Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-14
THE SECOND HAGUE CONFERENCE

4
| Inc det1catfon OF human cowardice Vol
untary arbitration has been. and Is still an
| excellent means Of Cancellation between
| nations as between individuals in case OF
| Insignificant conflicts. On the contrary. OBJ
hgatory arbitration IL an impossible rem
edy. cowardly and execrable remedy"
The solution suggested by the Italian
| writer Is interesting for the reason that far
from being set against force. 1t IL founded
| In principle on force. 1t will be the proper
| tnlng hrst to count the strength OF each
nation Its cerebral. muscular and econom-
| ical force. that is to say, Its industry. popu-
lation and wealth; states Of an approx
mate force to be represented in an inter-
national assembly. where the strong would
nave ten. fifteen or twenty representatives
and the states Of less strength would have
Tess representatives.: the assembly to have
AT It's disposal an International army, the
same that national pariaments possess to
cause the laws voted to be respected A
nation which would not accept the decisions
OF the International assembly could ALWAYS
nave recourse to arms. But 1t would under
take 1t with all the risks to which II would
De exposed. The author claims that his
international constitution would not in iure
the sovereign rights of states, because II
would leave them their real force while
changing 1t into a parliamentary form and
! substituting legal disciplined force for arbi-
trary. anarchical and occult force
Inc essential weakness Of the Italian
authors proposition Is the assimilation
which he attempts between
A-Seen'A@A individuals and nations. In
Weakness politics. as in psychology.
collectivities obey laws quite
d1nerent from those that govern the con-
sciences Of individuals.
For this reason international parliament
tarism does not appear to have a grea,
chance OF success. National parliaments
a NOT o. ,,ot ritt
| and are far from the ideal. The moral OF
the Italian authors argument is that
force Is. and will always be, tha law Of
nations.
MIR. Dicey. under the rubric Of Foreign
Affairs" in the Empire Review for June.
expresses the fear that the "cranks and
1addists who believe in the utility Of in
international discussions will do their ut
most to prolong a futile controversy.
while men Of intelligence who recognize
the truth that the impending conference
cannot possibly do any good and may
probably do much harm will shrink from
openly opposing project which IS rep
resented by it's authors as convened in
the interests Of humanity and peace"
So long. observes Mr.. Dicey. "as the
vast majority Of mankind regard their
own flesh and blood as nearer to them
than strangers. and their own nationality
as being Of more Importance 10 tnem-
selves than the general welfare of HUI
manity. the relations between different
members of an European confe1eracy
must In the end be determined by the
respective strength of their military and
naval ornaments. Moreover, all the great
continental powers agreed with Germany
could be OF any use until the conference
had military force at their disposal to
Insure their judgments being carried into
execution. Under these circumstant es any
wise government would have rec ognized
the advantage Of postponing indefinitely
any assemblage Of this untoward confer
ence"
Gen. Langlois Of the French army may
be cited here as Illustrating recently in
the chamber Of deputies the
a frencn necessity of force Gen.
Warning. Langiois was attacking the
present administration in
France and its insane policy in weakening
the army and in the premature discharge
OF two classes of recruits Gen. Langlois
Said
Remember that Russia soon after the
first Hague conference fell asleep soothed
by the hymn of peace. She was rudely
awakened by the blowing up Of her ships
Are you not afraid lest the second Hague
conference should reserve a similar surprise
for us? Remember what took place in 1870.
Those among who are old enough re-
| member that in 1865 We had just reduced
our effective forces The sky was blue
our armies had been everywhere victorious.
We feared nothing. -Four years later
laughter was changed into tears, the song
was transformed into a drama. The cur
tain rose suddenly, and what was the pre-
lude? A forgery, a false telegram trans
mitted from Ems to Berlin. Remember
on a single man. Remember that the tele-
graph still exists at Ems. Remember that
there will always be in Germany or else
where a diplomat shrewd enough. indeed
T II q
| patriotic lie. one Of the rare kind of lies
that Is excusable. You have to fear, indeed
you have to face that eventuality.'
The fact that force Is the necessary fac
tor in human affairs and destined to be so
until the millennium is gradually filtering
through the minds of men, even of those
who for time believed that the Tillen-
mum had come. The second conference,
at all. but the propositions to lessen If pos
sible the cruelties and hardships of war.
Korea still maintains the illusion that she
is nation. 1t is recalled that she sent as
a delegate to the Portsmouth
Korea's conference /. K. Yum, who
r1,,s;,n was refused. Now she has
sent VI Tying Chi to The
Hague conference with the same result.
The International Peace Club" under the
presidency of Mr. Stead received vi, and
having listened to his tale Of woe against
Japan voted Korea its unanimous sympa-
thies.
The Baroness Bertha Won Luttner. an
enthusiastic peace worker. is reported as
having warned VI not to go to the United
States. where his presence at this time
would add fuel to the 'anti-Japanese feel
ing and thus do nothing for the cause of
justice and peace
Now, it would be kindness on the part OF
the United States to return the compliment
and warn the baroness Of the futility Of
her fears as to increasing the fury of anti
Japanese feeling In the United States,
which Is purely imaginative.
Besides. the baroness should understand
that the United States as well as the Eu-
ropean powers to whom Korea was &C
credited closed their doors in 1908 to Ko-
rea, and returning passports to her agents
sent them home. Korea henceforth ceased
to exist nation.
Born of a Russian conspiracy which pro-
posed to employ her as temporary buffer
to her ambitions. the crafty Russian agent
at Seoul attached the United States to that
policy by the promise of rich gold mining
concessions to a group Of American specula-
tors. This little game might have been
undisturbed but for the overt act Of wrest-
ing Korea from China. to whom as the
Little Brother" she was yassal, and set
ting up the little savage at st. Petersburg