The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-07-22
Proposition to Prohibit Explosive
Bullet Defeated.
Progress Made by the
Peace Conference.
Arbitration Committee Has Yet
Some Work to Do.

The Hague, July 21.-Baron Do Staa
presided as the plenary session of the In
tsrna!ioral ZOE conference To place the
firal seal up.n the lahors OF the first COM
mittee. The tlrst point Of M. Van Karne-
beck's report dealing with prohibition OF
dropping explosives from balloons, was
unanimously adopted. The second point
prohibiting the use of asphyxiating pro-
jectiles was agreed to by all except the
United States and Great Britain, who
abstention nuliifles the agreement of the
others. The third point which relates to
expanding bullets, occupied the major
rart Of the sitting owing to the question
of the dum-dum bullet used by the Brit
ish army. Sir Julian Pauncefote ex-
pressed regret that the plerary session
had been SO suddenly summoned, as the
British governments had intended to make
q statement regarding the DUN dun bull
let. The conference agreed to lsaYe the
minutes Of the session open for the ins er-
tion Of the British statement. MIR. An
drew ID. White, the heal of the United
STATES delegation, ma1e az important
speech in opposition to prohibition of
such bullets as the DUN dun.
MIR. Whites arguments male q great
impression upon this delegates especially
when he explained tina, the adoption of
the proposal az submitted would not pre-
vent the use OF another bullet, which ha1
already been invented and which would
attain the sans end as the dum-aum
bullet in much more cruel manner. The
new missile. Mr, HhIte Eaid, uas ont
side the specific definitions Of the present
proposal.
Captain Crosisr, the military member
of the United States delegation, offered as
substitute the following: "Ths use of
bullets should be prohibited which infiict
unnecessary cruel wounds, such as ex-
plosiye bullets and In general every kind
Of bullet exceeding the limits necessary
to pu, man Immediately hors du COM
bat"
A long discussion ensued as to whether
vote should be taken upon the original
proposal or Captain Crosier's The latter
was finally chosen 90 be voted upon. Sir
Julian Pauncefots announced that hs
would accept Captain Crosier's proposal
but 1t was defeated By a vote OF IL to 8.
III. Karnebeck's version was the adop-
ted, Great Britain and the United States
alone voting against 1t and the Portu-
guese delegates abstaining from voting.
The eight countries voting for Captain
Crosier's proposal were the United States,
Great Britain, Denmark. Greece, Servia,
Portugal, China and another. All except
the two first named supported the Crosier
proposal only In the hope Of securing
unanimity In the conference, Captain
Crosier's proposal being more general
in its terms while it was known that the
impossibility Of obtaining the adhesion
of the United States and Great Britain
for Van Karnebeck's s version would rem
der futile any convention ON the subject.
The remainder Of the report was then
adopted.
Before the closing OF the sitting the
American delegates announced that they
Withdrew the articles which they proposed
should be added to the Geneva oonyen-
tion. Captain Mahan explaining the rea.
son for the additional articles and why
they were withdrawn.
The labors of the conference are now
concluded with the exception of the work
before the arbitration committee.