Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-12-06

arisen. 1t is matter of satisfaction
that all of the American republics have
now, for the first time, been invited to
join in the proposed conference.
The close connection between the
subjects to be taken up by the Red
Cross conference held at Geneva last
summer and the subjects which nat,l-
rally would come before The Hague
conference made it apparent that it
was desirable to have the work of the
Red Cross conference completed and
considered by the different powers be-
fore the meeting at The Hague The
Red Cross conference ended its labors
on the 9th of July, and the revised
and amended convention, which was
signed by the American delegates, will
be promptly laid before the senate.
BY the special and highly appreciat-
ed courtesy of the governments of Rus
STA and the Netherlands proposal to
call The Hague conference together at
a time which would conflict with the
conference of the American republics
at Rio de Janeiro in August was laid
aside. No. other date has yet been sug-
gested. A tentative programme for
the conference has been proposed by
the government of Russia, and tile
subjects which it enumerates are I'M
dergoing careful examination and CON
sideration in preparation for the con-
| ference.
Peace and Righteousness.
| 1t must ever be kept in mind that
I war is not merely justifiable but i'm
peratiye upon honorable men, upon an
honorable nation, where peace can only
be obtained by the sacrifice of con
scientious conviction or of national
welfare. Peace is normally a great
good, and normally it comedies with
Righteousness, but it is righteousness,
and not peace, which should bind the
conscience of nation as it should
bind the conscience of an individual,
and neither a nation nor an individual
can surrender conscience to another's
keeping. Neither can nation which is
an entity and which does not die as
individuals die refrain from taking
| thought for the interest of the genera
tons that are to come no less than for
the interest of the generation of today,
and no public men have right, wheth-
er from shortsightedness, from selfish
Indifference or from sentimentality, to
sacrifice national interests which are
vital in character. A just war is in
the long run far better for a nations
soul than the most prosperous peace
obtained by acquiescence in wrong or
injustice. Moreover, though it is Grim
inal for nation not to prepare for war
so that 1t may escape the dreadful con-
sequences of being defeated in war,
yet it must always be remembered that
even to be defeated in war may be far
better than not to have fought at all.
AS has been well and finely said, a
beaten nation is not necessarily dis
graced nation, but the nation or man
is disgraced if the obligation to defend
right is shirked. - j. So
! We should as a nation do everything
lin our power for the cause of honora-
bic peace. It is morally as indefensible
for nation to commit wrong upon
another nation, strong or weak, as for
an individual thus to wrong his fell
lows. We should do all in our power
to hasten the day when there shall be
peace among the nations-a peace based
upon justice and not upon cowardly
submission to wrong. We can accom-
plish good deal in this direction but
we cannot accomplish everything, and
the penalty of attempting to do too
much would almost inevitably be to do
worse than nothing, for it must be re-
tmembered that fantastic extremists
are not in reality leaders of the causes
which they espouse, but are ordinarily
those who do most to hamper the real
leaders of the cause and to damage the
cause itself. AS yet there is no likeli-
hood Of establishing any kind of inter-
national power, of whatever sort,
which can effectively check wrongdo-
ing, and in these circumstances it
would be both a foolish and AIN evil
thing for great and free nation to
deprive itself of the power to protect
its own rights and even in exceptional
cases to stand up for the rights of 9TH
ers. Nothing would more promote in
EQUITY, nothing would further defer the
reign upon earth of peace and right
eousness, than for the free and enlight-
ened peoples, who, though with much
stumbling and many shortcomings,
nevertheless strive toward justice, de-
| liberately to render themselves power
less while leaving every despotism and
barbarism armed and able to work
their wicked will. The chance for the
settlement of disputes peacefully by
arbitration now depends mainly upon
the possession by the nations that
mean to do right of sufficient armed
strength to make their purpose effec-
tive.
The Navy and Army.
The United States navy is the surest
guarantor of peace which this country
possesses. 1t is earnestly to be wished
that we would profit by the teachings
of history in this matter. A strong
and wise people will study its own fail
ures no less than it's triunphs, for