, 1874-05-10
ARBITRATION VS.. WAR.

anywhere, peace and good will to all shoult
reign. pays $500, ,0G0, 900 yearly to maintai,
10000, 900 professors Of the art Of death, an ar
to which nesrly all the sciences are tributary
| chemistry. physics, mechanics. engineering
architecture, neronautics. Tho 1Aurels Uon q
the Bar, on the Bench, on Change, or by th.
! pen, dazzle not the public eye as thost
! that arc won By the sword on the field O.
| battle. The history OF Cesar, Alexander, o,
| Napoleon finds thousand readers wberf
that OF Rufus Choate, = Marshall
4 Taney, or Byron even. finds one. Or
the successful soldier the world heaps wealth
it sounds his praises, exalts him to the highest
place. Military glory is the most dazzling o1
glory.
Nor does all this change AZ the world ad-
vances. War is more humane now than it used
to be; but it is still war, the giant Of blood-red
tresses, with "eyo that scorcheth all it rolla
upon" We moderns are more scientlfic7 r. e.,
more cold-b1ooded, in our warfare than our
grandfathers. We are, perhaps, less Of the say
age in war than our ancestors far back; but
when we go to battle we take az many lives,
mako AZ many widows and orphans, desolato as
many homes, and draw as many tears from the
living. We waste more wealth in the destruc-
ton OF life than we spend in the support Of
charities, OF in plilanthropic enterprises.
No ono will deny that wnr ia an evil - great
evil. It is, however, always choice between
two owls, real or imagined, and is chosen because
supposed to be the Lesser OF tie two. In this
view Of it, War is not wholly wrong. Wero it
wholly evil mankind would not 30 universally
reward the successful warrior. Itappears in the
guise Of the avenger OF the night It a the
shadow OF patriotism, the guardian Of our
heArtha. OUT homes, and loved ones. Hence the
enthusiasm it awakens. War has, it cannot
ba disguised, done much for the world.
Out OF its evil has come forth good
The whole history OF the animated crea-
tion il one Of struggle and warfare. in which
the fttest survive. In tho contests Of nations
the aceprra has gone over to those who could
wiring it from all othera. And, although might
is net rght,-sinoe man is moral being,-to
tho mighty belongs the earth, only because to
be mighty they must first be right, or have been
in Tie right
But whetover good war may Indirectly have
produced in the past, it is not the less true that
it would be blessing could 1t be dispensed
with "a means Of settling disputes between
nations; could Reason, or even mutual
interest, take it's place. There ara
many who hope thst this may yet
be; that arbitration will take the place OF
war, and future battles bo fought as the United
States fought Encland ut Geneva. .Diplomscy
alone is not sufficient to settle certain sra7e iu-
tornational difficulties. The question Of arbi-
tration ia exciting great deal OF attention in
Europe,-in fact, the world over. The project
meets with great deal OF encouragement in
Franco and Germany. In ltn3y the House OF
Deputies formally sanctioned it by vote. On
tho 29th Of April the 1nternationA, Code Com
mittee of the United States held Il meeting in
New York to consider the feasibility Of max
ing arbitration q basis at settlement in
disputes between nations. and to agree on
principles, in view Of m International Congress
to be convened soon to make arrangements for
settling international affairs amicab1y. The
same question had been discussed at meeting
Of publlcists and statesmen held in Brussels In
October 1878, which lasted four days, md ut
one held about the saue time at Ghent.
Tho advocates Of arbitration feel much en-
bv the precedent set in the Geneya
case, Notwithstanding the fact that the United
States and England are not agreed On the inter-
probation to be put On tho three rules adopted
By them mutually. How to move in this ruattor |
is, OF course, a question Of the highest i'm
portance, It is not probable that Governments |
wiu take the initiative. much al they may indi- |
vidually favor the movement. On individuals !
this will devo1ve.
As to the prospects Of the Buccess Of the !
It behooves uB to speak with caution. |
80 many apparently impossible things have been
Iced, who would ser limits to the possible. Lord !
ambor1y, Prot. seely, and other gentlemen in
England, think that war may be abolished by !
/ federation OF nations. We have little faith |
n this method The federation Of nations ia. !
tself, aa hard to effect "a it il to abolish war |
70 do away with brute force by federation Of |
he States OF the world would be to accomplish
he impossible BY the moro impossible. Neither
eil tho preaching cf the commandment "Love
,na anotber do it. "Love oao another" has
,een preached for weli-nish 3oou years, and
It'll men will make Wat on one another. moro
PRACTICAL suggestion would be 80 to organize tho
sorld that no nation can afford to 60 to war, and
hat the world 1t large. consistently with its own
material interests, cannot afford to allow any
NO nations TO engage in host'lities one agninst
he other When the moral law is reinforced by
interest, it ia most apt to be observed. This
hould, perhaps, not be 10. But it Is = patent
act that It'll SO, and vs may II we'll take the
rorld as ne find it.
Commerce is great civilizing influence. Free
rade is great preacher and evAngeizer. Il
nakcs the interest Of nation tho interest Of
IL, and thanks to the network OF mutual inter-
e+a II, vvhich IL invo}ve4 a1f +hA nof;ona nf +ha |