The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-06-26
THE ADvANczllENT or PEAol N
(Ry Arthur Bispark yRetsssT 2 seoond Prize. 2 1ssl 2

ssE
 .sThe growth of civilization is the progressive triumph of reason over nnreseen ,,n ss.s cf reaon ns 1G i nswer and more ,yaried chanpele sfhroNghoufc all fffs- tory. has breHEhtg us to that stage of 'Advancement where we can more
 clearly than ever cQmpreheuQ ine true object of civilization. Tp-oay this object seems to us to be the eDo- 1ition of the Atruggle Tor Ire ,oetMesSn men and the replacing ot 1t py unity among them for the commQn PtEuEt gie against the unreleuting forces of nature. Thus, the steady tnproYe7 mend in. the methods and aims uf Governments, and the steady decline of what Robert Burns called The tn- humanity of man., have aided great ly In the growth of genuane senu- {. The seeds of international law, the on which peace rests. are found in ancfent Greece Being close ly connected in face, religion and lan- eua9e, and repeatedly meeting at the Olynplan daanes, the Greeks we're soon compelled by the conditions. to acknowledse some interstate law: An a result, there arose the renoWn- ed Amphictyonfc Council of the Greek states. Although it's influence was mostIy religious, the Anphfctynpic Council stands out in history as the hrst congress of independent states which had az one of its main, purs war. The sentiment of that era is we'll expressed in the time honored statementS of Thucydides who sa1ds 'ssIt is wicked to proceed against him as a wrong-d doer. who ts ready to re- fer the question to an arbitrator
 The Roman Empire. the next great nation to appear on the stage of his- tory. adds little or nothing to the history of Peace. The Romans were ffxhters. Arbitration was little thougft of when universal conquest was In view. True, when the gates of the, temple of Janus were closed and the Pax Romana 'sa,,t was tns declared a n,ea the earth enjoyed a universal peace, but such peace could not be lasting. Tn the distant provinces the shoulder ing fires of revolt, never being en- tirely extinguished. were quickly blown into bright flames
 As the nations began to emerge from thes dark ages following the de- made feeble, efforts to assert itself: During that. long night of war and devastation the Popes were the only restraining influence. Many conflicts were averted by appeal to them and through the wisdom of some or the Pontiffs, great state questions were have the famous "Bull" of Alexander VI by which he drew an imaginary line from pole to pole, between Spain and Portugal the territory discover- ed in the New World.
 However, by the beginning of the century. the influence of k1. t.A oR RfnftAr <x4 TAHNrzo had waned. The controlling power claimed by the Holy Roman Empire had never been real. It's weapons, being only spiritual, had become en- tirely powerless in the countries of the reformed religion. Europe had been devastated by dynastic and re- ligious wars and thus the Papacy in- directly caused conflicts rather than them.
 By this time the world realized that If any check was. to be placed on the ambition of princes, and the animosity of nations, it could he found only in a federation of the of federation though not original with. Henry " of France was advocated by him and failed like all similar to 1t, though he was great statesman.
 To the nineteenth century the greatest advancement in the pacific relations between governments must be attributed. Although at it's begin ming the, world was struggling in the throes of the great Napoleonic wars, it's second generation saw a series of and international peace con- gresses held throughout the capitals of Europe Sixteen such congresses were convened with the result that the number of cases settled by ar- bitration increased during the cen tury fxon efyht between 1s2o apd