1940-10-25 — Page 31

THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 25, 1940.

CHINA MAIL The

WINDSOR HOUSE

PACIFIC STABILITY

The "Old School Tie joke still thrives and enjoys an outingievery now and then from the Haw-Haws

and Hee-Haws. of Hamburg and

Humbug, Myself, I am never

Humbug

Hamburg

But

Page

From

Lloyd George, and others who have risen to the highest positions in Britain, were not Public school products.

recognising its importance in the human sphere as well? And though a man may be ""the tenth transmitter of a foolish face" he can at least redeem that condi- tion by behaving in an agresable fashion, though an inverted form of snobbery would have us believe that all this is "side.". It is "side" when it is a mere adornment, bút where habit makes it second nat- ure, it becomes natural.

The recent Washington conversations between Lord Lothian, Mr. Casey, very certain whether the folk who the old and Mr. Cordell Hull and make these jests about

school tie really kilow anything Colonel Knox's announce-

about, old, schools at all. ments on American pre-

Speaking literally, I have, in paredness, are promising life, met few people who actually signs of the development wore their old school tie, except of mutual interest and possibly, in such cases as when support in the common

The English Public School task. of maintaining stab-

of course, a very human institu- ility in the Pacific. After tion, and, as such, liable to many the momentous and far-errors. Behind it all, however, is the laudable idea of providing a reaching agreement made liberal education, which means; between Great Britain essentially, education for the idea and the United States of being a freeman, ás,opposed to for the defence of the At-the condition of being a slave. Ac. lantic, it was only natural.cording to the Greek, conception, to 1440, and new in the sense that who go to the same school come have special training schools tor

it was a very new school tię.

is,

he slave's job in life was-just o work; while the freeinan's job

working.

schools, though practically all are open to day boys. Perhaps about 50, beginning with Eton and Har row, would form the heart of the English upper and upper middle!! class system of education;

Though many Públic schools The war, perhaps, will change other schools which would con- modern idea for a well-to-do fath- that they will become less exclu- there would also be at least 150 are centuries old, it is quite a the Public schools. One hopes form to the definition of Puber to think of sending his son to sive, if only for the reason that lic School." All follow, more..or one of them as part of his duty. the charge that they are exclusive less, the same methods and are. In days gone by the average.coun- is a sort of back-handed compli- animated by the same aims and try squire thought the local gram-ment. One hopes also that, be- principles.

mar school good enough for his cause, the average Public school- son, and the sons of the wealthy man does so many things well, he were educated mostly by private will be trained in the future to tutors. It is also quite a modern do them better. practice to talk of "an old Public school..boyas if that, conveyed the idea of a perfectly well reccg system and the idea of a liberal Nevertheless, the totalitarian nised type belonging to a definite education for the freeman are social caste. No. greater fallacy irreconcilable. The Nazi ideal in could exist, for not only do Pab- education is to turn out men and lib schools in England differ from women with no more individuality each other in respect of the boys than a tank, a machine-gun, or a who attend them, but even boys high-explosive bomb, though they from widely different social cir- cles and homes,

The cost of sending a boy as a boarder to one of these, schools would', range. from £100, to as much as £400 a year. One or two, however, such as Christ's Hospital, provide free, education to all but a few.

Many of these schools are old, but a few are quite modern-old in the sense that Eton dates back

By Gerald Dillon

some few were started compara

..

Breeding And Manners may be the Prime Minister of to-

leaders. In Britain, selection for leadership is based on a. much wider franchise. Any one of the hundreds of boys at Eton to-day

morrow; but the Prime Minister may equally be a product. of a board school at Bermondsey, or the free school at Worplespoon- under-Moss,

The Public school spirit is a de- tively recently. Also, they are exclusive in the sense that they finite thing, though hard to de- provide education for some 60,000 fine, and it offers to the boys only, which is not a very world certain

qualities from proportion of England's which we might all learn...

