Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-10
DAVIS ON ARBITRATION
Senator From Minnesota Points Out Its
Limitations
Incidentally He Refers to the Awful
Consequences of War on
World at Large.

ST PAUL, Mimi, November Ex-senator
Cushman X. Davis, in an article in the
Pioneer Press, discussing the question of
arbitration and international problems,
says:
During the present general and more
and more so each year, the industrial, COM
mercial and social relations of the civil
LIED states have become so incessant their
exchange of products so necessary their re-
lations of debtor and creditor so enormous
in, amount and complicated in extent
and variety that infiicts losses and
caiamties of world wide ruin, not only 20
the people engaged in hostilities, but also
upon the subjects of neutral states.
This stability of conditions has caused
an enormous increase in wealth and prop
erty, greater within the last fifty years
than during any hundred years in the
worlds history. The assurance of peace
and stability has caused an imperial eX
pansion of civilization equal in Importance
to that which followed the discovery of
America by Columbus.
The March of Civilization.
Call it by whatever name you will,
whether of stigma praise. the enduring
and irreversibe fact remains that the dark
continent, the diseased and senle nations,
the islands of the sea, have passed or are
about to pass under the dominion of civil
iZdllOn as represented by governments. Al
RIGA has been subjugated; Japan has been
recreated; China has submitted to an ire
sstible invasion; Madagascar has become
a colony of France: the United States has
acquired the Philippines, and will hold
them.
That these stupendous changes will in
the process of time secure an enormous
trade, give increased employment to labor
every where, make efficient higher moral
ity in these new fields of action and gen
e1ally elevate the human race is true, or
all history is false. The change is sudden
and violent, and necessarily works incl
dental hardships in the process of its RENE
dial operation. This always happens But
to say that because of this the change is
unlawful or immoral and must not be made
is to prohibit the remedy because of the
pain it may infiict and to doom the patient
to die of the disease which the remedy
would cure.
The Limits to Arbitration.
Nations now arbitrate in many cases
where formerly they would have fought.
In no other instance has the power of
public opinion been more efficient. The
United States has been pre-eminently the
leader in this pacific evolution, having sub
mitted lhirty-eight cases of international
dispute to arbitration during it's political
existence. The precedent established by
this government and Great Britain in ere
ating the Geneva tribunal and submitting
to its award has been of the most per-
suasiVe force upon other nations.
The jurisdiction of arbitration will I'M
doubtedly be greatly extended. It has its
limitations.
Questions involving national honor or
domestic policies are not justifiable before
arbitral tribunals. Those Of honor are es-
sentially to be determined only by the par
ties. To arbitrate questions of domestic
policy, however hurtful their exercise to
another state, would be to delegate the
powers and duties of Independent govern
ment foreign authority"