New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-02

Of the league force will be. l will not
venture q guess myself, but ! Will quote
the opinion of Professor Albert Bush.
nell Hart, the distinguished historian.
close student and high authority on
all American policies and most friend
ly critic of the Presidents address. In
very interesting article in The New
York Times of January %, 1917, Fro
fessor Hart says:
"'He (the President) does incline
toward the general plan which is
pushed by the League to Enforce Peace.
For, he says: at will be absolutely
necessary that force be created as a
guarantor of the permanency OF the
settlement so much greater :han the
force of any nation now engaged, or any
alliance hitherto formed or projected.
that no nation, no probable comb.na-
ton, could face or withstand it."
"If that means anything definite, it
means an international police force of
not less than 100000 men, in which
the share Of the United States would
be at least 100000
There is the estimate Of dispas-
sionate and competent observer. Will
il not be worth while to pause mo-
army Of 100000 men, to be held ready
tons in whose councils we shall have
but one vote, if We are true to the
Presidents policy of the equality of
nations?
THE first service which the United
States can render TO the cause OF
peace is to preserve its own. / do not
mean within its own borders, but to
preserve its peace with the other ma
tons of the earth. This can be done
in only one way-by the most absolute
and scrupulous observance of every
treaty or agreement that we enter
into; by the termination of all treaties
for arbitration, which we know we'll
we should not, under certain condi-
tons and in time of stress, regard, for
no such war-breeding treaties ought to
cumber the ground; and, lastly, by the
establishment of such national de.
fences, both by land and sea, as to
insure our country, so far sa it can
be done, from wanton attack.
Measures for Peace
There are measures which will pro.
mote peace and which are wholly prac.
ticable. The first and most important
is the protection of our own peace
against foreign attack. That can only
be done by national defence, and we
have no adequate national defence now.
We have no means of repelling the i'm
vaslon OF a great power as il must be
repealed, and such weakness, combined
with great wealth, constitutes an invita-
ton and temptation to war.
"The next thing to which we ought
to address ourselves on the conclusion
Of this war should be the rehabilita-
tion and reestablishment of interna-
tional law. International law repre-
sents great mass of customs and
usages which have become law and
which have been observed, cited and
referred to by the nations. lnterna-
tional law has had an ever-increasing
power on the conduct of nations tow
ard each other.
1--WE should try also, within the nee
essary and natural limits, to extend
the use of voluntary arbitration, so far
as possible, and create, as we can well
do, powerful public opinion behind
the system. We can also do much In
urging general reduction OF arma-
ments by all nations.
eve are as people altogether too
prone to be satisfied with words; to be.
lieve that we advance the cause Of
peace or any good cause merely by
shouting Cor it. When we approach
such questions as our relations with
the other nations of the earth and such
a mighty issue as the maintenance of
the worlds peace to be misled by
words and to take words for deeds
would be fatal error. Whatever we
do, let us know precisely what we are
doing and what we may reasonably ex-
pect."