The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1911-11-11
WAR AND ARBITRATION.

whatsoever at times the good fort
unes in its results direct or in
direct, war is always terrible.
Lives are lost, family hearths are
made desolate, property is ruined,
more or less social and political
Decentralization follows in it's
wake. The ideal condition Of ma
tions to be ever kept within vision
is peace in their mutual relations,
peace within their own several ter
ritories. The prophet Of old set
the ideal before the eyes of man
kind as one to be realized through
the reign of the Almighty God,
visiting His people and drawing
them to His love: sAnd they shall
turn their swords into plough
shares, and their spears into
sickles; nations shall not lift up
sword against sword, neither shall
they be exercised any more in
war; No doubt, with mankind
duly and universally ruled by the
divine code of morals no cause for
war is given, no people uplifts the
lance over field towards which
no proyocation broods challenge.
No doubt, too, towards the ideal
should the steps of men and Of ma
lions ever be wended. But in the
world of humanity as we know it
ideals seldom are realities. Cause
for disagreement with other ma
tons may any day come to the
nation the most pacific, or, at least,
may be thought to have come: and
to settle satisfactorily the dis
agreement 30 other issue may seem
to be present than that Of bloody
combat. No nation today, as no
nation yesterday, can be abso-
lutely sure that harm will not fall
to its lot through discussions from
within or through attacks from
without; and to deprive itself of
the means Of defence, to own no
army, no navy, is to court for it.
self disaster and death,
But, says the enthusiast, let
treaties Of arbitration be entered
into; let peace tribunals be in SEES
sion, hearing all complaints, adj
Indicating all differences, COM
polling nations to hold one another
in friendly and peaceful embrace.
Arbitration treaties, in due meas
ure and purport, are excellent
things in theory, and often may
be beneficial in practice. That they
are the panacea, that never fails,
that removes the need of all other
plans and devices, it were folly
to imagine. The first prerequisite
to universal peace through treaties
is that all the nations be partici-
pants in those treaties: the next,
that all questions likely to arise
between nations be such that they
may safely be trusted to the
deliberations of treaty-tribunals,
and then this other, that all the
nations, signatories to treaties,
may be trusted to abide Loyalty by
their terms. The lessons of his
tory, past and contemporary, teach
us not to expect that those con-
ditions will always and every
where be verified. Let the ex-
pertinent be made today to bring
Italy and Turkey to adopt a treaty
of arbitration: no one dreams that
success in the smallest degree
might attend the effort. Some
years ago Spain pleaded with the
United States that the question as
to the origin of the explosion Of
the Maine in the harbor of Havana
be submitted to the tribunal of The
Hague. Did the United States pay
attention to the prayers of Spain :?
The American navy, it was felt,
was stronger than the navy of
Spain and the answer Of the
United States was declaration of
war.
And so, let us talk, as we may,
OF international peace, and Of
treaties Of arbitration with Eng
land and France, or such other
nations as may be willing to listen
to us: meanwhile, let us hold fast
to the army and navy Of America.
There was far deeper inspiration
to peace, far more rational security
to our national honor and welfare
in the great fleet of America dis
playing a week ago its dread
noughts and its submarines over
the waters of the Hudson, than in
all the treaties of arbitration that
may be ever signed in the halls of
the White House, than in all the
Deace eOurtS that NAV ever sit AT