The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1916-12-29
PERMANENT PEACE

i try IN behalf or the League 10 En-I
force Peace. i have no desire to be-
little the work of that orgRnization..
1t will, I think, do good. Any or
ganization which helps to create aen-
timent in favor of worldwide peace
and international agreement does
good. But any agreement that is not
,bottomed on the universal disarma-
ment of the great nations is Of little
value. Without national disarma-
ment there can be no security against
war.
i lived for fifteen years on or near
the frontier. During most Of that
time it was customary for the male
inhabitantS>or considerable part of
them, to carry arms. Sometimes
they had disagreements. 1t was al
ways understood that prerequisite
to a settlement was that both parties
to the controversy should lay off their
guns. It was well understood that 1t
would be not only absurd but danger
Gus to permit men to come into. court
armed; and therefore the first duty
of the frontier sheriff when court was
convened was to see to 1t that those
who came ihto court first LAID their
shooting arms aside where they could
not reach them while the court was
in session. Once disarmed those
frontiersmen we're as reasonable and
amenable to argument as any other
men, but so long as they carried
weapons, somehow or other they felt
that 1t was up to them and their guns
to maintain what they regarded as
their rights.
The trouble with the Hague was
that it proceeded on the theory that a..
world peace was possible with the ma
tions armed to the teeth. So the
Hague congresses went on talking
vapid nonsense about humane rules
for conducting war, just as IL there
could be humane rule for conduct
ing war. 1t would be just as reason
able to spend time in discussing some
plan for reforming hell.
If at the very beginning of the
Hague conferences its originators had
laid' down this proposal to the rulers
of the nations: Gentlemen, the first
work of this conference is to bring
about universal disarmament, and we
will discuss nothing else until that is
settled" it is possible that the Hague
might have proved the savior of the
world instead of the most CHASTITY
joke of the age. =
II, after earnest endeayor, 1t had
been found that such an agreement
was impossible then the leaders OF
the Hague movement should have APP
pealed from the rulers to the people
of. all the nations while there was
still chance to appeal to them. A
propaganda should have been organ
ICED and financed to educate the
common people, to teach them the
truth, which is that while the rulers |
have power to- declare war the peo-
pie must always suffer, and that
while the privileged and moneyed
classes may and often do actually de-
rive financial and other benefits from |
nf N
only increased poverty, death and
higher taxes.
In the present proposal to bring
about peace made by Germany there |
is not single ray of promise for per-
manent world peace. 1t is based on |
the assumption that by superior mill
tary might Germany has triumphed
over its enemies and by that same
system it will continue to dominate
the councils of nations hereafter.
That means that the military estab- |
lishment of Germany will not be les
sened, but increased rather in the flu
ture. 1t means that Austria-Hun-
gary, to all intents and purposes is
now dependency of Germany, and 1t
too will be made as efficient in mill
tary way as Germany, The same
thing will be true of Turkey.
AS a result, even If a.peace can be
patched up, the other nations of Eu-
rope will be even more afraid of Ger
many than they were before this war
began and they will have reason to be
afraid. AS result they will begin
feveffshly preparing for the next war,
which is certain to follow They will
say that while Germany found them
poorly prepared in 1914 1t will never
happen again. The genius Of France.
the wealth and bulldog perseverance,
of Great Britain, and the vast, unde-
veloped resources of Russia will all
be taxed to the utmost to prepare for
the coming strife which, when it