The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-27
HAGUE CONFERENCE
NUMBER OF AMERICAN DELEGATES
NOT KNOWN.
Some of the Western Republics Mny
Not be Represented I'm the De-
liberations For
Pence.

Washington. May 2e-Probably not
until the doors of the stately knights
Hall are thrown open to the second
conference at The Hague June Is next,
will 1t be possible to know the exact
strength of the American contingent
among the delegates.
At the first conference only two
American states were representative
United States of America and the United
States of Mexico. If all the republics
of the western hemisphere take advan-
tage of the opportunity to participate
in the proceedings of the second con-
ference that has been opened to them
by the efforts of the American Secrc-
tary of State, there will be no less
than twenty-one of the governments
OF the three Americas represented. in
cluded delegations from Cuba, Hayti
and Santo Domigo.
Some of these republics will have
no representatives at the conference
but 1t is impossible to say even now
who will be the absentees. In some
sases economical considerations have
operated to prevent certain Of the
smaller republics from naming dele
gates though the reason is not SO
bluntly stated in the declinations.
Others are, actually at war, or in a state
very few are actually indifferent to
the approach of the international
gathering which may involve for them
the most Momentous questions and
completely change their relations with
the world powers.
On the whole however, there has been
a generous response from most of the
American Republics to the Cars in
vitation to Join in the deliberations of
ha ic a In
that the American representation will
cases economical considerations Ahave
be large. The fact is that only twenty
seven powers signed the treaty July 20,
1899, providing for The spectre set
Element of International disputes" and
unless there Is an enlarged represel-
tation at the second conference from
the eastern hemisphere 1t might be
possible for the three Americas to
dominate the proceedings if there were
the slightest signs of division in the
eastern ranks.
American forethought Is responsible
for this large representation from the
west for 1t was owing entirely to the
effort of the Washington State De-
partment that Russia was induced to
include the Central and South American
Republics in the invitation to the con-
ference and the same department also
of this hemisphere to accept the Rus
sian invitation, by means of pressure
brought to bear through diplomatic
channels and through personal inter-
course between the Secretary of State
and the Diplomatic Representatives in
Washington for these republics 1t
was not an easy task to arrange for
this representation. The treaty OF
1899 in one article reads: 1.-THE con-
dtions on which the powers. who are
not represented at the International
Peace Conference can adhere to the
present convention, shall form the sub
ject of subsequent agreement among
the contracting powers"
1t therefore became necessary for
the Washington State Department to
enter into correspondence with every
one of the 81 powers represented at the
first conference to secure their assent
to the admission of the South and Cen
trail Americans This was finally done,
however, and that the work was
necessary one is evident from the fact
that no power can be admitted to the
second conference unless it had adhered
to the convention in 1899
So on June Ia the day before the
opening of the second conference, 1t
has been arranged that the delegates
of all the American states that have
accepted the invitation shall assemble
at The Hague and by their signatures
formally accomplish their adhesion to
the arbitration convention. When the
conference meets on the following day
this protocol will be laid before 1t and
a resolution will be adopted admitting
the new delegates to membership.
1t has been anticipated that all the
American delegates will act in union
on all propositions submitted to the
conference 1t is true that on some
of the most important propositions TO
come up before the conference the
American delegates will agree in prin-
ciple. 1t is equally true that they will
differ widely in matters of detail and
in respect to the best methods of APP
plying these great principles. Touch
ing the most generally important of
these propositions and the one which
1t is confidently believed will really
yield substantial results-that looking
to a wider extension of the processes
of settling disputes by arbitration-the
American delegates will present an I'M
broken front.
This is not the result of planning or
secret negotiations, for it is known to
the world that the American states have
advanced far beyond those of Europe
in recource to the peaceful ways of ar
bitration in averting warfare; there
fore there is nothing inconsistent in
the European delegates assert that they
have been taken by surprise at the
solidarity of the Americans.