New-York tribune., 1919-03-31

as it is now, mere idle form.
Wants Regular Conference
The second change which I think
should be made is to provide for gen
eral conference, followed by regular
conferences at stated intervals, to dis
cuss. agree upon and state in authentic
form the rules of international law, so
that the development of law may go on
and arbitral tribunals may have con-
tinually a more perfect system OF rules
of right conduct to apply in their de-
IONS.
md you herewith drafts of two
sugges I'd amendments designed to &C
compl these results.
The stinction between the treat
ment &. questions of legal right and
questions of policy which l have drawn
above has an important bearing upon
the attitude of the United States tow
ard the settlement of disputes.
So far as the determination Of justicl-
able questions arising under the law
of nations or under treaties is con-
cerned, we ought to be willing to stand
on precisely the same footing with all
other nations.
Questions of Policy
We should be willing to submit our
legal rights to judicial decision, and to
abide by the decision. We have shown
that we are willing to do that'"y the
numerous treaties that we have MAZE
with the greater part of the world
agreeing to do that, and we should be
willing to have the same thing provid-
ed for in this general agreement.
With regard to questions of policy,
however, some different considerations
are apparent.
In determining the extent of our
participation in the political affairs of
the Old World we ought to be salts
fled that a sufficient affirmative reason
exists for setting aside to that extent
the long established policy Of the
United States to keep the Old and New
Worlds from becoming entangled in
each others affairs and embroiled in
each others quarrels. Just so far as
such a reason exists, we ought to go,
but no further.
Quotes Washington
We have to start in the consider
alton of such q subject with the words
of Washington's farewell address:
Europe has a set Of primary interests
which to us have none or very re-
mote relation. Hence she must be
engaged in frequent controversies,
the causes Of which are essentially
foreign to our concerns. Hence,
us to implicatc ourselves by arti
fetal ties in the ordinary vicis
STUDIES of her politics or the ordinary
combinations and collisions Of her
friendships or cnmities." And Jcffer
sons advice to Monroe: "Our first and
fundamental maxim should be never to
entangle ourselves in the broils of
Europe; our second, never to suffer
Europe to intermeddle with cis-Atlan
tic affairs"
Unquestionably the Old and the New
World have come into much more in
innate relations since the time Of
have many more interests in common.
Nevertheless, the basis of the express
sions l have quoted remains in sub
stance. The people Of the United
States have no direct interest in the
distribution Of territory in the Bal
kans or the control of Morocco. and
the peoples of Europe have no direct
interest in the questions between
Chill and Peru or between the United
States and Colombia.
Two Worlds Separated
Based upon this fact. the Monroe
OOCtTIHc nus HltHcTLO kepC the Otu
World and the New in two separate
freproof compartments, SO that con-
hagration in one did not extend to t.,c
other. There never was a time when
the wisdom of the Monroe Doctrine for
the preservation Of peace and safety
Of the United States was more evident
than it is now. Some facle writer's of
late havc pronounced the doctrine OBJ
solete and useless, but know of no
experienced and responsible American
statesman who has ever taken that
view, and I cannot help feeling that
such a view results from insufficient
acquaintance with the subject.
There has. however, arisen in these
days for the American people power
ffnl secondary interest in the affairs of
Europe coming from the fact that war
In Europe and the Near East threatens
to involve the entire world, and tho
pcaceable nations of Europe need out
side help to put out the FIRE and keep
1t from starting again. That help to
preserve peace we ought to give. and