The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-09
THE TIME TO MAKE PEACE
By EMILY REFINE BALCH Professor Q Political conOmy, Wellesley College

l GAS a member of the American Wom- ans Peace party Professor Balch attend ed the woman's convention at The Hague, Holland, last summer Later she made a tour of various European countries She | talked with Sir Edward Grey in Lon don, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sazo- noff in Petrograd, King Haakon VII and Prime Minister Zahle in Norway and For eign Minister Wallenberg in Sweden. The following article was written after her | return to the United States)
 There is widespread feeling that this is not the moment to talk of European n peace. On the contrary there is reason to believe that the psychological moment is very close upon us.
 The question of peace is a question of terms. Every country desires peace at the earliest possible moment at which it can be had on terms satisfactory to tt- self. Peace is possible the moment that each side would accept what the other would grant, but from the international or human point of view a satisfactory peace is possible only when these claims and concessions are such as to forward ahu not 10 hinder human progress. Two Kinds of Peace U The making of peace involves not only questions of the character of the terms oI demands more or less extreme: if also involves the question of the principle according to which settlements are to be made. There are two conflicting concepl tions.
 On the one hand is the assumption that military advantage must be represented qua pro quo in the terms-so much yic- tory' so much corresponding advantage in the settlement. There is even the com merclai conception of war as an invest ment and the idea that the fighter has a right to Indemnity for what he has spent
 on the other hand it is assumed that the war having thrown certain interna tional adjustments into the melting pot. the problem is to create a new adjust ment such as shall on the whole be as generally satisfactory and contain as much promise of stability as practicable
 fVen Tn settlement based on such considerations the balance of physical rorce could not be merely Ignored. Gains won by force create no claim that any, One IS bound to respect and while the expenditure of blood and Urea sure give ho right to reimbursement and it is to the general interest that such expendi. ture' undertaken more or less on specula- ton, should never prove a good invest
 
 war being an arbitrament of violence relative power is bound to tell in the re. sulting adjustment
 Balancing the Scale
 ine equiiDrlum of opposing claims might be secured by balancing unjust acquisition against unjust acquisition: or oy balancing magnanimous concession against magnanimous concession. A neu- tral mediator or mediating group acting Tn the interest of civilization in general and of the future might, without throwing any weight into the scale of one or the other side. help them to find the euuilib- rum on the higher rather than on the lower level.
 The settlement of a war by outsiders mot their mere friendly co-operation- IS something that has often occurred, ex- nlplting that curious mixture of the crass- est brute force with the most ombitious lueailsm which charasterizes the conduct Of international dealings. The fruits of victory were refused to Russia by the congress Of Berlin in 1878. Europe forbade Japan the spells of her war with China, the results of the Balkan wars were largely determined by those who had done none of the fighting
 A peace involving annexation of un- Willing people could never be a lasting ore Ine widespread sense of irritation al all talk of peace at present seems to De due to feeling that settlement now would pc settlement which would leave beigium, Is not part of France. in Ger man hands. Such a settlement would be as disastrous to Germany as to any other nation It might put an end to military operations, but it certainly would not bring peace If We give any moral content tc that much abused word: Europe was not al peace before August, 1914, nor Ire land TOT long before nor Poland, nor AL sece, nor f1nland. Any community which II IL could, would fight to change it's pontica, status. may be quiet under CO., ercion but it is not at peace.
 Ine question. then. is what sort of peace may We at least hope for now-onl wnat terms, on what principles?
 we may be sure that each side is ready to concede more and to demand less than