The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-18
ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST
HAGUE CONFERENCE

combining the legitimate object NJ wa,
to whipping the enemy.
There are many other questions r.
be settled by conferences, as. for in.
stance, whether public debts justify
the nation to which the creditor be-
longs in armed intervention or occu-
patton, and whether it ought not 10
stop there and not include annexa-
ton.
ARBITRATION.
Fut the great step in the line of
progress is referring international
disputes to arbitration, the difficult
questions being ID whether to make
arbitration compulsory or to leave it
merely to the discretion of the dispu-
tants. and (2) whether judges shall
De CHOSEN upon the theoretical equal
lty or nations or according to rela-
tive strength, and 90 whether the de-
crees can be enforcible. At least. IL
may be said that a nation which sub
mts Its dispute to arbitration and
does not abide by the result takes
upon itself the burden before the civ
ilized world to show that the award
made by the court was wrong.
All such questions will come up for
discussion at the conference, and we
may reasonably expect that the worlds
peace will be helped by the agree
ments which will be made concerning
them.
DANGERS OF MILITARISM.
Armies and navies must continue.
and they must be kept in high order
IF efficiency elisa
than useless. Our nation with it's rep
resentative government can generally
be trusted to avoid aggressive wars
and to exhaust the arts of peace be-
fore taking up arms. Thus far we
have not kept out of war when or be-
cause our regular army was insignifi-
cant in numbers and our navy far in
ferior to that of any other great
power. We need not become warlike
because we have military power. Our
people do not wish to go into the BUSH
ness of killing and wounding human
beings. We are, as a people, gentle
and refined. and it will not hurt us or
anybody else to be also strong.
A weak nation is apt to be over
sensitive and quarrelsome, while
powerful nation does not have to as
sert it's strength-it speaks for itself.
At the end of the Civil War we had
an army strong enough to cause En-
peror Napoleon to give up his designs
on Mexico at the slightest hint from
our government. But for the power
we had to back up our suggestion,
Mexico might now be a French colony.
1t was partly for similar reasons that
agreed to submit the Ala
bama claims to arbitration at Geneva.
When we undertook to lay down the
aw to her concerning her Venezuela |
claim it was indeed fortunate for us
that the English Premier could look
ahead and foresee that some day we |
might become a naval power whose |
friendship would be worth while.
In 1898, with a navy such as we now |
nave a war with Spain would have |
been unnecessary.
A big undefended country invites
insult and attack, and yet the surest |
defense is often made by taking the |
initiative which requires preparation.
This is so plain that anyone can
it.
Now, while abating no effort to les
sen the horrors of war and to obtain
agreements extending
he scope and effectiveness of arbitra-
ion, our military strength must be
sept sufficient to protect our COM
nerce and our seaboard.
Let us be tender-hearted and just
o all, trust in providence and keep
'ur powder dry, but mindful ever that
blessed are the peacemakerS.