The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1911-05-25
Founder of Lake MoRonk
Conference Reviews the.
Years Record.
PRAISES TAFT's ACT
In Negotiating with Great
Britain a Treaty of In
limited Scope.

MloHoNK LAKE, N. Y, May "a
Albert X. smiley, FOUNDER and host OF
the Lake Mohonk Conference on In
ternational Arbitration welcomed the
members here today at their severn
teenth annual meeting. He said, In
part:
For a century the conflicting
claims of Great Britain and this coun-
try with reference to the Newfound-
land fisheries baffled diplomacy. Yet
last September the question was set
tied amicably. and without causing a
ripple in the diplomatic world, by the
Permanent Court Of Arbitration at
The Hague. The very next month. our
last great outstanding difficulty with
Venezuela-the orinoco Steamship
case-was settled by the. same court.
Four months later. the delicate savar-
kar dispute between Great Britain
and France was the subject Of the
courts award. Even now. itshas un-
der consideration a question Of war
claims which has been troubling Rus
STA and Turkey for thirty-three years;
and before the end Of the present
year 1t will probably have passed
upon financial dispute between Italy
and Peru. Surely this is not bad
years work for an institution whose
defects we admit and OF whose life we
were not SO certain a few years ago.
What promise of success for real
international court OF justice when 1t
comes!
Some years ago, treaties even of
limited arbitration attracted much at
tention, but as their number in
creased we came to take them as q
matter of course. within the year at
least nine treaties representing six
American and six European notions
have been added to the long list.
mailing according to some authorita-
tive English statistics 1872 in all. We
rightly feel proud Of our 25 treaties,
but / wonder how many OF us know
that our great southern neighbor,
Brazil. is now party of % such
treaties. We should recognize moro
fully the part the nations to the
south of US are taking in this move
ment. We have much to learn from
them, not the least OF which is the
lesson OF the Central American Court
of Justice. There, in Central Ameri-
ca, is real international court OF
justice for five nations, with compul-
sorry Jurisdiction over all their diff
ferences-the first institution in the
world which has sat in Judgment upon
nations! The Central American Peace
Conference, which in 1907 created
the Court, has during the year held
its third annual meeting. This, with
the fourth Pan-American Conference
held in Buenos Aires last summer.
give the American nations a worthy
showing in the years events.
''Our movement is no longer con-
fined to individuals or societies. IT.
has become governmental. President
Taft and Secretary Knox are among
its strongest supporters, and both
have made noteworthy utterances in
its favor Those who year ago
thought the President assumed an
untenable position in advocating I'M
limited arbitration have in recent
months had ample proof of his sim
cerlty. Not only is he earnestly en-
gagged in negotiating with Great
Britain treaty of unlimited scope,
but we have his clear inference that
he hopes the treaty will serve as a
model for other treaties, and, perhaps,
for world treaty. The adoption at
this time of such a treaty with Great
Britain would be the greatest event
in the history of international arblrta-
ton.
THAT the proposed Anglo American
treaty would meet opposition in the
senate is hardly possible. That body
is too intelligent and high-minded to
stand in the way of reasonable pro-
posal of such Importance"
A1aN