« * " "* o \.^" .V41C^'. "^^- •^Va' % THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE Honorable Warren Gamaliel Harding President, The United States of America The Hope of the Future BY EDWARD E. EAGLE Forewords and Messages by HONORABLE WARREN GAMALIEL HARDING President, The United States of America HONORABLE DAVID LLOYD GEORGE Prime Minister, Great Britain HONORABLE ARTHUR MEIGHAN Prime Minister, Canada HONORABLE WILLIAM MORRIS HUGHES Prime Minister, Australia HONORABLE WILLIAM MASSEY Prime Minister, New Zealand SIR JAMES CRAIG Prime Minister, Northern Ireland THE CORNHILL PUBLISHING COMPANY BOSTON Copyright, 1921 By EDWARD E. EAGLE All Rights Reserved ^CI.A6o4678 Printed in U. S. A. E JORDAN & MORE PRESS BOSTON DEC 29 1921 I DEDICATED TO Mr. Jrank S. 3aBt»r HAVERFORD, PENNSYLVANIA WHO. DURING MY YOUTH. HELPED ME TO "REALIZE" MANY THINGS TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Preface by Edward E. Eagle ix Messages and Forewords His Excellency Warren G. Harding . . . xiii Rt, Hon. David Lloyd George xv Rt. Hon, Arthur Meighan xvii Rt. Hon. William Morris Hughes .... xix Rt. Hon. William Massey xxvii Sir James Craig xxix Travels of an Average American ..... 3 The British Empire in the East 8 The Education of an Englishman 14 Playing the Game 20 English Law and American 27 New Zealand 34 Australian Glimpses 42 The Spirit of Australia 48 The American Abroad 56 A Glance at American Government Abroad . 62 Some Difficulties of a Democracy .... 68 The Golden Calf 73 Immigration in the New World 78 Japan 84 The Future of Western Civilization .... 90 The World an Economic Unit 96 British Business Methods 102 The Necessity of Foreign Trade 108 Organizing for Exports 113 Selling Goods Abroad 118 The Present Status of International Finance . 123 America's Indebtedness to Europe 129 The Hope of the Future 135 vii Edward E. Eagle Preface M. Clemenceau, the French " Tiger," on returning from India, was informed that Mr. Lansing in a volume just pubHshed had spoken of him in the highest terms, and being asked if he wished to read what the American had said, he retorted: ''No, I never read anything about myself that is comphmentary; I can hope to improve only by reading criticisms." Believing that the American people will be glad to assume the intelligent attitude of M. Clemenceau, I have ventured to issue in this volume my frank and fearless observations based upon five years of wandering up and down the earth. I have had faith to believe that the Americans for once would prefer to be criticised rather than complimented. This book is intended for those people who hke myself have not reached the stage when they believe they are immune from criticisms. Ten years ago in Alabama, where I was born, I read the life of Charles Darwin and was stimulated by the record of his experiences to go forth and see the world. A few weeks ago I stood in Westminster Abbey upon the slab beneath which rests his body, near that of Isaac Newton, and I asked myself whether these two men would have hesitated to brave pubUc opinion by publish- ing such a volume as this. I knew then that they would not. Accordingly in " The Hope of the Future" I am revealing here my observations in the belief that there are many Clemenceaus in America. Writing books is not my business and never will be; international commerce is; yet many friends, knowing of my wide field of observation, have urged me to be bold, and to present here what I have gleaned in travels that have led me from the fashionable resorts of Europe to the wilds of Borneo. As I look back at the notes I jotted down when my journeys first began, I am amazed to find how complete has been the change in my understanding of America and the other nations and their relationship to one another. It is for the hundred million Americans who have never gone outside the boundaries of their Conti- nent that I have written. Not all of them are, or could be, so prejudiced as was I before my rovings began. Yet I am convinced that a majority possess an exag- gerated idea of their importance to the world, and of the world's regard for them. Many Americans whom I encountered abroad have assured me that this is their own opinion now, but that they are loathe to state it, lacking both time and inclination. For my own part, though equally reluctant, I have refused to decline this responsibility. In my undertaking I have been encouraged by some of the leaders of public opinion. Mr. David Lloyd George as Prime Minister of Great Britain, in contribut- ing his " Foreword " broke a precedent and to him I owe a debt of gratitude that I am unable to express, as also to President Warren G. Harding, who added his voice to the spokesmen of the other great Enghsh- speaking nations. The messages which Sir James Craig, Mr. WilUam Morris Hughes, Mr. William Massey, and Mr. Arthur Meighan, as authoritative voices for the great communities they represent, conveyed by me to America will, I feel certain, receive a sympathetic hear- ing. That they send such messages through a private citizen proves their kindly spirit and their desire for friendship with America. Sir James Craig is Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister, and his message to America is the first sent by him to any people. To others I leave the easier and more agreeable task of indicating what foreign countries can learn from America. Mine is at least the more necessary endeavor of pointing to what America can learn from them. Edward E. Eagle. 2a Pabk Street Boston, Massachusetts November 11, 1921 The White House, Washington, D. C. The desirability of the best possible understanding between the English-speaking people of the world has always seemed to me so obvious that it could hardly require argument. That these communities confront a long period of arduous responsibility not only for their own concerns, but for the progress of the world and the guarantees of civilization is hardly to be doubted. Very intimate understanding and co-operation must necessarily be maintained and yet further developed, if they are to discharge their responsibility most effectively. I am convinced that Mr. Eagle's book is likely to be of real use in estabHshing such ample knowledge and appreciation among the English-speaking Communities, and I sincerely hope it may have precisely that effect. xai Honorable David Lloyd George Prime Minister, Great Britain 10 Downing Street, London Having looked through Mr. Eagle's book, I am much struck by the study which he has given to the aims and methods of the British Empire and also by the clear reasoning with which he sets forth the need for close co-operation between the Empire and the United States. I wish himself, his book, and his aims all possible success. ^ j(^y -/^y^ Unaerwood & Underwood Honorable Arthur JNIeighan Prime Minister, Canada Prime Minister's Office, Toronto, Canada The friendship of Canada and the United States is perhaps the best example of what good international relations may be. That friendship, without a break for over a century — our four thousand miles of frontier without a soldier or a gun — proves that two nations can, if they will, adjust their differences by the applica- tion of common sense and fair play. We have lived so long now in peace that it never occurs to us that, in order to settle any possible dispute, we could be foolish enough to relapse into the wasteful welter of war. By that friendship — and that friendship alone — the present prosperity of North America has been made possible. We have proved its value so completely that we shall not bring ourselves to break it. To a Canadian it seems only natural that this relation of trust and confidence should be extended to include the whole English-speaking World. What issue could ever be worth a quarrel between us? What contrary interests have we for which we should imperil the whole basis of our well-being? Canada will hold her place — let there be no delusion — as a Domin- ion within the British Empire. But Canada under- xvii stands that it is possible for her to hold that place and at the same time to live in perfect neighborly accord with the United States. Only mutual ignorance and suspicion can prevent these relations from becoming permanent in the family of EngKsh-speaking peoples. It is necessary for us to make constant efforts to sustain and advance the spirit of good will. We must iron out each small diflSculty as it arises. Above all we must endeavor to understand each other. Every traveller can help. It is a process which can never be completed. No one can prophesy when or where a subject of disagreement may arise; but whatever it may be, a clear understanding of the question is bound to reveal the fact that our interests and purposes are not fundamentally divergent. Mr. Eagle's book is a strong thoroughgoing attempt of an American to interpret some aspects of the British Empire to the American pubHc. As such, it merits the commendation of both countries. When Americans see the Empire as Canadians see it, they will feel some- what as do we, and will understand as never before why Canada is British. I am confident that this book will help its readers to know better the real character and purpose of the Empire as it exists today. .CtC4XA Honorable William Morris Hughes Prime Minister, Australia Prime Minister's Office, Melbourne, Australia Within the welter of problems confronting the world, one fact at least is clear-cut and outstanding. It is this — that the only influence Hkely to be effectual against the prevailing insecurity of civilization is that of a body of opinion able to enforce peace as against war. The statesmen of the world are engaged in elucidating and composing a universal confusion and national difficulty, the detail of which is immense of bulk and vast of range. But the ultimate significance of every frag- ment in that mass of controversy is the share in the re- establishment of the world, its part in the rescue of humanity from the dangers threatening it — in other words, its bearing upon the ideal which transcends all and includes all, the ideal of a world at peace and firmly set upon the path of progress and prosperity. Complete unanimity of opinion among the nations, either by grant of some miraculous impulse toward agreement, or as the result of sudden conversion to a common outlook, is impossible. The only way is the way of persuasion, or pressure, of the minority of nations who refuse or delay the needed decisions — their persuasion, r their pressure, by the majority of nations, who desire those decisions. And there is ready to hand the very- instrument needed. The EngHsh-speaking peoples of the world are that instrument. Already they are united in a natural confraternity which has its origin in common ancestors and a common language, and which issues in their allegiance to similar ideals, their quest of similar aims, their rarely antagonis- tic and often harmonious, even identical, faiths and hopes and habits and tastes. They are no more divided, essentially, than the members of any family who, branch- ing off from the parent-stock, spread themselves far and wide, and who, though they develop variously by reason of their varying environment, yet retain the essential characteristics of their fathers. In one aspect, that of the British Empire, most of the EngHsh-speaking nations united in a loosely organized, but effective, solidarity, are fundamentally one people, though the detail of their separate lives is more and more surely independent and individual, and their development in the national characteristics peculiar to each, more and more certain. But the British Empire is, after all, but part of the whole. The English-speaking family of nations owns as its most populous and its most powerful asset the people of the United States, and the union of that family in its com- pletest strength and its greatest influence for good is only possible in so far as the nations of the British Empire and the American nation are united in effort and purpose and aim. No finer task is available to the worker in any field XX than that of attempting to give practical effect to this great ideal of the consolidation of the Anglo-Saxon peoples into permanency of friendship. For myself, at aU events, I know of no political aspiration Hkely to have more important result upon the world or to be to it of more lasting value, and it is for this reason that I have urged, wherever I have found opportunity, the wisdom — indeed the necessity — of a close under- standing between the United States and Australia, and have encouraged wherever possible the growth of the friendship of our two peoples, their knowledge of each other's problems, and the development, as a result, of mutual relations of esteem and good will. In two outstanding regards America and Australia are so closely concerned, and so conditioned geographi- cally and by force of other governing circumstances, as to give each the strongest claim upon the other's sympa- thy, understanding and support. I refer in the first place to the race ideal known as " White AustraUa," and in the second place to our common share in the problems of the defense of the Pacific Ocean, which, washing the shores of both our countries, is destined to be the scene of momentous decisions affecting the future of the world. White Austraha, an ideal which seeks to maintain the racial purity of the continent of Austraha, and is the unanimously felt aspiration of the Australian people, needs little recommendation to the people of the United States. Almost inevitably, indeed, it is assured of the •support of a country facing difficult problems already- existing by reason of its diversity of peoples, and stoutly opposing the introduction within its borders of new problems of the kind. In AustraHa, however, the aim in view is not that of minimizing an already existent trouble but that of preventing the creation of one, while the root objection to the ahen is not so much his economic danger as his menace of an ideal. That ideal is an Austrahan nation of one origin, of common instincts, and of a single race-tradition. In it are wrapped up, necessarily, the economic factors of standards of life, or work, and of wage, but first and foremost it expresses the desire of AustraHans for the race-purity of their land through the estabUshment within a continent, for the first time in history, of the kindred peoples of the white race. This is an aspiration not easily to be reahzed. It is beset by the problem of a sufficient inflow of white population, by that of the development of vast tropical areas of a sort hitherto regarded as suited only to the labor of colored peoples, and it has to meet the dis- satisfaction of such peoples with a policy which excludes them. These without doubt are difficulties, but the whole history of AustraUa is a record of triumph over difficulties. For one thing, the ideal of a White Australia is very close to the heart of Australians, and their resolve to translate it into actual fact is of unshakeable weight and strength. For another thing, the problem of the peopHng of Australia is entering upon a new activity of migration effort which is the first care of the Government of Austra- lia and gives hope of successful issue, while the question of the development by whites of Austraha's tropical areas, not at all to be disposed of by unproved theories, and already favorably viewed by expert opinion of many kinds, cannot be decided without fuller investigation and in any case needs for its final decision that extension of railway communications within these areas which has been approved by the Government of AustraHa, and which is, as the provision of railway communications always has been, the indispensable prehminary to the development of still unproductive areas. That, in brief, is the position of the White Australia ideal. White Australia has the whole-hearted allegiance of every Austrahan, and AustraHans look confidently to the people of the United States for their understanding of a problem so nearly resembling one of their own, and for their sympathetic support of a cause with which they themselves and their own country are so closely con- cerned. The position of AustraUa in relation to the Pacific Ocean is so obvious as scarcely to need statement. But it cannot too often or too earnestly be urged that in the event of future war, the fate of the world in all human probabiHty will be decided, as the future of Australia quite certainly will be decided, upon the waters of that great sea. Nor can it be doubted that if the catastrophe of a naval war in the Pacific should come to pass, America no less than Australia will be involved in it. For these reasons we Australians are alive to the value of America's support in the measures we take for the defense of our shores, and we believe that America, in turn, welcomes Australia's activity in this matter as that of a friend and ally whose help would be of no small worth in such an hour of need. Austraha and America desire to remain at peace with all the world. But in our case we cannot forget the grave responsibility that rests upon us the farthest out- post of the British Empire, with half the population of the globe — 750,000,000 — living nearer to us than the nearest people of the European race, while a similarly grave responsibility attaches to America's position in the Pacific. Neglect of defensive preparation against the possibili- ties of an unknown future would, in respect of either of our countries, be criminal neglect on the vastest scale. Protective measures, on the other hand, are an elemen- tary duty. Without the slightest leaning toward offensive menace, with our whole weight upon the side of peace, America and Austraha and the whole world must face the possibihties of the Pacific; and there is no more promising way of safeguarding ourselves than that of consolidating into permanency the friendship and mutual esteem of Americans and Australians. It is a natural bond. It exists by reason of many attributes common to both peoples. And it is a bond suggestive of the value to the world of that wider spread and infinitely desirable solidarity, the friendly unity of the whole family of English-speaking peoples. ^^r>yz:fi^ XXV Honorable William Massey Prime Minister, New Zealand Prime Minister's Office, Wellington, New Zealand No doubt Mr. Eagle, like many other travellers has learned that though the leaders of any nation or com- munity may be well informed about other countries, the masses, generally speaking, are not; and with that discovery has also come to him the knowledge of how enormously important it is, if there is to be understand- ing and mutual sympathy between two nations, that the people, the potential forces of the nations, should know more about each other. That very ignorance, under the clever manipulation of demagogues, may at any time become a terrible menace. For this reason one can welcome any book written with such an object as that which Mr. Eagle has before him, and I trust that his efforts will contribute very materially to the end he holds in view. It is one of the peculiar features of this age, that with all the marvels of invention and human enterprise in the dissemination of news and views, so very httle knowledge of outside affairs reaches the bulk of the people, or is readily available to those who in the daily stress of busy Hves, are unable to seek much beyond the newspapers or other channels of popular literature. It is not necessary here to pursue the cause of this condi- tion. I merely state the fact, and I am not alone in deploring it and desiring a dififerent state of affairs. In some degree the War has had its educational value. Our young, vigorous men crossed the seas in many thou- sands and came into contact with other ideas and civiliza- tions. This experience of course was common to all nations which sent troops abroad. Years will probably pass before we can be sure of what all the results of this will be, but they must be profound. The War also has brought the British race into close unity, and New Zealand, in common with kindred Dominions, has acquired a new status and importance in world affairs. It is to our advantage that these things should be presented as they appeal to intelligent writers who come amongst us. It goes without saying, also, that there is every reason for the closest mutual under- standing between two nations of the same stock, the same tongue, and the same ideas, and I trust that Mr. Eagle's book may be successful in assisting the achieve- ment of this object. ^U^^^^^^-^ xxvm Sir James Craig Prime Minister, Northern Ireland Prime Minister's Office, Belfast, Ireland It is a great pleasure to me to send a cordial greeting to the people of the United States. No subjects of the British Empire have done more to help America than the hardy immigrants which Ulster has sent to play their parts in the New World. Men of the old Ulster stock have ever been among those who have honored names in America. These hardy pioneers served in the Army at Washington, crossed the AUeghenies in their rude ox-drawn wagons, struggled with hostile Indian tribes, and brought civili- zation into the heart of the Mississippi Valley. Ulster can never be a strange or foreign land to Americans. The Ulster of today is a new Ulster, taking up wide responsibilities of self government. She has a Parlia- ment, a Cabinet, and a set of laws all her own. She now takes a broader interest in international affairs. Of all questions there are few that lie closer to her heart than that of the complete trust and friendship of America with Britain. I sincerely hope nothing will ever arise to jeopardise this friendship. The ocean liners that launch at and pass her coasts hurrying away to America are typical of the community of interests that links together our future. In the material affairs of life we are partners. In the defense of liberty, the spread of education, the protection of the weak, the maintenances of law and justice, we are sworn comrades. y< ^^v^n,*^ ^^ "7 XXX THE HOPE OF THE FUTURE The Hope of the Future CHAPTER I Travels of an Average American This book is the voice of an average American. I am one of those who vote, pay taxes, attend the World's Base Ball Series, and read the Sunday newspapers even to the advertising. My birth and education were average, my career was like that of most Americans. I had no possible reason or excuse for writing a book until the day I boarded the steamer, " Empress of Russia," at Vancouver, bound for Japan, in the be- ginning of 1917. For the first time, I was going out of America, but I became so interested in the political, social and economic conditions of the countries I visited that soon my home- sickness disappeared, and I roamed the world for nearly five years. I can remember that at first I did not wish to go, because I felt that everything worth having lay in America — that this country was the center of busi- ness, art, and literature. My mind, in characteristic American fashion, had been trained to believe that when there was anything to be done we could do it best. The phrase " Biggest and Best " expressed my opinion of America in relation to the rest of the world. Not only 4 The Hope of the Future did I refgard this as literally true, but I supposed that other nations had not only accepted this idea, but held it as firmly as did I. I have often tried since those early days to think how it was that I had this small-town notion so strongly rooted in my mind. I seem always to have held such an opinion. This mental attitude is, I believe, that of the majority of Americans. As Uttle children we are taught to believe that American ways are naturally best, and that we have really nothing to learn from foreigners. Now, there is nothing pecuHar to ourselves in this attitude. Every nation thinks, of course, that its ways are superior to those of other men. Destruction of this belief would shake the confidence of all citizens, and tend to undermine the proper pride and spirit of a nation. We in the United States, however, suffer more than our proper share of bumptiousness. Our country is so self-contained; we are so far removed from the other great powers; we see so many ignorant laborers from other lands coming to work in our mines and factories; that it is easy for us to swell with pride, and boast of our merits. This habit of self-esteem is so marked in Americans that it is probably the distinguishing trait by which we are recognized abroad. If an America!n does not begin to brag in the first few minutes of conversation with a foreigner, the latter thinks that there is something wrong with him — that, perhaps, he is not a real American, or that he is sick. Travels of an Average American 5 When watching a group of foreigners listening politely to some American boasting about our skyscrapers and our Pullmans, I have often felt humihated. The Ameri- can may think that his audience is impressed by his talk, whereas it is merely amused at his vanity. He forgets that others may hate skyscrapers and that Pullman cars are taken, Uke pills, only when needed. In going abroad we should remember that it is the best of good sense and good manners to say Uttle about our own institutions unless asked for an opinion. We may beHeve what we hke about our national superiority, but braggadocio only wounds the feehngs of foreigners and sets them against us. America is far too great to be brought into ridicule in this way, and it is the fellow least qualified to speak who does all the talking; so the rest of the world is full of stories about our rudeness. An American is said to have visited a monastery in Italy where he was shown a candle whose light had been kept burning for three hundred years. The monks had watchied it every day and night during all that time, and carefully replaced each candle as it burned low. This light was their pride. The American, looking at the candle, could hardly believe any set of men would take so much trouble over so small a matter. He said: " Well, it's time it went out," and extinguished the Hght. To him this was merely a good joke. But what did the monks think of him, and of his country? While travelling around the globe, I learned that we ought to talk less about our greatness and rather 6 The Hope of the Future endeavor to improve ourselves. Perhaps the best way of doing this is to study foreign nations, and