"AMERICA COMES OF AGE."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 96, 24 April 1928, Page 6

"AMERICA COMES OF AGE."

America Comes of Age," a recent book Professor Andre -Siegfried, is being muck &L cussed in both America and Europe, ft * very surprising that a foreigner haTitaming so intimate a knowledge of AmeritaT^Tfcs clever Frenchman makes some remaifaMr shrewd observations, for instance, wfcea Lt refers to Americans as "extraordinarily hAy in critical sense," when he says that anetf the most typical traits in American ffaiTirti'i is "exaggeration in thought and action," when he speaks of ' service" in these bats •In the end 'service' is the doctrine of as optimistic Pharisee trying to reconcile snecess with justice/' He is not quite so shrewd win lie seems to accept the common Europai opinion that all Americans are rich, and vfea he uses the following words in speakinj of the colour problem: "TCo matter whkiW we turu in the North or South there scene to be no solution. The colour problem is a> abyss into which we can look oult with terror ~ I do not agree with him here. * I agree Witi these words of the professors: "The Amelias: will become sooner or later the guiding f«r» in the Anglo-Saxon family, but the day wkea they will be the leaders" of the whole rife race is much further off."' He is right Inland is still the father of the nations, Iml (mixing the metaphor) she is an old fatter, hoary with years, and—alas that it has to If •said! hoary with sins also. America is In first-born, destined to take her place won? tho nations. At present America is Terr young, and very foolish. She is full of tk sills of youth. \\e are like those Shmite who could not discern between their right kui and their left hand. But a time for repentant? is still assigned us. Let not the world that wo are imperialistic. .It is cot trot Professor Siegfried, too, says it is not trot We may have made mistakes in our policv it regard to Central America. I do not kntw about that. But I know that if mistake* jt policy have .been made, they have been in good faith. Vve seek the peace and tit welfare of foreign nations. The whole woric is witness to that. Many of our jrrrait tapiti' ists are ruthless, to lie sure. But the Gorerameiit at \\ ashington is strong and is aWe to hold them back. " CHARLES HOOPE2. Coeur d'Alene. Idaho, U.S.A. ,