capitalist who beeame lord mayor of London in 1559. The family always had been Tory until young Oswald came upon the scene. He was educated at one of England’s exclusive public schools and went on to i n, secretary affairs and a nobleman of over- whelming pride and presence, who went all through life under the illusion that the eighteenth century had never ceased to exist. The marquis was not enamored of his Oswald Mosley returned the the present beautiful building on Cap- | It has become a | WAT | celebrated; they 1al | jngton. Many Towns to Be Bro BY MARK SULLIVAN. HERE is under way, under the best auspices that America can | assemble, a movement for ade- quate national celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington, now roughly 18 months ahead of us, on February 22, 1932. The intention is to take advan- tage of this anniversary for the high- est possible service to America. The commission in charge, a group of ex- ceptional men and women, is not bound by any precedent; indeed, it is not bound by any limitation whatever. The | broad purpose is to do the best that possibly can be achieved by imagination | |and carried out by energy and high | taste. The objective, briefly stated, is | to to the best; the immediate purpose is | to find out what is best. To that end | it is hoped that the imagination Of] everybody in America will go to work.l ‘The chief function of this commis- sion is to stimulate; the reason for its existence will be best fulfilled if the largest number of individuals and groups catch fire from the spirit of the preparations, and of their own initia- | tive begin their own ways of celebrat- | ing. The commission, of course, will do much directly; it will have charge of the essentially national part of the celebration, it will co-operate, it will co-ordinate to the degree that co- ordination is desirable. But the great function of the commission is not to monopolize, but to diffuse; to cause everybody in America to take part, to bring about such a ferment of interest | throughout the country as will result in the largest and highest expression of America’s aggregate imagination. Stimulates Suggestions, For the moment the most immediate of the commission's purposes is to stim- ulate suggestions, to get suggestions to it In a formal announcement the commission says: “The associate directors of the George Washington Bicentennial Commission are anxious to receive from the public generally such suggestions as may help to carry forward the general plan, * * * We want the people themselves to give us suggestions. Correspondence is so- licited upon any phase of the program. It is especially desired that officers of towns, cities and school districts write their views upon the subject, and also the associate directors would welcome communications from officers of all kinds of civic organizations both local and general. All such suggestions will be given prompt and careful attention and it is hoped that from them this general program may be enlarged and 1mp‘rov.ed and new methods found.” . Such persons as are kindly moved to make suggestions should send them to the associate directors of the commis- sion—Sol Bloom of New York, who is a member of Congress and can be ad- dressed in care of the House of Rep- resentatives at Washington, and Lieut. Col. Ulysses S. Grant, 3d, whose ad- dress, likewise, is Washington, D. C. (Col. Grant is the grandson of the Civil War General and President of the United States who bore the same name.) While these two associate directors have charge of details, there are 19 other members: President Hoover, Vice President Curtis, Speaker Longworth, Senators Simeon D. Fess of Ohio, Ar- thur Capper of Kansas, Carter Glass of Virginia and Lee S. Overman of North Carolina; four Representatives, Willis C. Hawley of Oregon, John Q. Tilson of Connecticut, Joseph W. Byrns of Ten- nessee and R. Walton Moore of Virginia, together with Henry Ford, Bernard M. Baruch, Prof. Albert Bushnell Hart of Harvard University, Hanford MacNider, Wallace McCamant, Mrs. _Anthony Wayne Cook and Mrs. John Dickinson Sherman. Tmagination and Taste Needed. brate this particular anniversary calls, in the first place, for imagination and in the second place for taste and dis- crimination. Taste will differ. Broadly speaking, some conditions can be set down as desirable; others as less so. It can be taken for granted that the celebration will not fall back upon the familiar form of a great exposition lo- cated in a single city, such as the not very happy sesquicentennial of the Declaration of Independence, held in Philadelphia in 1926. That kind of thing will not be at- tempted. It has sometimes been suc- cessful in the past. The celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, which took the form of the World's Fair at Chi- cago in 1893, was not only a great spec- tacle, but became a concrete stimulation to art and many other useful aspects of American life. What can be done by that kind of celebration, however, has already been done. The broad spirit of the coming bicentennial of Washington’s birth contemplates some- thing more universal. As it has been put by Associate Director Bloom: “We have no exposition in mind; there will be no ‘world’s fair’ no concentration of material evidences of the Nation's growth. * * * The celebration will be in the nature of a revival of knowledge of and appreciation for our greatest American. * * * We want to offer an opportunity to each man, woman and child in America to participate in this national celebration. It is proposed to foster and encourage in all parts of the country—Ilocal, regional and State cele- brations.” Celebration to Be Nation-wide. ‘The purpose, in short, is to diffuse the celebration as much as possible, to make it Nation-wide, to cause the largest number of individuals to take part and the maximum number of separate com- munities to hold their own celebrations. Some details, without doubt, will be Nation-wide in their scope. There will probably be, at one time or another, Nation-wide radio “hook-ups” with a very small number of speeches, possibly only one speech, that of the President of the United States. But, however, of single events spread over the Nation, the larger purpose is to cause every local community to have its own cele- bration. Local celebrations by individual vil- lages and larger communities will, of course, take account of the fact that it is Washington’s Birthday that is being Gicorge Washington: . But. th cciebra e Was] . But the celebra- tion as a whole will be more broad and more useful if it is conceived that the purpose is for every local community to look back upon its own K:“ without regard to whether or not that past had direct connection with George Wash- . Necessarily, the bulk of all the communities in the United States, those in the West and Middle West, settled less than 130 years ago, cannot have had any direct association with Wash- ington. Tqe spirit of the celebration as & whole will be satisfied