discover whether they possess any quahties which we should imitate. If we find that they are superior to us in cer- tain respects, then it is mere stupid pride and obstinacy that will prevent our learning from them. Thousands of years ago, the Medes and Persians thought that they had reached such a state of perfection that they had nothing more to learn from any one. CiviUzation has moved a long way since that time, and all the laws and customs of which they were inordinately proud have vanished so completely that most of us could not explain what they were. Yet we Americans have inherited their foolish notion that we have nothing to learn, a notion which is the mark of unenlightened men everywhere. It was my desire, when I first thought of writing this book, to draw a description of the countries and people I had visited. Among these places were China and Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Siberia, the Philip- pines, the Dutch East Indies, the Federated Malay States, Ceylon, Burma, Borneo, and ultimately Europe. After remaining a year in England, my mind kept going back to the lands under British rule as I had seen them in the strain of war and perplexed over questions of peace. I began to think again of my school days. I remembered how I had then thought, as millions of my countrymen have thought, that the British were tyrants, imposing, a hated rule on weaker nations every- Travels of an Average American 7 where and that the British Empire was full of subject races groaning under an oppressive yoke. Then I decided that it was my duty to tell of things as I had seen them, and to try to clear away the clouds of misinformation and prejudice which keep us from under- standing the British and appreciating what fine fellows they are. I also wished to urge upon Americans the necessity of cultivating politeness and tact. I want every American to feel that his country is being judged by his conduct, that the conduct of a few irresponsible travellers may create an unfortunate impression which will count heavily and unfairly against us in some interna- tional crisis, of the future. The friendship of one nation for another depends, after all, upon the ideas that have been gathered by millions of humble individuals from such representatives of the other nation as they have met, and from the long list of newspaper stories that they have read, but whose details they have quite forgotten. Here we have both my reason and my excuse. I think we are all in the same boat, and should, therefore, pull together. That is why I, a " Yankee," write to explain the " Britisher " to Uncle Sam. This task is necessary, since Uncle Sam never fails to explain himself to others. CHAPTER II The British Empire in the East If a traveller who knew nothing of the history of the last two hundred years were to make a careful study of the life and conditions of Southern and Eastern Asia, he would see at first that very great advances in material prosperity have occurred in all its different parts. He would see that irrigation canals now bring the flood waters of the Indian rivers to nourish the wheat of the Punjab; that the swarms of pilgrims that visit India's holy places no longer toil painfully along under the burn- ing sun or measure their length in the dust of the highway an infinite number of times. Their modern method of pilgrimage is to ride fourth class in box cars upon the network of railways that cover the East, where cheerful labels announce that the cars are built to carry twelve horses, thirty-two sheep, or forty pilgrims. Immense factories are humming, the docks of the ports are crowded with the shipping of every nation; the hillsides are covered with tea plantations; the jungles are planted to rubber; elephants are pulHng logs of rare tropical wood in the swamps of Burma; Chinese cooHes are mining tin in the Malay States; the natives of nearly every island in the Southern Seas are gathering copra that will later appear as soap, The British Empire in the East 9 margarine, or glycerine. A great part of Asia is now bound together in a busy industrial mechanism bringing comfort and happiness that reach almost every one in the world. All this busy life seems to be protected by a wise code of law; there is security and justice for each man, black, white, or yellow. The farmer sows his grain with the certain knowledge that he will be permitted to reap it; the merchant enters into contracts because property and life are both under government protection; and yet this rule of law is maintained over vast areas, mi;xed popula- tions, rival religious systems, with a minimum of force. Hardly a soldier is to be seen, the government so well dis- charges its duties that it is in little evidence, the highest test of a successful administration. It is only after a careful search and a painstaking investigation that the traveller discovers that the whole of the government, the directing intelligence of the fac- tory, the bank, and the plantation, is a small body of quite inconspicuous men, modestly paid for the most part, but filled with a keen sense of duty to the people whom they serve. These are the representatives of Britain in the East. I beheve it is not too much to say that the British civil servants in the outlying parts of the Empire have set a higher standard of service than the pro-consuls of any other government in history. They are men of education, of practical ability. In America they would be successful in the business world, but their reward is 10 The Hope of the Future in the gratitude of the population they administer and in the deep sense of pride which they feel in taking part in such a mighty task. They have the privilege of knowing that they have left a mark upon vast portions of the earth's surface. It has been the fashion among many Americans to abuse the British as land grabbers. They have often been shown in cartoons as mercenary, selfish, seekers after power. It is true that they love power. They have an instinct, just as we Americans have, that leads them to attempt great adventures. It is, however, grossly unfair for us to accuse the British of taking by force the property of other nations. Much of their territory in the East came to them as the result of struggles with other European powers in which both sides were fighting for their very existence. Much also came as the result of peaceful cession and bargaining, just as we acquired Alaska. Some land they took which had never before been held by any race that could be called civihzed. Some of the most valuable parts of the Empire today were created by the British, from land that every one else had passed by as worthless. Hong Kong was a barren rock in the ocean inhabited by a few fisher folk; Bombay and Singapore were islands almost uninhabited, Calcutta was nothing more than a swamp. These four great cities now have almost a milHon inhabitants each. They are the commercial centers of their section of the world. The British did not steal them from any one; they created them just as truly as we created New York The British Empire in the East 11 or Chicago. How many Americans who call the British " tyrants," know this? To be sure, there are millions of people living in these cities who are decidedly not of British race, but they would never have come there had it not been for the protection afforded by British rule! That rule made possible the growth of industry, the increase of popula- tion, the banishment of famine and of tribal wars. Modern methods of industry were introduced by the British, and a standard of moral conduct higher than had been known before, a standard of honesty, the only basis upon which modern complex business operations can be conducted. Another common misconception in America is that Britain is a blood-sucker, draining rich revenues from the toiling natives of the East. This idea is fantastic. The facts are rather the other way. The money raised by taxation in the Dependencies of the Empire goes without exception to defray local expenditure. Eng- land learned a lesson in the American War of Inde- pendence that she has never since forgotten. But any new or unusual call for money, as for example in a war, falls upon the British taxpayer. He must ultimately bear the burden of any debt or losses in administration all over the Empire; but if prosperity comes and there is a government surplus, it all goes to benefit the place where it occurred; not a penny comes to Britain. How many Americans know this? Sceptics may shake their head knowingly, but the fact 12 The Hope of the Future remains that the Empire has only been an expense to the British Government. It has never been a money- maker. But, one may say, there are indirect advantages that compensate individual Britons for their Govern- ment's outlay. It is true that British business men have made large profits by trading in the Empire. But they have not been the only ones to do so. Foreign business houses are perfectly free to trade and they do trade all over the Empire. An American may go anywhere, his life and property are made safe, immense markets have been created with which he is free to carry on business. The various races have been taught to conduct their transactions in the English language; so that he does not even have to learn any foreign tongue. All this does not even cost the American or his government any outlay in money or in men. England carries the burden. We share in the profits, but not in the responsibilities. From the standpoint of a fair-minded American business man, the British Empire is a philanthropic institution that might have been designed for his especial benefit. The only direct money payment to Britons from the Empire lies in the salaries paid to civil and military officials, in the fees for the services of British profes- sional men and in general for the payment of services individual Britishers render. In order to measure the justice of these payments we must first ask whether the payment is excessive. The answer must be that it is not. No other country is in a position to supply men of equal abihty. The training of centuries has produced The British Empire in the East 13 such splendid results that other nations are far behind Britain in the quahty of the men who staff their Colonial administrations. These men could earn more money in other fields of Ufe. It is their tradition and training, their sense of patriotic duty that keep them in the service of the Empire. The British have earned their place in the East by merit and long years of faithful work. Great Britain is loyal and just to those alien people to whom she extends liberty and a measure of prosperity not known under their own native rule. If there are disturbances in India, Singapore or Hong Kong, it is British lives and gold and not American, which are sacrificed in behalf of peace, justice and prosperity. No American should fail to give honest praise to these people to whom we are so greatly indebted. CHAPTER III The Education of an Englishman In the last chapter I spoke of the moral basis of the Empire. We shall never understand the principles that lie at the root of it until we examine British home life and see how from childhood these people have been conscious of a duty to the world. In the life of a boy from a British middle-class home the choice of a career is a very serious issue. In almost every family there is one boy set apart for life abroad. Parents feel a solemn pride in sending their sons and daughters to be repre- sentatives of Britain in the outside world. That all the family cannot stay at home is looked upon as a matter of course; there is not room for them in Great Britain. So every one takes a much greater interest than we do in foreign nations and in events that happen all over the world. For this reason London is the center of the world's news; it is there that the most rehable information is to be found from all parts of the globe, whether of commercial, scientific, political, or of merely general interest. The young men of Great Britain get a better education in foreign languages, foreign politics, foreign manners and customs, than, do ours. The Education of an Englishman 15 They feel from very early years that there is nothing abnormal in going abroad to Hve, and that they are really citizens of the world. They almost have a sense of responsibiUty for the happiness and well-being of other nations, a sort of national noblesse oblige. This is very different from the attitude of the French, who are passionately fond of their country and miserable when away from it. As colonizers, they have not been a great success because every Frenchman turned his thoughts to Paris and could not bring himself to Hve all his days in his foreign land. The Briton has come to feel that all the world is his home, that he may bring his own atmosphere with him wherever he may go. " England has her Empire, France has the Champs Elysses." The affection and care which France has lavished upon her Capital has by Britain been directed to benefit the whole world. When any one goes to another land it becomes neces- sary to decide what habits of hfe he may change in order to adjust himself to the new conditions, and what he may not change, without losing his self-respect or his identity. The British have a happy faculty of adhering to their principles and important standards of conduct when abroad, while at the same time yielding pleasantly in small matters of taste and local custom. They per- sist in a few customs that we may think absurd, but which are of more importance than first appears. For example, the EngHshman of the upper classes will dress for dinner in the desert or alone in a jungle hut. 16 The Hope of the Future He preserves the daily bath and the dinner jacket as parts of a rehgious ritual. But this is not so absurd as it seems. In fact, it is the very truest psychology. These little matters of form are li,nks with civiHzation; they prevent man from sinking to the mere animal no matter what his surroundings may be; they present a barrier to the mixing of races and help to keep pure the Anglo-Saxon strain even in the tropics. Yet in the small affairs of every-day life the British are most tolerant of foreign ways. They accept readily the customs of the country and do not make their travels miserable by forever complaining that things are not like what " Mother used to make." How many Ameri- cans have had a wretched experience in travelling over Europe, because they could not forget that the coffee was poor, that portions of ice-cream and bathtubs were undersized and dirty. As long as Americans feel that they must keep up with events on the " Great White Way," that they can never cut themselves off from the latest in " movie " or newspaper sensations, so long will America fail to exert any important influence outside her frontiers; she will be walled-in by the preju- dices of her own small-minded citizens. When a young man goes abroad to make his fortune the blow falls hardest upon those left at home. This is the tragedy of thousands of British homes, where lonely parents try to console themselves by thinking of the wonderful things their boy is going to accomplish in foreign lands. The mothers of Great Britain have had The Education of an Englishman 17 to suffer in order that the Empire shall " Carry on." They have tried to cultivate a Spartan or Roman self- discipline. For generations the boys of the upper (and more lately of the middle-class) have left home at an early age, it used to be eight or nine in many cases, for their education at a " Public School." They come from the very best families of the land, but on arrival at school each youngster has to fetch and carry for his seniors. These little " Tom Browns " are compelled to clean the rooms, black the boots, and run errands for the older boys. No new comer is exempt from this duty, no matter what his rank. The severity of this system, as practised fifty years ago, has been slightly lessened, but the same principle remains. The British beUeve that only boys who have been through such a rigorous course of school discipline and have learned to serve others can be trusted later to rule millions of men of alien race. These boys are not only taught to be strong and just, but they are poUte and thoughtful. I was travelling in a railway carriage in England recently, with a number of these Public School boys on their way back from vaca- tion. Their ages were from nine to fourteen. They were as courteous to one another as any party of older men could have been. When one wished to raise or lower a window he asked the others poHtely, " Do you mind? " Imagine a party of American boys of that age showing consideration for the feehngs of one another in that way! 18 The Hope of the Future I talked to one little fellow, eleven years old. He was greatly interested in the construction of battle-ships and told me much about the design of the latest Ameri- can war-ships; much more indeed than I could under- stand. His name was Robert Dorrien-Smith, his father is the governor of the Scilly Isles. I asked him what the people on the islands called his father, he replied; " They call him King." '* Does he like that? " I asked. " No, he disHkes it heartily." I expect to see my friend, Robert, in an important position in the British govern- ment some day. It is not only the boys in the Public Schools that are well behaved. All children are better mannered than American boys and girls. If one asks any small boy in the street to give some desired information, the chances are that he will walk some distance out of his way to give assistance and will invariably say, " Sir," when address- ing an older person. I have never seen small boys throwing stones at windows in England, stealing fruit, or being chased by policemen. Such things happen there, I suppose, but they do not occur often and are not considered a neces- sary part of every boy's career. Yet we must not think that the boys of Britain are " Sissies " merely because they know how to behave. They play foot-ball almost all the year round and are as rugged and healthy youths as one could wish to see. One reason for their sturdiness is plain wholesome food, with not nearly the amount of candy that we are The Education of an Englishman 19 accustomed to feed our children. They Hve in the fresh air the year round, and are clothed lightly. When I first came to England I was very sorry for the children that I saw playing in the rain on a cold winter day, their httle bare legs blue with cold. I still think they must be rather uncomfortable, but the fact remains that British children are extremely healthy, and the EngHsh death rate is one of the lowest in the world. CHAPTER IV Playing the Game The British probably take more pride in their tradi- tions of sport than in any of their other characteristics. After all, it is only the few who are deeply interested in business, but sport lies close to the heart of nearly every one of them. They feel that it is somehow symbolic of the quahties that have made them great, and that they must maintain their code of honor in the playing field no matter what else they may lose. It was very impres- sive to observe how the nation in the midst of tremendous industrial struggles in the period after the War, turned to playing games with a devotion that surpassed that of the days of peace. Some critics say that this is a sign of growing degener- acy and decay. They point to the fondness of the Roman crowds for the spectacles of the Arena at the time when Rome was losing the vigor of her early days. I doubt whether this is an accurate parallel, for the Brit- ish flock to play games as well as to watch them. At any rate, the British are likely to keep on with their sports in spite of what critics may say about them. The most popular professional game is Association football, or " Soccer." This is played by every class in England, but is really a poor man's game. Most of the Playing the Game 21 followers of the various city teams are working men. The crowds at this game are the largest that attend any- game in the world, dwarfing the attendance at our base- ball or football events. A crowd of over a hundred thousand is common in the larger cities. In the place it holds in the Ufe of the masses, " Soccer " can well be compared to American baseball. In the industrial districts of Lancashire and York- shire, the miners and factory operatives are fond of racing small dogs called " Whippets." Many a miner, when his hours of work are over, spends his spare time in exercising his racing dogs. Sundays and holidays are given over to this sport, and the idle days during a strike cause a great boom in such racing. The upper and middle classes play tennis, golf, cricket and Rugby football, from which our American game has been developed. It is still possible to see fox hunting in the more quiet counties of England; although during the financial crisis experienced by many old families during and since the War, the practice has in many cases been given up. Rowing is popular on the small placid rivers, which we would think too small to be suitable for even the shallowest of boats. However, the streams are carefully tended, the channels are deepened where necessary, and they present a lively picture in the Spring, covered with smaU punts and canoes; their occupants carrying toy balloons and generous lunches. There is no happier life than the English River Life. The greatest and most famous sport is of course 22 The Hope of the Future racing, and the year is filled with important meetings. Some are of only local interest but others attract visitors from all over Europe and America. Everybody has heard of the Derby. This is held on the first of June, and is the biggest event of the sporting year. The Grand National Steeplechase, and the Ascot week of racing are only less famous. For weeks in advance, they are the topics of conversation and occupy the thoughts of the people more completely, I believe, than in any other country. It seems that all England has a personal interest in these races. Most people have at least half a crown invested on their fancy, even the very poorest manage to save a small sum for the purpose. It is needless to say that the bookmakers manage to collar most of this money. It is not the kind of games they play but the way in which players and spectators behave, that is most significant to Americans. The British play hard. I have just said that they take sport seriously, even too seriously, but they do not think it necessary to cheat in order to win. They scrupulously avoid the shghtest suspicion of unfair tactics. What is more remarkable is the fact that the spectators are equally fair and gentle- manly in their behavior. Wherever the British play it is an axiom that the visit- ing team is to have the benefit of any doubt. The home crowd are so anxious to be fair that they often give more applause to their opponents than to their own side. Each set of players are more anxious to give the other a Playing the Game 23 square deal than they are to win. If a doubtful point occurs both teams try to give the advantage to their opponents. It is almost unheard of to jeer at a misplay of the other side or to complain at a decision of the referee. This desire to be fair is carried to lengths, which we would consider quixotic. The British have the feeling that our elaborate methods of training before the games are not quite sporting. They have no training tables, very few professional coaches, and they neglect some of the elementary rules of health in consequence. I have seen university athletes who have been running in a hard race, like the two mile, standing about in a cold winter drizzle watching other contests for an hour or so. In America the coach would have bundled them off to the club-house for a hot bath and a rub-down. As a result of this lack of system the British often fail to do their best in international contests. The British are right when they think that sport is a commanding factor in their lives. They have the feeUng that life itself is only a game and that we must play as fairly as we know how, that the spirit in which we work and play is the essential, and not merely the fact that we have beaten somebody. They have taken over into business and politics, even into war, the spirit of their games. They are not in such a desperate hurry to get on as we are. If we argue about it, they say, " Why should we live at high pressure always? We will go more slowly and enjoy ourselves the while." 