feeling of security, till we have educated Asia as to our aims and
purposes and feel that Asia feels as we do about the things we prize
the most. Not till that time is it possible to federate the world,
though we must attempt such a federation. Though the League of Nations
may fail as a preventive of wars, it will serve humanity by revealing
secret enmities and anti-American ideas, it will make for discussion
of world interests, it will clarify our purposes, it will serve to
educate nations about other nations. Though it never gets beyond
anything but an international debating society (assuming that fact for
the sake of argument) it gives the nations of the world a chance to go
somewhere with their grievances. It will do much for the United States
in making us internationally minded, though nationally conscious. No
doubt President Wilson is actuated by some such idea in his willingness
to forego many things he would like to have gained at the Peace
Conference, if only the League of Nations is saved as an idea.
The nations need a safety valve. The old diplomacy served to conceal
national aims and aspirations, either good or bad. The consequence was
that one-half the world found the other half arrayed against it, and
did not suspect it, till the war broke.
Asia must not be allowed to misunderstand us, and we must not
misunderstand Asia. Europe, with the same civilization, got into
conflict, by diplomatic concealment of opposing ideas. Frank
discussions under the old-style diplomacy was something in the nature
of an affront--we could not be frank with each other till we were at
war. We need to look facts in the face, to argue a little more and
fight less. We cannot assert that a condition exists merely because we
wish it existed, we must tell the truth to Asia about ourselves and we
must not be afraid to tell Asia what we want Asia to know, even though
Asia may resent it. We must educate Asia to our ideas, or she will
educate us to hers--which is subjection.
Asia’s history is a history of great conquests with intervening periods
of degeneration. She rises and falls like tides between cycles of time.
We have known her during a period in which she has bent the neck to the
white man in various ways.
We have been teaching her to build modern machinery for construction
and destruction. The old jig-saw geography of Asia is being juggled
into a new pattern, and seems ready for a new era and a new master.
She may develop another Ghengis Khan, another Tartar horde, (civilized
in modern warfare this time) and our Chinese wall which we call the
Pacific may not protect us.
This is not “Yellow Perilism” as we have understood it heretofore,
but a consideration of the possibilities in all Asia during the next
hundred years, under the ægis of a sort of Prussianism in a new form,
welding China, India, Persia, Asiatic Russia and all the East to an
idea which combats the American ideal of government.
As I have said, Asia can think. She almost has a league of nations in
her religion (the various sects agree among themselves better than
they all do with Christianity) and religion offers a splendid means
of communicating an idea to numberless people who are otherwise
illiterate. The Buddhist Mongol from Manchuria can carry a message to
the far-off temples of the Himalayas, without cable tolls or cable
censors.
Russia aflame with Bolshevism startled us. The propaganda had been
going on a long time before we considered it a serious menace, because
we did not believe that so many people could be trained to such absurd
ideas by absurd promises. We did not understand the possibilities for
united destruction in a vast, ignorant and subject people. We must
understand Asia--or our children’s children will wash the pots in
Asiatic sculleries.
THE END
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation and spelling have been standardized.