SUNDAY MAGAZINE
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 192
A Retrospect After Five Years
wE GREAT WAR I MILTON'DREYFUSSwho b cxi. owe, oexercise
shook the props, auhriy in hrh workshop,sho,
of our Established rdconi arco. I s i, shoola
T rder of Things; and we have no substitute. We ar1 ward an Individualism rather than insurgence agint age . . . Youth
and of all peoplessure of nothing; Morals, Religion, toward Cooperation. It is obvious asemptx to sril its own life. inde-,
none were more Tradition, everything, all ar doubted. that no orgariztion of any kind is pendent the lazy habits of the old
afected than the Truth? God?-we are skeptical. A possible without a common ideal; and a snof i Iis of an gli
1 o5r am loix tils iittes ofoian ugly
Youth of almost wise beneficent power ruling the an individualistic materialism siuch convention. It aims at a manner of
the entire world. world,-perhaps? Gone is the faith as is now permeating American Youth living that corresponds to the nature
The War and its aftermxath became that Right is Might, and that Virtue can not provide this common ideal. of Youth anid which enables the indi-
to all things a gigantic question- will in the end be rewarded;-instead The mass of the reports coming vidusi to take himself and his actions
mark. some are begianing to suspect wheth- from Germn:gy indicate a different e
For years-up to July, 1914-every- er such ideas and beliefs had riot condition prevailing among the Youth efactor in the larger wrk of civiliza-
body sang "'God's in his heaven, all's been instilled deliberately in us by of that country. Where the American tiuo...
right with the world!'" and if at our elders or those in power who. Yonth, disillusioned and awakened, T
ti some disturbing eventgaveI through our adhering to these beliefs, says: 'Well, I may not like them but he Youth Movemenconpis,
any imue evt ht be the better able to nai.tait since these are the rules of the game, some forty national organizations and
to us an inkling that possibly every- omsght hundreds of others of local scope. The
thing was not all right, we remedied their authority and position. For it I'll play according to them," the Ger- three main divisions into which Mr.
that by singing the refrain a little is true that one way to devitalize a man Yout- say: "Well, since thee Lsker divides the Gernan Youth
louder. ,Thse orld ,in general, was man is to make a "gentleman" out of ere the rsses of the game, and I don't Movetent are: the proletarian, the
"kidding itself along" with a comfort- him. like them, I'm going to try to change Christian and the non-socialist liber
able bunch of illusions, and especial- In spite of the beatitudes which the them." Such is the portrayal of the als The first division includes those
1 was this true of Youth because of American Youth through school, Youth thought of the respective coun- l.
its isnsaturity and its susceptibility press, and pulpit has been told are re- tries, as far as observation and read- i i sclse associatio with MaoritySo
t the fln of its eldera served for the virtuous, the moral, ing enable one to conclude. The calists, with the Independent Social-
The caine the War For the firs the conteted poor, and the honest, American Youth sets out to fit them- ists, and with the Communistic party,
tiein msth cases Yothame fa- ce see that in the dual analysis suc- selves into the existing code; the as well as those independent social-
cess is judged by what one has, and German, to fit the code to themselves. ist and commsunist organizations
to' face with reality; and what it sass not so much by chat one i. The Consequently we ought not be ur- wich are hstile to party action and
tended to cause in its mind at least a Youth sees that in America privilege prised at the existence in Germany of h an.Te t ss rom
little doubt as to the validity of the and respect go not to the preacher or an organized Youth Movement to party affiliation. The mostproment
pre-war evaluation of things. But this teacher (as the above precepts have achieve this d ine ofstivisios in the second or
doubt was directly counteracted by led us to expect) but to the materiatly Of this GerChan Youth tovemont Cistian group is that between Cath-
the high moral plane on which press, rich. And the American Youth deter- Bruno Lasker, foreign sevice editor olic and Protestant. In general, the
school, and pulpit claimed the war mines that at all odds he will be a of the Survey Magazine, who has just membership in this Christian group
was being fought. 'Was this not "A I success, judged by the existing c- returned from an extended trip in is de up of ht we call Eport
War to End Wars", a struggle 'To Ierion. He doesn't want to hurt any- Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzer- Leagues, Christian Endeavors, Sunday
Make the W;ld Safe For Democra- body in attempting to achieve suc- land, France, and England, writes: tSchool and Y. . C. A. organizations,
cy"; - hat a privilege it was for cess; he's sorry if le as to, but he" . . . The revolt of Youth which has etc. The bulk of th membership of
Youth (so said our elders) to partici- is iefersiscd to be a suceess. Pessi- sc-pt osher nasy ceuntrica during h lie Youth Movement, according to
rate in this war based upon the most mistic of hunan nature, disillusioned, past fesw yoor ias founil nourisimeut r. Lasker, falls within the third di-
lofty and unselnssh motives conceiva the Yoth of America is out "to get for rapid groweth (in Germany) The vision, the on-soialistic liberals -
- ill o And the Youth beeved, ad ihis," - sonething which he believes Youth Mitovement of that country to;thse groups which accept no politi-
still firm of faitn in the words and everyone else is trying to do. Per- day, or the different movements which cal or denomnational authority or
integrity of their elders, went to war. haps the American Youth is not en- seen from afar seem one, sweep the doctrine. Included are the National-
Then caie Peace; asd the work Of tirely satisfied with the conditions greater part of the young people un- ists, heDs,,theorts, the a Geran
doubt and disillusionment started that are, perhaps lie would be glad der 25 years of age and a very large Pathfinders, the Free or Liberal or-
among Youth by the War was car- to see them changed;-but . . "Well, section of the young organized work- usan groups (the largest subdivision),
ried pretty nearly to coipletion by I'm out to win, and I'll play the ers into a single spiritual stream. It and the definite anti-Socialists.
the Peae and Post-War period. "A gamne as others play it." is the insurgence of a strong race With the exception of Chas. B.