24 The Hope of the Future In London the business man never goes to his office on Saturday. He plays golf or attends a house-party in the country. Often the head man does not again report for work till Tuesday. He gets less done than we do, although not so much less as one might think. But he is living all the time. He is not making himself into a mere shell of a man by crushing out all interests except those concerned with money making. The result of this difference in Hving becomes apparent in the older men. The young look much the same in every country, but, after reaching fifty, the man who has known nothing but his business begins to go to pieces. If he has never taken proper exercise he becomes grossly fat or else weazened and bent. If he has no interest in the world outside of his own particular field of work, his mind cannot travel in other directions. No sum of money will make him into a real human being again. It is at this age that the Briton shows the benefits of his life of hard exercise and varied interests. During youth and middle age he holds himself in a rigid, almost military, discipline. He keeps fit at all times as though it were his religious duty. He has trained himself to carry not an ounce of unwholesome fat, and to this end he eats sparingly and plays regularly. In his later years he retains his good looks, and remains trim and upright, walking like a young man, and taking an interest in all the affairs of the day. Frequently he seems twen ty years younger than the American business man Playing the Game 25 of the same age, who has lost the abiUty to do anything except his routine job. Perhaps men take better care of themselves in England because they realize that they are relatively scarce and that they command a premium in Society. This fact would strike a stranger at an English social gathering — that is the absence of men. At a ball it is most curious to see old men dancing with the youngest and prettiest girls in the room. Women outnumber men and since the War this is more than ever noticeable. The latest census figures for England and Scotland disclose a surplus of more than two million women. This means that so many will have to live without hope of marriage. Men have a wonderful position in England. Among the upper classes they are almost worshipped. The most popular figure in England today, I might as well say in the whole Empire is a young man, the Prince of Wales. He can hardly appear in public without being swept off his feet by the eager throng of admirers. I think this is perhaps because he embodies the spirit of youth to a people who are wearied of war and diplomatic bargaining. He has natural charm and simplicity of manner. He represents the new relations of the Dominions to their Motherland. The prominent folk in public life have been touched by the War. They will always be associated in the minds of this generation with the difficulties of the present. The Prince of Wales stands 26 The Hope of the Future for the future, for unity of the English-speaking Peoples, for friendship and frankness in international dealings. He is the center around which all the hopes of Britain are crystaHzed. CHAPTER V English Law and American British respect for law has always excited the admira- tion of foreigners. It is a deep seated, fundamental racial instinct bred in the bone after many centm'ies of obedience to a legal system which has retained its identity during all the recorded history of the British people. It is not a respect for laws, many of which are violently unpopular; not a respect for the officials who administer the laws — very often these have been held in contempt. It is an instinctive adherence to the principles of the ancient Common Law of the land and in particular to the principle that this law supersedes the actions and wishes of any individual, be he private citizen, govern- ment official, or the King himself. The Common Law is perhaps the most valuable single possession of the English-speaking peoples. It has become a part of our thinking, and is largely our practi- cal standard of moral conduct. In Great Britain it has a tremendous hold upon the minds of men. When young Englishmen were sent out to the Soudan as judges, they came into a country where law was in such an unformed state that there existed no real body of local rules and precedents to guide their decisions. 28 The Hope of the Future They were instructed by the Foreign Office to base their decisions upon the principles of natural right and justice. After some years it was found that the code they had built was almost identical with the Common Law. The old legal system had so completely dominated their minds that no other scheme of law seemed right or natural. Most modern European nations trace their laws to some code or to the acts of some individual ruler. Many of these codes are of recent date. It is possible to argue about and discuss them. For example, the Code Napoleon can never be entirely separated in our minds from the personality of its maker. The Common Law is antecedent to discussion and disagreement. It was already venerable when first expressed in written form. To this day it has never been codified, and this element of vagueness and of unmeasured bulk imparts to it an added dignity. In Britain every one alike is subject to this law. It holds equal sway over rich and poor, the minister of the Crown, and the ordinary civilian. In most Conti- nental countries there is a special body of Administra- tive Law which governs the actions of public officials, and separate courts exist for them in which this law is applied. In England, under the Common Law, the policeman who makes a false arrest, the officer who orders his men to fire on a mob, all are liable to be brought into the ordinary civil courts and made to face the consequences of their actions. English Law and American 29 Thus there is no privileged official class in the state, no man can be deprived of his life, property, his freedom of speech, by an arbitrary government. These are the ancient rights of Englishmen which we in America fought to secure for ourselves. We obtained these rights through the War for Independence, but ever since that time Britain has freely granted them to her Colonies. This respect for law shows itself in the orderly charac- ter of the people. There is very Httle crime in Great Britain, whether small offences or felonies. Last year there were fewer cases of murder in the whole of Great Britain than in the city of Chicago! We have been living an unnatural fevered existence, our people seem more likely to commit crime in a fit of passion. The same lack of control and disregard for law that makes our children ill mannered, allows us to break the law when we become adults. We are much too flippant about lawbreaking, it should never be held before chil- dren as an admirable course. Our disrespect for the law in America arises partly from the fact that we feel that this law often makes mistakes and frequently takes too long to reach decisions. We sometimes laugh at British courts of justice with their bewigged judges and barristers. We pride our- selves on our good sense in having cast away the old mediaeval trappings, whereas in reality we have pre- served much more of the old forms than have the British. At first glance British law courts may seem old-fashioned, 30 The Hope of the Future but they were altered fifty years ago. The ancient rules of pleading and forms of action were abolished, and the court procedure was made speedy and efficient. An EngUsh court will decide half a dozen cases in a morning while we in America would have spent all that time selecting the jury for the first case. The reason for this is that we have only altered our dress and minor details. We have introduced cuspidors into our courtrooms instead of snuff boxes. In the important matters such as choosing a jury, examining witnesses, and filing legal documents, we have the same procedure today as the British had one hundred years ago. They have had the good sense to modernize their courts, while we, who pride ourselves on being the " Twentieth Century Nation " are still continuing in the way we learned from England before 1776. One reason for the slowness of our legal proceedings is the consta,nt attempt by our lawyers to introduce irrele- vant material that they feel may help their side, and the consequent interruptions by the other attorney repre- senting the " opposition." In Britain there exists a code of honor among lawyers which prevents them from acting as we do. The word of a barrister is taken by the judge without even putting the oath. In America no one would think of believing the unsupported testi- mony of a lawyer who was interested in the case, but the British lawyers have such professional pride that they would ostracize one of their number who was caught in a false statement. This high standard of honor enables English Law and American 31 them to proceed at once to the important points in any case without wasting the time that we do over techni- cahties. Justice moves swiftly, therefore, there is very httle law-breaking in Great Britain. With the law held in great respect, it is not necessary for the police to spend their days and nights in the pursuit of criminals. Hence they are free to become the friendly advisers of anyone in trouble. To a stranger, the London police are amaz- ing. You may find them everywhere, always polite and considerate, full of desired information on the most varied of subjects. They are helping some one con- stantly but are never too busy to help just one person more. It is impossible to think of their being used as a pohtical machine and drumming up votes for their party on election day. This freedom and safety of the person has developed a belief in the importance of the individual. The Briton has a sense of his own dignity that often appears comical to us. What we ought to remember is, that he has an equal respect for the dignity of others. He has an enormous shyness about intruding in the private affairs of his acquaintances, and maintains a correspond- ing resentment against the man who tries to invade his privacy. Emerson once said, " Every Englishman is an island." He referred to the fact that the Englishman will never reveal himself even to his closest friends, as other people apparently yearn to do. He never talks about his 32 The Hope of the Future private affairs for fear that they might bore his friends, and from a general disHke of appearing a " bounder "; he never speaks of his wife and children except in answer to questions; he is extremely self-conscious and often makes himself uncomfortable by marking characteristics of behavior that only a woman would notice in America. I beheve that this extreme of dignity and good manners is carried too far. The British would get much more enjoyment out of life if they could forget once in awhile their decorum and let their natural good humor have full swing. However, they are the chief losers by this exaggerated self-consciousness; to others they appear considerate and tactful. We have sometimes thought of them as conceited. It is more accurate to consider them shy and tongue-tied in the face of the cataract of con- versation with which many Americans sweep all before them. A proper proportion of British restraint, com- bined with a lower degree of American conviviality might unite to produce the ideal type of social being. It is a fascinating study to observe how British characteristics have been modified in various ways in the different Dominions. All the members of the race have certain common traits that will always show their common origin; yet new nationalities within the Empire have been growing up, that though similar have an individuality of their own. Canada shows the influence of both Great Britain and the United States. South Africa has the Dutch strain very predominant, but Australia and New Zealand English Law and American 33 are almost entirely British in origin and development. The influence of cHmate and local circumstances has created new types of British people that ought to be better known by Americans. CHAPTER VI New Zealand The only country I have visited where both its natural beauties and its people caused me to feel myself in a veritable Paradise on earth was New Zealand. To many people, not only in America, but in Britain also, New Zealand, that small yet beautiful outermost ram- part of the British Empire is known only as a small group of islands near Australia, or as one of the group that go to make up Australasia. These terms may accurately suggest the relative size and geographical position of the Dominion, but they give only a poor indication of the distinct nationality of the people; of their pride in that distinct nationality; of their independence of thought and character; and of their vision of a future greatness. The term Australasia is not popular in New Zealand or with New Zealanders abroad, when applied to them or to their country. They always refer to New Zealand and Australia by their separate names, not because of any antipathy towards Australia, but because of an intense pride in their own little country and in their nationality. As time goes on and the two communities grow in population and impor- tance, there may arise a closer Unking of their interests and destinies for the purposes of mutual defense and New Zealand 35 commerce; but I doubt if, even then, the individuahty of the New Zealander will be materially affected. At present the serious need of the Dominion is popula- tion. Though only one seventh smaller than Great Britain and Ireland and, though equally fertile and capable of sustaining human life. New Zealand contains little more than a miUion and a quarter people. Yet the average New Zealander (and the poHcy of the govern- ment generally follows closely the average line of thought) prefers to move slowly in admitting new settlers rather than to open the ports to any flood tide of promiscuous immigration. According to the Dominion laws, none but selected European immigrants may enter, and of the Eastern and Negro races only such as can obtain permission. The country from earliest days has held this policy, the result of which is shown by the class of people who now dwell there. The average New Zealander will hear no argument against this poHcy, even though its effects upon population be pointed out. He is firm in his conviction that his country is to remain as racially pure as possible and certainly " white," and after all, can he not refer to the unfortunate experience of other countries, including America, to support him? Only a tiny stream of settlers filters into New Zealand from outside, but the natural rate of increase on account of the low death rate is among the highest of those countries which keep statistics on the subject. The outcome of her immigration policy is that New 36 The Hope of the Future Zealand, of all overseas countries, retains the closest resemblance to the home land. There you see the true British traits strongly developed; an intense, though perhaps concealed, patriotism for the King and Empire; a quiet, confident exterior; an apparent aloofness and reserve in character; yet a hearty readiness to extend genuine hospitality to strangers to whom they " take " — such hospitality as can be surpassed nowhere. The young men coming on are " chips of the old block," they evinced the fact in stubbornness, tenacity, and grim purpose in the face of odds in Gallipoli, France, and elsewhere. In at least two decisive miUtary actions in France the New Zealand Division was given posts of the greatest honor. A well known historian who visited the men in France applied to them the title of the " Silent Division," — which indicates surely the perpetuation of another British trait. The islands themselves were equally stoical during the war, the people cheerfully consenting to a poHcy of conscription (though I under- stand that this was done in order that the unwilling few, very few, should not escape service). They provided the sinews of war to an enormous extent for a country with so small a population, and voluntarily contributed the sum of five millions sterling for charitable and other purposes. One tenth of the people took the field. These facts, better than any descriptive prose give some idea of the character of the inhabitants of these fortunate isles and of the foundation stock from which one of the future nations of the Pacific will spring. New Zealand 37 One healthy feature in the distribution of population is the fact that the cities do not contain more than a fair proportion of the people. In this respect the Dominion differs greatly from the Commonwealth of Australia. The four principal cities, Auckland, Wellington, Christ Church, and Dunedin, between them have not more than 400,000. Factories do not yet exist to any extent in New Zealand. Primary production is the chief source of industry. This stimulates the growth of small towns and distributes them liberally throughout the Dominion. It is probable that this condition of affairs will always remain, even should the plentiful mineral resources of the islands be developed in the near future, and industries spring into existence. It is this equable distribution of the people that keeps the balance in matters political. In the minds of some of those who have a passing acquaintance with her experimental legislation of a couple of decades ago, New Zealand is believed to be a socialistic and labor paradise. This is a mistake, for, though democratic in spirit and in ideal, the country gives httle support to out and out Socialists and extreme labor advocates. New Zealand will never, at least in the near future, become ultra-Socialistic, or provide a happy hunting ground for the extremist. The loyalty of the New Zealander, his innate attachment to King, Empire, and the British Constitution, which he considers the freest in the world, will not permit him to subscribe to principles in conflict with these institutions. 38 The Hope of the Future As sportsmen and active participants in the most vigorous games the New Zealanders are known every- where. Probably in no other country of the world is sport so universally clean. Here the amateur has com- plete sway; professionalism is almost entirely absent. Betting on athletic grounds is strictly illegal. Rugby football is the national game and from babyhood the boys take to it as ducks to water. Yet even in this game, keen though the contests are (as keen as any base ball competition) the authorities rigidly guard the amateur status. Any suggestion of the acceptance of a fee by any outstanding player, or even the enticement of a special job to play for any district or club, means exhaus- tive investigation and, if guilt is proved, disquahfica- tion. It is the same in other branches of sport, in many of which the New Zealanders excel and from time to time have produced world's champions. With so many beautiful harbours, most of them virtu- ally land locked, yachting is one of the favorite pastimes. Fishing in the numerous rivers and around the coasts makes the country ideal for the disciples of Isaak Walton. In the bush clad mountains range many deer, as well as elk and moose, which, introduced into the South Island fastnesses some years ago, have thrived and produced progeny larger than those in their native American haunts. Like Australia, New Zealand is devoted to horse rac- ing. It is said that there is a race meeting for every day of the year in the Dominion. Betting, which is New Zealand 39 no more absent than in other countries, is legally con- fined to the race courses, where the totalisator, a mechani- cal betting medium, is the only authorized means of investment. Book makers, though they exist, are legally non-existent, and no betting by telegraph, telephone, or any other means is permitted away from the course on which the meeting is being held. Whether this idea has been a success is quite another matter. It has been said and by New Zealanders themselves that betting is their national sin. With a perpetual call to field and harbour, the New Zealander is by nature, a comparatively clean liver. Vice is not apparent. The free sale of liquor which we usually associate with vice continues there and the New Zealander drinks his full share of beer and spirits. The country has repeatedly rejected Prohibition; the ques- tion comes up for decision each triennial election, and some districts have exercised their rights of local option. Certainly the sale of liquor is not permitted except with meals after six P.M. There is no " Night Life " as the term is understood in older countries, and after ten o'clock the streets are virtually deserted. It may fairly be said that the New Zealander lives a more wholesome life than that of any other people in the world. No visitor can fail to be struck by the kindly hospital- ity and the frank cordiaHty of the people, once their outer coat of reserve is penetrated. They may be shy at first; they instinctively distrust " gush," but a friend- ship once made is a compact of good will, and the 40 The Hope of the Future stranger, once he has made friends will never want for entertainment wherever he may go in the Dominion. Introductions will always precede him and he will find a friendly hand to greet him when he reaches new parts. The home life as I saw it is simple and charming. New Zealand girls are very domestic, and should make the best of wives. On account of the small population it is difficult to find household servants. Even the children help at mealtime. I remember a dinner at the home of Mrs. Knight (her uncle Sir James Prendergast was Chief Justice of New Zealand), her son aged five and daughter aged seven served the meal. The hostess did not apologize because there were no servants. What would have been said in an American home? " Oh, it's awful. We can't get maids, no matter how much we are willing to pay." When a New Zealand family has wealth they do not feel it necessary to impress the fact upon you. It is wrong to suppose that any prejudice exists against Americans. If prejudice has been noted it is against the individual and not on account of his national- ity. The New Zealander is eager that the genuine American should visit his country and do business there or enjoy the beauty of the two islands; he does not think of national barriers and cannot conceive of any future conflict between us. In the past the visitors from America have been largely of the " drummer " type. Fortunately with the growing popularity of the islands New Zealand 41 as a tourist resort the people are learning to know us better. New Zealand is beautiful in every physical feature. There are mountain ranges almost as high as the Rockies ; lakes with bush clad shores, clear as crystal; plentiful rivers and streams cascading from great heights, or mov- ing silently and peacefully on; pasture valleys and plains of wide extent, and of wonderful fertility, covered with sheep and cattle. There are the thermal springs of Rotorua, the equal of those of Yellowstone Park, the vast cold lakes of Central Otaga and the Southern Island, and mountain climbing and glissading at Mt. Cook. Memories of these " Blessed Isles," of this Britain of the South crowd in upon me. What part are they and their inhabitants to play in the future problem of the Pacific? A sea race the people are and a sea race they will continue to be. With the greatly increased population which the years will give, with the development of rich untouched resources, with the sturdy natural independence of her sons and daugh- ters, and their confidence in their future destiny, it is impossible to foretell what the next half century may mean to New Zealand. One can only remember the growth of other new nations. If sound and wise founda- tion building can assure magnificence of super-structure, then New Zealand is destined to a high place among the nations of the future. CHAPTER VII Australian Glimpses The Australians impress a visitor from America as a buoyant people who regard sport and amusement seriously and their work Hghtly. Quite a number of the population lives on or by some game or sport. Horse racing claims most of these, with boxing possibly second. Hardly a pastime of any note in the world is without its following, and speaking generally, the smaller the number of supporters the keener is their devotion. From top to bottom the love of sport is ingrained in the Australian nation, without distinction of sex. In a large degree it is a cupboard love, in which the excite- ment of a bet and hope of gain is a strong element. This is most conspicuous in connection with the horse racing so largely indulged in under the auspices of wealthy, old fashioned, and influential clubs in each State. The crowds that attend the great meetings illustrate Australian characteristics — or what the casual observer regards as such — in various ways, some of which cause amusing reflections. The number of women present is always large and their habit of bringing their babies with them (domestic servants are scarce) excites sur- Australian Glimpses 43 prise. At one meeting I counted about fifty women carrying infants in arms, and I dare say the total was much more than this. Mark Twain once observed that " on principle " he never allowed his business to interfere with his drink- ing, and in the particular of sport, the average working man of Austraha seems to have a regard for " principle " of a similar kind. A case in point recently occurred — I think it was in Sydney, the Capital of New South Wales, — where at a large factory the whole of the working staff struck for the day because the proprietors refused, most inconsiderately, to give them all leave of absence, to " assist " at a big race meeting. Sporting traditions follow the lines of the English, and " Play the Game " is the accepted maxim. Games of exotic origin like Lacrosse, or of a scientific develop- ment that owes nothing to England or Australia itself, like base ball, have exponents in the Commonwealth but no large following. Base ball as a seasonal pastime is strongly advocated by some of the international cricketers of Austraha. Another favorite diversion in these places where it is feasible is surf bathing. Nowhere is this more con- spicuous than in the neighborhood of Sydney. The conditions here are suitable for every variety of seaside sport; fishing, yachting, open boat saihng and rowing. From the golden sands of the beaches that are so numer- ous on the coast of New South Wales, bathers old and young shoot the great breakers of the Pacific and come 44 The Hope of the Future floating in on the swell that runs incessantly along these shores; between which and South America in the lati- tudes of Chile, there is nothing intervening save a few small islands and the northern arm of New Zealand. Fatal accidents sometimes occur when the undertow is strong enough to overwhelm a swimmer, but on the whole the habit of surf bathing, so popular in Australia, is of great benefit to the general physique of the race. Another agency which has been most effective in recent yegijrs in improving the stamina, morale, and general physique of the younger generation is the system (insti- tuted in 1910 by a Federal Labour Ministry) of cadet training for all youths above a certain age, with a view to their future service in the Citizen Defence Force of the country. The Australians live in the open; they are a nation of picnickers. The mechanic, t)ie housemaid, the mem- ber of Parhament, the Supreme Court Justice, all go on their periodical picnics. People of wealth travel by motor car far out into the country, generally to a small seaside resort where the picknickers can swim before and after lunch. Those of limited means travel by ferry boats, which service is very good. I well remember one of these picnics that I attended, arranged by Lady Fuller, whose husband Sir George, is leading the opposi- tion party in the present New South Wales Parliament. Six motor cars filled with a jolly crowd of people and lots of good things to eat and drink started out early one Sunday mdrning for Palm Beach, a seaside resort many Australian Glimpses 45 miles from Sydney. What impressed me most was the way in which AustraHans take their pleasure — not sadly but in the happiest vein. They seem to get more happiness out of life than any people I have yet seen. Golf has its able exponents throughout the entire country, who are by no means confined to the richer section of society; so likewise has lawn tennis, which is extremely popular and has produced some players of the jfirst rank, able to compete and on occasion to win such a testing match as that of the Davis Cup. Australians are splendid tennis players. One trait of the working classes of Australia I find it incumbent upon me to criticize and condemn. It is their incivility. This is noticeable everywhere, in shop, in hotel, and particularly among Government employees. I remember that during one of my talks with Ex-Senator Theodore E. Burton, of Ohio, whe visited Australia when I was there, he complained about the incivility of the Australian working classes. I thought he was rather over-severe in his criticisms, but later I was com- pelled to admit the justice of them. One day we walked to the Government Tourist Office in Marttn Pla/ce, opposite the Sydney Post Office. Senator Burton wanted a railway ticket to Melbourne, and inquired if there was a train to that city on Sunday. Government Employee: "No." Senator Burton: " On Saturday." Government Employee: " Yes." Senator Burton : " If I purchase a ticket for Saturday's 46 The Hope of the Future train and cannot leave on that day, can I have it exchanged for a ticket on Monday's train? " Government Employee: " Yes " (curtly). Senator Burton: " I am not quite certain yet whether I can leave on Saturday — " And before he could finish his sentence the Government Employee, turning away, shouted, heatedly, *' After you have definitely decided what you want to do, come back for your ticket! " Trade unionism is very strong in AustraUa. The employee has the upper hand. Employers find it diffi- cult to discharge unsatisfactory workmen; so fearful are they of strikes. But I hope the working man in Australia will use his power with good sense and restraint, reahzing that his present tactics will redound to his country's detriment. It may be stated as a general rule that the Austrahan is a conservative in respect to religion. He is not fond of innovations, nor is he given to revivalism. On the average he is a shrewd, and in these matters, a self contained individual with a keen eye to material con- siderations, and generally on guard against " givijig himself away." The Roman Catholics that are not of Irish descent are so few that they may be left out of consideration and " peculiar " sects are insignificant. The Irish, on the other hand, are far from being insignifi- cant either as a religious or a political element. Extravagences in doctrine or abnormal claims to inspiration by individuals make but small impression on the Australian people, who usually regard them with Australian Glimpses 47 indifference or amused contempt. The " Mission " of the late J. A. Dowie of Zion City, some years ago was an utter failure. Mr. Dowie was regarded by his audiences in the metropolitan cities more as a figure of fun than as a minister of religion. His claims to be an avatar of the prophet Elijah were received with derision. At one meeting in Sydney he lost his temper and after pouring out a flood of invective of a particularly vulgar kind upon the audience, had to be smuggled secretly to his lodgings to avoid an ignominious " Ragging " in the street. So recently, the attempt to galvanize Spiritualism to some sort of life, which has been noticeable since the close of the War, has perhaps evoked less demonstration of credulity in Australia and New Zealand than in other parts of the British Empire. