Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-05-05

taken seriously when / point out
where, in my judgment, great advance
can be made In the cause Of interna-
tional peace. speak as practical
man, and whatever l now advocate
actually tried to do when was for the
time being the head of great nation,
and keenly jealous of its honor and in
terest. ask other nations to do only
what I should be glad to see my own
nation do.
Are Exceptions, of Course.
The advance can be made along sew
eral lines. First of all there can be
course, states so backward that a CIV
ilized community ought not to enter
into an arbitration treaty with them,
until at least we have gone much FUR
Their than at present in securing some
kind OF international police action.
But all really civilized communities
should have effective arbitration treat
les among themselves. l believe that
these treaties can cover almost all
questions liable to arise between such
nations, If they are drawn with the
explicit agreement that each contract
ing party will respect the others ter
ritory and its absolute sovereignty
within that territory, and the equally
explicit agreement that (aside from
the very rare cases where the nations
honor is vitality concerned) all other
possible subjects of controversy will
be submitted to arbitration. Such
treaty would insure peace unless one
party deliberately violated it. OF
course, as yet there is no adequate
safeguard against such deliberate VIC
lation, but the establishment of suf
ficient number of these treaties would
go a long ways towards creating
world opinion which would finally find
expression in the provision of methods
to forbid or punish for such violation.
HaEue Tribunal Praised.
Secondly, there is tbs further devel=
opment of The Hague tribunal, of the
work of the conferences and courts at
The Hague. 1t has been well said
that the first Hague conference framed
a Magma Charta for the nations: it set
before us an ideal which has already
to some extent been realized, and
towards the full realization of which
we can all steadily strive. The second
conference made further progress; the
third should do yet more. Meanwhile.
the American government has more
than once tentatively suggested meth
DDS for completing the court of arbitral
justice, constituted at the second
conference, and for rendering it effect
i've. It is earnestly to be hoped that
the various governments of Europe,
working with those of America and of
Asia, shall set themselves seriously to
the task of devising some method |
which shall accomplish this result. If |
may venture the suggestion, it would |
be we'll for the statesmen of the |
world, in planning for the erection of |
his world court, to study what has |
been done in the United States by the |
supreme court. l cannot help think |
ng that the constitution of the United |
States, notably in the establishment /
IF the supreme court and in the meth
DDS adopted for securing peace and |
good relations among and between the
Inherent states, offers certain valuable
lnalogies TO what should be striven /
or in order to secure, through The
Hague courts and conferences. a spe-
lies of world federation for interna-
ional peace and Justice There are,
# course. fundamental differences be
ween what the United States consti- |
ution does and what we should even
ttempt at this time to secure at The
Hague; bat the methods adopted in
he American constitution to prevent
lostilities between the states, and to
ecure the supremacy of the federal
curt in certain classes of cases. are
veil worth the study OF those who
eek at The Hague to obtain the same
esults on a world scale.
Should Check Armaments.
In the third place, something should
q done as soon as possible to check
he growth of ornaments, especially
avail ornaments, by international
greement. No one power could or
hould act by itself; for it is eminent
7 undesirable, from the standpoint of
he peace of righteousness, that a
over which really does believe in
eace should place itself at the mercy :
some rival which may at bottom
ave no such belief and no intention
acting on it. But, granted sincerity
purpose. the great powers OF the
-orid should find no iusurnountahlei