The old school tie gibe on Gar large. youth. It is also a fact, of course,

man lips is humbug, for, though that entrance to such schools. is The chief aim is that the school the.. O.S.T. might occasionally very often, but not exclusively, a should turn out men with a strong carry a man into a position for privilege of birth and wealth. The sense of public and of private which without the tie he would. majority of Cabinet Ministers in duty, and with a strong inclina-stand as much chance as a man It also without a shirt, the party mem- Britain, the great proportion of tion to public service. the Bench of Bishops, and some-betokens a due sense of the impor,bership in Germany. (ie, mein- Civil servants-earning over £1,000 breeding and manners We recog- is a similar lever with far less thing like 152 out of every 200 tance of what we might call good bership of the one and only party)

a year have usually been to Public nise the importance of breeding in' guarantee that the man wearing schools. On the other hand, Ram- horses, sheep, cows, and poultry, the Nazi badge will be the most say Macdonald, Disraeli, Asquith, Surely there is nothing anies in suitable man for the job.

that Americans should turn their thoughts to the was to be the best kind of inan Pacific. For the moment possible. Nowadays, everybody}: they can feel that the im- has to work, more or less, but mediate task of stemming some people can afford to have a the wave of European shot at becoming the best possible aggression belongs to the kind of man before they start British, now that the lines of American support have To produce that best possible! been laid down and that kind of man is the object of what good progress is being we might call "the old school." made in forwarding assis- Naturally the old school fails tance. There is evidence any cases to produce this result. then it is a purely human in the United States of institution dealing with ordinary growing concern over the human material. dangerous situation in the Pacific. however, and it is only natural that, while is a place where people work. a great effort is being Properly, they should be launched to strengthen English Private the forward bases of the misleading term ("Public") dates from the time Monastic schools

but

in

The English Public Schools are no more public than a workhouse!!

called Schools. The

These schools in England vary in size and importance from those

United States, negotia-prepared boys for the Church tions should simultane-while the Public schools prepar- ously be carried on with ed boys for public life..... other Powers interested in! the building of a barrier against naked aggression. housing about 100 boys, to those Though it is hardly to be which accommodate as many as expected that such dis- 1,100. They are mainly boarding cussions should result in

a basic agreement, unless.

the course of events in ity." Such a project has Asia should make it im- been talked about for perative, the steady de- years, and it is doubtful if velopment of Anglo- anything more than a American cooperation is loose-federation of Chur- revealed by the mere fact ches could be brought in- that. such

But what discussions, to existence. should take place, involv- ever happens in the field ing as they do, the pos- of organisation, doetrinal- sibility of Singapore, and ly there will be strong at- presumably Australian tempts to produce a "Jap- ports, being placed at the anese Christianity." This disposal of the United means a greater approxi- States fleet. Only sheer mation between Chris- desperate opportunism tianity and Shinto. could lead Japan to disre- influence of the Church gard the clear warnings would be made in every that have been uttered. way the instrument of State policy. What will happen now is uncertain,

The

JAPANESE BRAND but there are those well

а

acquainted with Japan One by one the foreign who think that, left to experts who educated Jap themselves, the Japanese an in all other aspects of may possibly find modern civilisation have Church organisation and been superseded by Jap a method of evangelisa- anese; now the same pro- tion which are both in cess is to be repeated in line with historic Chris- religious affairs. Not only tianity and at the same are foreign bishops to be time more successful in dispensed with but for their appeal to the Japan- eign monetary aid as well. ese mind than anything In addition there is a plan which has been imported to combine all Japanese from abroad. It must be Christians in a Japanese admitted that the chan- Church which is to exem-ces of this do not seem plify Japanese Christian- very great.

:

PLAN

FOR AN ARK

PRAFT

ARMY

MAXI FLOOD

ROOSEVELT

CONGRESS

RIVAL NOAHS

AB THEY BEE IT ABROAD