The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-09-08


 Governor Baldwin spoke bitterly Europe. He spoke for permanent pc
 ConeresSYnan Jeremiah Donovan, and pointed out that even more iInpr effort.
 President Strenlau of the Anneri sonally to the men and Mayor Wilson
 Four thousand or more people gath cred yesterday in the height of the big labor celebration to hear the words of wisdom uttered by Governor simeon B Baldwin to 1abor at Seaside Park.
 Taking as his topic the great war of Europe which he deprecated and felt was unnecessary, he prophes1ed of strife between nations and result III the permanent Hague tribunal.
 Governor Baldwin said in part:
 Greatest European War.
 '.Austria-Hungary Servia- Russia, Germany. Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Great Britain, Japan. one afrer another. have become the scene of car mage and destruction. Never before in European history have so many fight ing men been in the field. Never before have they fought with such terrible weapons of destruction. There Is the dead1iest struggle on the earrn, the sea and the air Thousands of lives and millions of money are sacrificed every hour. Great cities are burned up, with historical buildings and collections lat have come down to us from the middle ages and can never be replaced. Uncounted homes are desofated that can never be established. The course of industry is everywhere interrupted. The men who last July were busy on the farm or in the shop, are now de |stroying other peoples farms and shops and killing each other. Some of them, perhaps most of them, are gladly fight ing the battles of their country But. it is because they believe that, as things are, war is the only resource for vindicating their country.s rights. The Only Resource7
 CTS 1t the only resource? It is not the only resource of a private trfdt- vidual for vindicating his rights. Are nations anything but aggrega Eons Of private individuals? Tn old times, their controversies by fighting each other, or there arose feud between their clans. It was g. great step forward, for any nation, when 1t be- Icame strong enough to take the set clement of the quarrel into its own lhands:-Just enough to beget pub lie confidence that it would settle it fairly and strong enough to make it's sett ttIement hold
 T believe those dreadful wars now devastating Europe, may teach na- tions what history has taught men, that differences between nations can best be settled as differences between individuals are settled, by some recog- nized authority to which obedience Is due. One nation can not be trusted to lay down the law for another. But both may agree that some outside authority may do SO. Most modern international controversies which diplomacy could not settle have been disposed of in just that way. We call it arbitration. In 1899 there was Set f-L vT%I- A4@- agreement, a standing interna tional tribunal for that very thing, and be- fore it most of the leading powers of the world have from time to time appeared with causes of differences to be heard and decided. In 1907, an other more judicial tribunal was planned by a. still larger 1nternation- al conference held at the same place. A majority of the nations represented favored it. The only real reason why | it does not now exist is that they could not agree on the number Of ment
 All Nationals Equal.
 These wars now raging are destroy ing the foundations of the opposition to it. The smaller states were not content to let the great powers have more judges on the bench than they. They argued that yzn nations are poli- tica1 equals. They are. in theory. But when a great nation has a dispute with a weak one, the weaker gem era1ly has to yield. If they come to blows, it knows that it will be very apt to lose in the end. Its salvation lies in having a fight to appeal to some disinterested source of justice. Such a source an international court would give. I know nothing else that will.
 South America's Court. Tor is lxy 1% rF ory. Some neighbors of ours on the south have already adopted this plan and put it in some sort of working operation In 1908. the five nations to set up a Central American Court of International Justice. Each of the five was to name judge, and an alternate to replace him, if disquali- fled or absent. Every kind of dis pute whatever between any of those nations might be brought before that court. One of them - sue an other of them before it, just as one of the states of our Union can sue another in the Supreme court of the United Sttaes. They have a hand some court house for their sessions and a proper staff of clerks and mi nor officials.
 The Case of Honduras.
 Tn July, 1908, came up the first case. Honduras sued Guatemala and Fl Salvador before this court The charge was that they had taken part 1 in fomenting a. revolution in Hon duras, and encouraged the propoga- ton of unfriendly views towards the existing government among it's people
 'HThe court summoned Guatemala and EI Salvador before 1t. and heard the cases, precisely as any court would hear any Htigated case. The decision was rendered within the next six months, and it was in favor of the defendants.
 Austria Hungary last July charged IHN--r~A@ ~->AsA Fzap|SsSIEv Vsfsa$ ZzGKEGsz<EAas