The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-02-24
The. Overthrow of International Law and What
1t Means to the World
Bradley Wlnsow Chief Justice Supreme Court

Chicago, III, Feb 12.~~-John BRAD
tsy winsIow, chief Justice Of the
nwprears court Of the state Of Wiscon
ssS. speaking this afternoon before the
National security leagues Congress Of
SatIpnAl Service" 1T Medinah temple,
said
ssrf the word law means, 81 has
Aeesn sometimes said. a rule OF con-
duct late Down by q superior which
must ae oneyed by ar inferior then
IRE TERM International Jaw is mis-
nculsr FOR that which is Sc called Is
istt down ~ 70 surcTor moreover
there is behind il no court 10 eX~
Sound n, no executive to administer
II. ana no svord to enforce Fl in other
verde IL has In this strict sons" nc
rRrctfcn. If on the other hand We
use the word law IN its broader sense
RS Including those priucir!es which
ft4e 3udErne nt of people has approved
ard which have been generally aa-
GAptsd sc correct, then the term IN
tArnhtfonai law Ia accurately used,
sven though there re no sanction be
hind & for II is correctly defined as
tire aggregate ~ the rules 20 which
yntiors hare agreed 20 conform in
xhetr relations SO wards one auo her.'
IL consists Of rules OF action expressly
o. tsc4tb agreed upon by equals, not
Of eorY7fT ar7fs In ID down by q superior
maSibin voice Of the worlds conscience.
the MEASURE of thst great Eaif which
separates tho savage tribe from the
swAtntfeth century citizen. As yer its
sr9y sanction In che sanction OF err
heightened public opinion; the only force
hehina Il is the aroused moral sense Of
chs civilized world. a force which for
many years prior to August. 1914, had
beer growing more definite and power
%Ssf @r a
scsas for this growth Of public opinion
ate o bvfous, barbarian warfare knew
nS law and recognized no limit 10
frightfuiness, Il permitted the free use
Of every means OF destruction OF life
ard property, however brutal and foul!
FAnf1e' ana murder attended the Pro-
wraas aof@ssery army, rtoting and pill
Aee followed every victory; only heaps
OF smoking ruins told where villages
ssad stood; deserts took tho place Of
EfccrrtnE grain fields ard whole popu-
sstioaa disappeared from the face Of
ghe ear4h. The seventeenth century
Nnw the great thirty years war; prob
@hly the most terrible in its effects OF
any WAY IN European history For
thirty years the armies OF all Europe
wsyraad hack and forth over the pro-
ssnces 81 central Europe. burning. loot
fnw plunderinE. ana devastating, II
~ chance one army spared anything
III was only spared TO be taken ~
Another. The beginning Of that hide
gus comet saw Central Europe a smii-
tng land dotted with prosperous viii
lagee and filled with contented peoples.
TITS end saw that same Land g desolate
waste, whose population had been fe-
efrakted or destroyed. A full century
and a half elapsed before the ravaged
provinces recovered from this terrible
rsla NIFTY which the rulers OF Europe
In The sacred name Of -t1gton had L. 8
TtcHed upon sufrrrinx humanity,
seOrgani2ed savagcry."
ssTs YVES surely NO mere coin cs S@nce
that the arst great systematic attempt
20 set forth thu principles which ought
10 govern esvfiised nations In their
relations with each other IN peace a.
veil ala IN war should have been raads
nssring the progress Of that oarbaTio
struggle. Nothing In the worlds his
cory has been better calculated 20 bring
Ne rns TO the mind OF the philosopher
ard the Humanitarian the need of sorne
code Of honor and justice between nA-
tons than that thirty years of orsAniz-
% savagery, II formed most I'M
Drassfve and effective background for
sjse great work of Grotius' De Jurs belli
"a pacis' in which he. who may well
be called the founder of the modern
Amenes Of international law, lays down
che rules Of natural justice which IN
ria view Should bs binding upon the
ssationa OF the earth In their relA~
xsons with zach ether. IL was an epoch
making book 1t h@raIded the dawn
" a better day. PufendorfY followed
ESrottus in the seventeenth century.
and in the eighteenth century came
1synkarHhock. and Wolf, and Vnttsi,
while In the nineteenth century came
snany philosophers and pubiictsts, each
kss xx4 ssssx fss,sf M a. tr ~
gs tina fair structure Of International
Jaw upon which his predecessors had
Saborad
stIhus. cofuci6ent with the spirit Of
txananitaxisnlgru which hAs besn so
TEarke6 n eeature OF the last two CEN
snrtes, has grown UP q body of ethical
mr3nciples applicable 10 states In their
Relations with each other founded
primarily On principles Of natural Jus
Efca. But II would be a mistake to sup
pesa that the structure Of International
&mw ss It now exists (or perhaps as IT.
mxdste3 before the presently ta founded
Upon ethical and philosophical theoriss
alonA however. enlightened those
theories may be. Tia more solid
Foundation is 70 ba found in the Gus
Rcuak actually in existence between
s11wsitzed nations, indeed It may he said
ghaS these usaees and customs form
ere prtnetp pal authoritative source Of
gr@sent day international law. and 70
Ana out what they are ws turn 70 the
Twr.fing s ~ publcists. 10 ths decisions
pS the courts. especially fhe prise
&wur4s, 20 the acts of the various gov
@gnrrsnt& cf the world. when clashes
81 interest have arisen, and fnally to
treaties. which in recent years have
Asauxned Increasing Importance. This
Noss not mean that usage and custom
M&ve entirely supplanted philosophical
&nd ethical consideration. as the
source az International law, but rather
Eaat enlightened nations have. In ar
rfvlnF 81 their usages and customs
been guided 70 greater or less ex-
xa1t by the ethical and moral princi-
@ies iald down by the philosophers and
rubi4eists, and thus have added the
sanction Of usage and custom 10 that
which was mere abstract reasoning be
before So theory and practice have
acted and reacted UPON each ether.
each having a vital influence upon the
r&@uit
1T may De said that there are four
Fundamental principles forming the
foundation stoned Of the structure Of
International law as applied to war,