New-York tribune., 1921-12-11

tndG Wo ullgnt QeScrlOe them IN the
words of Browning as the 'sprinkled
And yet the region through which they
are scattered is so vast that the isles
OF Greece and the Egean Sea, so
famous in history and in poetry, could
easily be lost therein and continue un-
noticed except by wandering seamen or
stray adventurers. They range from
Australia, continental in magnitude, to
Atolls, where there are no dwellers
but the builders of the coral reefs or
lonely rocks marking the peak of
mountains which rise up from the
before they touch the air. To the
Western and the Eastern world alike
most of the islands on the southwest
ern Pacific are little known. There
still fingers about them the charm, so
compelling and so fascinating, which
an undiscovered country has for the
sons of men who are weary of main
travelled roads and the trampled high
ways of trade and commerce which
cover the surface of the patient earth.
upon these islands still shines the
Melville and the writings of Robert
Louis Stevenson, to whom the South
Seas gave both grave and monu-
ment imperishable as his own fame.
But the Pacific islands are much more
| than this. They possess certain quail
ties other than natural beauty and
! romantic charm, which to many minds
/ are more enticing. The larger ones
/ are rich in many ways, fertile in the
| gifts CT soil and climate and in other
forms o. riches desired by men, which
extend from the untold mineral re-
sources of Australia to the pearls
which are brought from the depths of
the ocean. There are among them all
| great areas of forest and Of plain fit
for the support and prosperity of civil
lied man. In word, they have a very
great material value, largely unde-
veloped, and where this condition
exists the desires Of man will enter,
and conflicting human desires have
throughout recorded history beck
breeders Of war.
Agreement Is Important
| "Thus far the wastes of the Pacific
Ocean, with all the crowding islands.
except on the edges of the continents,
nave not been the scene of great wars ;
and yet not many years have passed
since three great nations sent their
warships to Samoa because there was
a dispute in regard to those distant
islands. Therefore an agreement among
the nations controlling these islands
has very serious Importance to the
peace of the world.
we make the experiment here ir
this treaty Of trying to assure peact
IN that immense region by trusting the
preservation of its tranquility to the
good falth of the nations responsible
TOR It, The world has just passed
through war the very memory OF
which makes us shudder We ali be.
lieve deep in our hearts that this hide.
Gus destruction Of life, this suffering
and ruin, which still beset US, must
not be permitted to come again if we
can prevent it. If the nations of the
earth are still in the innermost recess
es OF their consciousness planning OF
dreaming Of coming wars and longins
Tor conquests, no treaties of partition
and no alliance can stay them; but if
as firmly hope, the world has learned
frightful lesson from the awful ex
perlences of the great war of 1914 the1
our surest appeal in order to preven
wars in the future must be to tn
hearts, the sympathies, the reason an,
the higher impulses of mankind
such an appeal we make to-day b,
this agreement among four great na
tions. We rely upon their good faiL.
to carry out the terms Of this instru
ment, knowing that by so doing the,
| VaiA QI CVCHt war SnOulG COnCrCyerS1e
ever arise among them. If this spiri
prevails and rules we can have no bet
ter support than the faith of nations
For one, devoutly believe the spiri
of the world is such that we can tras
to the good faith and the high pur
poses which the treaty have laid be
fore you embodies and enshrines.
agreements of this kind l kno,
: have often been made before only t.
fail. But there has been farreachin
, change in the mental conditions Of me-
J and women everywhere. That whicl
really counts is the intention of tn
nations who make the agreement. Il
this hour of trial and darkness whic
has followed the war with German
the spirit of the world is no longer tn
same. # we. enter upon this agree
ment which rests upon the will an
honor Of those who sign it, we at leas
make the great experiment and apes
to the men and women of the nation t
help us sustain it in spirit and i
. truth"