Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1909-05-07

dress by Congressman Richard Bar
tholdt of Missouri, president of the
American Group, Interparliamentary
union. Another paper that met with
deserved applause was that of Edwin
D. Mead of Boston on "The Arrest in
Competitive Arming in Fidelity to The
Hague Movement"
Competitive Arming.
In discussing this question, Mr..
Mead said:
Let us consider simply Great Brit
ain, Germany and the United States.
1t is unnecessary to go further, be-
cause these three nations control the
situation, and they are the chief sim
ners. If these three nations began to-
day to act, with reference to arma-
ments, in accordance with the spirit
and purpose of The Hague convention,
the peace and order of the world
would be assured tomorrow.
In 1898 Great Britain spent on her
navy $124,0OO,0o0; Germany spent
$29,000,000; and the United States
spent $50,000,000. Last year Great
Britain spent $170,O00,0OO; Germany,
| $4,000, 900; and the United States,
| $104,000,000. The increase in precise
| ly ten years when there should have
been decrease was enormous. Our
own army expenses last year were as
great as our navy expenses. Our navy
expenses this year will be $30,000,000
greater than last year. We are to-
day paying for expenses of past wars
and preparations for possible wars So
per cent, prac. lily two-thirds, of
our total national revenue, leaving
barely one-third available for all con-
structive purposes. What would Wash
ington and Jefferson and Franklin say
to this? We know what they did say
about things of this sort. They would
say to-day that the republic was stand
ing on its head.
Hope for the Future.
This is what has come about in
ten years i'll these three nations be-
cause The Hague conference in 1893
did nothing about the reduction or ar.
rest of ornaments. AS we now look
back, we see that it could not do much
directly at that time. The war sys
tenn of nations could be supplanted
only by the gradual development of 9
system of international law and jus
tice to take it's place. When the first
Hague conference created the inter
national tribunal, 1t did indirectly the
most probably which 1t could do in be
half of the reduction of ornaments
because 1t took long step in furnish
ing the nations with such legal ma
chinery for the settlement of their diff
ferences as makes recourse to wa
machinery more and more unneces
. sary and inexcusable. 1t has been II
/, the line of this thought that the in
ternational lawyers have had thei
hopeful assurance. Develop the lega
machinery, they said, and the arma
, ments will perforce crumble OF thei
!, own dead weight.
"The continued and rapid develop
!, ment during the decade OF provision
: for the peaceful settlement of interns
tional disputes has been something uI
paralleled in history. The leaders @
!. the movement for international justic
l. are sometimes reproached with bein
]. dreamers. The only trouble with theI
il in the past ten years has been that, 5
Q far as the development of the instr,
h ments of international Justice are col
s cerned, they have not been able
8 dream daringly enough or fast enoug
r to keep up with the facts"
l. Among the diplomats who came
If Chicago to attend the Peace congres
d were: Ambassador Count Johan
o Heinrich Won Bernstorfr OF Germany
" Herman de Lagercrantz, envoy fro
r Sweden; WI Ting Fang, envoy fro
Y. China; Alfred Mitchell Innes, cou
d. selor of the British embassy. and D
10 Halvdan Kont OF the University
d Norway. The Japanese. Turkish al
French embassies also were repr
% sented.