The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-23
SATISFACTION AT PEACE PARLIAMENT American Debt Proposition Will
 Be Adopted GROWTH OF ARBITRATION President of First Committee Gives Detailed surVey-Thanks Car
 negle for Donation of
 Peace Palace.
GROWTH OF ARBITRATION

The Hague, June PA leading plenipo- tentiary speaking of the situation at the peace conference said to the Associated Press today:
 Tie machinery is now moving to gen. eral satisfaction, as all countries are sin cerely animated by a desire for recipro- cal understanding and a wish to avoid lr- ritable questions. Thus the decisions will certainly be attended by earnest endeavor.
 "The success of this system has been rendered easier by the delegations being entrusted to the most tactful and most l distinguished men. Therefore the Amer ican proposition relating to debts which contemplates those only between private citizens of one country and the govern ment of another 1t is predicted will be adopted with few slight amendments"
 M Bourgeois president of the first cotn- nittee, delivered an eloquent speech to- day in favor of arbitration. He gave q detailed survey of the arbitration convcn- tion of 1S99 the recent adhesion to which seventeen additional nations give 1t the conservation of civilized world. He OK pressed gratitude to Andrew Carnegie for A4iP dOiithtlpii pA lllt peace BdldH0, dHu Sdlu that since the opening of the arbitration court the experience of all nations had shown that the working of arbitration might become more simple. As a natural result of it. he said, international justice had entered the domain of practical re- ality Public opinion of nations had quick ly srasped 1t and governments had be- come accustomed to it.
 The results of the establishment of the court was seen in thrty-three arbitration tre-ties which had been concluded since 1899, and series of incidents which M Borgeois recounted.
 The North Sea incident and the Vene- zuelan affair he pointed out were among the cases dealt with by The Haze court
 Mr Bourgeois paid a graceful compli- ment to the United States and President Roosevelt for their part in setting in mo- tion the new jurisdiction.
 The first and second committees of the peace conference met in the Knights hall behind closed doors this afternoon. Gen. Horace Porter of the United States. David J. Hill, w. Buchanan, James Brown Scott BriSadier General George s. Davis and Rear Admiral Sperry were present
 NM. Bernaert and Asser inaugurated the work of the second committee, pointing out the humanitarian principles intro duced in the rules of land warfare and the possibility of still further diminishing its destructiveness.
 M. Bernaert congratulated the countries Of America In joining Europe in the work of the peace conference.
 The second committee was divided into sub-committees, one presided over by NJ. Bernaert will deal with the ameloration Of naval as well as land warfare.
 In the first committee, M. De La Barrd, minister of Mexico to Belgium, read an important study on conventions for com pulsory arbitration which was received with general applause.
 The German and English delegations presented separate recommendations on proposed arbitration.
 The first committee was also divided Into sub-committees both presided over by M Bourgeois, one on arbitration and one on prize court
 In the second committee the French delegation had two projects, one the rights and duties of neutral powers and the other the opening of hostilities.
 The committee evidently in order to avoid hurting the feelings of the Jap anese, concluded that up to the present there Is no existing international un- derstanding regarding the opening of hos tilties, holding that each country can af- firm that it's point of view In this con nection is correct
 The German delegation presented q proposition regarding the treatment of neutrals in the territory of belligerents.
 In the second committee, Gen. Horace Porter presented proposition not to col lect debts by force whenever the debtor nation expresses a wish to submit its ob- ligations to arbitration.
 Germany proposed an amendment to the rules of the conference of 1899 regarding the pacific settling of disputes.
 Baron D Estournelles De Constant pro- posed an amendment to the rules of 1899 regarding commissions of inquiry and also recommended the slmplification of the procedure.