Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-05-22
LAKE MOHONK
CONFERENCE
Prest. Butler in Opening Address
Advocated Avoidance of Cues
ton OF Disarmament.
PERIOD OF INTERNATIONALLY
At tho Hague Should Ask That Court
BE Transformed From scmi-Diplo-
matte into Truly judicial Tribunal.

Lake Mohouk, y. Y May .2The
lake Mohonl5 conference on tnterna-
uonal arbitration opened it's thirteenth
annual session today. The election OF
officers resulted as follows:
President, Dr. Nichous Murray But
lei, New York secretary. Clinton r.
Woodruff Philadelphia permanent
| corresponding secretary, II. c. Phillips
Mohonk Lake; treasurer Alexander G.
Wood, Camden \. ]
President MURRAY Butler nj Colum-
bia university In his address at the
opening, advocated that the question
of disarmament be avoided at this con-
ference. but the restriction of the iur-
Their growth of the armies ana naNles
be urged. He suggested recommends
lions for the coming conference at the
Hague. lie spoke IN part as follows:
Unless all signs fail, we are enter
ing Upon period which may be des-
cribed fttiuglv as one of International
ism. Intra national development Is
happy augury for The interna tonal era
which Is opening Like an Individual,
a nation has a mind and conscience.
and 1t has them in Il very real sense.
one of the chief problems of our time
is to bring the nations minds and the
nations consciences to bear on the
moral problems involved in internal
tional relations. This is Il step in the
moral education of the world. The
more perfect and complete morality of
the future Is itself to be the product
of the incomplete and imperfect, but
always improving morality of the past
and Of the present
1T is a mistake in history and an
error in ethics to apply the standards
and ideals of one period to the leeds
nil ell earlier
one. Then mankind was an earlier
and a Grader being than he is to-
day. Moreover the nations and their
forms Of government were only IN
the making and there is no possible
parallel with present conditions. The
crucial question Is not. will our stand
ards and ideals apply backward, but
viii they not apply forward? our
political systems. our ethical stand
ards, and our moral aspirations, are
q development and are in develop
ment today.
this conference during all the wears
of its existence has been the arousing
and directing Of public opinion. The
National Arbitration and Peace Con-
gIess in New York gave strong i'm
petus to this work. | feel 1t not too
much to say that Congress, In a SIN
Glo week. carried us forward quite
half a century toward the time when
higher conceptions Of International
justice shall prevail. American pub
lie opinion will gain in influence
abroad If It's positive recommended
tons In regard to the attainment of
International justice are both saga
cious aud reasonable. We must avoid
eEcumbering our program with nom
essentials and we must not fail to OBJ
serve a due sense of proportion In
what we recommend.
.I.tye 81 ~I,e \
wholly avoid at the present
time the question of disarmament.
Disarmament viii never come by
pressure from without II nation, but
only by pressure from within. If jus
tice is established between nations,
peace viii follow as a matter of course.
Disarmament will follow peace, not
precede it.
yet while passing disarmament by,
we may profitably urge the wisdom of
formal international consideration of
the possibility OF restricting the fur
ther growth of the great armies and
navles of the world without impair
ing the efficiency of those that exist.
From the forthcoming Hague con-
ference we should ask l think, chiefly
two things and II either of them should
be given us, long step forward would
be taken We should ask that the
permanent Hague court be transformed
from a semi diplomatic into "A truly ju-
dicial tribunal and we should ask thnt
the Hague conference, now assembling
for the second time at the call of q
monarch. be made to assemble auto
matlcally hereafter at regular inter-
vals say once in four or five years. In
the stated rcasscmblng of tho Hague
conference lies the germ of the inter
national parliament which viii one day
come into being.
There is another aspect OF inter-
national relations in time Of war which
has not attracted the attention 1t de-
serves The suggestion that neutrality
should extend 20 financial assistance
has not been brought forward by i'm
practicable men,
"One other matter concerns Ameri-
cans alone. Each time an important
international conference occurs the
appointing power searches the country
over for the most competent and ef-
fectlve representatives of American in
terests ana OF American opinion Why
should we not constitute body Of
permanent representatives at such In
tcrnutional conferences out of the dis
tlnguished men who, as president OF
the United States OF secretary OF state,
have directed for a time the foreign
policy OF the nation? These eNperi-
enced statesmen, officially constituted
as international conferees on behalf
Of the United states, and IN receipt
or AN appropriate salary llNed by law,
would bring TO their task both unusual
equipment and unusual experience,
such use OF those who had rendered
DISTINGUISHED service 10 the nation nA
chief executive or as secretary OF
state, would be in every respect Citing.
Every pOrtent Is favorable for the
policies 10 which we believe and which
We urge The civilized world Ia al
peace and there is no ruler and no
party bent ON disturbing that peace,
The more powerful nations are pre-
sided over by monarChs or govern
ments whose faces are turned toward
the light Indeed no responsible ruler
IS likely, so far as the signs of the
moment 20 to be responsible fof
breaking the worlds peace, II that
pence is to be broken Il win bo brok
en- ! think. by the Irresponsible the
reckless and the untamod At this
stage OF the worlds history, we must
all OF Ms unite 10 hold these elements
OF the population In check"
The present status Of the interna-
tionnl arbitration movement was the
subject OF an address by BENJAMIN r.
Trueblood, secretary OF the American
Peace society, Boston
IfAfIuER DE THE COMMONS DEAN