The Portland daily press., 1872-07-08
FOR GOVERNOR, ~
SIDNEY PERHAM.
Geneva and Its Promise Of the Future.

Among the most significant cries of the
French Radicals is Vive pApenir Hail to
the Future! One need not be ''Red'' to
feel like using the same exultant exclamation
in view of the final triumph of the treaty of
Washington and the actual settling down to
work of the Geneva tribunal. 1t is the best
news for our grandchildren, at any rate, that
this country has afforded. 1t contains a
promise that even they will not be led to
fields of slaughter, and that we are now liv-
ing in the very last years of the period when
about half of human energy is squandered in
struggles for the mere physical mastery. 1t
is miniature copy of that great Amphicty-
onic council which every philanthropist
dreams will one day take the place of war as
the last court of appeal for the nations. To
be sure its jurisdiction is limited on every
side. 1t is true that it is constituted only for
the settlement of single question pending
between only two nations, instead of being
general international tribunal, with indie
pendent powers and with the means of en-
forcing its DEGREES. But it is somethil. git is
much-that two of the most powerful ma
Dioho III buC WOllQ nave LuC ulOIlleIb dDul-
Gated their sovereignty and pledged their mu-
tual honor to abide by the decision of pow
er independent of themselves. Toward the
more comprehensive idea of general league
OF peoples, there is a blind cropping in many
directions, and several tentative movements
are already on foot. These latter are wholly
conducted by organizations of men in entire
independence, and generally in defiance of the
states of which they are citizens. Among them
may be mentioned the International Working
mems Association, which has in it the germ,
perhaps, of "the Commonwealth of Man, and
1.-THE Federation ofthe World" notwithstand-
ing the miserable fanaticism of some of its
members and the vast amount of friction de-
veloped in the practical working of so vast
and so loosely organized society. A more
definite attempt to establish an international
league, the various members of which are to
delegate to the central authority all the more
general functions of government, as the sever
al States of the Union do to the United States
was made not many years ago by the repre-
sentative Radicals of various European States,
at "Peace Congress" held, if we are not mis-
taken, at this very Geneva where Americana
Englandare at length gracefully submitting
themselves to their international judges At
this Congress" constitution was adopted
for 'the United States of Europe" modelled
on the constitution of our own country. The
Radicals of Europe are much more "advanc-
ed' than those of our own country. They
tho nr,lv III.
country is the world, and their brethren
mankind Garibaldi has shown that he, at
least, is capable of making this doctrine prac-
tical instead of holding it as speculative
theory. He and his associates will be held in
great generation hereafter as among the
greatest benefactors of the race But doubt
less the Geneva conference represents the
normal development of the federative princi-
pie, and is the true type of the grand Amphic-
tyonic Council of the future The independ-
ent movements that go SO much further in
the same direction, are chiefly valuable as a
means of influencing the opinions of man
kind, which in turn react ON the govern
ments of the world and lead them to recog-
nize more and more the fact that the inter
ests of nations as well as of individuals are
identical, and that antagonism is as unphilo-
sophical in the one case as in the other. The
independent movements can hardly succeed
through agencies provided by their support
ers except by violence and armed resistance
to the constituted authorities. But it is to be
hoped that the too persistent conservatism of
no people or rules will prevent slow and
sure enlargement under the patronage of ex-
isting governments, of the powers of tribu-
mails like that at Geneva, until every rational
aspiration of even the European Liberals
shall be more than gratifed