Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-12-05

The Hague Conference.
The first Conference OF Nations held
az The Hague in 1899. being unable TO
dispose OF all the business before IL, re-
tement OF a number OF important qucs-
tons by another conference to be called
subsequently, and at an early date.
These questions were the. following; CD
the. limitation of armed forces on land
and sea, and Of military budgets; 90
the use Of new types and calibers of
ability OF private property at sea in
times OF war; 20 the bombardment OF
ports, cities and villages by naval
forces. In October. 1904. at the instance
of the Interparliamentary Union. which,
at q conference held in the United
states and attended by the lawmakers
of tfteen different nations, had reiterat-
ed the demand for a second Conference
Of Nations, | Issued invitations to all
the powers signatory TO The Hague
Convention to send delegates TO such q
conference and suggested that IL be
again held at The Hague. In its note OF
December lG, 1891, the United states gov
eminent communicated to the represen-
tatives OF foreign government it's belief
hat the conference could be best ar
ranged under the provisions of the pres
ent Hague treaty.
From an the powers acceptance was
received, coupled in some cases with
the condition that We should wait until
the end of, the war then wasing betWeen
NNA0HAHA fNiAA q ~
STA, Immediately after the treaty of
peace which so happily terminated thls
war In a note presented 70 the presldent
on September IS, through Ambassador
Rosen, took the initiative in recon-
mending that the conference be now
called. The United States government
In response expressed its cordial acqui-
essence and stated that IL would, as a
matter of course, take part In the new
conference and endeavor to further its
aims. We assume that all civilized gov
ernments will support the movement,
and that the conference Is now an as
sured fact This government will DO
success of the conference TO the end that
substantial progres may be mace IN
the cause of International peace, Justice,
and good will.
Our Position on War.
This renders 1t proper at this time to
say something as to the general atu-
tude of this government toward peace,
More and more war is coming 10 pc
and evil thing. a wanton or useless
war, or a war of mere aggression-ln
short, any war begun or carried on IN q
constituencies spirit, is to be condemned
as a peculiarly atrocious crime against
all humanity. We can, however, 40
nothing of permanent value Tor peace
unless we keep ever clearly In mind tn,
ethical element which lies at the root
of the problem. Our aim liz righteous-
ness. Peace is normally the handmalu,
en- of righteousness; but when peace ana
righteousness conflict then a great ano
upright people can never for a moment
hesitate to follow the path which leads
hat path leads also TO War.
There are persons who advo-
cate peace at any price; there are others
who. following a false analogy, THINK that
because il is no longer necessary in civ
lized countries for individuals to pro
tect their rights with a strong hano' ~
is therefore UNNECESSARY cyr ' TIghts. These
persons would do irreparabie harm "
any nation that adopted their pfinelples
and even as Il Is they seriously nampSi
ING TO render Il absurd In the eyes oil
sensible and patriotic men, There San
be no worse foe OF mankind IN BeneIu.'
and of his own country IN patllcuIa,,
mar the demagogue OF war, the man
who In mere folly or to serge MS own
selfish ends continually. rails AT anu
abuses other nations, who seek 70 eN-
cite his countrymen against foreigners
on insufficient p~reteXts, VINO eNcIses ~
nnames n perverse and aggressive na-
tional vanity; ann WI" np cnnaict between
his nation and some other nation. but
there are demagogues Of peace JUS, az
there are demagogues OF war ahu rhn
any such movement as THIS ior IN
Hague conference II Is essentlhi NOT =
be misled by one set or extremists aniS
more han by the other Whenever MH,a91
nossibla for n nation or an tndiVluual
TO work for real peace, assureuly ~ 70
failure of duty not so to strive; put ~
war is necessary ana rignteous ILL a.
either the man or the, nation snrlnnims
from IL ~forfeits all title to self-respect'
I'VE have scant sympathy with the SEN
timentalist who breads oppression lsss
than physical suffering, who would pre-,
FER a shameful peace to the pain ana
toll sometimes lamentablY necessary ~
order to secure a righteous peace, ~
yet there Is only a partial ana lmperr
loot analogy between International Jaw
and internal or municipal law, because
there is no sanction OF force Tor execut.
"a 49, AZ Ia thu N1AR
ing the former while tnere o IL us is pro-
tected In his rights by the law because
the law rests in the last resort upon
force exercised through the forms ol
law. A man does not have to defend MS
rights with his own hand, because ne
can call upon the police, upon the SUI
IFS posse, upon the militia, or IN certaln
extreme cases upon the army, 70 deIenn
him, But there is no SUCH sanction OF
force for international law. AT present
there could be no greater alamlty thhn
for the free peoples, the enlightened
indeDendent and peace loving peoples. 10
dlsarm while yet leaving itsopen 10 par
barism or ~despotism to remain armed
SO long as the world is as ~un1rgahlzeu
peoples who on the whole stand TOT JUS
tice. offer not only the best. but inc only
possible security for q Just peace, FOr
in company only with the other nations
that on the whole tend to act justly;
disarmed. we might sometimes aVon1
hDlfIAlN1. Alll wv M'AAia NaN -
weight in securing the peace OF Justice
the real peace for which the most law
abiding and high-minded men must az
times be willing to fight. As the worlu
is now. only that nation is equipped for
peace that knows how to fight ana tnhl
viii not shrink from fighting II ever the
conditions become such that war IL de-
manded in the name of the highest NOR
ality.
international Arbitration Desirable.
So much ii is emphatically necessary
to say In order both that the position
Of the United States may not be mis-
understood, and that a genuine effort 10
bring nearer the day of the peace OF JUS
tice among the nations may not be
hampered by a folly which, in striving
to achieve the impossible, would render
II hopeless TO attempt the achievement
of the practical. But while recognizing
most clearly all above set forth, IL re-
mains our clear duty TO strive in every
practicable way to bring nearer the time
when the sword shall not be the arbiter
among nations. At present the practi-
cal thing to do Is TO Try 70 minimize the
number of cases In which Il must be the
aTblter, and to oner. at least to all civil
lied powers, some substitute Tor war
which viii he available in "a least a con
siderable number OF Instances. Very
much can be d0nc through another
Hague conference In this direction. and
most earnestly urge that this nation
do All in it's power TO try to further the
movement and To make the result Of the
decision of The Hague conference effect
i've. ] earnestly hope that tn" conference
may be able to devise some way to
make arbitration between nations the
customary way Of settling international
disputes In all save a few classes OF
cases. which should themselves be as
sharply defined and rigidly limited as
the present governmental and
social development Of the world Will
permit. II possible, there should be- q
among all the nations represented at the
conference. Neutral rights and property