The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1920-09-13

should proceed to fill the vacant seats.
4 II this method fails to produce an
agreement, the judges already sitting
shall themselves proceed to the cleo
ton OF their new colleagues.
THE court is to have eleven judges
and certain number of substitute
judges. In case of n suit interesting a
nation that has no representative on
the bench. a Judge of that nationality
will be designated temporarily.
THE plan provides that the presi-
dent and the clerk OF the court will
reside permanently at the seat OF the
| court. The other members will NEE,
| on June as for a six months session.
1t provides that any member nation
OF the league shall have the right of
| direct citation, that is. may hale be-
| lore the court another member nation
The end aimed at is to make the in
| ternational court a tribunal having the
same rights and authority. as organs
of internal Justice.
obviously the. mere creation of
such an organization does not bring
about an instant change in 1nterna-
tional morality nor does 1t mean tnat
all nations win submit to its decisions
The skeptics who speak sfnilingly of the
noble effort made by the entente to
bring about the reign Of rights and to
substitute it for the reign of might
will not fail to point this out
dividuals, too had wrong conception
of justice. If we had waited until every
body had abandoned the use of force
before setting up law courts for them
to appeal to, would we ever have pro-
duced any reform in human morals?
III we desire, even slowly, with
full realization Of the difficulties raised
by old habits. to introduce the idea OF
law into international morals, obvious
ly we must begin to create the indis-
pensable instrument to which well-in-
tentioned nations may resort. The
proposed tribunal. being elected by all
the nations, will represent the weak
and the strong; 1t will not--as might
have been feared-pe in any sense the
tool Of the great poYers Because of
its composition it wifi enjoy sure
prestige. 1t is probable that the as
sembly. meeting at Geneva, will pres
cribe penalties as a means o. enforc-
ing its decisions. But we are entitled
to believe that nation brought before
the bar of the court and found in the
wrong, would hesitate to flout its de-
cree and place itself in a position that
would leave no doubt of its aggressive
intentions.
Nobody among those who are work
ing to make the league of nations liv-
ing, working force. nobody among
those who hope through it to combat
the warlike spirit and to spread among
people a respect for and confidence lin
law, is naive, enough to believe that
the work is finished just because the
machinery is set up; nobody denies that
many obstacles are still to be sur !,
mounted and that it will be a long time '
before humanity gets rid of its old in
stincts. But when humanity is cured of
the fever from which she still suffers.
as result of the great trials OF the
war, when she can look, back calmly on
those horrible trials. she will find
means of action at hand for prevent =
ing their return. 1t is unthinkable that
she will not desire to resort to, them.
that she will not even be willing to try
the new methods that the league of
nations Offers