The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1899-05-18
WILL SOW THE SEED
America and England Are for
international Arbitration.
PEACE DELEGATES INSTRUCTED
Little Expectation, However, That the
Gzar's Conference Will Adopt
the Proposal.

Washington. May 1.-THE United
States and Great Britain will stand to-
gether in the advocacy of the adoption
of scheme for the settlement of inter-
national disputes by arbitration, which
will be presented to the disarmament
conference at it's meeting at The Hague.
The American delegates. headed by
Ambassador White, are equipped with a
fairly well-digested plan for the execu-
tion of this long cherished programme,
while the British delegates are pre-
pared with plan which is almost iden-
tical with the American project. The
details cannot be procured for publica-
tion in advance of the presentation of
the project to the Conference. 1t is
known, however, that there are essen
tial differences between this last plan
and that embodied in the treaty draft
ed by Secretary Olney and Sir Julian
Pauncefote. which failed of action IN
the senate when submitted for ratifica-
ton. The differences are rather in the
methods approved for securing an i'm
partial adjudication than in the prin-
ClPdlo Va tIO III uOI anu ~
is believed on these points the British
and American propositions are not pre-
cisely similar. 1t cannot be said that
the American delegates 60 to the con-
ference with any strong expectations
that their own scheme for securing the
adjustment of disputes by arbitration,
or, indeed, any project OF the kind,
will secure the adhesion of the entire
conference, or even majority Of the
delegates, but they are content to plant
the seed and make beginning, which.
it is hoped by the president and Secre-
tary Hay, will. in the end, have SUBJ
stantial results.
The American delegates 60 commit
ted to this arbitration project more
strongly than to anything likely to fig
ure before the conference. Regarding
disarmament, their instructions are to
tell the conference that the present
armament of the United States and any
within the possibilities of the future
are so far below the present minimum
ornaments with which any of the great
powers of Europe are likely to be CON-
tent. that there is really no reason why
the United States should be called
into the agreement.
Other points upon which the dele
gates have been instructed are correctly
referred to ip the cable dispatches this
morning. namely, the exemption from
seizure of individual property and the
extension of the Red Cross rules to
warlike operations at sea. As to the
former, the president expressed himself
very strongly in his last message to
congress
I AS to the Red Cross extension, both
the United States and Spain, during
the recent war, voluntarily agreed to
apply the Red Cross rules at sea. But
another point in the instructions
which is not mentioned in the cable
dispatches is that relating to the ameli-
Grafton of the horrors of war. and with
this, too, the American delegates are
deeply concerned. 1t was because Of
the presidents interest in this subject,
as much as for any reason, that two
technical experts, Captain Mahan and
Captain Crozier, were included in the
American delegation, and the state de-
partment encourages hope that some-
thing in this direction will be accom-
plished at the approaching conference.