The Washington herald., 1907-09-01
BRAZIL IN EVIDENCE
Represented as War Power
at Peace Conference.
VETERAN JURISTs DISGUISED
Suggest Next International Arbitra-
tiOHaI Meeting BE Held on Prin-
ciPle of Jurisprudence - Military
issue Practically Ignored by Lead
ers Ia Conference Now In Session.

The Hague. Aug. 91.-Nothing the Peace
Conference may do between now and the
close can o5literate this weeks demon
stration Of the hopelessness of its con-
stitution
The delegates were prepared to find Sc
rious obstacles To overcome before either
the prize court or the permanent bench Of
judges could be established. but the de-
gree Of acrimonious wrangling that char
aeterized the weeks negotiations sur
prised even the cynics The methods
adopted by the disappointed delegations
arc rather of the nature Ola challenge to
a contest in national braggadOcio than
friendly fUrtheranee OF international
peace
Senior BarbOsa, of Brazil, has been dem
onstrating that he presents a first-rank
war power by giving a series Of ban
Guets which for georgeousness outshine
the memory Of even Harry Thaw's Paris
ian feasts. This mode Of c0nluering the
esteem Of his colleagues has naturally
failed with the delegations of the great
powers. but that does not prevent the an
i-NeA--NltAN-4L AAtt tiiN iAeiffNsS tt1AS 81. Np1
and other similar advertisements Of Bar
bosa's greatness of resources.
Veteran Jurists Disgusted.
The veteran jurists at the head of the
American and English missions and other
serious members of the conference have
come TO regard this gentleman as en-
5odying most Of the reasons against con-
vQoa fEucr a-ofra~ raao, a,-far.vo,
rs have by all means" they say. IAN
other international arbitrational confer
sAce based on the principle Of jurispru-
lence. but we already have had abundant
proof Of the futility Of q world assembly
given over TO political self-assertiol.
The last topic Of that part Of the pro-
gramme whic2 was described by Leon
Bourgeois, head of the French delegation.
IS the one that the United States WAS
concerned with. the pacific organization
of war, has now been disposed Of IN the
usual nonconmittal manner. It deals
with the procedure accompanying the
commencement Of hostilities. The report
Of the commission advises there should
be either a formal declaration OF war or
an ultimatum with q time limit
The Russians. who sjiH insist that they
were treacherously stabbed in the back
at Seoul and Port ArthGr on the morrow
Of the japanese Minister'S departure for
Russia, observe that the conference found
no means whereby the country on which
war has been opened can let its defenders
Know they are az var
Ignore Military Issue.
The leaders of the conference have left
the military issue alone and devoted
themselves to what they call the judicial
organization Of peace. and have not made
any progress during the week A sue
cession Of projects for a convention of
obligatory arbitration has been handled
carefully and dropped.
About the only subject on which all
Rgree TO arhiuate before recourse 10 CO.
ercion is an authors copyright. This
means in practice that If a pirated Paris
farce is produced in New York the au-
thor may not order a French fleet 10
drop shells into Broadway befcre he has
taken care Of his case by arbitration
The chief obstacle to the creation of
a permanent bench Of judges apart from
the difficulty Of allocating them among
the natiOnalities Of the world. is the
drastic limitations on their authority
which make eminent jurists hesitate to
accept a position on the bench. Germany
still insists that a disputant power may
al any time announce that its differ
snce is unsuitable for trial by this court.
and even when the trial is in progress.
requests for evidence or information
may be refused if a power holds that
they may affect her sovereignty or Sc
cUTity"
Complain About Roosevelt.
The delegates, who are weary of The
Hague and its associations. are complain
ing that President Roosevelt had not set
tied the elementary question Of the meth
cd of distribution of judgeships in his
scheme Of a permanent Branch before ne
presented it to the conference.
If inquiries of the powers concerned
had disclosed the difficulties which nave
now arrested all progress. then the prof.
eCt which nobody regards as urgent
might have been rendered, ike the reso-
buttons on h limitation of ornaments,
simply as a desirable objective. Practi-
cal work could then have been done by
direct negotiation between the govern
ments
Americans Offer New Proposal.
Ic amer lcall ueltBdteS nave drawn UP
new proposition IN regard to the Drago
doctrine, but the text differs only from
the proposal in form. Notifications have
been made which are principally intended
TO do away with the numerous reserva-
tons that were made when It was first
proposed and put to a vote. The text of
the new proposal is as follows:
With view of preventing armed con
ficts of pecuniary origin between nations
arising out of a demand by the govern
ment Of one country for payment by the
government of another country of con
tractual debts due its nationals. the Gig
natory powers are agreed not to have re-
course to armed force for the recovery