The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-29
PEACE PROCEDURE.
How Nations Go About Finishing
Up a War.

How Nations Go About Finishing
Up War.
] Chicago Times Herald: Nothing that
/ a nation does is as solemn as the nego-
tiating of a treaty OF peace. any treaty
! is attended by a good deal of formality,
/ but treaty o. peace, being the most
! important of all. is the most formal.
! The declaration of an armistice is US
ually the first thing on the programme.
I This means simply cessation of hos
/ tilities, and, as that is usually very
! much to the benefit of one side or the
/ other, the victorious nation requires
/ that the details must be pretty well
/ understood before the armistice is de-
I clared When these details are extern
1 sive and stated in black and white the
I agreement is known as a preliminary
] peace, in contrast to the definite peace.
A preliminary peace is fully binding,
and the treaty of Paris between Eng
land and the United States, signed Nov.
80, 1882, was such document.
The contracting parties usually APP
point commissioners, who meet at
neutral capital, and there agree upon
the details. Under international law
interested powers may be included, if
they took q direct part in the war, and
if they have any interest involved in
the agreements which may be made by
the nations that are about to settle
their differences. 1t would be on such
plea that the European powers might
attempt to be represented in the Span
ish-American treaty. They would do
it readily enough on shallow pretexts,
as was shown by the Russo-Turkish
convention of 1875 and the Japanese
Chinese treaty of 1895, when the pow
ers had practically the entire control
,sof the negotiations.
It is not likely that the United
States would agree to be treated as
Russia and Japan were. The custom
of the United States has been to deal
solely with its antagonist. This was the
case in the peace negotiations with
England. when France and Spain tried
to interfere. Spain laid claim to the
territory between the Mississippi and
the Alleghanies. from the gulf to the
lakes, and France, always SPANS
friend-one might say brother, that
quarrels frequently, but makes COM
mon cause against the outside world
showed clearly that it was no love for
us that led to its aiding the Americans
in the revolution. England showed
herself a better friend, or rather that
she wished to benefit US in preference
to France by agreeing to give us the
territory and declaring that Spain had
no status.
Our next treaty of peace, that of 1914,
with England, was peculiar in that it
contained no reference to the causes
that brought on the war. It settled the
ownership of islands in Passamaquoddy
bay and defined the boundary line be-
tween the United States and Canada,
but made no reference to the real is
sues of-the war However, the United
States contentious against the recog-
milton of search, paper blockades and
in favor of the right of expatriation
have since become recognized princi-
pies of international law, which are
observed even when there is no def
mite treaty.
When the United States had con-
auered Mexico there was a good deal
of talk about European interference in
the terms of the treaty of peace, but
the powers found their informal sug-
gestions were received coldly and did
not press the matter. This was the
first war in which we got an indemnity,
and, in fact, the only one. That one
will be exacted in the war with Spain,
goes without saying, as that is the
regular custom nowadays. Such an in
deinnity is required sometimes in ter
ritory, sometimes in money and some
times in both. Compensation with
Mexico was exacted only in territory
because of the poverty of our neigh
boring nation The cost of the war
had been about $780, 0G0, 600, and we took
California and New Mexico in payment
therefor and gave $4,000, 600 to Mexico,
so well were we. satisfied with the bar
gain.
China has lost much money and more
territory paid out in indemnities. The
three wars with Great Britain of 1910,