The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-07-31
George Bernard Shaws Comprehensive Plan for Securing
Lasting Peace When This War Ends
THE Fabisn Society Of London ID
well known - Include tho clever.

THE Tabian Society Of London 10
well known Ao.1uclude tho clever.
a est socialists Of England, men
who have had moge influence than any
others in promoting recent social and
political progress in that country. Al
its name suggests, the society aims to
achieve its objects6by strategy and per-
suasive argumentsIrathe than by noise
and violence.
Bernard Shaw,khe most prominent 90
cial philosopher lin tho country, is at
presep. the leading spirit in tho society.
while among thet other members are 81.
@. Wells, the scientific novelist; Sidney
Webb, the author, and Percy Alden,
M. P. Kier Har1fe and Will Crooks, the
noted Labor Members Of Parliament,
also belong toll.
The society, feeling that tho greatest
duty Of reformrs to-day is to prevent .
repetition Of the present colossal tragedy
Of war, appointed committee Of its
ablest members to report on the best
means Of securing this object. The com.
mittoc was headed by Bernard Shaw,
with Sidney Webb, the best worker Of
the society, as@vice-chairman.
Mr.. Shaw's committee with great care
and consideration drew up plan which
in their opinion would best avoid the re-
currence Of war in future. The Fabian
tons that tho adoption Of this plan
should be made . part of tho peace
terms.
This newspaper has secured an exclu.
sivc copy of the Shaw committees re.
port by special arrangement and the first
half Of the report is printed herewith.
The Report
THE object Of the committee has been
limited and practical It has sought
only to- formulate. ~ basis for inter.
aatioaai discussion and In the light of history
and experience. the heads of an International
agreement by which future wars may be a.
tar &c possible prevented. There is at least
o Ecpe that, result of the existing terri
Die experience. . war-weary world may pres
sntly be willing to construct some new inter
sationsl machinery which can be brought int
DlAy to prevent the nations from again bsino
sGampeded into Armage64eo.
The hrst difficulty will be to get the Gov.
eriments, either Of the eight great Powers or
Of tho forty lesser States-all Of them neces-
sari!y wary and suspicious-to agree to the
creation OF ANY such international machinery.
teal. to limit our proposals to that for which
there is at least some reason to expect con.
sent. What Is suggested is. accordingly, no
merging OF Independent national units into
~world-State." though to this Utopia future
ages may well come.
No impairment OF sovereignty and no sac.
r1hce of independence are proposed. Each
the last resort. II the dispute in which it is
engaged proves intractable. Moreover, ma.
uonal disarmament-to which at this moment
no State will even dream Of taking the small:
rs the individual carrying of arms falls silent.
ly into desuetude as and when fears of ag.
xression die down before the rule Of the law.
The new world .hat we have to face at the
conclusion OF the war will. perforce. start
from the ruins of the old. All that will be
Immediately practicable can be presented as
rapidly multiplying arbitration treaties OF the
present century and the conclusions Of the
two conventions Of The Hague. Only on some
such lines. 1t Is suggested, can we reasonably
hope. at this Juncture. to get the Governments
of the world to come into the proposed agree
ment.
The alternative to~war is law. What we
have to do Is to ind some way Of deciding
differences between States. and Of securing
the same acquiescence in the decision as is
now shown by individual citizens in legal
Judgment. This involves the establishment OF
. supernatural authority. which is the es-
sence OF our proposals.
What is suggested is, first, the establish.
ment Of an International High Court. to which
the nations shall agree to submit, not all their
possible differences and disputes, but only
such as are. by their very nature. legal" or
"justiciable." Experience warrants the belief
that the decisions of such judicial tribunal
confined to the issues which the IltIaant
States had submitted to Il. would normally be
accepted by them. Provision 10 made, how.
ever for a series of sanctions other than
war" principal economic and social in char
acter, by which al. the constituent States
could bring pressure to bear any State not
Alongside the International High Court, but
without authority over it, there should be an
International Council, composed Of represen.
tatives Of such Of the forty or fifty independ.
ent sovereign States of the world as may
choose voluntarily to take part. It Is pro-
posed that this International Council should
be differently constituted and organized &C
cording az as it acts a world legislature
for codifying and amending international law,
and for dealing with questions interesting
only America or Europe respectively; or (2)
is invoked by any constituent State to medi.
ate in any dispute not of a nature to be sub
mitted to the International High Court. It is
not suggested that the enactments or the de-
cisions Of the International Council should.
except to a very limited extent, be binding
on States unwilling to ratify or acquiesce in
them. Subject to the provisions made to pre-.
vent the proceedings being brought to naught