The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-10

Already there are whisperings o, peace. They are in the very air ''Feelers" on the subject are beini put out by the contending nations and, though the end of the great wal may yet be far off, 1t may almost be said to be coming into sight.
 Who will assume the role of peace, maker?
 In view of existing conditions, ii may be accepted as a fair certainty that Uncle Sam will fill that part Our government, of course, will dis. ereetly refrain from urging peaceu D. on the European powers until there is an obvious prospect of their ac- quiescence. But, when the propiti. ous moment arrives, the president o1 the United States will proffer his pa. cificatory services.
 Supposing his offer to be accepted his function would be merely thai of an intermediary. Through him tho preliminary diplomatic "conver- sations' would be conducted-the etiquette of diplomacy forbiddins two warning nations to have any thing to say to each other directly As a result, it may be expected thai commissioners. appointed by the powers concerned, will come togeth- CT to discuss terms. It is not at all improbable that they will meet in Washington.
 The president would hold aloot from the commissioners deliberations as far as possible. Anything that he might have to say would be said by the secretary of state, his official re- presentative. Where precedents and details of diplomatic procedure were in question. he would rely for advice upon MT. Alvey A. Adee, who IS one of the greatest living authorities in all such affairs.
 The famous peace treaty between Napoleon I and the czar of Russia, made at Tlsit, was signed on a raft anchored out in the middle of the Memel river. For purposes of in- ternational diplomacy the raft was deemed neutral territory, and the two emperors were padded out in boats from opposite shores of the stream to conclude the arrangement which was to terminate hostilities.
 Childish? Undoubtedly, yes. But the truth is that the methods adopt ed by nations in business transactions with each other are often rather silly.
 On one well-remembered occasion a treaty of peace between two South American republics, which had been at war, was signed on an American naval vessel, which-though neutral territory. technically speaking made the neutrality of her quarter deck more absolutely binding by steaming out into the ocean beyond the three mile limit.
 The whole history of diplomacy is fuli of absurd and amusing incidents.
 When on certain occasion, Wis., conti, Tyrant of Milan, sought peace with the Holy See, which he had been so careless as to <offend, papal nuncio, in response, came to him from Rome with 8 "buli" of ex- communication.
 by such a reply to his pacific ad- vances.
 The envoy demurred, possibly re- garding the suggestion as joke. But the court guards surrounded him, and when it had become manifest that there was no alternative. he bit off the parchment document piece by piece, chewed it as we'll as he was able. and swallowed it.
 It was an appalling defiance; for. apart from the fact that the Pope in those days was deemed exalted above all other sovereigns of the earth, there was the traditional sa- credness of ambassadors to be con- sidered.
 Right here is point worth discuss ing. How did this idea of the sa- .o% aI, oofA of yajn a voys (which is maintained even to the present day) originate?
 The answer seems to be that the idea did not develop out of any primitive conceptions of interna- tional law. It was fostered to start with as a kind of superstition. The ambassadors of early times Gin, Egypt, for example) were usually priests, and it suited them to en-. courage the notion that their persons and property were inviolable. David and Solomon sent embassies, whose members were of the sacerdotal caste. And even among the ancient Ger mans it was customary for envoys to carry in their hands consecrated staffs, to insure protection.
 The custom of maintaining resi- dent envoys at foreign courts is very modern, and is said to have been or iginated by that crafty monarch, Louis XI. of France, who, in giving instructions to his ambassadors, would says, 'If they lie to you. lie still more to them"
 Undeniably, in those days diplo- macy consisted largely of intrigue and trickery: and cunning, backed by un- was the quality deemed most valuable in an envoy. In even later times the art of open ing letters and violating the seals Of dispatches relating to international matters was brought to high per- .Elizabeth's secretary for foreign affairs. Walsingham, is said to have been an adept at this sort of thing-and hence arose the prac- tice Of using ciphers for such corre- spondence But no cipher ls so ob- scure that a clever decipherer may not translate it, and it is doubtful how far this method of concealment is ef- fective.
 1t was formerly the custom for am- bassadors to receive costly gifts on arriving at foreign courts, or when they went away. Thus in 1791, the Pruseian envoy to the Porte, on his departure, was conplimented with r,yrse of ten thousand golden ducats.