The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-06-22

addressing its invitation to Elihu Root,
Judge Gray of Delaware and Oscar
Straus, who are the permanent American
HInembers of the Hague tribunal. With
ont committing the Harding administra-
ton in any way to submit its disputes
Ito the jurisdiction of the new court the
invitation to nominate judges for the
court will be accepted
The department of state has made it
clear that the United States government
is behind the considerable interest in the
Development of the court and while the
fact that the court WAS made possible by
the league is recognized no comment il
made upon Americas future relationship
to it, Officials of the Harding admin
istration admit that the traditional diff !
Guilty has been the selection OF judges and
that many an excellent project during
the last century has been wrecked be-
cause it was never possible to satisfy all
the parties concerned on the naming of
judges. The small nations always re-
fused to be subordinated and the large
powers declined to see the court made up
of representatives of small countries. The.
solution came when the council and the
assembly Of the league of nations actual
~ made such a separation. The nations
large and small, have become accustomed
since the peace conference to the upper
and lower house, so to speak. of the
league Of nations and although nomina-
tions are made by the council, they must
be ratified by the assembly.
Once the judges are named the inter-
national court has really nothing more
to do with the league of nations. 1t is
absolutely separated from any political
organization and is intended to be a su-
preme court of the world making its de-
cisions irrespective of national interests
and only for the common good based upon
right principles of law The belief is
growing that once the court is on its feet
and a going concern. the Harding adj
miniStration will not hesitate to submit
disputes to that body. 1t will be diff
cult for America to refuse to do so il any
dispute should arise with some member
of the league of nations which wants to-
let the international court decide the
question at issue.
The purpose OF the international court
is to deal with purely legal questions.
1t is true that many wars have resulted
from the failure of nations to get to-
sether on questions Of law. The inter-
national court will not deal with politicall
or strictly sentimental questions but will
render its decisions on a mass of prob
lens which have hitherto gone unset
tied and have sooner or later kindled the
fires of international hatred and misun-
Outstanding.
Therefore the Republican party has
again and again pledged itself to help
make an international court and although
provided for the creation of such a tri-
bunal there were many speeches of criti
cism made when the peace covenant and
treaty were made public and it was found
that the international court was left to
the future. It was partly as a result
of that criticism and partly because of
the desire of foreign governments to get
the court started that the proponents OF
the plan decided not to wait for Ameri-
can ratification OF the peace treaty but
to Invite Elihu Root as a private citizen
and distinguished jurist to frame con-
stitution for the new court. Mr.. Root
spent most OF last summer In Europe
working on the plan which is now bear
ing fruit. 1t was while Mr. Root was in
London that he cabled Mr.. Harding he
would be unwise to pronounce the
league OF nations dead" for it will be
slready proving its usefulness in making
the international court a reality after
years of futile effort in that direction
Mr.. Harding, however, being unfamiliar
with what AFR. Root was discovering on
the other side of the Atlantic, made a
speech shortly after the election echoing
| Senator Lodges statement that the
! league was dead Mr.. Harding con
/ frmed this later ON but it is, of course.
| insisted that the President was express
/ ing an opinion only so far as the United
| States is concerned. In other words the
| league technically doesn't exist with re-
| spect to America and Ambassador George
| Harvey added a sentence to the funeral
| Grafton recently when he said that the
| Harding administration wouldn't deal
| with the league directly or indirectly.
| The foreign powers have since sent all
| their communications through other
channels and the latest device adopted
by the council of the league when it
wishes to reach the American govern
ment is to address a note to the supreme
council on which America Is represented