Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-08-24
PEACE CONFERENCES WORK.
Hon. a. u. white Says More Was Accom-
plished Than Was Expected.

Hon. Andrew d. White, United States
ambassador 10 Germany. who was Presl-
dent of the American delegation at The
Hague peace conference. has written the
following in regard to the result of the
conference:
I'm my opinion great good was accom-
plished, far more in fact than any of us
dared expect or even hope when we came
together
AS to disarmament, everybody really
thinking upon the subject must see that
In good system of arbitration must come
Iiirst. and that then. when arbitration has
dimir ished the likelihood of war the aTCt-
ment for cutting down forces and arma-
ments is gre lilly strengthened. The logi-
cal order then is first arbitration and next
disarmament.
"As to the plan of arbitration, any COM
pulSory system Is at present utterly out
of the ques zion. There are so many inter-
national differences involving questions of
race, religion. security and even national
existence, and the difficulty of drawing a
line between those and questions which
may properly be arbtratcd Is so insur-
nountable that there is not a nation on
the fact OF the earth willing to risk an
obligatory system. Far better then, than
| any compulsory arbitration which prob
ably, cVtn if it had been adopted by the
conference, not ono of the powers would
have finally ratified, Is a thoroughly good
System of voluntary arbitration recourse
| to which public opinion will enforce more
and more and this l earnestly believe that
/ the conference has presented to the world.
! Some of the features in the plan adopt
! cd were due to the United States. some to
Great Britain, some to Russia, some to va
|rous other powers and, in my judgment
| the plan thus adopted Is far more valu-
| able than any scheme presented by any
one of the powers at the beginning The
4 nv iG 10 nr "a, 4
thought by the foremost International
! lawyers, statesmen. and diploma lists of
! Europe. to say nothing of other parts Of
the world. They gave their whole souls
TO it, their pride was involved in it, and
1t Will, ] believe, be found to work salts
factorily.
THE great point gained is that whereas
formerly an arbitration court could only
he provided after long corlespondcnce be-
tween cabinets, and negotiations between
ministers, and debates ian Parliamentary
bodies, and hunting for proper judges, and
discussions as to procedure, and a thou
sand other delays. just when time was
most precious, the conference has given
to tho world an arbitration tribunal as an
as an actual and permanent institution,
with judges, procedure, officers Of the
court, place of meeting, and accessories
/ all provided
1T has added as subsidiary to its main
| y,
questions and grievances at issue can be
ascertaned and brought out to be coolly
considered, instead of the wild charges,
! countor-chargeS calumnies, sensational
reports, and rumors which have hitherto
done so much to hurry people into war.
eve may fairly hope that, as time goes
on, a resort to the tribunal now created
will become more and more usual and ma
tural, and that the pressure of public
opinion in all cases " here QueS tions of is
sue can possibly be settled will be far more
effective than any attempt at compulsory
resort to a high International court
This is certainly a great gain, and as
has been very justly observed in very
remarkable and thoughtful recent article
in the Norddeutsche Algemeine Zeitung
the conference deserves credit for not at
tempting to go further. To have done SO
would have provoked resistance and reac-
tion. which would have left the possbil-
tiles of war more serious even than they
have been hitherto.
But even without an arbitration plan
the result would have fully justified our
two months work. The extension of the
Geneva rules to maritime warfare and the
Improvement and establishment of the hes,
system possible at present of the laws and
customs of war would of itself be a SUIT
ficient result.
with arbitration added to this, | fee
that the world will be satisfied in time
that we have made a good beginning, val
liable, indeed, at the outset but likely &c
grow more and more valuable as time
goes OH.
"As to gradual disarmament. that vii
come later. OF course. the people who in
sist on having fruit on the day the tree is
planted will sheer at our work, but history
Will, | believe, judge ii differently
ANDEW ID. WHGTE'