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has lately returned to England from a lecture tour undertaken for the promotion of this movement, and declared the Austrahans to be deficient in the capacity to understand such subjects. In the opinion of Sir Arthur this is a grave defect, but those who know the Australians better may be inclined to say, that they are not lacking in common sense, and are quite up to the average in the possession of the critical faculty. CHAPTER VIII The Spirit of Australia Australia is a continental island of equal size with the United States, and possesses a range of climate not unlike our own, but the hot zones lie at the North of the Continent instead of at the South. She has now about five and a half milMon people, an average of little more than one and a half persons to the square mile. The great part of the country is stiU uninhabited; only the coastal fringe to the South is well settled. Even there the people are found crowded together in the cities, as in Melbourne and Sydney. It is obvious that the great need is population — most of aU, men who will go out upon the land. The natural excess of births over deaths is too small for economic and political security. Yet the mechanical and industrial classes on the spot are often found to be opposed to poHcies of assisted immigration or other devices for attracting settlers. The opposition is sometimes open, sometimes covert. Though vigorously combated by other sections, it is yet truly representative of a large body of local opinion. The electorate of the Commonwealth as a whole has a majority in favor of accelerating the increase of popula- tion by a liberal poUcy of bringing in and planting new The Spirit of Australia 49 arrivals on the land, but is confronted with great diffi- culties in giving practical effect to any such poHcy. There is one point on which the nation is as absolutely unanimous as any nation in the world has ever been upon a single debatable question. That point is the desirabihty of keeping Australia " White "; — of retain- ing it as a land open to none but a settler of the white races and of excluding both the yellow and the black. This is an ideal, a conception of destiny, which may well touch a sympathetic chord in America and in all English-speaking countries. The natives found in Australia have never been numerous at any time since this southern continent was visited by Europeans. When first encountered, they were found to be nomads of the Stone Age, who had never developed in the arts of life sufficiently to cultivate a single square foot of the fertile country they inhabited. They were " fantastic " savages, already a fading race. Their ultimate disappearance is as inevitable as that of the still lower race who seem to have retreated before them to the South, and whose scanty remnants were found in Tasmania. The last survivor of these died about fifty years ago in Flinders Island. The Austra- lian black will die out likewise. As a factor in the Kfe of the country he is neghgible, and is now seldom seen in any of the more populous parts. He is still to be found in the North and West, but though the white population does nothing to injure him (in fact does what it can to protect and preserve him) the Austrahan 50 The Hope of the Future aborigine dies out on the approach of civilization as if contact with it was to him a fatal disease. Experience has proved that, high as may be the summer temperature in many parts of Austraha, it is nowhere necessarily unhealthy for white adults. Tropi- cal hygiene is still in its infancy, as the more thoughtful of the Australians know full well. There is positively no saying what science may effect in this realm of research in the near future. The Rockefeller Institute for several years past has been actively at work upon these problems in tropical Queensland, nor have the local governments neglected the subject. From this point of view, the fact that a country with the size and resources of Australia still remains vacant for scientific settle- ment, on a vast scale, is or ought to be pecuUarly gratify- ing, not only to those now in possession but to all the civilized world. In handling the " White Australia " policy the Federal Government has shown wisdom and moderation. The law enables them to exclude any immigrant whatsoever by means of what is known as the " Dictation Test." These laws are not appUed in a harsh or indiscriminate manner, but with due regard to the conceived interests of the country, and the claim of the applicant for admis- sion. The working classes, which are so powerful politically, are keen to prevent any interference with their economic standards and any lowering of wages. The community as a whole is eager to preserve their purity of race. Between ninety-six and ninety-seven The Spirit of Australia 51 per cent of the whites now in Austraha are derived from the four great British stocks — EngHsh, Scotch, Irish and Welsh. Such a percentage is probably as high as any One unit of the British Empire, with the exception possibly of New Zealand, Having been fortunate enough to have acquired a population of this character simply by evolution, it is natural that Austraha wishes for no radical change in the proportion of its elements, or at least that increases should be from assimilable races, whose descendants are likely to conform to the present type. The Australians have for many years been practically autonomous in local affairs. They have had a long experience in politics and self government and have progressed from the stage of Colonies to that of a great confederation, yet up to the present time, neither their State nor Federal administrations have shown any excessive inchnation to make themselves moral by Act of Parliament. They have been mainly content with reasonable liquor laws capable of being enforced, in the interest of temperate use of alcohohc drinks without undue interference with the Hberty of the individual; with measures for preventing the spread of the Social Evil and against the White Slave traffic, also with laws for the regulation of gambhng and betting. They are essentially a law abiding community. It is not that they are averse to legal experiments. In this respect they have been rather expansive, not to say grandmotherly; and well-meant attempts at making 52 The Hope of the Future things easy for the individual at the public charge, such as high old age pensions, maternity bonuses, and the like, while testifying to the humanity and sympathy of the electorate, have, I feel, been rather overdone. While the native self reliance of the Australian has not yet been sapped, it may be in danger if such policies are carried too far. Australia has been a pioneer in legislative j&elds, and so she has on her statute books many laws that have proved gross failures. Some of these same measures are now being advocated in America by our Labor leaders and politicians. The President of the Employ- ers' Association of New South Wales (Sydney) suggests that the Chambers of Commerce and Manufacturers Associations in America would do well to enter into some sort of contract with the Employers' Associations in Austraha. Industry would be benefited by a mutual exchange of views. I have no doubt that America would profit thereby. It is interesting to note that compulsory Arbitration has failed in Australia after many years' trial. It is now being brought forward in this country. It is speaking the simple truth to say that a cordial feehng and natural congeniality towards the United States exists among AustraUans. Our country has an intense interest for them and they know a great deal more of us than we do of them. They read our litera- ture, and feel that our ways are much more theirs than those of the average Britisher who has never been outside the United Kingdom. We are their seniors in coloniza- The Spirit of Australia 53 tion on a large scale, in the development under democratic conditions of a new country; we have also furnished them with a model for the federation of their formerly- disunited colonies or states. In many matters the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia follows the Constitution of the United States by the deliberate choice of its framers, and in preference to the example or precedent that they had before them in the Constitution of the Dominion of Canada. One may hazard the thought without disrespect to anyone that they " make up " to the citizens of the United States with even greater readiness and ease than they do to those from some of the other divisions of the British Empire. A visiting American is indeed rather intrigued by the relations between the native-born Australians and their English kindred. The former are thoroughly loyal to the Empire, proud of the Motherland, its history and traditions. For the British nation they have a real respect. But there are some noticeable points about their feeling for certain types of the English, and again it may be observed that these points sometimes appeal strongly to American susceptibihties. There was a time when the term " Colonial " in the mouth of an Englishman denoted inferiority. The Australian-born was the last person in the world to admit that there was any truth in such a connotation, and in the old days when he mentally pitted himself against the " new chum " from " home," it was not without reason. To many Australians the Motherland loomed largely as 54 The Hope of the Future the place where the " remittance men " came from, and it may be easily understood that the man whose relatives pay for the privilege of his absence is not likely to excite the respect or esteem of strangers. The Australian never regarded himself as a fair subject for condescen- sion from an Englishman or anyone else. Now there has been a great change; the one time deprecated Colonial has proved on the field of battle, on land and sea, and in the numerous arenas of sport, that his prowess and efficiency are quite equal to those of the homebred individual. The Motherland has learned to respect the overseas Dominions, and even in the intimacy of clubs and smoking rooms where real opinions find expression, the Englishman talks and thinks of them in a manner very different from that of former days. Good omens obtain for the enlargement of friendship and understanding between Australia and the United States. There is much in common between us. In the Commonwealth men of keenness and business abiUty abound, the population is well-to-do, the standards of living are not dissimilar. We Americans have had a considerable start of the Australians, whose career of self government did not begin till the "fifties," after the discovery of the gold-fields. The AustraUa of today began then. Its chief wealth is still derived from its woodland pastoral products. The exports of wheat, dairy products, and fruit are of steadily growing importance. It offers a fine market The Spirit of Australia 55 for trade as it has still to import so much of manufac- tured goods. In time it will be a large manufacturing country ; at present its efforts in this direction are almost entirely absorbed in trying to supply a fraction of its internal requirements. The opportunity for increased trade with the United States is still open. Our trade boomed during the war and afterwards suffered a decline, but Australia only needs the attention of our producers and exporters in order to be secured as an extensive and valuable market. The sentiment of the Austrahan nation towards America has never been better expressed than by Sir Joseph Cook while acting as Prime Minister during the absence of Mr. W. M. Hughes at the Imperial Confer- ence in London. In a pubhc utterance he remarked, — " I have never wavered in my conviction of the neces- sity and wisdom of an understanding with America. It is the one thing which offers the best hope for the stricken world. Together the United States and Britain could command such influence on the councils of the world as to ensure peace, the greatest requirement of the world today. They are our neighbors in the Pacific and we want to live in the most cordial relations with them." CHAPTER IX The American Abroad When an American goes abroad he is bound to alter his opinion of other nations. He is also Ukely to change the views he formerly held concerning his own country. The man who stays at home has not the proper chance to make comparisons. If he has never left this country he cannot really be sure that he prefers it to others or that he is an American at heart. When he goes abroad he has the opportunity to see his country as a whole and in absence may think of her as never before. In America we accept the flag as one of the ordinary facts of life, but when one has not seen it for months or years, the sudden sight of the Stars and Stripes flying over an American ship in some distant harbor brings a lump into the throat. It is in moments like these that the prosaic business man realizes that he is a sentimental- ist at heart. Perhaps it is Americans who are forced to live in exile who love their country best. Yet this is a different sort of love and patriotic feehng than that possessed by the " home folks." It is a deeper under- standing and appreciation of what America means to her own citizens and to the world at large. Her faults and virtues stand out in clear relief. One has time to The American Abroad 57 think about them and to make generalizations about them that express his point of view. For the first time he discovers the reasons that make him want to remain an American. If he is the right sort of man he should return to his country, loving her more than ever, but realizing faults that he might never have seen had he remained all his Hfe in his home town. It is not unpatriotic of him to make criticisms. As he travels about he should make it his business to observe the good points of foreign nations and discover how we can introduce them into America and whether it would be wise to make the attempt. That is the attitude of a truly patriotic man. In purely material things no one objects to this. We applaud the traveller who brings back new species of grains, fruit, or flowers. The col- lector who assembles old paintings, . Chinese porcelains, or bronze vases is considered to be enriching his home. How much more important is it to collect new ideas, pleasant customs, habits of life that have proved valuable elsewhere? Many American travellers never seem to think in this way. They are so proud of their country that they are unwilling to suggest or even to admit the possibility of any minor alteration in her life. We aU want to pre- serve our Americanism, — it is only a question of decid- ing what are its essential elements. It is the lack of discrimination between the essential and merely the accidental that makes some people insist upon American- ism in music, art or cookery. A South American dance. 58 The Hope of the Future a Russian novel, or a French salad is not going to bring the Constitution of the United States about our ears. America will be a richer and a finer land for enjoying the best that the world has to give. This attitude of prejudice against foreign ways is often pathetic. It robs the traveller of pleasure and puts him in such an antagonistic frame of mind that he cannot get acquainted with the people he meets. When a great number of Americans go abroad together they take with them the atmosphere of their home. They might just as well have stayed there, in many instances, for all the real benefit they obtain by travel. In Paris one may see them flocking about eating houses that advertise American cooking, and a very poor imitation it is, when they might be enjoying real Parisian food, probably the finest in the world. This was of course especially true of the Army. The Doughboys while with their units were really living in a part of America that had been transported bodily to Europe. Wherever they went on leave, they were still among people who made a special effort to treat them in American fashion. Sometimes the government went to ridiculous lengths in supplying the troops with American products. In Siberia, for example, they were fed on bread baked from American flour brought at great cost for thousands of miles by rail and steamers when the local warehouses were bursting with grain and flour that could not be exported for lack of transport. In this campaign the The American Abroad 59 Canadians were equally unbusinesslike. They shipped bran and hay for their transport animals all the way from Canada into the heart of Siberia, which is a great stock raising country full of fodder. In many cases ship- ments were dumped on the open ground and allowed to spoil because all the warehouse space was occupied with the local harvest. Such are the resources of strange lands. Our quartermasters never seemed to have thought that there was anything in Siberia which could be of any use to us. America is even in more need than most nations of gauging herself by progress in foreign lands. We have the most wonderful resources of any continent, which have as yet been barely scratched. For one thing, nearly half of the world's coal hes under the American flag. We found here great forest lands, rich soil, the widest variety of minerals, the world's largest deposits of oil. For developing these resources we have plenty of water power, navigable rivers, and safe harbors. The unimproved value of the continent is far in excess of that of any other. Certainly it is out of all proportion to the natural resources of Europe, where a large part of the land is barren and fit only to pasture sheep and goats. Had we developed America on the European system there is no reason why we could not have built up forty- eight separate nations, that could have rivalled in time those of Europe in population, wealth, and power. However, we have chosen to lay the foundations of a single mighty state. The present America is only 60 The Hope of the Future the beginning. What this country may in time become surpasses the abihty of imagination to conceive. We Americans are the trustees of this vast enterprise. We are still pioneers. The end of the twentieth century will see a population of at least three hundred million. We have roughly eighty years in which to prepare a na- tion on such a scale. We ought not to neglect any possible source of information to which we have access. I am certain that it is our duty to ransack the globe for the soundest ideas, that we may incorporate them in the wonderful America that is to be. We can no longer tolerate pettiness and provincialism, with hand and brain we must reach out to take the best that the world has to offer. We should go abroad in the attitude of learners, seeing the virtues of our neigh- bors and being ever ready to praise them, passing over their faults and faiHngs, for we do not wish to bring back to America anything but the best. In the past we have taken freely from the experiences of other nations. Our language and most of our legal system came from England. The Christian Faith which sways the Western World can be traced back to the hills of Judea. It is Oriental, Asiatic; yet how superior it is to any idea that Asia has to offer today! The least that we can do is to bear in mind the benefits we have received, — we cannot be sure that we have learned all that we need from the outside world. We cannot afford to build a wall around ourselves. Were that done, we should find that the world would The American Abroad 61 worry along somehow without us, just as they have managed to get on without us for the greater part of recorded history. But in that event we should be thrown back upon ourselves. A sort of national inbreed- ing would result, leaving us immeasurably poorer than now. CHAPTER X A Glance at American Government Abroad A real devotion to our country is bound to lead us to make a critical examination of ourselves. This self- analysis may sometimes prove painful, but it is neces- sary. We must persist in it from time to time, for it will be fatal to us to lapse into a state of complete self- satisfaction; that is the beginning of decay. After all, it is much better to make criticisms of our own conduct than to hear foreigners doing it. We can only bear that with difficulty; especially if we realize in our hearts that the charge they are making is true. We have flared up indignantly at the attacks of visitors and many of our distinguished foreign critics have after- wards bitterly repented their expression of opinion. When we were a young nation we were even more sensitive than we are to-day. Dickens lost much of his popularity here because he wounded our feelings. I can remember old ladies, very fond of Dickens, who could never bring themselves to read Martin Chuzzle- wit, because in that book the author speaks disrespect- fully of the United States. We are now an older nation, we have made our place in the world. It is not a matter of common knowledge. A Glance at American Government Abroad 63 even among Americans, that we are the oldest of the great powers in regard to the form of government, yet the Stars and Stripes antedates the present flag of any of the great nations. A moment's glance at the history of the last century will remind us that all the great nations are newly organized. Modern France and Ger- many date from 1871; the new Germany can really be said to date from 1918; Italy was born in the Sixties; The United Kingdom as at present constituted was set up in Pitt's Act of Union of 1800. The British Empire is largely a growth of the last Century; Japan was opened to the world in 1852 ; the Chinese Republic was founded in 1910. Russia will have to make a fresh start before she can be reckoned among the powers. These changes sweeping over the greater part of the world leave the United States, with a Constitution drawn in 1787, as a veteran among the nations, — quite a para- doxical situation, when it is remembered that we are generally considered to be still adolescent. It is true that as a nation we are young, but our form of govern- ment has now continued almost unchanged for one hundred and forty years. Not only is our Constitution venerable, but it has become a model upon which many other governments have since been organized. We can well take pride in the extent to which our ideas of government have triumphed. It is not too much to say that no new nation has been successfully founded since 1776 that has not borrowed more or less from us. The plan of a 64 The Hope of the Future republic, with a written constitution, a president, and an independent legislative and judicial organization has been widely adopted. All of South America, most