Life — February 15, 1923 — page 16: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

FEBRUARY 15, 1923. London Offices, Rolls H H A T- EVER be- falls in the world, it usually happens that someone is pleased, but pub- lic sentiment nowadays is proceeding to something like universal displea- sure. The World says of Secretary Hughes that he is the only Secretary of State who ever succeeded in con- ducting the foreign affairs of the United States so that he pleased no- body and displeased everybody. That reads true enough, but probably the general situation is partly to blame for it. Very likely Mr. Hughes aoes not even please himself, but so long as he is in agreement with Mr. Harding, it would not help matters for him to resign his office unless indeed he thought Mr. Harding would be helped by engaging a new Secretary who knew better than Mr. Hughes does what he wanted to do. For example, Mr. Hughes might re- sign and let the President engage Mr. Borah, or even a Democratic helper—some experienced man like Mr. John Davis—and so set up a coalition cabinet that might com- mand a sufficient support in Con- gress to do something. For Congress is pretty difficult. The information that Mr. Stanley Baldwin, the British negotiator, gave to his countrymen about it when he got home, was all true and quite de- pressing. He said the West had the power in the United States and that its mind was a good deal on wheat and hogs, and not very much on in- ternational matters, that it could not see the need of reducing the rate on the British debt to as low a figure as Mr. Baldwin would like, and that until it did see that need, the thin, could not be done. Until the West- ern Congressmen can see that it is for the good of the world, including en “While there is Life there’s Hope” Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY 598 Madison Avenue, New York the West, to lighten the burden of British taxpayers, the burden cannoi be much lightened by us. The pro- posals that Mr. Baldwin took home would lighten it a little and to them Congress might agree, but it would still be too heavy. Probably the ad- ministration would be glad to give Mr. Baldwin the rate he wanted if Congress would consent 8 O people who permit them- selves to be discouraged, these must seem discouraging times. Every- body's hands are in someone’s hair. France is making this very expen- sive military experiment in the Ruhr, while England looks on with disap- probation and these States politely excuse themselves from attendance on the proceedings. England and Tur- key squabble at Lausanne and we get all sorts of reports of what will be the outcome of their discussion. Mrs. Sheridan, as reporter for the World, tells us there was nothing bad that the Greeks did not do to the Turks when they had the chance, and that the best friends of the Armenians are now the Turks, whose spirit “is more Christian than the Christians’ ”” and who are “the only people in Eu- rope to-day whose word of honor can be trusted.” This is news in- deed, and interesting if true, and sug- gests possibilities of disagreement in England about British policies in Turkey. Here the most active critics of the administration are such Republicans as Governor Lowden and Dr. Mur- ray Butler. If the way things are going in the world, including the United States, does not suit anybody, the prospects of a change may fairly be considered hopeful. Anyone who does not think so is invited to find _ it will not be found wanting. louse, Breams Bldgs., London, E. C. a measure of consolation in the news that the work of American army ex perts since the war has produced a new bullet for use in rifles and ma- chine guns which is expected to add thirty per cent. to the effectiveness of those weapons, so if mental effi- ciency is unequal to the solution of world problems we are fairly entitled to expect that when mechanical effi- ciency is again invited to solve them If the world can get along any better with fewer people in it, that sort of relief at least can be counted on to come. a <a E seem to be relieved for the moment of the obligation, so imperfectly acceptable to human na- ture, of admiring anyone or approv- ing anything in sight. Let us be thankful for that relief. Even of our- selves we cannot think particularly well. This world then being so dis- enchanting to contemplate, it was a good time for the Rev. Vale Owen to come here and tell us about the next one. His information is all fresh; gotten over within a year or two from his mother who sometime since adjourned to the Beyond. He goes into more particulars than is usual with information of that char- acter, but on the whole it is reassur- ing to orderly persons. One thing Mr. Vale Owen reports is that no one in the Beyond is at all concerned about heresy. We get through, it seems, with all bother of that sort when we leave this world. We can undoubtedly get through with it he- fore we leave this world if we have reasonable sense and give our strength to doing what we under- stand, putting off conclusions about what we do not understand until we have time to gain further information. E.S.M. comicbooks.com