El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-18
DISCUSS FORCE,
AS AID To PEACE
Lake Mohonk Conference
Speakers Debate Purposes
of Mr.. Taft's League.

( Lake Nohonk. n. Y. May 1S.-The
! use Of military compulsion by group
/ @. nations to prevent war; which is
! the most radical feature Of the plan
; advocated by the League to Enforce
Peace, was debated today before the
Lake Mohonk conference on interna-
tonal arbitration. The proposition
vas favored by Herbert s Houston
ana Geo. Haven Putnam. New York
publishers. and opposed by Dr. James
J.. Tryon Of Boston, director Of the
New England department of the
American Peace society, and Alpheus
ID Snow, Washington. d. c., lawyer.
~ Peace between nations" said Mr..
houston, Just as does peace within
NATIONS, must rest on force. Peace
must he put on a war footing and its
aclocateS must quit the forum for the
lleld' IT need be. TO fight to establish
Weakness of Hague Tribunal.
- The international tribunal at The
t-aEue, "Dr Putnam said. had the
Wcahness OF presenting no provisions
LOT the enforcement Of the decisions
OF the tribunal In every civilized
state decisions are now arrived at in
court These decisions would have
httle value. however, i'm maintaining
peace In the communities. unless back
of the authority Of the court stood an
organized force"
Dir. Tyron's view was that the
United States might wisely cooperate.
if need be, with other nations to use
force Tor the preservation of public
safety in a specific emergency like the
Boxer rebellion, but be in a position
30 Withdraw when it considered the
purpose sufficiently fulfilled without
aking the obligations Of an alliance
with all its possible entanglements.
Considers Plan Dangerous.
Mr.. SHOWS conclusion was that the
plan of the League to Enforce Peace
was impracticable and dangerous for
many reasons, chiefly because il pro-
poses to use joint instead Of united
Iorce ana provides no executive to
determine and direct the force
Taft Answers PacifistS.
William H. Taft appeared before the
conference Wednesday night as a mis-
sionary for the League to Enforce
Peace. In taking his place as presid- |
ing officer here. Mr.. Taft answered J
the pacifists who object to the league |
because they oppose the use of force. /
He answered critics of the league who /
believed it would draw the United |
States into entangling alliances.
Il do not think we have reached /
time" said Mr. Taft, when force as >
an aid to q moral impulse can be dis !
pensed with. We need a police force /
at home and the same need exists in /
the relations between nations
AS regards the fear Of entanEling /
alliances, our situation is now very /
different from what fl was when
Washington gave his warning he de-
clared. Speaking Of the Philippines,
he said
q cannot tell you in the presence
q women what ] think Of our present
Philippine policy"
Calls Mexico Nuisance.
Mexico he characterized as an In
-ernatiOnal nuisance likely to entail
greater burdens upon US.
AS for ultimatums," he continued, I
we read the word in the headlines /
)f the daily paper and then we eat
breakfast before we read what is un-
Ter the headline. It shows how close
We are TO war"
Admiral knight Warns Nation.
Rear admiral Austin NJ Knight
president Of the naval war college
It Newport, r. T.. told the conference
" Wednesday that the Atlantic ocean no
opger could be considered a serious [
obstacle to the invasion Of the United
states.
Unless those waters are blocked by
fleet strong enough to command I
hem absolutely" he said. "the ocean |
S a highway. broad and convenient :
eyond any military road the Romans
ver built.
What will the pacifists think of
themselves" he asked. IF, as a direct |
esult Of their efforts our fleet is
destroyed by an enemy fleet twice its 4 ,
lze2 And 7 tell you now that if the /
leet is defeated IL viii be destroyed
md what will they say If. after our
title army has been offered up as /
urther sacrifice upon the altar Of I'M
Preparedness, some hundreds Of thou
ands Of our socalled citizen soldiery
re, in their turn, offered upon the
anne altar-and all TO no effect2" 7