POLITICAL PROBLEMS OF WORLD DISCUSSED

"The Institute of Politics, held at Williamsiown last summer, was a gathering of people to study and discuss problems of present day international politics," Professor Robert H. Lord '06 said in a recent interview for the CRIMSON. He is a co-author with Dean Haskins of the book entitled "Some Problems of the Peace Conference", and has made a study of conditions in Poland, spending several months there in 1920. At the Institute of Politics he conducted one of the Round Table Conferences.

"The Institute was made possible through the generosity of Mr. Bernard Baruch, who had the idea of creating a regular summer meeting of scholars, teachers, business men, and others interested in the questions. His thought was that today more than ever, international politics are of great concern to us in the United States; and that with the immense position we now hold in the world with its opportunities, responsibilities, and perhaps, dangers, it is of utmost importance to build up in this country an intelligent understanding of world politics.

"There were two hundred people who enrolled in the Institute this year and who did the work connected with it, but five or six hundred frequently attended the lectures, williamsiown is an ideal place for such gatherings, with the finest of settings and scenery. The members were very comfortably lodged in the dormitories of Williams College. Most of them took their meals together at the college commons, and the constant social intercourse thus promoted was one of the most enjoyable features of the four weeks at the Institute.

Two Attractions Offered

"Two different kinds of attractions were offered to members of the Institute. First, there were the so-called Round Table conferences, eight or nine in number, each meeting three or four times a week. They were held in the morning hours. Each of these Round Tables devoted its meetings to a particular subject, such as "Present Problems of Latin America", "Present Day Tariff Problems", "International Law", "The New Frontiers in Europe", or "The New States in Europe". These Round Tables were conducted by Mr. Norman Davis, late assistant secretary of state, Dr. L. S. Rowe, a prominent economist, Professor J. S. Reeves of the University of Michigan, Professor J. W. Garner of the University of Illinois, and Professors F. W. Taussig '79, G. W. Wilson, A. C. Coolidge '87, C. H. Harkins and R. H. Lord '06 of the University. The Round Tables were for discussions and the freest and often very ardent discussions attended the conferences.

"Secondly, the Institute offered a series of lectures by distinguished guests from abroad, among whom were Lord Bryce; Signor Tittoni, President of the Italian Senate and late foreign minister of Italy; Count Telaki, late prime minister of Hungary; Baron Korff, a prominent Russian liberal and vice-governor of Finland under the Kerensky government; Dr. Panaretoff, Bulgarian minister at Washington and envoy to the League of Nations; and Professor Viallate of Paris. These lectures dealt with such diverse topics as "The World's Economic Reconstruction After the War", "The Balkan Question Today", and "The foreign Politics of Russia in the Past Half-Century". Probably the lecture course that made the deepest impression upon its hearers and formed a real contribution to political thought was Lord Bryce's course, "The Problems of International Peace".

"It is planned to hold a similar four-weeks Institute next year at the same place and with the same sort of program and it is hoped that these meetings may become annual events. It should be understood that the Institute does not exist to spread propaganda but to provide an opportunity for the fullest and frankest of discussion."