by having each community look back upon its own sep- arate past, whatever form and what- ever associations that particular past may have. The notion is that each community should rev] its own his- recall its local up ‘To say what is the best way to cele- | much of the celebration takes the form | “ WHOLE NATION WILL JOIN IN BICENTENNIAL PROGRAM Nearly Forgotten Historical Lore of and Families ught Out. and put on exhibition its local relics of the past. The aggregate of a celebration thus conceived can such a reviving of American tradition as never was before, such a reanimation of our various legends throughout the country as no nation ever before achieved. There are in America forgotten mines of tradition and of historical as- sociation The little communities to which they have long been familiar are not aware of how appealing these local traditions are to persons in other parts of the countrv. Dwight Morrow, talk- ing with an acquaintance about his re- cent campaign for United States Sen- ator from New Jersey, recited witn especial delight his coming upon a little village on the Delaware River called Washington Crossing. The citizens of that village have a heritage, familiar to them, with which they can interest the world. Other communities, large or small, from Maine to California, have like traditions, not all associated with George Washington, but all related to other stirring phases of America's past. Such a widespread stirring of imag- ination and such a universal turning back toward America's past as the Bi- centenary Commission is soliciting may unearth associations with George Washington or with Revolutionary or Colonial America, closer than we knew we had. Human Link Sought. As one detail of this bicentennial there is a possibility that invites pur~ suit. It is conceivable there may be liv- ing somewhere in America a person (possibly more than one) who has talked with a person who talked with Washington—a person who has contact with Washington through a chain as short as only one link. To explain what is meant, start at the more distant end of the tie. Im- agine a man born in the year 1780, Such a man at any time up to his nine= teenth year could readily have talked with George Washington or could at least have seen Washington. This man if he should live to the not at all un- reasonable age of 85 would not have died until 1865. Any time during, let us | say, the last 15 years of that man's life, at any time between 1850 and 1865, this intermediary could have talked with a man who may still be living, for thers | are hundreds of thousands of people in America who were born between 1850 and 1865, and are now, therefore, any= where from 65 to 80 years of age. If there is living anybody who has this contact with Washington he should certainly be found, and one incident of the present early preparation for the 1932 event should be a search for the venerable man or woman, if such exists, who talked with a person who talked with Washington or saw Washington. If that close a tie cannot be found— and it is largely accident if it happems not to exist—then what other tie or relation can be found that constitutes the nearest to direct contact between the America of today and the living George Washington? A London newspaper a few years ago stirred interest all over England by searching out and identifying families who in three generations spanned 200 years. For example, to take a supe Pposititious American _f{llustration—a man still living, John D. Rockefeller, sr., is 91 years old and, therefore, was born in 1839. Suppose Mr. Rocke- feller's father was 60 years old when the son was born. That would carry the Rockefeller family in two genera- tions, father and son, back to 1779, Suppose in turn that Mr. Rockefeller's grandfather was 60 when his son was born. That would carry the Rocke- feller family in three generations—son, father and grandfather—back to 1719, and 1719 was 13 years before George Washington was born. Any life insurance actuary will say there must be in America hundreds, perhaps thousands, of such family rec~ ords as that; that is, persons alive to- day whose fathers or mothers were alive |when George Washington was, and whose grandfathers or grandmothers were living when George Washington was born, Details May Prove Fascinating. ‘Within the broad principle of causing the Nation to look back upon its own history and having each local com- munity and even each family review its separate contacts with the past—within that formula details can be innumerable and all fascinating. The aspects of any community that may constitute its own links with the past are almost innumerable. The old- est house, the oldest barn in continuous ownership of one family, the oldest business in continuous proprietorship of one family, passing from generation to generation—there are in all America less than a hundred businessss which have remained in the same family as much as a hundred years. The recalling and in some cases per- haps the reviving of old place names. On the farm in Western Maryland Wwhere President Hoover's ancestors lived during the colonial days, is a creek. On the old deeds and in the court house records at Frederick, Md., the stream is called “Wolf-pit Creek.” That name is on geological survey maps made as lale as 1920. But no one now living In the neighborhood knows the creek by that name, or by any name, It has passed completely out of the neigh- borhood nomenclature. One of the booklets printed by the present Washington commission says that Washington’s Mount Vernon, be- fore it was given that name, was called “Epsewassen.” Was that an Indian name? “Cart-Saddle Creek” Forgotten. At a spot in Southeastern Pennsyl- vania with which the writer of this article is famillar, is «& stream now called “Little Elk Creek”—which is a good old-fashioned name. The writer a few years ago procured from London a map of this neighborhood, which had been made by an officer in the British Army during the Revolution. On thjs map, 150 years old, the creek is marked art-Saddle Creek.” No person now living in the neighborhood can recall the creek ever being called by that name. The ancient name was as ex- tinct as the elks and the Indians that once roamed the neighborhood. It would be the saddest of mistakes, and fortunately it is an unlikely one, if this 200th celebration of Washing- ton's birth should be turned into merely another occasion upon wnich every community in America turns its eyes toward the city of Washington or toward New York City. The purnose should be the exact opposite of that. The_objective should be w nave every local community turn 1ts eyes away from the great cities, turn its eyes for the most part away from the central celebration, and engage upon the con- templation of its own past, the reviving of affection for its local tradit'ors. — Witty Without Drinking. From the Akron Beacon Journal. Low-brows have a great advantage at their parties. They needn't get drunk to think ons another witty, ° 4