New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-10-15
FIRST AID FOR
PREVENTING WAR
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUS
TlcE so CONSIDERED BY
THOSE WHO FAVOR IT.
IS THE PLAN OF ELIHU ROOT
Opposed by Americans Who Object
to the League of Nations, Because
II Is Part of the LEAGUES Machin.
cry.
BY JAMES p.

BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.
WashingtonEThe formation of a
court of international justice will com
plete the processes provided by the
covenant of the League of Nations for
preventing war. These processes are:
() Through diplomacy. (2) BY means
of arbitration that is to say, submits
sion of the controversy to the court of
international justice. (3) Through the
council of the League of Nations,
which may, If 1t desires, refer the con-
troversy to the assembly of the league.
Leading opponents of the League of
Nations in the United States say they
are opposed to the court of interna-
tional justice on the ground that 1t is
to be a part of the machinery of the
League of Nations. The United States,
not being a member of the league, will
not have anything to say about wheth-
err the plan for the court shall be ap-
proved or not. This of itself Is an in
teresting circumstance In view of the
fact that the court Is to a large extent
the product of the mind of IN Ameri-
can, former Secretary of State Root.
International lawyers look upon the
court of international justice as a
first aid" in the general scheme Of
the League of Nations covenant for
preventing war. The initial effort to
settle controversies between nations is,
of course, always made through diplo-
matte channels. The diplomatic ex-
changes of July, 1914, are a good IL
lustration of an attempt to prevent
war through this method, and of the
failure of the method.
Resort to War Delayed, at Least.
Under article II of the league COW
enant, members of the league, in case
there should arise between them any
dispute likely to lead to a rupture, may
submit the matter either to the court
of international justice providing the
court would have jurisdiction) or to
inquiry by the council of the league.
No matter whether the dispute shall
be submitted to the court or to the
council, the parties to the dispute
agree that in no case will they re-
sort to war until three months after
the award of the court of the report
of the council. This provision of the
league covenant is looked upon as the
surest preventive Of war provided by
the covenant. There would be months
Of delay while the dispute was being
presented to the court of international
justice or to the council, and then af-
ter the court or the council had made
its decision the parties to the dispute
would be bound to keep the peace for
three additional months. The theory
of this provision is that after waiting
so long a time the war fever would
wear Off.
If such a League of Nations as now
exists had been in operation in July,
1914. the issues which led to that war,
maintain peace, would have been sub
mitted to the court Of international
justice or to the council of the league.
In either case there would have re-
suited a delay of FROM six to nine
months. At the end Of that time Ger
many, which IA the aggressor, would
have accepted the decision Of the
court, or the decision of the council,
or the decision of the assembly, In case
the issues had gone to the assembly,
or would have become an outlaw ma
ton.
Its Bearing on Article Ten.
International lawyers say that the
Root court of international justice will
have an important bearing on article
10 of the league covenant. This Is the
article which provides that the men,
bers of the league shall undertake to
respect and preserve as against ex-
ternal aggression the territorial integ-
rity and existing political independence
of all members of the league" The
article further provides that Gin case
of any such aggression or In case Of
any threat or danger Of such agrees
sion the council shall advise upon
the means by which the obligation
shall be fulfilled"
1t Is pointed GU that the court OF
international justice would have juris-
diction over questions relating to ter
ritorial integrity and that the council
would undoubtedly advise that, as a
first step, such controversies be re-
ferred TO the court.
Profits Of, Reserve Banks.
The large profits Of the federal
reserve banking system are being
commented on. During the first six
months of the present calendar year
the net earnings of the IL reserve
banks amounted &c s6S.5S3,111. OF
this amount, ~s14,962.51s will be
paid into the treasury of the United
States as a franchise tax. This
amount will be turned in by the re-
serve bank in New York, which is the
only one of the II that has built up a
100 per cent surplus and is therefore
under the law subject to the fran
chise tax. The Kansas City bank is
within 3.6 per cent Of the 100 per cent
surplus, the Atlanta bank within e.
per cent and the Chicago and San
Francisco banks within 10 per cent. |