War to End War," "To make the There is among the American against the hampering restrictions Dyar, to whom I shall later refer;
World Safe for Democracy," "A New Youth nothing that can be called an umposed upon its natural development practically all observers of the Ger-
World Order," "A Lasting' and Endur- organized movement; - in fact if I by militarism, church, school, and man Youth Movement agree that its
ing Peace";-apparently mere words, have made suficiently clear in the modern industry.. It is an insurgence present trend is anti-political or rath-
only propaganda used by our elders preceding paragraphs of the condi- directed in its present stage against er non-political. As one writer puts
in order to win the cnflict. Suc- tions existing it can be seen that the the most immediate oppressors, the it: "The dilemma of choosing between
cinctly speaking, the Post-War period trend of Youth in this country is to- men who made and defended the war, the fullest opportunities for selfde-
took the heart out of Youth. Events velonment and unity of (political) ac-
disabused us of the beautiful fairy tions faces the Movement. Political
tales, proverbs, and moralistic stories, action inevitably means partial re-
which our elders had taught us in F 1* pression of personality. HMence for
our babyhood, and with which with st - e sthe present their purpose is the for-
appropriate variations they had in- mation of rounded, unified character
oculated us throughout our immatur- R i LOVELL rather than the achievement of meas-
ity. One after another our illusions irable results . ." Another writer,
went into the discard; increasingly whose specific subject was The Influ-
we had a feeling that the older gen- Mr. R. I. Lovell recently graduated 1 vaguely what it is you have been ence of the Youth Movement upon the
eration-at least its leaders-had in from the University of London and wondering. You wish it were not so Immediate Task of German Recon-
the past lied to us and kidded'us to is at the University with a special easy to forget what you did not know, strumtin, concluded as follows: "The
their own advantages. The wyorld was fellowship in American History. The and yet you want to do yourself jus- iiret influence of the Movement on,
not so pretty a place is they would following letter is highly interesting tide, you want to do your best by let us say, the fluctuation of the cur-
have had us believe; the self-com- xcause it is unsuxlly sisceer xand your theme. Little "musing differ- rency, the sc-ialization of industry,
placency and self-contentment which written in an admirably direct and ences crowd you-little amusing ;ari- -he payment of reparations . ., is
they had tried to instill in its was- simple manner. atxtions on the Perennial Jokes: Frohi- mea re, not ti say non-existent. But
we grew to feel-unjustified. --- bition, Cheing-ogom, American News - directly its influence upon the eco-
That it was stripped of its illusi-os, There is sometin vry disconcert pa'ers, the American Language. But z m estnd political future of Germany
cf its implicit faith in its elders anrd ing about a point-blank iemnandm ori you want to get down to fundaietal i immeasurably larger than that of
of the belief that necessarily "whati pressions. I think it is a re u'est right as. p co'enant- signed by her statesmen
ever is, is right",-txt much can be Aericans are rather fond of Iak 1 I must confess to a certain trpitWiesb&en, tondoe, or where not.
said in common of the Youth of the aig. I thitk you are ionextly iter idation. This trip means a lot to me. o it is a ne Germany with
World. In the condition, in tis ested to knxw what we think bout it I want to hear all and see all ti-mich the statesmen of the next gen-
fra-me of mind, how would Youth re- all. . Even the best people wrte tenm read all II,possibly can about America eration will hav to deal . . . The
act? that course would it foliow ?I've wisled and planned for isistip'soncy tme0fcc I e-h ol theher I rI Organization of Youth for its own
It was not to be exp ected that Youth for a loig time. I am not unacquain- can get. And America matters so sller deelopment is an imnense so-
everywhere would react alike and aa d with the literature of American much that I must do my ber to ie caI task in itself, and will for long
a unit; generally spean n rea.ions impressions-Dickens, Bryce, Ht. G. mcritical. Despite a real diTidennce, one ma bsn the principal oe. But grad-
Vary with the strength of the stault, Wells, Clesterton, Phillip Gibbs. Nev-. has to mk Ithe effort to pierei super- ,ally conrete pograxms of action to-
and in no two countries was Youth eIthsless it's disconcerting. It's not f'ial things, however pleasant and 1z r- the outer world will also nnd
subjected to the same degree of in- so bad in conversation. The other attractive and get down to rock 'ot- their fornxulation and realization."
tensity of stimuli. In the remainde san does at least ask the leading tons. I have met such unfailing cour- Hence it is along not political but
of this paper I want to trace-briefly uestions. You are inclined to for- tesy and friendliness that it snakes it cultural and social lines that we must
-the reaction of the American Youth, get that our primary purpose in con- very hard to assume the difficult 1role lo e for the up-to-the-present activi-
and-at fuller length-the reaction of ing here is not to answer questions of candid friend. ties and accomplishments of this
the Youth in Germany. but to ask them. Oh it's stimulating, ; What sort of impressions do you 55en rthat is just about five years
The Youth in America was left cyn- toot You grasp a pen and pull your- want, anyway? Ann Arbor, IMichigan,I ol.
cal and pessimistic. All illusions self together, collect your thoughts, the United States? 'The
were gene, alil moo- tngs c-ere cut- sort themx and select. You wonder tC rsihcsoed on Page Three) (Continued on Page Two)