of Europe, and the New Republic of China have incorporated some or all of these ideas in their government. The idea of a Federal system has been copied in the British Dominions and is now being considered seriously as the only method by which the British government can cope with the enormous pressure of work it has to do. A mighty challenge to our very basic principles has been made lately by the foundation of the Bolshevic regime in Russia. As things seem now, this challenge is likely to fail. Russia will probably in the end adopt a form of government something like ours. Under these circumstances we can afford to smile indulgently at our critics. There is no more need to be extremely sensitive about our institutions. They have proved themselves, and are not likely to be easily changed. But we shall need all our self composure. The War has thrust us into the center of the world's stage; willingly or unwillingly we are playing a leading r61e. It is only to be expected that we shall receive praise or blame for almost everything that happens now in international affairs. Students of politics will realize that blame is likely to predominate over praise, no matter what we do. We might as well get used to it, and become reconciled to being unjustly blamed for the condition of the Armenians, the revolutions in Central A Glance at American Government Abroad 65 America, or the fate of the Polish Jews. It is part of the price we must pay for being great and relatively pros- perous. This new position of importance ought to force us to reconstruct our Diplomatic and Consular services. In the past we have had no regular training for even the most responsible places. Our ambassadors have usually been chosen from successful pohticians and business men. On the whole their record is a magnificent one. Pitted against trained diplomats who have devoted years to the study of their craft and the mastery of foreign languages, they have had only their native shrewdness and the experience of local politics. The experience of the last century and a half, however, would seem to suggest that the rough and tumble of American poHtics is about as good a training as any other. In our less important positions we have hardly been so fortunate. Many of our Consuls and Ministers have obtained their posts because their party was embarrassed by their presence at home. In too many cases they are unable to speak the language of the nation to which they are sent. Such a contingency ought never to occur. Our chief failure has been the inadequate salaries paid, and the small sums of money allotted for buildings and expenses. In most parts of the world prestige is of greater' importance than in America. The chief Euro- pean nations reaUze how to impress the populace by a little judicious display, and particularly by having their consular and ^diplomatic offices in accord with the dignity 66 The Hope of the Future of the country they represent, whereas we have been content with small and dingy buildings on back streets that must be sought with a guide. The Powers of Europe have handsome structures on the principal streets that are fit representations of their position in the world and a compliment to the local pride of the inhabitants, who are thus impressed in the most direct way by these embassies and consulates. If we are mean and niggardly in this matter foreign nations will form a poor opinion of us. As a rule we are careless of the world's opinion, but it would be merely sound business sense to provide more adequately for our foreign services. As long as we maintain them, they should be worthy of America. In the matter of dress our diplomatic representatives from the very first adhered to a poUcy of simplicity that has been a distinct success. They have always appeared at state functions attired in the plain conventional black of the simple private citizen, minus ribbons, stars, or decorations. In the crowd of gorgeous diplomats, all striving to out-dazzle the other with elaborate uni- forms, our simplicity stands out in sharp contrast. It is far more effective than any other dress could be. This custom had its origin in the democratic tastes of the founders of the United States, but now it is really a colossal piece of effective advertising, although we have never intended it as such. In these modern days, titles, orders, and decorations are beginning to look extremely ridiculous. We may well congratulate our- A Glance at American Government Abroad 67 selves that we have never succumbed to the temptation of introducing them into America. I cannot close this chapter without a word of apprecia- tion for the many kindnesses that I have received from members of our Diplomatic and Consular Corps. In spite of some misfits, they are a splendid body of men who are often compelled to do their work under singu- larly trying circumstances. They are constantly being called upon for favors, and are expected to be always patient and polite with even the most vexatious traveller. They are obHged to work long years away from home, and often in the most unpleasant places; they are not adequately rewarded. Engaged in the service of their countrymen, they rarely receive even thanks for their labors. Theirs is a task to be more amply rewarded by our government in the future. CHAPTER XI Some Difficulties of a Democracy In our brief history we have been fortunate. Nature has blessed us with all her gifts in abundance. The military rivalries of the great powers have passed us by. We are sometimes inclined to take credit for this good fortune and to consider it to be superior wisdom that has made us prosperous above others. It is easy to take our stand on the cold facts and to make any claims we please — nobody can deny them. We cherish a subconscious belief that our good fortune can be laid to our RepubHcan form of government and our Constitu- tion, and that if the nations of Europe had only been endoWed with the sense to follow our example, the War would never have occurred, and that they might share our well being. Despite the grain of truth in this idea, it fails to appre- ciate the problems and difficulties that Europe has inherited from the past. Things may all look pleasant and simple from this side of the water, but a thousand obstacles appear when any of our schemes is put into practice over there. For example, we are now impatient with^Russia for substituting a Red Dictatorship in place of the Wd Autocracy of the Czardom. Some Difficulties of a Democracy 69 The real trouble there is the lack of education among the masses. When only a small percentage of citizens can read and write, democracy can be practiced only on the village scale. Representative government cannot be conducted because the voters are unable to keep in touch with those they have elected after they have left the neighborhood. An autocracy of some sort is bound to obtain until the spread of knowledge makes it unneces- sary. Democracy is at present a geographical impossi- biUty for Russia. One institution which never fails to evoke our amused and contemptuous comment is the pomp of royalty. We Uke to talk about the extravagance of kings and courts, and the burden they prove to the body of citi- zens who are taxed to pay for monarchical magnifi- cence. It is quite true that royalty is an outgrown institution, and that it costs a great deal of money, but no Czar, Kaiser, King or Sultan ever spent the tax- payer's coin so lavishly as does our Government of the People, by the People, and for the People. The American system of President, Senate, and House of Representatives, forty-eight Governors and State Legislators, a separate State and Federal scheme of Judges and Courts, with all the Government Depart- ments, State officials and Civil Servants, results in the most expensive government on earth. Bankrupt nations may well look askance at the " high cost of Democracy " as we practice it. They may reasonably think that a king and a few nobles are cheap in comparison and well 70 The Hope of the Future worth their cost. This is doubly true when the nobility- can be kept in funds by marrying them to the daughters of American millionaires. In fact, Europe in time of peace has been far shrewder than we in government finance. We have never had even a Budget. To put it plainly, this means that we spend our money each year without ever finding out how much we have to spend. In the House and Senate we vote appropriations until everyone is satisfied, then we add the sum and tell the wretched taxpayer what he must pay. In Europe the Finance Minister first finds out how much can be raised, and then the spending departments are rationed to fit the nation's purse. Here Congress votes the money first and then comes before the American people in sublime faith that they will pay any amount, no matter how immense. So far they have always done so. In his classic work, " The American Commonwealth," Lord Bryce drily remarks, that America has the glorious privilege of youth; the privilege of making mistakes without suffering the consequences. We have much to improve and correct before we can pose as a model before the world. But we have been quick to preach our superiority. No sooner have we taken any legislative step in America, than missions go abroad to influence others to follow our example before we have even tested out our new plan. Thus National Prohibition had been barely adopted, before a movement got under way to spread its blessings all over Some Difficulties of a Democracy 71 the world. This was no doubt sincere and an evidence of our wish to benefit others, but it was hardly wise to be so hasty. The world will watch the operation of Prohibition here, and if it is successful, will learn from our experi- ment. Our Prohibition missionaries have aroused resent- ment and provoked amusement rather than advanced their cause. Prohibition in Great Britain will be forever associated with the nickname of " Pussyfoot." It was a tactical error for Mr. Johnson to interfere in the British campaign. He partly redeemed his mistake by his sporting attitude when one of his eyes was knocked out. In Scotland the American speakers were a hindrance to their side. They would have been wiser not to take an active part in campaigns abroad, even if invited. A " Big Drive " in America has recently resulted in the raising of a large sum of money for religious purposes. Much of this money has been used for the relieving of distress in the devastated areas. This is a necessary task, and American help has been greatly appreciated. Now, however, the people of Rome are greatly worried by the rumor that one of the high hills near the city has been purchased with this fund and that it is proposed to build on its crest a group of buildings in the American style, which shall be a center of rehgious and educa- tional propaganda. The Itahans violently object. They do not want our buildings to spoil their skyhne or alter the appearance of their city. They do not care to be " propagandized." We cannot well blame them, for 72 The Hope of the Future under similar circumstances, we should feel similar resentment. In India one sees other American propagandists at work, giving the Indian people a false idea of what Western civihzation means. I refer to the missionaries of all sorts of peculiar sects who, while they may be honest and sincere, do not represent any important American opinion or rightly reflect American life. Freak rehgions appeal strongly to the sensitive and mystical Hindu mind. Accordingly they are responsive to the preacher who tells them of the approaching end of the world. They readily learn to " Speak with Tongues" or to heal disease by means of blessed handkerchiefs. How can the uneducated Indian know that these forms of rehgious beHef are not widely held in America? How can he be expected to discriminate between various missionaries? It seems a pity that there cannot be some sort of censorship of these ambassadors of religion who are supposed to represent America. CHAPTER XII The Golden Calf In material resources America is well fitted to assume the leading place she now holds. Can we honestly claim to have the moral superiority that we sometimes pre- tend to possess? I beheve that we do have a people of sterling moral qualities. At bottom we are sound in character and free from unworthy purposes in our international dealings. Yet we are far from being able to pose as an example to others. So preoccupied are we with the search for wealth that we have not yet had time or energy to devote attention to the finer sides of life. It is not that we love money more than other nations; in fact, the American people are very generous, neither miserly nor greedy. We love not money but the pursuit of it. Everyone knows of AMERICA as the land of the DOLLAR. Making money is our national occupation which we have developed into a science, an art, a sport, a religion. All the energy of our American nature has been devoted to this purpose, to the neglect of other considerations. Gilbert Murray, himself a very good friend of America, says that this is the land of things between Birth and 74 The Hope of the Future Death. He means that America as yet knows little of the things that lie beyond Birth and Death. Our past history records the achievement of the highest state of material civilization ever reached by any people. In the future we must put a meaning and a purpose into that civilization, if we are to be saved from crude materialism. Accused of vulgarity and bad taste we have never even taken the trouble to deny it. Instead of concealing our lack of taste, we shout it for everyone to hear. The Hotels of Europe are filled with our tourists who are now called the " New Barbarians." The harsh sound of their strident voices can be heard above all other tones; the rustle of their dollar bills, the " Honk " of their automobiles is everywhere. Europe stands bowing and smirking at the hotel door, secretly taking revenge by charging unheard of prices for whatever the rich Americans may fancy. So little do we care about our reputation that we advertise our crimes and scandals by cable and wireless to all the world. They are " News," and we cheerfully boast about our political corruption, our violations of law, our lynchings to whomever we may. The race riot at Tulsa, Oklahoma, was " The Greatest Race Riot Ever Staged." Ignorant foreigners reading their papers are amazed at our wickedness. I do not believe that our politics are more corrupt than that of any other people but they are popularly supposed to be, because we have so persistently advertised our failings. The Golden Calf 75 The news which we send abroad is not calculated to improve our good name. Of late years this unfavorable impression has been strengthened by the " Movie " films, which we have produced. It is extremely unfortu- nate that these films are sent broadcast everywhere, to all sorts of places. They are tremendously popular, especially when they are sensational. The producers cannot be expected to understand the bad effects these films sometimes stimulate in less civil- ized lands. In India, for instance, they have a vicious effect. It is a great mistake to show the populace white women misconducting themselves on the screen. This lessens the respect in which they hold the whites, and so causes great embarrassment to the British Govern- ment, who have endeavored for many years to maintain high standards of conduct as an example to the people. It is a tragedy that this respect should be impaired by our " Movie " films. It is also a foohsh poHcy for us to allow our films to go before Japanese audiences without first making certain that nothing is shown that will cause them to despise us. The love-making scenes offend the Japanese sense of decency, and cause them to look upon us as barbarous. We suffer also in America from the character of the news that our various press associations send us from abroad. It is not primarily their fault. They are bound to supply the news which the pubHc demands or go out of business. Thus they are constantly sending sensational accounts of scandals in high Hfe, fake scientific 76 The Hope of the Future discoveries, and back stairs gossip that has no bearing upon the events of the day. When our reading pubUc is educated to demand reUable information and well written articles of real merit, they will get them. That day seems to lie far in the future. We have some newspapers that treat the supplying of news as a pubUc service and not as a money making pursuit. We need more of them, but they must neces- sarily be in advance of popular demand. We are fortunate in the advocacy of the press abroad. In Great Britain the hundred newspapers and periodicals owned or controlled by Viscount Northcliff have a permanent poUcy of friendship with the United States. Concerning home affairs their policies change, but never in regard to America. They make it a rule in The Times, London, to print only news from America that is favorable to us, regardless of the fact that more papers could be sold and temporary journahstic successes scored by publishing sensational attacks upon us. This is a policy of statesmanship and patriotic service that puts to shame the peddling of vulgar rumors which often passes for news with us. A newspaper need not always inflame the populace to war and hate, it can perform tre- mendous public services by building friendship between nations. I believe that our American press is coming to reaUze its power and opportunity in improving our foreign relations. But a clearer exchange of ideas is not all that is needed to give America the place in the world's esteem that she The Golden Calf 77 might enjoy. Our besetting sins of money worship and vulgarity must be overcome. It is only through toil, suffering and hardship that nobility of character may be achieved, be it by man or nation. The strength of America today was gained by our sturdy pioneers in their struggle with the wilderness. Had hfe been as easy for them as it is for us today, this generation would not be so strong and capable as it is. We must find more in Ufe than the chase after gold or our descendants will be born into an atmos- phere of sordid materialism that deadens the mind and spirit. God forbid that America should ever be forced to undergo the suffering that some of the nations of Europe have undergone in the last terrible years — but that would be better than losing our souls through soft living. CHAPTER XIII Immigration in the New World Our first duty to the world as well as to ourselves is to develop a wholesome people. Although this country- has a population that is composed of elements drawn from all races, there still persists a dominant strain of the old Colonial stock, primarily British in origin. After the Revolution this strain continued for several decades, untouched by the influence of other racial groups, hence the tone of our national life is today set by the men and women who trace their families back to 1840 on American soil. This is the part of the popula- tion that has made EngUsh the language of America. In the Forties and Fifties came two streams of immi- grants who have now almost become merged in the primary strain and who now on the whole re-enforce its authority and importance. The first were the Irish who were driven overseas by the potato blight and the ensuing famine in the Forties, and the second were Germans who came after the failure of the Revolution of 1848. This was the composition of our people when the Civil War came. After the War, when the West began to boom, streams of immigrants poured in again. This time many Scandi- navians were among them, while after 1870 the number of Germans declined. This falling off of the latter was due Immigration in the New World 79 to the growth of the German Empire and to its policy of holding all subjects at home for industrial and military expansion. So far the American policy of keeping " open house," for all comers proved a decided success. It had built up our population to over sixty-five million in the beginning of the Nineties. This population was in the main homogeneous and capable of being welded into a compact unit, but there were notable exceptions. The Negroes have been gradually spreading north- ward. Their rate of increase has not been quite as rapid as that of the Whites, but it is nevertheless sub- stantial. The climate of North America has caused their brain sutures to close at a later period in hfe so that their brain capacity is approaching slowly the Cau- casian standard. Tuberculosis is decreasing their vital- ity and city life seems to be very unwholesome for them, as it is for more sophisticated races in lesser degree. They are a great and increasing problem, the solution of which is not now apparent. America has made up her mind not to allow a similar problem to be created on the Pacific Coast. In the days of the gold rush many Chinese came over and monopo- lized the truck garden and laundry trade there. They were mostly single men. A Chinese Exclusion Act prevented their numbers from increasing and as they left no children the numbers of Chinamen have steadily decreased. They have now ceased to be a problem. During the last thirty years has occurred a movement of immigrants that has caused the United States to 80 The Hope of the Future reverse its time honored policy. This is the increasing stream from the South and East of Europe. The new- comers up to 1890 were from races that readUy mixed with the Americans abeady here; as they came in moderate numbers, and as they were absorbed in the mass of population. We were not conscious of any immigrant problem and were proud of holding out a welcome hand to all the oppressed and stricken folk who cared to come. In the years before the Great War the immigrants came pouring in, during some years of prosperity num- bering as many as a million and a quarter. The Atlantic Steamship lines built monster vessels with especially large accommodations for third class passengers. They advertised cheap rates to New York. Men who had a smaU start sent for their families and friends who settled in the same neighborhood. Thus the newcomers began to be segregated into special districts generally in the New England and North Atlantic States, and almost always in or near the large cities. Prominent in this human tide were the Italians, Russians, Austrians, and Poles. They swarmed to the industrial centers, where unskilled labour was utilized. Places like Fall River or Pittsburg became almost foreign cities. Two thirds of the population of New York are now of foreign born parentage. Boston and Chicago have as great a percentage. Foreign language newspapers flourish; one may hear dozens of different tongues in a single day. This flood of immigrants still Immigration in the New World 81 remains unassimilated. Many of them are splendid material for citizenship, but they have been coming too fast and our institutions cannot cope with them. Before the War we felt that some new poHcy must be adopted. The War gave us at once a warning and an opportunity. In the Balkan Wars the effects were felt in our mining camps where battles were fought over again between rival groups of partizans. The World War was a direct challenge to the very unity of America. It became gradually clear to us that we could not exist as a nation if we allowed our immigrants to maintain a dual patriotism. The issue lay between those who would use America for the advantage of their European homeland, and those Americans who felt that this was the time to cast away all divided allegiance and put America first. We felt that, with this alien mass in our midst, we were in danger and that a similar crisis must find us a unit for peace or war. We have come to realize that we dare not tolerate the " Hyphenated American." Anyone who comes to our shores to live should come with single-minded allegiance and with the intention to make his adopted country his own. This has resulted in campaigns of Americaniza- tion carried on by employers and patriotic societies, and in a new immigration law which limits the arrivals from any country in a year to three per cent of those of the same origin already in the country. This will allow a maximum of 350,000 a year. As some 82 The Hope of the Future nationalities will not take full advantage of the law, the probable average is much lower. It is a question whether the figure is still too high. Some European nations are taking advantage of its provisions to ship over as many of their unemployed as they can. I quote from the Genoa correspondent of The Times Trade Supplement (London) of July 2nd, 1921. "There are at present in Italy 250,145 employed workers on short time. The situation is aggravated by the action of the United States Government in limiting the annual number of Itahan immigrants to 40,000. With the object of improving the labor situation it has, however, been arranged that four Italian shipping companies shall dispatch until further notice one vessel monthly each with 1,000 immigrants for the States, provided the latter furnish proof that they have relations and work awaiting them there." Here is The Times (London) as evidence that the Italian Government is dumping its unemployed on us as fast as the law allows. This may help the domestic situation in Italy, but it is an abuse of our hospitality, which we would be wise to stop. It is an open secret that in sending immigrants to America various European States will pass only those whom they do not wish to keep. All fine, healthy men are refused permission to go. It is also quite plain that if aU the available space is taken by unemployed whom the government is shipping out of the country, there is no room for desirable immigrants. Immigration in the New World 83 We have imposed some physical tests but they are largely to keep out those suffering from some virulent disease. There has been little attempt to influence our future racial stock by selective tests of health, mental- ity, physical fitness, etc. It is true that we ask all immigrants if they are anarchists, but it is very rarely that any real Anarchist would admit the fact if he had any aim in coming to America. In the matter of immigration laws we have much to learn from the Dominions. They are not at all afraid to debar anyone they wish. They have been careful of their own racial purity and rather careless whose feehngs were hurt in preserving it. They have even appUed rigorous exclusion to Indians and other Asiatics who are also British subjects. In some cases they have excluded all Chinese and Japanese and seem to have made their peace with the Japanese government. We do not wish to exclude the Japanese by name for fear of wounding their pride. I suggest that if the issue were settled definitely now, they would grow reconciled, as they have done in the case of the British Dominions, while if we allow it to drag along without settlement it will mean more trouble in the end. It is ridiculous to suppose that we dare not follow the example of Australia and New Zealand in attacking this problem bravely and arriving at a sane and prompt solution. CHAPTER XIV Japan In the last Chapter I mentioned the fact that the question of our relations with Japan is being brought to our attention more insistently every day. Many aspects of these relations are complex and not easy to pass judgment upon. Some facts emerge clearly; one is that the Japanese people have been growing at a rapid rate for the last fifty years. This growth has been stimu- lated by the government, which has helped to bring it about and then has adduced the fact as a reason for taking over more territory. It would be mere hypocrisy for us to blame them unduly. This policy is only borrowed from the Cauca- sian nations. However, Japan has been introducing religion to assist in its political schemes in a pecuharly menacing way. Since the rise of Imperial Japan the Shinto ReHgion has been fostered by the state and the attempt has been made to bring every Japanese within its fold, even when holding other religions. It is a cult half religious, half patriotic, which centers around the worship of ancestors, and more particularly the ancestors of the Emperor. This upholds the dynasty, increases patriotism, welds the nation closer together, and tends Japan 85 to increase the population; for every man will naturally wish a large number of children to worship his departed spirit. So children big and little, generally in crying need of a handkerchief, are a most conspicuous part of any Japanese landscape. The rate of increase is high. The people need more land and food. Accordingly, Japan has taken Formosa, Korea, Sakhalin, Southern Man- churia and Shantung and is endeavoring to absorb Mongolia and Eastern Siberia. From the Japanese point of view this is very simple, but these lands have been occupied by other races, who are now suffering under Japanese domination and are appealing to us for help. The peoples of the mainland of Asia are united in dread and dislike of Japanese aggression. They look across the Pacific to America as the one nation who is likely to aid them. We have two strong motives for curbing this new imperiahsm: — first, our natural sympathy for people who are forced to submit to a foreign rule; secondly, the protection of our own interests. The Japanese wish to estabHsh a Monroe Doctrine for Asia. This would be very unHke our poHcy in South America or the poUcy of the British Empire. We have practiced a poUcy of open trade and equal rights for all nations. Wherever the Japanese flag goes in Asia we may expect to see our trade wither away, for they practice a complete com- mercial exploitation that forces out the traders of other countries. 