Monday, May. 05, 1924
Watered Gruel
The Wavering and Quavering of a Brilliant Experiment
Imitation is generally considered to foe flattering. In 1921 Dr. Harry A. Garfield, head of Williams College, son of the assassinated President, called the first session of the Williamstown Institute of Politics. This unique annual event has attracted attention for ihe quality of the foreign lecturers who addressed it, the prominence of the experts who conducted its special Round Table conferences, the timeliness of the subjects discussed. Its first session was dignified by the venerable figure of the late Lord Bryce, and it has been rumored that the preliminaries to the Washington Arms Conference of 1921 were conducted in Dr. Garfield's study. The Institute, financially supported by Bernard M. Baruch, Manhattan financier, ensured the cordial cooperation of the Department of State, functioned as a summer-school for diplomats, publicists, educators, attracted public men from throughout the nation, focussed public attention on its vivid, clear, intelligent discussions of questions of momentous interest.
This brilliant experiment in informing the public of the existence and na ture of foreign affairs deserved imitation. By grace of the Norman Wait Harris Memorial Foundation, the Uni versity of Chicago has established its own Institute of Politics, the first ses ssion of which will be held this Summer. Erroneous despatches in the metropolitan press stated that supporters of the new school had attacked its Williamstown rival as "popular," publicity seeking, insincere.
Vice President James H. Tufts of Chicago University disclaims such partisan views. He declares that the Chicago appeal will be along scholarly, rather than timely lines, and will afford an opportunity for "more continuous, scientific examination of fundamental foreign problems."
Nevertheless, the Chicago organization closely parallels the Williamstown technique, the chief difference being that the professors who serve the select courses are drawn principally from Mid-Western universities. Three foreign lecturers have been secured:
Sir Valentine Chirol of England, one time Foreign Editor of the London Times, who will discuss Reactions of the Near East on Europe;
Dr. Herbert Kraus of Germany, Ger man Foreign Office expert, whose theme is Present Conditions in Germany and Central Europe;
Dr. Charles de Visscher of Belgium, Professor of International Law at Ghent University, whose subject is International Problems of France, Belgium and Western Europe.
The Institute hopes to be supplied with other lecturers by the U.S. Government Departments.
The Williamstown Institute has not yet announced its complete schedule. Standing ambitiously in the midst of current politics, it was inevitable that it should be made the vehicle for much propaganda, beyond the power of Dr. Garfield to control. Despite the high prestige of some of its speakers, such as Lord Bryce, Tommaso Tittoni and Lord Birkenhead, it has not been immune from such unabashed propagandists as Count Harry Kessler (German). Further, the Institute has been very much under the influence of League of Nations proselytizers in this country. The report is discouraging that the British representatives this year are again to be Lionel Curtis and Philip Kerr, Lloyd Georgites. Notable omissions of the Institute to date have been its failure to secure intelligent spokesmen for such tremendous political forces as the Soviet Internationale, the Vatican, British Labor. Such omissions are not of vital moment, yet it is pertinent to consider that Russian representation has been limited to the seven-years discredited Tsarist officials, and that the Labor movement of Great Britain is as yet without an exponent or apologist at Williamstown.
The fare with which Williamstown tickles the palate of the American public must naturally be tempered to the public's appetite, but it is passed upon by cooks prejudiced in favor of a certain diet. It is to their credit that, despite their personal views, while refraining from service of the devilled crabs of Bolshevism, they have not openly urged the watered gruel of internationalism on their clientele. In any event, the Chicago imitation, content with being an undramatic second, will put Williamstown on its mettle to disseminate knowledge of political conditions rather than to advance causes.