THE PROFESSOR AS DIPLOMAT

A disagreeable diplomatic incident has been turned by the State Department into an occasion for cementing the friendship between the United States and Persia. The murder of Vice-Consul Imbrie for photographing a native shrine has been atoned for by the execution of the malefactors and by the payment of an indemnity to Mr. Imbrie's widow; the additional indemnity, to recompense the United States government for sending a warship to bring home his remains, it is planned, will be devoted to the education of Persian students in American universities.

The resentment that might arise in Persia against demands which, although justified, seem severe, is gracefully warded off. The prestige of the representatives of the United States in Oriental territory is more than maintained. The justice of American demands is tempered by enabling Persian students to seek educational advantages in America. If the transference of students from one country to another is effective in molding a feeling of friendly esteem, this proposal will have more than a temporary and merely diplomatic effect.

It has been urged that when two nations are too deeply severed in tradition, culture, and intellectual attitude. It is dangerous for them to study each other too closely. The perception of an unbridgeable gap may be another wedge to drive wider apart the rift of international misunderstanding. But whether the cause of international amity be promoted or not by indiscriminate exchange of students, it is certain that residence among a foreign people incites to closer self-scrutiny, more accurate national appraisement, and a healthier spirit of international understanding.