86 The Hope of the Future Our commercial travellers are learning to avoid the parts of Asia occupied by Japan. Their samples are " lost," their goods delayed for months in Japanese ports, their price hsts stolen, their patented articles most brazenly counterfeited. If other means fail, another hindrance to our trade lies in the system of rebates granted to Japanese merchants on Japanese ships and railways. It is easier for us to do business in Japan itself than in their annexed territories. If Japan's " Monroe Doctrine " becomes a fact, then much of our trade in Asia is doomed. The most menacing aspect of the present situation lies in the grip the Japanese now hold along the coast and in the ports and harbors. They have been bottling up China so that we must cross Japanese influence to get to the Chinese. They are now engaged in taking hold of the vital communication centers of Eastern Siberia. In the Russo-Japanese War they gained the South Manchurian Railway as far as Chang Chung. Now through subsidized mercenaries they have planted themselves in Harben and Nikelsk. These are the three important railway junctions. They are at Vladi- vostok, the only ice-free port in Siberia, the place where in future American goods must pass through in order to arrive in the interior. This country of Siberia is twice the size of the United States, a land of marvellous potentialities. Its climate is too cold to suit the Japanese and they probably will never try to settle it. But they are trying to hold the Japan 87 coast line and important railway centers. If they suc- ceed they will be able to shut off our goods from the interior and turn all that vast market of the future over to Japan. I beHeve that if the Japanese move into the vacant lands themselves and wish to extend their own govern- ment, they have a perfect right to do it; but that is a very different affair from establishing a strangle hold upon the commerce of other nations. We must keep the road clear to all people who may wish to trade with us. Not only for ourselves should we stand by the " Open Door," but we should support it as a principle that benefits all peoples, both buyer and seller. It is the only fair way of dealing. We should not seek for America any advantages which are not shared by all, but should strenuously oppose any nation that seeks to deny us a fair chance. China feels that we are her friend. She is turning to us in politics and education; she is a great market for our goods and will be even more important to us in the future. At present we are preferred to the British because the latter are still in alliance with Japan. The Chinese have instituted a boycott of Japanese goods, their only weapon — and this aversion is extending to British products. From a purely commercial point of view, we could sell American products in Asia by capital- izing the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the hostility it evokes for our own benefit. In the long run this pohcy would be short-sighted and foohsh, — for it would run 88 The Hope of the Future counter to our larger interests, — international friend- ship, disarmament, and a lasting peace. We ought to make it known to Great Britain that this AlHance would complicate her neutrality in a possible war. Alliances always do. It will always be a stumbhng block in the way of complete friendship between us. Yet we should reahze that Britain cannot evade this bond or break it as easily as she made it. A complete break would place Japan in an intolerable position and might force a war. If the Alliance is maintained as at present it will drag Britain still more into support of policies which are contrary to her real interests. Any student of history knows that an alliance does not check the undesirable aims of one power. It only limits the possibiUty of their being controlled. An ally may complain under its breath, but in the end its business is to give support. Britain has viewed with alarm the rising Imperialism of Japan, but her hands have been tied. The only way out of the difficulty lies in reaching an understanding between Japan, China, Great Britain and the United States. We must combine for China's protection. The Dominions that border the Pacific should be included. They have the same desire to preserve peace and security. We desire nothing for ourselves that we do not also desire for Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan. We do not wish to hem in the Japanese people, — they have a right to growth. Nothing that we do or say should cause them to feel we are trying to injure them. Japan 89 Above all, in dealing with Japan we ought to remember that the great mass of the nation is not responsible for the policy of the government under which they live. This is true of all nations; it is much more true of Japan. There, less than ten per cent have the vote. When it is exercised, the only result is the election of the Diet, a body whose will is at any moment likely to be over- ridden by the Elder Statesmen, who are in control of the military clans. When we speak of the aggression of Japan, we mean the plans of a few old generals, trained in the bad old diplomacy that has failed in Europe. If we are fair and honest with Japan the probability is that a wave of liberal feeling will in the near future sweep over the Island Empire. Her citizens are most heavily taxed; they can be trusted to put an end to militarism if they have a chance. We should not play upon the fears of Japan or wave the " Big Stick." That will only give a new lease of power to the autocrats. Her Foreign Office reaUzes only too well that Japanese resources are not adequate for a modern war. When all nations of the Pacific are grouped around the council board, I believe they will not be long in coming to a reasonable settlement. We do not want an Alliance of the Pacific; — what we want is protection for the weaker nations and a reasonable opportunity for all to develop in their own way, toward what they beheve to be their destiny. CHAPTER XV Thr Future of Western Civilization The question of our relations with Japan comes now before us, yet it is only a small part of a much greater problem that over-shadows the future, namely, — what is to be the relationship between the dominant Western civihzation and the less advanced Eastern culture. Behind Japan stand the millions of China, India, Africa, and the East Indies, with the mixed races of Central America and the Carribean Archipelago. This problem, though not crying for immediate solution, is growing silently. Some day it may burst in a storm of racial conflict, unless a wise and statesmanUke attitude on our part can avert disaster. Back of this question lies the history of the last four hundred years, — a record of cruelty, of sordid commer- cial exploitation that we would like to forget. We may indeed forget it, but will the other races forgive us? They are now advancing in education and power. Will they attempt a new imperialism or endeavor to take revenge for centuries of subjugation and slavery? It is too late to halt the progress of the Eastern peoples. So far have they travelled on the road to power that we cannot turn them back. We must be prepared gradu- The Future of Western Civilization 91 ally to share with them the privileges which have hitherto been ours alone. Our question of difference lies in the method by which we mean to lead these races to a position of equality with ourselves. America has maintained a policy of non-interference. To all applicants, we gladly give good advice. We pride ourselves on letting other people alone; we believe that they have a right to mismanage their own affairs. We are suspicious of European Imperialism. It is use- less to try to conceal the dislike which the word Empire evokes among the vast majority of Americans. The greatest gulf between Britain and America lies in this difference in attitude. (The Irish question is only a small part of the issue.) Americans think back to the time of the War of Independence. In those days we found British rule oppressive and so broke away from what was then the Empire. All our national pride centers around this separation, which we feel made possible our subsequent growth and prosperity and brought us to our present important place in the modern world. We cannot help thinking, (privately at least) that we pointed the way to the remaining portions of the British Empire and set them a wise example. When any subject people sets up a new nation and establishes its independence, we experience a thrill of sympathy. To us they can always look for support. This spirit reflects credit upon our qualities of warm- heartedness and human brotherhood. Yet our sym- 92 The Hope of the Future pathy is not always well placed for it often overlooks the practical aspects of the situation and the real interest of the peoples involved. We hold a prejudice against the British Empire as such largely because we fail to understand it. History is on our side. No Englishman will deny that there is much in the past that ought never to have happened. Many of the acts and motives of Empire builders would not accord with present ideas of morality. The only point of importance now is that we are faced with results, and no amount of argument about the past affects the problem of what we shall do with the Empire that has been created. The country which can best serve as an example is India. Here the British came as traders into an Empire that was on the point of breaking up. The Mogul Emperors had lost their grip and the country was falling into anarchy. Robber states sprang up and lived by plundering their neighbors. The East India Company was on the spot with a few trusty British soldiers. In order to protect their own interests, they were compelled to embark on the stormy political sea of the times. Without realizing it they became masters of the mighty Empire. The disintegration of other govern- ments left them in complete control, and what is more important, with the responsibility for the welfare of millions of helpless natives. It was a private company engaged in trade that attained this power. When the mutiny came and The Future of Western Civilization 93 British lives were endangered, the government was compelled to take over the administration to protect lives and property, and it has been saddled with the responsibihty ever since. Even should they wish to do so, it is impossible for the British to rehnquish their hold. It would be of no benefit for India to change masters, to pass, for instance, under American, Russian, Japanese, or German control. No one suggests that the British are not as competent as anyone to rule there. Most people would be willing to admit that experience has made them more capable than we should be. We hear agitation for Home Rule in India. The British Govern- ment is proceeding as rapidly as it dares with a program for giving the Indian people more power. The present poHcy of the Government is to provide education, and as fast as the people are capable of self-government turn the administration over to them. It may have been wrong for the British ever to enter India. It would certainly be wrong for them to leave her until she is prepared to govern herself. They are doing only their plain duty by remaining even in the face of criticism and hostihty. If the British left India to her fate she might be conquered by another nation If that did not happen, she would certainly become the victim of internal anarchy. Her people are divided into rehgious groups who are always eager to fly at each other's throats. Of late the leaders of both Hindus and Mohammedans have shown an inchnation to unite, but 94 The Hope of the Future this tendency has not extended to the rank and file of their followers. Even if the natives should live in peace, nothing could protect the plains of Northern India from the ravages of the wild tribes of the Northwest Frontier and Afghanis- tan. These warlike hillmen would plunder the peaceable farmers and the rich cities alike. There is a common proverb among them that if the British should depart, in a few weeks there would remain not a virgin nor a rupee in Bengal. Those who complain of British rule in India little realize that Britain can fulfill her duty- only by continuing that rule until the country is able to govern itself. In America we are unaware of the importance of the fact that Britain practically keeps the peace of Asia. Certain industries are utterly dependent upon the preservation of that peace. The rubber for our motor tires is produced largely in the Malay States and the East Indies. From the Malay States also comes tin, that indispensable product for modern food preservation. The world is so small and closely linked that we would be disastrously affected by any outbreak in the East. A short time ago the Ameer of Afghanistan died and was succeeded by a nephew who assumed an anti- British policy. The result was a flame of unrest that swept the Mohammedan world, and finally led to an uprising of the Moros in the far away Philippines. Britain is now the trustee of the Mohammedan peoples, many of whom are restless and a constant menace. The Future of Western Civilization 95 Some nation or group of nations must exercise control — a necessary but thankless task. We can well be glad that we receive all the benefits of peace with a minimum of effort to maintain it. It would be perilous indeed were the dissatisfied elements among the Mohammedans to combine with the military party in Japan, or con- versely, with the Bolshevic Government. More than any other factor it is Britain who is keeping these explo- sive forces from uniting to produce a general debacle in the East. In America we must think as we have not be- fore thought, of the effect of our pohcy in Asia. Even unofficial newspaper articles may cause a con- siderable disturbance there. Above all, we should never adopt in the East what can be interpreted as an anti-British policy. That would divide the forces that are working for peace and order. It is only those who desire to overturn civilization for their own purposes that would rejoice. The military chiefs of Japan, the revolution mongers of Eastern bazaars, the Communists of Moscow, the Junkers of Berlin, — these would wel- come a break between Britain and America. CHAPTER XVI The World an Economic Unit All talk of international friendship is discounted by certain critics, who think they have discovered that the moving force in the world is money. " Behind all mili- tary and naval rivalries, diplomatic contests, and popu- lar hatreds, are working the rival business interests of each great power, seeking oil, minerals, railway conces- sions, markets, financial domination. Peace is only an armed truce between these forces; sooner or later the clash of conflicting interests will produce another World War." Upon most of us statements hke this exert a strong attraction. They have a pleasant flavor of pessimism, a cynicism that makes us feel superior to the ordinary well-meaning person. They seem to afford a key, with which, at small intellectual cost, we may unlock diplo- matic mysteries and become initiated into the society of those favored folk who drop hints that they could tell something about the Peace Conference that would startle us, or whisper that they know a man who knows who killed the Czar. Plenty of business men take this attitude. They see that when their firm obtains an order, some other firm loses it. A natural extension of this principle, would The World an Economic Unit 97 aflarm that there is just so much trade in the world; that some nation is going to get the most of it and that others will be pushed to the wall; that we must fight for trade with our rivals, and crush them or in turn be crushed. This notion that business competition must lead us to destroy one another is as vicious as the British Trade Union poUcy " Ca Canny," the restriction of output. People who accept such views fail to see the truth. There does not exist a fixed fund of wages, of commodi- ties, of supply and demand. There is no Hmit to the possible demand for goods. It is restricted only by lack of the wherewithal to purchase. This money can be made only by producing goods, in return for other goods that are desired. Trade can best be pictured as a vast machine. Speeding up the machine means high produc- tion and consumption of commodities; that is what we call prosperity. Parts of this machinery are running very slowly or are almost stopped, as in Soviet Russia. Since the machinery is imperfectly geared, it is running at varying rates of speed in different parts of the world; but these parts are related none the less. If one part goes faster, the increase of movement spreads gradually to all the others. If war, famine, or revolution slows down production in any continent, the ill effect is felt everywhere. Prosperity comes more or less simultaneously to all the great trading nations. Before the War, the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, and the smaller powers were rapidly 98 The Hope of the Future extending their trade with one another. The increase of business in one country was paralleled in each of the rest. When Japan, China, India, South America, and Africa can be raised to our standard of production and consumption, we shall see wonderful prosperity all over the world. The nations are partners, not rivals. We ought to wish more business to our competitors; for in the end it means more for us. It is in the interest of all to speed up the machinery and to repair its parts that have been broken by the War. This great machine of production and consumption is functioning very slowly in Asia where it is clogged by ignorance and superstition. In the Western World it is held back by war, huge armaments, high taxes, government restric- tions, high tariffs, industrial unrest, hatred between rich and poor and between the peoples who fought on opposite sides in the War and finally by racial and rehgious prejudices. We want to see American business prosper. To keep it on a firm basis of lasting prosperity we must do our best to maintain the peace of the world, and to co-operate with other nations. We shall gain no permanent advan- tage by hurting their trade. It will be unwise for us to try to crowd them out of enterprises which are necessary to their existence; one great example is the shipping industry. America should have her own merchant marine; we have a right to carry a fair proportion of our exports and The World an Economic Unit 99 imports; but we ought not to forget that for us it is more or less of a luxury. Our people in this enormous country are so well occupied in normal times that we could afford to employ and did employ the ships of other nations in our trade. The case of Britain, Norway or Japan is quite different. They are countries of small extent and large population, whose shipping is absolutely necessary to keep their people at the level of bare sub- sistence. It would be not only unprofitable but even wicked for us to attempt to injure the carrying trade of these nations which seem destined for the sea. Ultimately, I should like to see the removal of cus- toms barriers between all nations. At present, that ideal is not practicable; because standards of living and prices differ so widely. There is, however, one step that we can take in the next few years that would benefit us enormously. This is the complete removal of all tariffs and import restrictions between the English-speaking nations. During the last century prices and wages have ruled lower in England than in America. We have included her among the European countries whose cheap labour we feared. That is not true today. Prices and general costs of production are fairly on a level in all the British Dominions, the United States and Great Britain. There is no more discrepancy between them than there is between different states of the Union. The practical results of such a measure would be to open our American market to British goods on terms of 100 The Hope of the Future equality with our own. This would mean increased sales of high class luxury articles, the very finest motor cars, the best grades of textiles, fine leather products, potteries, and heavy machinery. Such a policy would also throw wide the doors of the Dominions to our goods. We should sell more patented articles, toilet prepara- tions, low-priced motor cars, motor cycles, ready-made clothing, boots and shoes, hardware, and electrical supplies. It would mean enlarging the natural markets and stimulating trade. Our manufacturers would not be ruined ; — far from it. (Even now, when we are buying the best grades of English woolens in spite of the tariff, we are selling in Great Britain large quantities of cheaper woolens that we are in a position to make more cheaply.) It would weld the EngHsh-speaking nations into a powerful economic unit in their dealings with the rest of the world. It would aid the growth of the Dominions and our business there. It would eliminate causes of friction and would tend to unite our thinking in fields other than trade. It would bind us together so closely that war would cease to be a possibihty. Every American knows that it has proved a great blessing to have the United States a single economic unit. Why not extend the benefits to cover aU the Enghsh-speaking world? It may seem a bold step, but no more so than the original decision to aboHsh barriers of trade between the Thirteen Colonies. When we were under the Articles of Confederation each State had the The World an Economic Unit 101 power to hold up trade from the others. There is on record a celebrated case of some timber cut in the State of Maine that floated down s,tream and was frozen in the ice on the New Hampshire side of the river. The owners had to pay the State of New Hampshire the duty on imported timber. That seems absurd today. Our present tariff laws will seem equally foolish in the future, when all the lands inhabited by men of our speech wiU seem like home to us and when as we travel in them we will have no feeling of being in a foreign country. Then our newspapers and magazines will freely circulate over all this vast area because they will have so much material of common interest. Our students will mingle in the universities, our manufactured goods sell indiscriminately. We will ex- change ideas and inventions, for our patents will cover the whole territory. I beUeve that Britain wiU ultimately adopt a decimal system of coinage, and that regulations for banking and currency will be adjusted to each other. We wiU travel without passports in each other's territory. Such a pooling of interests and activities may well serve as a model for aU the other nations. CHAPTER XVII Bkitish Business Methods It was Napoleon who called the English a " Nation of Shop-keepers." This reputation dates from the found- ing of the great trading companies, such as the Hudson Bay Company, The East India Company and the Muscovy Company. They entered late into the field of International trade, for the ItaHans, Spanish, and