University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1915-01-08
UTOPIA OR HELL


current magazines of the week be
cause of former President Roosevelt
article Utopia or He'll" plan TO
peace, and the Independents leadin.
editorial reviewing and criticising th'
colonels article. Mr.. Roosevelt frs
advocates plan for maintaining peac,
among nations, and then he takes {
severe slap at President Wilson, Sec
retary Bryan and the "ultra-pacifi
cists."
His proposal is that efficient civi.
lized nations shall join in a world
league of peace to respect territories
vital interests and national honor. to
arbitrate other questions through
judges chosen by lot, to use the force
of the League against any member or
non-member who threatens its peace
and to admit only the advanced ma
tions to the league. He lays much
stress on the fact that each nation
must join the league in absolute good
faith.
Mr.. Roosevelt next raps arbitration
as it is provided for in the treaties re-
Gently negotiated by Secretary Bryan.
"A covenant between the United
States and any other power to ar
bitrate all questions, including those
involving national honor and interest,
neither could nor ought to be kept" he
says. "Such a covenant will be harm
less only if no such questions ever
arise. All the worth of promises in
the abstract lies i'm the way in which
they are fulfilled in the concrete. Mr..
Bryan's arbitration treaties are to be
tested in this manner. There are
many such questions which in the con-
crete we would certainly not arbitrate
| mention one, only as an example.
Does Mr.. Bryan, or does he not, mean
to arbitrate, if Japan should so de-
sire, respecting whether Japanese la
borers are to be allowed to come in
unlimited numbers to these uhores? If
he does mean this, let him explicitly
state the fact-merely as an illustra-
tion-to the Senate committee, so that
the Senate committee shall understand
what it is doing when it ratifes these
treaties"
Peace congresses are absolutely
worthless, Mr.. Roosevelt thinks, and
accomplish nothing unless it is mis-
chief. He excepts the Hague conven-
tions. but does not give them any too
much praise. The United States, he
continues, when it signed the Hague
conventions bound itself to protect
small neutral nations, and in failing to
take an active part in protecting Bel
gium the United States has shown bad
faith.
ITO violate these conventions, to
violate neutrality treaties, as Ger
many has done in the case of Bel
GUM, is dreadful wrong. 1t repre-
sents the gravest kind of international
wrongdoing, but it is really not quite
so contemplate, it does not show such
short-sighted and timid inefficiency,
and, above all, such selfish Indifference
to the cause of permanent and right
eous peace. as has been shown by the
United States (thanks to President
Wilson and Secretary Bryant in re-
fusing to fulfill its solemn obligations
by taking whatever action was neces-
sary in order to clear our skirts from
the guilt of tame acquiescence in a
wrong which We had solemnly under
taken to oppose"
After an attack on the pacifists and
further details as to his plans, Mr..
Roosevelt brings his article to close,
urging that our navy be made efficient
Immediately, which can be done, he
says, only by reversing President Will
sons policy.
In discussing this article, the Inde-
pendent begins by saying:
He urges in definite detail the for
nation of League of Peace. He at
tacks the Administration for sundry
sins of omission and commission. He
damns the peace movement In our