The daily Nome industrial worker., 1915-12-30

economic force in a nation makes up it's mind that although a certain course is lawless, it's existence re- quires that that course be pursued, it will be pursued. The Sherman Act cut no manner of figure in pre- venting commercial combinations in restraint of trade. The reason is the corporations were might fer than the law; mightier than the courts. So with interne- tional law. International law win be obeyed just as long as it is the interest of the stronger nation to obey it. If justice is the interest of the stronger, so also is international justice or applied international law, the interest of the stronger nation. Laws do not amount to a hill of beans unless there is behind the law the physical force that govern ment is ready to apply to sustain them. What would lawyers care for judicial scoldings when they scorned the courts, if back of this judicial verbal severity was not the actual severity of fine and imprison- mont. In this way the most stupid. 1 the most crooked, the most imposs- l ble judge can exact respect from the most impertinent or the most in- dignant.
 The metaphysical concept of the power of the law as the law, is only a figment of the imagination, unless back of this law there is the power | to penaliZe for it's infraction.
 This is true of national laws. + is true of moral lows. It is true of international law.
 Roots idea that international law will be able to keep the nations in order is absurd unless back of this international law thore are battle ships and armies and munitions, l greater than the predatory nation possesses, to maintain the interna- tional code.
 There will always be Belgiums. 1 There will always be scraps of pa- per where there are Beilgiums. l And thus we come to the fact that international law is only a halluci- nation introduced to bolster up a civilization which it is undesirable should be understood as founded upon force. But suppose at the out, break of Great War the neutrality of not Belgium but nation strong and powerful as Russia was afforded the Germans as the only chance of a successful invasion, does anyone think that the neutrality would have been but scrap of paper. Not at all. Because back of the neutral nation there would have been an ample force to maintain it's neutral ity, that would have been respected. l There's. not belligerent nation today that would not ride rough shod over every single one of the Iprinciplos of international law if il were to it's own interest, and it were l strong enough to do so with inipu- nifty.
 In international law there is only one right and that is might. The Istrength of the international code
 will lie not in the extensive recog- hilton is given it by civilized na
 tions, but in the physical strength o'
 the nations to avail themselves ol
 an omnipotent violence to maintain
 it against any one who should viol
 ate it.
 They have builded this civiliza
 ton upon force, and without force
 t is simre ssible to control the pre- [datory srstincts of the nations whe1
 the very social system is oail Iupon .ae predatory tendencics Q lexpIoitaiion for profits.
 I This is the A. B. c. of the mat ,lter. It is simple And this war ii [wiping away a whole lot of the me Itaphysical stuff that conceals thu
 real truth.