Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-03
Attic Floor in an Old Palace.

Two or three recent arb;trations have
been conducted in an entirely inadequate
and unsuitable room on the attic floor of
an old palace, without retiring rooms. Or
consultation rooms. or any other accom-
nodations. There is no elevator and the
members OF the court and the counsel were
compelled to climb long fights of stairs
One of the members of a recent tribunal.
who is suffering from a weak heart. had
chairs placed at intervals on the stairs.
so that he could sit down and rest when
he was climbing the long flights. There
were plenty of other rooms reserved for
the use of the officials of the government
in the same palace, but they were not
offered. although the propriety of assign
ing them to the court was freely dis
cuSSed.
Nor do the officials of the Dutch gov
eminent ever take the trouble to enter
tain members of arbitration tribunals and
the lawyers who attend them. They show
them no attention whatever and treat
them as if they We're ordinary !itigants
before the ordinary courts of the coun-
try. 1t should be said however that So
cial life at The Hague is not very gay.
dinner giving IL not common. balls and
receptions are very rare. The queen gives
a levee annually. and if an arbitration
tribunal happens to be sitting at the time
its members and the lawyers who are
participating receive invitations. but no
connected with the government or
any citizen of The Hague ever puts HIM
self out in the slightest degree to show
attention to those who come to attend
arbitration proceedings. The government
does not consider them the guests of the
nation. and nobody at The Hague seems
to appreciate the advantages which that
city enjoys by being ,ne seat of the in
ternational permanent court.
When the new building is finished there
Will be no cause for complaint as to a.
cOmmodatiOnS
The upper floor of the new building. which,
is reached by monumental stairway,
contains the rooms of the administrative
council and other officials of the perma
nent court of arbitration. n library capa-
BILE OF holding 100000 Volumes several
rooms which may be used as Offices by
the counsel in arbitration cases, and other
apartments.
lnn courtyard in the center Of the
building will be decorated with a foun-
tain and foliage plants.
Gifts of the Powers.
At the time of the laying of the corner
stone resolution was passed inviting
the various governments which signed
the treaty for the permanent court to
contribute material AID objects OF art
for the decoration of the Palace of Peace,
and several of them have responded i'll
generous manner. For example the gov
eminent of the United States has con
representing In allegory the purpose of
the building. 1t is called Peace Through
Justice. 1t will be placed on the main
landing of the monumental staircase
which. by the way, is made of onyx pre-
Sented by Mexico. Plaster models of the
designs were sent to Mexico by the archi-
tec1s, where the material was cut and
shipped to The Hague in a finished con-
dition. Brazil has, furnished the mahog-
any for the finishing of the great court.
Great Britain has given the four stained
glass windows to the great court, and
Franco has hung the small courtroom
with Gobelin tapestries.
Germany has given two monumental
iron gates for the entrance to the grounds
and Belgium has furnished bronze doors
for the front entrance TO the building.
Norway gave the granite for the arcade
and the balustrade around the terrace;
Sweden gave the granite for the base
ment: Italy and Greece gave the marble
for the main corridor: Denmark puts up
the fountain i'll the central court: Switzer-
erland put the clock in the tower; Rus
STA furnishes A malachite vase eleven
feet high to stand in the hall in front
OF the main entrance.
Japan furnished gold-enlbroidered tap
estries for the Office of the administration
and the Dutch government gives seven
stained glass windows for the stairway.
The building will be completed next
fall, or at least early in the year 1912.