The Irish standard., 1913-07-19

vocates are advertising throughout the
country Financed as some of them are.
by notoriety seeking millionaire yea
lots, who fail to grasp the magnitude
Of the question-men who take "the
rustic murmer of their burg for the
great wave that echoes round the
exaltation of any particular race or
country, especially if that country be
a foreign nation, will never furl tho
battle flags of earth or hasten the
coming of the parliament of man."
81 have the highest admiration for
our present Secretary Of State. His
claims to greatness as an orator and
statesman are conceded by all; and
We must appreciate the earnestness and
sincerity with which Mr.. Bryan has
approached the problem. He has sub.
n1itted a peace proposition to the vari-
Gus nations, with however the under.
standing that each would negotiate
It's separate treaty with this country.
In this lies the weakness of the plan.
The inevitable lack of uniformity, the
material differences between our
treaty with one nation and with an
other would not only be no improve
would be provocative of trouble. 1t re-
'quires no seer or prophet to foreteil
the conflicting character Of such de-
mands when all the nations are heard
. from 1t is easy to foresee that termu
and; conditions which would suit one
government must, in the nature Of
things be antagonistic to another, so
that the treaties negotiated first would
probably prevent others from being
agreed upon. The nations. especially
the more powerful ones. are beset with
rival interests and conflicting aims
and ambitions. The development of a
world wide commerce. not to speak
of colonial ACKNOWLEDGMENT, has set
the various nations "snarling at each
others heels" Out of such Develop
1ent at least a dozen parallel and
competing lines of action and ambition
arise and span the international are
na; and therefore, what would suit
one people would be Numerically OPP
posed to the interests of perhaps
dozen others. The problem will, I am
sorry to say. never be satisfactorily
settled upon the plan Of individual
treaties negotiated at separate times.
but II it is settled at all. it can only
be. by all nations agreeing upon one
compact, which will not only be the
treaty between each country and this,
but which must be the treaty them
selves as WELL
Such a treaty in order to have any
ing force; in order to WIN the nee
sary universal support. must have
justice and equality for a basis, JUS
tice to every nation, small and large,
especially justice to those smaller ma
tions and peoples now AFFILIATED with
large empires, such as Is exemplitled
In Austria, England and Russia. The
very moment this treaty fails to rec
ognize those rights, or fails to provide
for the redress Of injustice and wrong,
then instead of being as step to-
wards universal peace it becomes the
instrument of oppression. Let but
single nation, the smallest and weak
est Of all. suffer unjust treatment at
the hands of others, and a treaty of
universal peace becomes a misnomer
ana a travesty. Justice recognizes no
distinction either Of persons or of ma
lions. and she allows no "preferred
GLAZING In the rulings of her court.
I wish to particularly emphasize this
feature OF the case as we may not al
ways have men of Mr. Bryan's calibre
At tho head Of the state department.
Time was when that office was occa-
sionally filled by men who would sell
tho truth to serve the hour" who
would use that high and important po-
sition In the interests of foreign gov.
ernment. The Hay-Pauncefoti treaty
which L. now embarrassing US, az
Washington predicted such treaties
would, was framed against the best
interests Of this country. It gave an
opportunity to . foreign government,
whore subjects are largely interested
In American transcontinental rail-
roads. to claim rights and privileges
for which no adequate compensation
was reserved to us, and unfortunately
when the very principle we as q ma.
ton stood for, the very principle we
fought and bled for, and which we
settled a. far az this nation was con-
.rerned at Yorktown, when tho very
same issue was under fire on the veldts