The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-20
WHITE ON THE CONFERENCE.
,.,.,.s,nENT OF THE COMMISSION
TALKS OF THE PLAN.

relieves The Hague Conference Did
coat Good-First Must Come Ar
,.itration. and Disarmament Will
,,tIow-It Is the Logical Order.
,onpuIsory Arbitration Is ImpOs-
.,,ie-ThoroughIyG Good Voluntary
system wanted.
,.,..rs-nondence of the Associated Press.)
rI,rb,lrg. Aug. 7.-At the request of the
.-r..ro1,lent of the Associated Press here
,rIrsw D. White, United States ambassa-
lar ia Germany, who was president of
,., American Peace Commission at The
t4,s1s has written the following in re-
card to the result of the conference:
.r1 my opinion great good was ac-
-or,nlisaed. far more, in fact, than any of
Ms dared expect or even hope when We
came together AS to the disarmament
everybody really thinking upon the sub
isrt must see that a good system of arbi-
frstion must come first, and that then,
when arbitration has diminished the like
1iroo1 of a war, the argument for cutting
down forces and ornaments is greatly
straeutheued. The logical order, then, is,
first arbitration, and, next, disarmament.
As 70 the plan of arbitration, any COM
puIs0ry system is at present utterly out
of the question. There are so many in
r5rratonal differences involving questions
Of race. religion, security and even nation
al existence, and the difficulty of drawing
q line between these and questions which
may properly be arbitrated is so insur-
nouutlbe that there is not a nation on
the face of the earth willing to risk an
obligatory system. Far better, then, than
any compulsory arbitration which PROB
ably. even if it had been adopted by the
conference not one of the Powers would
have ratified. is thoroughly good sys-
TEN of voluntary arbitra ton, recourse to
which public opinion will enforce more
and more, and this l earnestly believe
the conference has presented to the world
Some of The features in the plan adopt
eli we're due to the United States, some 10
Great Britain, some to Russia, some 10
various other powers. The present plan
is the result of most careful thought by
the foremost International lawyers, states
men and diplomatists of Europe, to say
nothing of other parts of the world.
THE great point gained is that, where
as formerly an arbitration court could
only be provided after long correspondence
between cabinets and negotiations minis
ters and a thousand other delays just
when time was most precious
the conference has given to
the world an arbitration tribunal as an
actual and permanent institution, with
judges, procedure, officers of the court
place of meeting ana accessories all pro
yided.
1T has added, as subsidiary to its main
feature, carefully systemauzed plans of
mediation, both general and special which
are likely in many cases to prove exceed
ingly valuable in preventing nations from
drifting into war.
1T has also provided a system of COM
missions of inquiry, by which the real
questions and grievances at issue can be
ascertained and brought out 10 be cooly
considered
We may fairly hope that, as time goes
on a resort to the tribunal now created
viii become more and more usual and
natural, and that the pressure of public
opinion in all cases where questions at Is
sue can possibly be settled will be far
more effective than any resort to a high
International court"