New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1916-05-24
.ShOWs Poses AS
A Radical

,Sh0aUs Poses As
A Radical
What is regarded as one of the most
radical ideas ever proposed by person
high in public life, was propounded by
Leslie M. Shaw, former secretary Of the
United States Treasury, at recent
meeting of the Worlds Court League in
Carnegie Hall, New York: He proposes
nothing less than world nation and had
he uttered his words at less propitious
time than the present they would have
been regarded as revolutionary in the
extreme.
He treated his subject from the stand
point that despite treaties between
countries wars have not only been pos
sible, but wars have been declared be-
tween countries upon the least provo
cation even while the most binding
treaties existed between them. Taking
our troubles with Mexico as an example,
he said: eve had treaty of amity
with that country when we went to war
with her in 1916 and this was renewed
and had not been abrogated when we
went to war with her again in 1915 and
bombarded, captured and held Vera
Cruz" Similar treaties have existed
between the countries Of the civilized
world and not one of them has stood in
the way of war when one or the other of
the countries became miffed at the other.
The quotation from Mr.. Shaw's
speech on world nation follows: "The
only possible way that 1 see by which
world court can be created and clothed
with adequate powers is in conjunction
with the creation of new government.
This would involve a constitution pat
termed as far as practicable after the
constitution of the United States of
America. Under our constitution, each
sovereign state must be a republic, but
under the proposed constitution, each
sovereignty composing the United Sover-
seignties would have to be permitted to
continue it's present form of government.
It would also require congress, chief
executive under some name, a court, a
standing army and navy sufficient to
enforce the peace of the world and each
of the several sovereignties would have
to be limited in the size of their respective
armies and navies the same as our
sovereign states are limited in the size of
their national guards and the number
Of their armed ships.'
just through what manner of medium
ENIr. Shaw sees the POSSIBLE way he
does not say, but it is no doubt vision
brought about by research among the
mass Of precedent and custom for some
thing which will fit the world Of today.
He adopts part of our present laws in
the way of standing army and navy,
of state sovereignty and confers powers tc
enforce the laws upon body polite
but he fails utterly to quote or point out
one single instance of how the people
themselves are to be benefited by such {
conglomeration.
MIR. Shaw evidently looks upon the
proposition from commercial ane
mercenary standpoint and discards the
greatest commercial asset of the world
the people "who spin and weave -
as mere pawns in the game. The pro
posal to pattern the constitution OF I
world nation after that of the Unlte'
States does not do credit to a studen
of present social conditions as Mr.. SHAY
pretends to be, and should the ide
ever be laid before the people OF tn
civilized world in concrete form tc
adoption it would be rejected by thel
as a cumbersome and unwieldy affal
not an advancement in forms of govern
-ment but a retrogression in every sens
of the word.
If a world nation could be forme
the views of the foremost radicals
our time should be carefully diagnose
and it might even be we'll for men lii
Mr.. Shaw to study their ideas which a
no doubt the outgrowth of present u
sound social and economic conditions, t.
constitution of the United States to t
contrary, Notwithstanding. Mr.. Shaw
views are radical for men OF his stril
but they are not circumstance compar
to those advocated by the advanc
radicals of our time.