Evening star., 1907-10-20
Special Cablegram to The Star.

Special Cablegram TO The Star
THE HAGUE. October 19.-The peace
conference at The Hague. which has just
come to an end after sitting for eighteen
weeks originally proposed by Presi-
dent Roosevelt shortly after the conclu-
sion of peace between Russia and Japan
at the Portsmouth conference. In defer
ence to diplomatic ideas. however, the
actual initiative was left to the czar, who
had called the first one IN 1899. On his
motion Queen With almina of the Neither
lands sent out the invitations to the pow
ers, and the original date set for the
gathering was July, 1906.
This period. however, clashed with that
cl osen for the Pan-AmeriCan congress at
Rio de Janeiro, and as the latter could
not he postponed the powers consented to
delay The Hague gathering. AS the hall
in which the conference meets is occupied
by the Netherlands parliament in the fall
of the year, the opening of TIE peace ses-
sions had to go over until June /, 1907.
The actual date was June 10
Handicapped at the Outset.
From the outset the conference was
handicapped by the program which the
ear outlined for its discussions. In a
circular letter to the powers sent out
early in the year, he proposed as the
scope of the conferences labors:
|. Improvements in the conventions
reached in 1899 regarding the peaceful
settlement OF international controversies
through changes in respect to the court
of arbitration.
2 Additions to the convent. on regarding
the laws and usages of land warfare.
such as declarations of war and rights
of neutra,s
3. A new convention regarding naval
warfare covering the bombardment Of
ports, planting of mines, contraband of
war, rights of neutrals, transformation OF
merchant into war vessels
1. Conventions adapting the prov sions
of the Geneva conference of 1e6i to naval
warfare.
Surprise and Disappointment.
The greatest surprise and disappoint-
ment in these proposals was the omission
of any allusion to disarmament or at least
a reduction in the scale of war prepara-
tions maintained by the nations OF Europe
England, with Sir Henry Campbell Ban
herman, the premier. for mouthpiece,
raised great cry for action on the arma-
ment question. The United States cor
daily and France earnestly supported
England. Germany talked of asserting to
outset that neither she nor Russia in
tended to let anything real be done. Thus
what ultimately turned out to be true was
prophesied of the conference before ii as
sembled. viz. that it woul dbe a gather
ing to legislate for war rather than to
promote peace.
Invitations to take part in the confer
ence were sent to every state in the
world possessing any degree of civiliza-
ton. China sent delegates. and although
Cuba was under the tutelage OF the
United States, hers were also admitted,
Fifty Pc.yers Represented.
Altogether about fifty powers were rep
sented. The head of the United States
delegation was Joseph II. Choate and
associated with him were Gen. Horace
Porter, U. NJ. Rose, David Jayne Hill,
United States minister to the Netherlands:
Brig. Gen. George B. Davis, Rear Ad-
miral Charles s. Sperry, William l.
Buchanan, Chandler Hale, James Brown
Scott and Henry Butler.
Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman at first
proposed to represent England himself,
but in the long run a somewhat second
rate delegation was chosen, headed by
Sir Edward Fry. some time lord justice
of appeal and a member of the permanent
Hague court. The French delegation was
headed by Leon Bourgeois. the Austrian
by X. Mercy de kaposM Mere, the Italian
by Count Terneli-Brusau Ill Vergnano,
the German by Baron Marschal Won
BieberStein.
NJ. Neldoff headed the Russian repre-
sentatives, and he, in compliment to the
czar, as promoter of the conference, was
ton of honors Mr.. Choate was D""" hc.-