Show im understanding A III WORLD K AFFAIRS n 1 l at almost any cost men must K cep open the channels channel of understanding and preserve unclouded lucid and serene their of truth walter lippmann A day at the worlds fair by WALTER LIPPMANN LIPPI VIANN yn THE way from M jitshing ton with walan its political i ti aels to europe with its crises it have at last managed to spend the better a day at the worlds fair I 1 in new york that Is not nearly a long enough time to see sec the fair but it Is time enough to see the point which Is that the human tace race Is A 4 collection of the most marvelous ingenious and engaging idiots that ever got possession ol of a noble planet everything Is on display from instruments so precise that they will measure the pressure of a mans thumb on a steel rail to a regiment of perfectly formed human creatures everything is there that demonstrates how with wilh his capacity for accuracy and beauty man retains a preposterous incapacity to enjoy the fruits of his gerdus genius to be as wise as he is intelligent to be as good as he Is great no doubt each man will take away from this exposition that which he has brought to it and Is prepared to tosei see I 1 have come away thinking how haw little like the truth are the formulae which we dispute about and dignify by calling our ideologies in the russian building tor for example one may read on the wells walls all kinds of inscriptions announcing noun cing the birth of a social order different and better than any which has existed on earth yet as proof there are the exhibits which seek to convince the american crowds that russia is now more american than america itself there is a room designed somewhat unconvincingly I 1 thought to convince us that the dictatorship of stalin is a democracy in which elected representatives wait to hear from their constituents and do not torget forget to kiss the babies there are exhibits to show that russia has constructed ted a pittsburgh Pittsburg liand and that in moscow they aie build building an edifice which is somewhat lidz like though a little taller than the empire state building and that on top of it there Is an energetic lenin made of steel instead of a genial al smith made of flesh and bones there Is also a section tion of the new moscow subway which combines the engineering skill of the Is II 11 T with the decorative art invented by american manufacturers of bathroom fixtures so I 1 came away from the russian pavilion feeling that the influence of america on russia was probably greater than the influence of russia on america and then I 1 visited the italian pavilion with its lovely cascade of cool water pouring down the facade and I 1 thought how excellent it would be jf it signor signer Mus mussolini and count ciano could stand under it and cool off and relax and remember that romp rome which was not built in a day is the eternal city of western man ito be guarded with reverence and exalted in magnanimity for all that is displayed elsewhere in this fair the variety of mans interests te rests and talents the endless ingenuity and courage of his enter arises will surely distract and destroy mankind if men cannot find once again that sense of the universal in the particular the allegiance to that I 1 which Is catholic in that which Is diverse of which for more than two thousand years rome has been the center and the symbol this I 1 felt most strongly as I 1 saw the truly splendid exhibits ot of american industrial technology that incredibly magnificent box of tools cannot be used by men who having learned to do the vector analysis in mathematical physics are not yet able to add and subtract correctly in political economy who can calculate the fineness of a machine to a millionth of an inch and cannot calculate a government budge dudgen within tour four billion dollars for the reason why men cannot calculate well in their political economy Is not that they really cannot add and subtract it is because they do not have the moral unity with their fellows and that moral equilibrium within themselves which would enable them and permit them to deal with their social life steadily and as a whole this undermines all their calculations moreover it entangles them in the greatest of all their misunderstandings the failure to realize griat men are much more likely to be right in what they affirm than in what they deny and much more likely to see the truth in that which they love than in that which they hate I 1 went tor for example to the general genera motors building surely it is as proud an exhibit as one could find of what men can achieve by private initiative voluntary organization individual leadership and the personal genius of scientists and inventors and looking at it one might be disposed to say this is what ori on vate enterprise can do and the best that the italians or the russians have to show is no more than a feeble approximation to it then one rides around and is shown the Ax america of 1960 as mr norman bel geddes conceives it an america where one problem at leat namely the traffic problem has ben completely solved and one realizes that this paradise of the motorist will have to be constructed not uy OY private enterprise but by a public works administration general motors has spent a small fortune to convince the american public that it if it wishes to enjoy the full benefit of private enterprise in motor manufacturing it will have to rebuild its cities and its highways hy by public enterprise so one comes away feeling that men are right when they affirm the value of private enterprises terp rises and when they affirm the necessity of public enterprises enterprise where they go wrong is in denying denying that both are necessary and anat their collaboration Is indispensable having rested my legs and what remained of my mind at billy roses I 1 was ready for the british empire I 1 may have missed a few of the dominions and a good many of the crown colonies but nevertheless le I 1 saw enough to come away feeling that there Is a lot of life in hi the old girl yet in fact it seemed to me that the inherent strength of britain was most surely revealed in the good manners of the british exhibit in the total absence of vainglory and of the I 1 not a snow man af after ter all by BROWN copyright 1938 1939 new york tork tribune ina fill 4 low I belt AWAY N D T M E 11 A at 1 I I 1 I 1 I 1 desire manifested elsewhere to knock your eye out the british are exhibiting their tradition of political freedom with magna carta as the center they are exhibiting their social reforms showing not as in some other pavilions that all problems are solved but how much progress has been made in solving them and the british are exhibiting very honest and not at all showy goods that they manufacture what they seem to be trying to say Is that they cherish freedom and would like to work and to trade and to solve the unsolved problems of social living I 1 came away thinking that only the strong car be so modest and only the honest heart can be so quiet filled with these noble sentiments conscious that I 1 had missed sweden czechoslovakia utah and Loul louisiana siara it was nevertheless time for dinnel that took me to the french pavilion of course not only because french food is the best in the world but also because the french know knew better than any one else now and where to eat their food rhey at like civilized men and at the pair fair they have ha ye built a dining room if one can get into it it is possible to eat and watch the fountains ana the lights this Is very correct and it is vey ve y french for after a man has pen icon all the energy of the human race and its enterprise and its effort ne lie should sit tor for a while and be con fordable for table and remember what the struggle is tor for and contemplate n ii colored waters which play in the cool of the evening copyright 1933 1939 new york tribune inc |