Dutch had all made great beginnings in the mercantile world while the British were still an ignorant island people, feeding sheep, drinking ale, and fighting. It may have been because of this late start that they have since made such stupendous progress. They have laid the foundations of business so surely that they now have a permanent hold upon the foreign trade of the world ; a hold which outlasts panics, strikes, and trade depressions. Even the Great War effected only a temporary check to their trade; it is already apparent that the British are coming back into their old markets. It will profit Americans to examine the methods which they have used in attaining such a status. We shall find no uncanny shrewdness, no subtle plan extending over decades and centuries, as has been alleged by disappointed rivals. The British have won their trade by a rather unimaginative reliance upon the British Business Methods 103 elementary principles of honesty and sound common sense. The " word of an Englishman " is a phrase that is used to express perfect honesty and fair deahng, the world over. I do not know that the British are now so much more honest than other traders, but they have won a reputation and take great pride in living up to it. There is a presumption in favor of the Briton wherever he may travel. Each trader is assumed to be honest until proved the contrary. An Englishman was telling me the other day of a visit to Italy where he had seen a necklace in a shop window. He inquired the price and was told that it was $600. He had not so much money with him and went away. The owner of the shop called on him later in his hotel with the necklace, saying that he would take a check in payment. The Englishman had no check book; so he wrote out an order to lus bank on a piece of wrapping paper, and took the necklace home to England. Look at ourselves for a moment: We have been pleased to spread the idea that we are " smart "; every- one knows at least one funny story of how some Yankee made a sharp business deal. Foreigners laugh at these stories and then place their confidence in, and orders with British houses, who give the impression of simple honesty. I leave the reader to judge which is really the shrewder business poHcy. British firms take a deep pride in their reputation. Some of them have been established for centuries, many 104 The Hope of the Future . date back to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The ownership of the firm is handed down from father to son and even in the case of limited liability companies, into which most of the larger houses are now converted, the management remains in the family. This brings family pride into business. No undertaking is judged on its immediate results alone. The great consideration is always the future. This gives an element of perma- nence and stabiHty to British houses that we seldom possess in America. We are too prone to try to make money quickly, with- out thinking beyond the first few years. We feel that what happens to the firm after we are gone is the concern of the men who will come after us. Such a policy is too spasmodic for dealing in the Export Trade. Americans representing our exporters go abroad for a few years hoping to " make a stake " and then return home. If they succeed, their effort is only temporary and its effects are soon lost. What we need in American Foreign Trade is more companies that are prepared to main- tain an organization overseas, in lean years as well as fat, and men who wiU go out with the expectation of spending their working lives abroad in the interest of their firm. We cannot carry on the export of our goods intermittently, or merely to reduce the seasonal glut of commodities. Foreign Trade is a profession and we must take it seriously if we wish to make a success of it. British firms have a wonderful record for keeping their contracts, no matter what circumstances arise to make British Business Methods 105 them unprofitable. I found that during the latter part of the War and after the Armistice, British goods were being supplied to customers in Australia and the Far East at 1914 prices. This was in fulfillment of pre-war contracts, and at a time when prices in many cases had advanced one hundred per cent or more. At the same time American firms were cabhng that they were out of stock of the articles they had contracted to supply but that they could supply similar quality from a later stock at an advance in price. Is it any wonder then, that when depression comes, what business remains goes to the British firm? I have said before that people in Great Britain take a wider and a more intelhgent interest in foreign countries than we do. They are immensely better informed about business customs, and the local prejudices of customers in every country. We try to do things as they are done at home and expect others to hke it. Some of the blunders that our firms make in their dealing abroad are almost unbelievable. A firm in Tientsin, China, ordered some goods from a glass manufacturer in Pittsburgh. The American firm cabled an inquiry as to the method of payment. The reply was, "We are sending Letter of Credit." The Americans had evidently never heard of this way of transmitting funds, and so cabled " Our terms are strictly cash." Our firms sometimes make most ridiculous mistakes, address- ing important letters to the wrong continent, shipping winter woolens for sale in the Tropics. I have known 106 The Hope of the Future them to ship motor cars to China without checking the shipment properly to see that all parts were included, with the result that the unfortunate purchasers were compelled to write for missing parts and wait six months before taking the first ride. But perhaps the worst mistake we have made is in the selection of our foreign salesmen. The breezy drummer who " catches on " in the Middle West, who has made friends with every hotel clerk in his state and who probably carries a " wicked line " of humor, is not at all the man to go abroad. His free and easy ways are misunderstood, his attempts at friendship are repulsed, he is considered vulgar, and very likely will never meet the men with money, who alone can give the orders he is after. The only way to be properly represented abroad is to send young men who can be trained on the spot to understand what the local market demands. There is no short cut to success. The methods of the British have been to get a thorough knowledge of the country, to send their young men abroad at an early age, to supplement their export houses by British banks and shipping companies, to obtain concessions for large undertakings, and stipulate that only British products should be used. It is by the adoption of similar measures that we will also succeed. We shall never progress far if we expect to do our Exporting through foreign agents. The Japanese are loud in declaring that they are our natural partners in Asia; that they are familiar with local conditions and British Business Methods 107 are fitted to represent us better than we can be repre- sented through our own citizens. Anyone who knows the Japanese knows that the only business we should ever get through them, would be business that they did not themselves want. In the past they have taken agencies for our goods merely to kill their sales. If we cannot have our own men on the spot, then we would do well to employ British agents; for we could be sure that they would deal fairly with us. I believe that British and Americans can co-operate in business matters. Throughout the East we are fast friends. Our representatives there trust each other, play the same games — tennis, golf, and sometimes polo, in their local country clubs. We stand for the same ideas of local government in places hke Shanghai, where government is by an international committee. We share membership in churches and fraternal organiza- tions. Our children attend English-speaking schools together, our boys are both enthusiastic Boy Scouts. We feel that in all important questions there can be no real difference between us. No two independent nations have ever before achieved so large a measure of co-operation. It is a favorable omen for an understand- ing upon larger issues. CHAPTER XVIII The Necessity of Foreign Trade The history of the past century has been mainly a record of the exploitation of natural resources. In America this has been extremely rapid. Our people have developed the technique of this exploitation. We have been proud of the way in which industry has expanded over new parts of the continent. The growth of new cities and states has been phenomenal. This has not been confined to any one section, it is part of our national character. Our whole people has been in a state of flux. Any new thing has been seized upon with eagerness and has been more quickly brought to maturity than in other countries. The past two decades have seen the rise of two new industries previously unknown. These are the Auto- mobile and the Moving Picture. Neither of these was originated in America, but in a few years they have so expanded in this country that we have set the pace for the world. At the present time we are the headquarters of these industries. It can be safely predicted that if any new discovery is made in the next few years, that is capable of great practical application, it wiU be more fully exploited here than in the country of its origin. Americans have an ajG&nity for new things. The Necessity of Foreign Trade 109 This readiness to develop new discoveries to the full has its good and bad side. And has both for good and evil affected our business relations with other countries. The better side of the American way of doing things is that we have taken advantage of scientific knowledge as have no other people, when all sides of national Ufe are considered. We have been quick to place Science at the service of Industry. The unfortunate side lies in the fact that we have rushed headlong into new industries without waiting to lay plans for the future. During the past century we have been using the stored up wealth of milhons of years. We have cut down our forests, exhausted the fertility of our soils, wasted our coal, oil and natural gas. The fault has not been so much with the persons engaged in these industries as with the whole nation. America must realize that she has been squandering her resources. The prosperity of the past has been made possible by the rapid way in which we have used this stored up wealth. We have been hving upon capital and not from income. We have become accus- tomed to make our living easily, without reahzing that the whole history of America from the time of its dis- covery till the present is an unusual, I might almost say an abnormal one. When these temporary resources are exhausted, then we shall be forced to struggle for our existence as the people of Europe and Asia are accustomed to struggle. We cannot keep on relying on the export of natural raw 110 The Hope of the Future materials and fuels to bring us wealth. Our petroleum will all be gone in a generation. The United States Geological Survey says that there exists only enough for fifteen years at our present rate of consumption. Our anthracite coal will be exhausted before the end of this century. Our timber is only capable of holding out for a few years more. We shall have to import oil, timber, meat products and wheat before many years pass. Our hope lies in doing what Europe has done before us; that is to become an exporter of manufactured goods. The internal conditions of American industry favor this. We have become accustomed to the use of machinery wherever it is possible. The amount of horse power employed per man in industry is higher here than anywhere else. That fact together with a faster pace, greater efficiency and new processes, gives us a high out- put as compared to Europe. The American workman produces about two and one half times as much in value as does the British workman in the same time. The British are the most efficient workers in Europe. As for Asiatics, they are far below the European standard. This is also accounted for in part by the large scale production made possible by the size of the American market. American business men are famihar with mass production and are well equipped to manufacture on a large scale for the Export Trade. In all the essentials of a great exporting nation we seein well prepared. We have Httle to learn about manufacturing or finishing processes. The Necessity of Foreign Trade 111 It is only after the goods leave the factory that we have a great deal to learn from Europe. It is not too much to say that we are without any national exporting poHcy. There is not and there has never been any system by which the ordinary products of our small factories could find a ready outlet in foreign markets. Our position almost alone on the continent has made us diffident about exporting; we are free enough about sending goods to Canada or Mexico. Our high tariff poHcy has discouraged the building up of the Export Trade. It may have been very useful when we were small and had undeveloped industries. But now we are more in the position in which England was one hundred years ago. We are strong enough to stand alone in foreign trade without government sup- port. It seems rather strange that as the British Government is entering upon a disguised policy of protec- tion we are questioning more and more the wisdom of our tariff waU. It is not at all strange. It is only because our positions have been reversed. Only one nation at a time, the strongest commercially, can afford to let down the bars and meet competition from all quarters. But the real cause of our lack of faciHties for the Export Trade has been the fact, that we have not felt the need of any such trade until recently. What exports we sent abroad were raw materials hke cotton or else the products of our large highly organized corporations. Some of these have been so successful at home that the natural impetus of business has carried them into foreign 112 The Hope of the Future fields; there to be many times the sole representatives of American commerce. They have in many cases been highly successful and have built up marvelous systems of managers and sales- men abroad. To show how completely some of these com- panies have sold their products abroad, I will cite a case from the Ural Mountains between Russia and Siberia. Here in CheHabinsk, a town of about fifty thou- sand inhabitants, a census of sewing machines was taken in the Winter of 1919, in order to determine the available facilities at hand for reclothing returning Russian Pris- oners of War. This census disclosed the fact that the town had five thousand Singer Sewing Machines. If one company can thus place its product in such quantities in the very heart of the Russian Empire, there must be a brilliant future for American Exports. CHAPTER XIX Organizing for Exports It must be remembered, however, that it has only been the exception for an American company to deal largely abroad. The ordinary firm lacks both knowledge and facihties. There are many things that we ought to learn about foreign trade. The first is that it is totally different from domestic. For many years in the future it seems likely that we shall be dealing in a " Buyers' Market." The customer is going to call the tune. When we undertake to sell any of our goods abroad, we must realize that we must do business as the buyer demands, not as we think best. We should alter our methods in different lands to suit the varying moods and prejudices of the people. The American Exporter is not in business to convert other people to our ideas. He is only a success if he sells increasing quantities of goods. The old saying " When in Rome do as the Romans do " is not half strong enough to express the care we ought to take when trying to sell the Romans a bill of goods. We must not carry with us distinctly American manners, clothes, habits, or accent if these things are not pleasing to our customers. 114 The Hope of the Future This is a hard lesson for Americans to learn. But if we cannot stomach it, then somebody else will get the business; some nation whose exporters are willing to make greater efforts than are ours. The country that has pursued this method with conspicuous success in the past was Germany. One of the best examples of her methods is the story of the German salesman who made huge sales of images of Ganesh, the Hindu God of luck. This enterprising German set up his stand near the large temples of India on days of pilgrimage and worship. He wore no shoes or leather belt, but instead had straw sandals and a wisp of straw about his waist. To a pious Hindu a cow is sacred and leather articles are an offence to his susceptibilities. The appearance of a European who showed such consideration for his feelings was surprising and pleasant. The Hindus bought the little images in great quantities. I am not suggesting that American salesmen should give up wearing shoes, but this story is an indication of the way we must go about the export business. When we know any given market we must make sure that we have the right kind of men to send there. I have sug- gested elsewhere that they should be sent young into the foreign field and kept abroad for long periods. We will never get the best of our young men to spend years of their lives away from America, until we as a nation take a more general interest in the affairs of the outside world. We must teach our children in school, Organizing for Exports 115 more of the history and geography of other lands. We must encourage the study of foreign languages. When the younger generation are interested in the rest of the world it will not be difficult to find men to fill these positions. At the present time they are not interested because they know so little of the world outside America. In addition we must face the problem of the organiza- tion of our industrial and commercial life to stimulate the Export Trade. Up to the present time there have been two methods of doing business abroad. Our practice was a continuation of the old method worked out in England at the time of the Industrial Revolution. It is the organization of stock companies that carry on all sorts of business. These companies vary greatly in size and resources. In practice it is not possible for a small company to engage in business abroad. There are of course excep- tions, but it is almost universal to find that the bulk of the trade passes through the hands of the larger firms, who have the money to carry them over times of depres- sion and who can set aside funds to extend their company into new fields. The products that we have shipped to the Export market have been mainly those that have come under the control of large corporations. We have built up an important trade in Steel and Steel Products, in Oil, in Tobacco. In these lines the American output is in the hands of a few large firms. On the contrary, such an industry as the Coal Trade has not been important 116 The Hope of the Future in the list of past exporters. One can safely predict that the present huge shipments of American coal abroad are merely temporary. They will cease when the abnor- mal condition of the industry in Europe is overcome, unless in the meantime our Coal Operators can put the industry on a sounder footing in this country. A deduction from this fact would seem to be that if the industries of America all came under the control of a few huge trusts, our exports could be handled scientif- ically. This may be true, but the American People are not disposed to allow their industries to be thus controlled. A vast increase in our Export Trade would not compensate us for the loss of our industrial liberty at home. Some other way will have to be found. A solution seems to have been reached in parts of Europe. In Germany and in other European countries to a lesser degree, the last three decades have seen the forma- tion of pools or Cartels, composed of the firms engaged in any particular trade. These were loosely organized for the purpose mainly of increasing exports. They were in most cases under government protection and control, and enabled the smaller firms to share in the export of various commodities. Prices were fixed by the pool. Orders were divided among the participating firms in a fixed ratio. Results have seemed to justify the wisdom of this policy. Under it the trade of Germany expanded marvelously before the War, and now these principles have been tacitly adopted by Allied countries. The Orgcmizing for Exports 117 adoption of some plan of this sort means a more active participation of the Federal Government in industry than has been our poUcy. It is bound to entail far- reaching consequences in the centrahzation of power in Washington, and the growth of even greater aggrega- tions of capital than are seen at the present day. This is a difficult task for a government that is trying to be representative of the people and truly democratic, but it is necessary if we are to advance in the world of trade. We can no longer pretend to separate Govern- ment from Business. We may as well recognize the fact that we Uve by industry and commerce, and that it ought to be a matter of concern to the whole nation how this industry is conducted. CHAPTER XX Selling Goods Abroad In the last few chapters I have tried to show how we must organize ourselves at home in order to increase our trade abroad. This included the education of children in foreign affairs, the mobilization of finance and industry for greater power, the selection of our best young men as representatives, and the permanence of our overseas connections. To these should be added the services of American Banks and Merchant Marine. Both of these services are necessary for the preservation of our trade and are an insurance against discrimination by other nations. We should not judge our Merchant Marine by direct profit and loss alone. It may at any time be neces- sary to maintain our touch with some market that would otherwise be lost to us. It will always exercise a whole- some influence upon freight charges on foreign steamers to and from American ports. It will tend to equalize freight rates from South America to European and American ports. The services of American Banks are also essential. They must be on hand to advance the necessary credit to our customers. If we do business through foreign banks we will be handicapped all the way. It is only natural Selling Goods Abroad 119 that the creditor should prefer to advance money when the resulting purchases are made in his own country. Our manufacturers and exporters ought to be willing to share in the expenses of these necessary adjuncts of business in those cases where they cannot be run at a profit. So much for our organization for overseas trade. This is not enough to ensure our success. We must also consider the spirit in which we enter world trade and the objects we have in view. One of the first con- siderations that confront us is the difference in the methods we must employ within and without those parts of the world that are under American influence. The United States and its possessions, Canada, Mexico, and Central America are roughly the only parts of the world where we can sell goods by our accustomed methods. This is practically only the continent of North America. In all the rest of the world we are more or less of a strange land, our customs, styles and ideas do not influence the people. The other five continents are loosely similar in their freedom from our influence. They are under what might be called European Civilization as distinct from American. All over this vast territory the wealthy classes have similar tastes and habits. It is true that most of the population have their own national or racial peculiari- ties, but it is also true that the persons one meets on steamers and railway trains, in hotels and consular 120 The Hope of the Future offices have similar clothes, eat much the same food, eat in the same manner, and live according to a certain rule of Ufe all over the world outside North America. The business and official classes of Africa, Asia and South America are taking their tone from Europe. It is mainly in small matters but these are important. They cause people all over the world to regard the American as a little bit different from themselves. For one thing, he wears tortoise shell spectacles and sharp pointed shoes; for another, he eats with his fork in the right hand and drinks water with his meals. But, worst fault of all, the American often appears ignorant of the fact that he is different. He seems to act as if his ways were accepted by all society as the proper ones. He is unconscious of the fact that he is out of touch with his surroundings. The traveller can be eccentric if he desires, but the man of business must be pleasing to his customers. If they are all the time aware of his nationality, if his tricks of conversation intrude upon the mind he will not be a success. The American who is trying to sell goods to people of this European CiviUzation must first of all learn to be silent. I believe that if our salesmen could only avoid expressing their opinions for their initial month abroad they would be successful. In that time they would have learned the way in which to make themselves agreeable to their associates. European business is not the simple straight-forward thing that ours is. We depend largely on advertising Selling Goods Abroad 121 to place our products on the home market. Europe also has advertising but it is different from ours and plays a less important part. The European business man objects to being persuaded by advertising; when this is attempted he becomes suspicious and resentful. Busi- ness all over the world follows Europe in this feeling. Many American salesmen have gone out to China with the plan of " setting the country on fire," or " waking up China." They have usually returned on the next steamer, with the dismal story that the Chinese were too backward to understand a real live idea. They had failed to understand that American advertising is strong medicine and can only be taken by those who are used to it. Outside America, business deals are much more personal, private and indirect. They are secret and diplomatic, apt to be decided over a good dinner; ques- tions of taste and personal preference enter largely into the decisions. In many cases it is true that like kissing they go by favor. In Asia it is too often the practice to accompany the making of contracts by substantial gifts of money or its equivalent, to the men who were influen- tial in procuring them. In the Export Trade business may be simple and straightforward, depending on the price and quaHty of the goods and the terms of payment. Yet sometimes it is far from being so. It may be more like the negotia- tion of a Versailles Treaty. There is no reason to be afraid about our export 122 The Hope of the Future future. We have the quality of goods, the raw materials, the financial support. We are building up the Shipping and Banking connections. We have the poHtical good- will of nations everywhere. Our business men can solve the problems of organization and our salesmen can learn to beat the other fellow at his own game. But it will all take time and energy. We cannot expect to do much in a year or two. The present is a testing time that is weeding out the unfit. When better times come again they will see American business ready as never before to take advantage of the opportunities of a reconstructed world. CHAPTER XXI The Present Status of International Finance America has now become the greatest creditor nation. We possess forty-three per cent of the world's gold and a practical monopoly of its negotiable capital. The War hastened the process of transferring from Britain to the United States, the financial control which in any case our size and natural wealth would have given to us. There is grave danger that this increase in our wealth will make us the object of suspicion and dislike. Nobody loves a profiteer. The nouveau riche have ever been lampooned, caricatured and held up to scorn, not on account of envy, but because they generally fail to realize that wealth brings a new position in society with a whole train of obUgations and responsibilities. It is the same among nations as individuals: The honest mechanic who has inherited a fortune and an estate cannot understand that the village expects him to provide jobs for all, to maintain certain old pensioners; that society requires him to keep open house a certain number of times a year, to subscribe to various charities; and to live in a fitting style. America is now the world's creditor. The business of a creditor is to give credit. We must be as liberal as the " Old Squire " was in his day. When John Bull held 124 The Hope of the Future the position we now occupy, he organized his business and banking system in such a way that he could supply other nation^ with capital, according to the following method. (The banks of Great Britain are not separate institu- tions but are nearly all branches of a few London banks. These London Joint Stock Banks, five of them of immense size, directed by the Bank of England, bring to London each day all their available capital; as fast as deposits come in. A small proportion is of course held for safety. This money is placed on offer in the money market of Lombard Street. Here a series of great discount houses, such as do not exist in America, borrow it for use all over the world. Foreign governments and corpora- tions come continually to Lombard Street for this money, the price of which moves up and down all da,y with the changing supply and demand. In America we do not secure such a speedy or com- plete concentration of capital. Of course money comes to the big New York banks, but the Usury Laws of the State of New York have been unfavorable to the growth of a market such as London has. We have developed the system of " Call Money." This means that our spare capital is taken by brokers for periods of a few days or even hours and used in the Stock Exchange for Specu- lation. Only a small proportion of it goes into long term foreign loans. New York will never gain the place that London now holds as the world's financial center until we cease using The Present Status of International Finance 125 our spare cash for speculation. At the present time we are too ignorant to invest it abroad. We must build up a staff of expert observers in every country, who will be in daily touch with New York by cable and who will keep our money market informed as to the political and financial conditions in every land. We can then acquire knowledge and experience; so that when any foreign government or corporation applies for a loan we can fix the price and terms of repayment. It would be poor business to maintain such an intelli- gence service for the use of the money market alone. It should be a part of our ordinary commercial connections abroad. This means that we ought to send the very best type of American into the export and import trade. In every important foreign city, we ought to have some of these young men, who should be paid high salaries and kept permanently abroad. Such an arrangement though expensive, would be worth while in the end. A stay of two or three years is not adequate. Without proper knowledge and a sound system of financial intelli- gence we shall lose the money we have made. Since the signing of the Armistice, American speculators have lost enormous sums in buying European currencies. We have purchased any currency that seemed cheap, care- less of the fact that it might become still cheaper, and that the printing presses were still engaged in their work of inflation. America has shared much more in the losses of the War than Europe imagines. Our gains were after alt 126 The Hope of the Future only relative ones; viewed from the absolute standard, we are poorer than before. Our national debt has been multiplied several times, and we are disinclined to take over any of Europe's burdens. Some people in the Allied countries cannot understand the way we look at things. They are so crippled by the War that we seem disgustingly prosperous. It seems to them an easy thing for us to cancel their wartime obligations. " Let us cancel all the Inter- Allied debts " they say, " then we can make a fresh start towards prosperity." America is often idealistic and there is something altruistic about this idea that appeals to us, but is it really sound? It has been advocated by the same people who thought that this was the " War to end War." If it were certain that the Allies were going to live in peace and friendship with each other, we could well afford to be generous. Unfortunately they are drawing into rival camps in pursuit of separate interests. Consider, for example, the state of affairs in the Medi- terranean. Italy, Greece, and the new state of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes are so suspicious of one another that cancellation of the obhgations of one would almost constitute an act of hostility to the others. If their debts were repudiated all around, the result would be that their finances would so improve, that they could start another war more quickly. The surest way to ensure peace is to allow each nation to pay its debts in full, when it has recovered. Europe is now poverty-stricken, but she will ultimately win The Present Status of International Finance 127 back her wealth. At the time of the Civil War, we borrowed heavily till our dollar went down to only forty per cent of its par value. Nobody cancelled our debts, yet we eventually recovered, and preserved our self- respect. Europe has always rightly insisted on collect- ing outstanding debts from South America and Asia. The Allies are insisting that Germany shall pay and that Russia shall acknowledge her foreign obhgations. If any of the Allies should be released from payment of their debts to this country, the American taxpayers would have to make good the amount of the debt, by retiring the Liberty Bonds which are an offset to it. They would say, emphatically, " Never Again! " When another emergency caused the same nation to seek credit in America the question would arise, " Is this loan also to be cancelled? " For the sake of its own future position no European nation can afford to accept remis- sion of its debts. In spite of these facts, we ought not to press any of the Allies for speedy payment. We shall do well to bear in mind the circumstances under which these debts were contracted — that they were made at times of great stress, when prices were high and when we were all fighting in a common cause. We ought to be willing to accept any terms of repayment that seem most suitable to the Allies. We cannot be paid in gold, the gold does not exist in Europe, hence we must be paid in goods and services and the transfer of securities. This means that we must prepare to become an importing country. 128 The Hope of the Future The balance of trade that used to be so favorable to us was only ail index of the fact that we were a debtor country, obliged to make payment every year in com- modities. The situation is quite altered now. We shall have to grow accustomed to what is called an unfavor- able balance of trade; though it is not at all bad for us. It will consist in all sorts of goods that we shall receive as interest on the sums we have lent abroad. CiviHza- tion can really be better measured by imports than by exports; for it is the standard of consumption that determines our relative material progress. CHAPTER XXII America's Indebtedness to Europe This civilization of ours rests upon a material basis that is of our own creation. We Americans probably toil harder than any other race or nation. If we came out of the War in better condition than many countries, at least we worked for our money. This whole conti- nent was humming with industry during the war period. Factories worked with day and night shifts; in the absence of laborers, farmers toiled late in the fields to gather in their crops; the women cultivated small patches of ground in order that all possible food should be produced. We need not be ashamed of our wealth; — it was earned honestly. But there are many factors that go to make up our life besides material things. Civilization is so complex that no one has exhaustively catalogued it. Rehgion, education, law, tradition, literature, music and the fine arts, sports and pastimes, technical skill and many other imponderable elements combine to form the America we know. None of these factors in the hfe of our country has been wholly developed on American soil, many of them have been taken almost entirely from some other people. 130 The Hope of the Future The Pilgrims came not empty-handed. They had a store of knowledge and tradition that represented cen- turies of effort. Our country was endowed from birth with all the wisdom that man had learned from unwilHng nature in ages past. We did not have to invent a lan- guage, a system of law, or a reHgion. These we borrowed largely from England. Without being fully aware of it, we inherited the Uberties and privileges of Englishmen. These liberties included the right of free speech, free- dom of conscience and religious behef, trial by jury, and the privilege of representation in the law-making and taxing legislature. These rights had not been easily attained. They were the fruits of more than a thousand years of bitter struggle with kings and feudal lords. The battle for the rights of the common man had been fought and won, the early settlers of New England brought with them the results of the victory. Ever since that time Europe has been pouring her riches upon America. She has given the Bible, the Christian Church, and its traditions of two thousand years; she has sent teachers who brought the learning of Greece and Rome; she has given to us painting, sculpture, music, architecture. Nearly every trade and profession in America are founded upon European experience and skill. Europe has sent her great artists to advance our cul- ture and civiHzation. Caruso was Italy's gift to America. Every year sees rare books, works of art, priceless col- ectio ns of varied objects, crossing the Atlantic to make America's Indebtedness to Europe 131 us a treasure house of the precious and valuable things in the world. For these elements of culture we are under an immeas- urable debt to Europe. It is only decent of us to remem- ber this when we are dealing with the repayment of the AlUed debts. Of all countries Great Britain is the one to whom we owe the largest gratitude. Though she did not shape her policies with the direct purpose of aiding us, the effects have certainly been in our favor. For the last hundred years, the Monroe Doctrine has been the corner stone of our foreign poHcy. Under its guidance the two Americas have grown into prosperous continents, the seat of sturdy, independent repubUcs. The United States has not been called upon to maintain this Doctrine by force. The American taxpayer has not been required to contribute anything for its support. The real bulwark of its defense has been the British Navy. In the past century one attempt was made to break this policy of ours, namely, — the effort made by Napoleon III in Mexico, at the time of the American Civil War, when we were too divided to register an effective protest and when England was undecided whether to support the North or the South. What happened then, is an indication of what would have been the fate of the Western Hemisphere had Britain and the United States not upheld this policy. As soon as it seemed safe to defy us, an Austrian prince, Maximilian, supported by a French army, came to 132 The Hope of the Future Mexico and set up an Empire in that country. When our war was over and we were free to act again, Napoleon withdrew his troops and the wretched Maximilian was killed by the Mexicans. It would be mere idle sentiment to say that Britain has kept her fleet for our benefit. Yet, I believe, it is true that she has had rather a soft spot in her heart for the United States and our institutions. The British have somehow always felt that we stood for the same principles as themselves. They have welcomed our growth, and particularly have they been pleased to see us expand and take a leading place among the nations. At the time of the Spanish American War, when we for the first time became a world power, they showed a real satisfaction at our new status. Britain welcomes us in the Far East. She feels that we will assume very much the same attitude there that she has. She cherishes almost a pathetic wish that we shall endure the same experiences and confront the same problems in order that we shall understand her position and sympathize with her. The British value highly our good opinion of their conduct. When we entered the War, they beUeved it was conclusive proof that the AUied cause was righteous. I have talked with many Britons who would Hke to see America become a great imperial power with rings of dependent nations surrounding her and the tutelage of other races in her care. I believe they feel this way because they think that we should then warmly champion America's Indebtedness to Europe 133 the British Empire. They crave our moral support because they themselves are more sensitive than they will admit, in regard to the past history of British expansion. Such friends of ours little comprehend the real temper of America. The idea of conquest and control of foreign nations, even though it be for their own good, is in contradiction to the political conceptions of the nation. At times we have been forced into an attitude similar to that of Britain. It was at such times that we took over the government of Cuba and the Philippines, and assumed a loose control of Central America. Now the older spirit of the American people has asserted itself. We left Cuba, we are talking of giving independence to the Philippines, a campaign is being carried on to bring about the withdrawal of our troops from Haiti. Probably the crux of the situation is and will remain Mexico. This is what ex-President Wilson would call the acid test of our principles of local self government. To my mind the decision rests with the Mexican people and their government. If they can effect a peaceful solution of their difficulties and protect the rights of foreigners, then America will retain her policy of non- intervention. If it becomes necessary for us to " clean up Mexico," the United States will be well started upon an imperial career. The absorption of Mexico would be only the prelude to a mighty expansion. In the latter case our future policy would approxi- mate Britain's. We should certainly drift into an alii- 134 The Hope of the Future ance that would ensure the peace of the world under Anglo-Saxon leadership. But if we continue in our present policy it is not necessary that we should be any less friendly. If circumstances have forced us to take different points of view, may we not still make allowances for each other? Americans might well remember that we should probably have done what Britain has done were we in her place. Enghshmen ought to know that we have denied ourselves an imperial career for conscience's sake, and that we are not "Shirking our plain duty to CiviHzation." CHAPTER XXIII The Hope of the Future I hope my readers will understand now why my world-travels have caused me to feel that it was incum- bent upon me to show the necessity for a close com- mercial, political and social understanding — a Union of Hearts — that should always exist among the English- speaking people of the world. In the future Great Britain and America must either be close friends or deadly enemies. As for the positions of world-unportance now held by Great Britain and America, I can only say it would be difficult to indicate at this time over what issue Great Britain and America may fall out. It can only be said that if history proves anything it proves abundantly that in the past no two nations could ever share the leadership of the world in peace. The War has left the two English-speaking nations in the undisputed mastery of the globe. Between us we control the raw materials from which food and clothing are produced. We control to level degrees, fuel and power, factories and warehouses, railways and steam- ship hues. We control the banking system and its sup- plies of credit for war and peace. No third power can initiate any plan against our will. The defeat of Germany has broken the only power that 136 The Hope of the Future was independent of our money and materials. The Bolshevic government is the sole one which is attempting to exist without our support. In time it will also be compelled to enter the fold. Thus we are in no danger from any outside force. For example, Japan cannot make war without a loan from one of us. She is also buying her munitions and giving contracts in both countries for the construction of battleships. In an exhausted world, we are left, two mighty nations facing each other, with all pressure of immediate danger from the rest of the world removed. Under these circumstances the two powerful national units will probably act as others have done before. A short glance at history will suffice to show what always has occurred in similar cases. There seems to be some mahgnant devil in mankind that prompts us to destroy all our carefully built edifices of civilization just when they are completed and ready for our enjoyment. Whenever in the past, some great state has been erected it was finally challenged by the other most powerful state of the time ; the arts ; sciences, and wealth of the period were swept away; mankind had again to rebuild its world from the fragments left in the wake of the disaster. Two great powers have never before been willing to live permanently at peace. Egypt and Babylon seemed impelled to match their forces; Rome could not tolerate another sister empire. European history is largely the record of a struggle between the most powerful nations The Hope of the Future 137 and the next in power. Such struggles have usually- ended in the ehmination of the weaker, unless it had the stronger alhes, and in a continuation of the contest between the victor and the most powerful third nation that had been nursing its resources. At the beginning of modern history, the contest lay- between France and the Holy Roman Empire. When Spain was added to the Empire, France was too weak to fight alone and England became the opponent. In this struggle England was allied with Holland, but when Spain became weakened, England and Holland fought each other. A century later France was the leading power in Europe and she was fighting for mastery until the downfall of Napoleon completed the victory of Eng- land. Our War of Independence was one of the inci- dents of this contest, which lasted more than a hundred years. Russia was the chief ally of England against Napoleon. During the Nineteenth Century Great Brit- ain and Russia were struggling for the control of Asia. In the next century events moved quickly. Britain, France and Turkey defeated Russia in the Crimean War. France was growing strong again, so that Britain looked on with favor when she was overcome by the new nation, Germany, in 1870. In 1904, Russia was again defeated by Japan. Britain now began to see that she had made a mistake; that Germany was her most dangerous oppo- nent. Accordingly, when Germany and Austria attacked France and Russia in 1914, they found Britain against them. Eventually the United States entered the War 138 The Hope of the Future when it became evident that Germany was challenging all non-combatants as well. If history continues to be made in the same way as heretofore, it is evident that the next contest will take place between Britain and America, with alHes on either side. Such a war would be nothing less than a universal slaughter. It would not be confined to armies but would be an attempt to exterminate whole populations by disease and starvation. Every continent would be involved. France and Germany would take opposite sides, China and Japan would carry on the War in Asia. Whichever side was victorious, the world would be swept by Bolshevism, and confronted by a new peril, — the race war between the East and the West. No spasm of national passion nor any extraordinary act of folly is needed to precipitate this catastrophe, which we shall reach by simply following the ordinary course of diplomacy, by living in the future as we have in the past, — that is, in good-natured disregard of foreign affairs. This drift into war is the natural, logical issue of our present international organization. It is now for us to act with more than normal wisdom and moderation. In both countries we must make a supreme effort to unite instead of drawing away from each other. To succeed will be no easy task, rather will it be a harder one than has ever been accomplished before by rivals for the mastery of the world. In the present situation, however, are new facts, that may make us more hopeful of a lasting peace. The Hope of the Future 139 This is the first time in the long dreary record of the struggle for power that the two leading contestants have been of the same race, speaking the same language, having the same laws, literature, traditions and senti- ments. We are also fortunate in the fact that we have not yet drifted far along the perilous road to war. We have not taught our respective peoples to despise and hate one another, nor do we have deep prejudices to overcome or bitter wounds to heal. There is one long standing cause of difference, — the question of Ireland. The presence in the United States of fifteen millions of men and women who trace their ancestry from Irish stock, makes this a domestic problem for us as weU as for Great Britain. In its final settle- ment we are vitaUy interested, for we shall never know real peace and national unity in America as long as so many of our people stUl cherish the memories of Old- World antagonisms. No Englishman wishes his country to be judged by her treatment of the Irish. But she is so judged in America. This part of the British Empire, the least creditable, is the one presented to our eyes. It fills our whole horizon. We are now hving in hope that the end of the struggle is in sight. When Ireland at last receives full justice, Britain may be surprised by the warmth of the friendship we shall offer her. If ever the long series of historical precedents is to be reversed ; if ever the nations are to cease their futile and impotent attempts to better themselves by the seizure 140 The Hope of the Future of their neighbor's property; if ever modern civiliza- tion is to avoid extermination tnrough plunging into the abyss of universal war; — then this is the most auspicious moment of centuries; Britain and America have a peculiar and unique opportunity to save mankind by the exercise of sanity and self-sacrifice. It is not our vital interests that we must sacrifice, but our foolish pride and national vanity. We must each be wilHng to remain the " second best " nation in the world, rather than to become the first through the blood- bath of war. We may have to sacrifice our feelings many times. We must learn patience, be more forgiving of one another's faults than nations have ever been. We must thoughtfully, prayerfully, with all our energy, employ every existing agency of co-operation. We must improvise new means of working together in harmony, or the Great Disaster will be upon us. To every man, woman, and child in every English- speaking community throughout the world, in the name of those who have already given up their lives in order that our advanced civilization might be established, let us appeal, that they will help save this civilization which cost our forefathers so much in suffering to make possible. If we fail to do our duty in bringing about a Union of Hearts among the English-speaking peoples of the world, then we grossly wrong the unborn generations, our children and our children's children. Are we to secure this peace and prosperity only for the English-speaking peoples? No, — but for humanity. Today humanity's The Hope of the Future 141 hope for the future lies with the Enghsh-speaking peoples of the world. It is for them to carry forward the torch of fellowship and good will, lighted by their desire for inter-racial understanding and kept burning by their passion for justice. This is The Hope of the Future! w H 60-79 \' Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date; JUN 2002 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township. PA 1 6066 (724)779-2111