Omaha daily bee., 1921-08-18
Looking Toward World Peace
Presidents Formal Invitation to the
Conference a Promise of Its End.
(From the Boston Transcript.)

The broad and eloquent terms of Presden
Harding's formal invitation to the principal al
lied powers and China to join in conferenc,
at Washington on disarmament reveal tn,
| thought and hand of the secretary OF state wht
has long had this important subject deeply a
| heart. The invitation is made to rest first O
all on the WEAKNESS which the productive labor
| OF the world reveals in bearing the burden o
| competitive ornaments. This unrest of the
worlds labor under the heavy load of war anc
OF preparation for war is indeed the chief COM
pelling motive in the effort to reach some sor
of plan of armament limitation. The govern
ments of the world have themselves created ar
argument for revolution in the enormous debts
and crushing taxation which the process of ma
| tional protection, answering to the threat oi
national aggression, has involved. The de-
fensive walls that the nations have built threaten
to fall upon the nations themselves and crush
| them. 1t is indeed a situation that commands
the attention of all conscientious statesmen; and
it is to be doubted if the practical as we'll as
moral aspects of the situation could be better
stated than they are in this memorable invita-
ton.
But naturally it is not enough to state these
grounds for common action-not enough that
the nations, by their acceptance of America S
invitation, should acknowledge them. The ma
tions must do something in the matter besides
talk and confer and proclaim their good will.
AS the Hughes note pontedly says, There can
be no assurance of the peace of the world in
the absence of the desire for peace" and again,
"The spirit of friendship and cordial apprecia-
ton of the Importance OF the elimination OF the
sources of controversy will govern the final de-
cision." The frank utterance of these senti-
ments is in itself a guarantee that the United
States, which is responsible for the invitation,
is ready to make sacrifices in the interest OF
world peace. And America pledges a sacrifice,
indeed, when, in the formal invitation, her gov
ernment stresses the need of the limitation of
naval armament and suggests the desirability
of controlling the use of new agencies of war
fare, for it is easily within the means and re-
sources of the United States to create the
greatest and most powerful navy in the world,
while our men of science and our laboratories
are capable not only of dominating the air but
of organizing the most terrible poison gas war
fare. The resources of civilization, including
civilizations destructive resources, are within
our grasp more notably, more completely, than
they are within the grasp of any other power.
Emphasizing the need of limitation and control
within these lines, our government indeed
stresses its willingness to take the lead in the
benevolent rivalry of remuneration of warlike
advantage
But a warning, too, is implied in this Ian
guage of the Hughes note. No one power can
do all the renouncing. The desire for peace,
and the spirit of willingness to eliminate the
causes OF controversy, must be general Con-
cession based on the spirit of mutual tolerance
and zeal for peace, must be matched by con-
cession. America can not justly be called upon
to pull up and withdraw the stakes she has
driven down merely in order that another
country may advance hers. We are not pro-
posing to weaken ourselves merely that another
may be relatively strengthened. If that were
the game, we should have to go on playing it
in the same old way-and we should have the
assurance that through the bounty of Provi-
dence we could go on playing it longer than
anybody else. 1t is time for mutual balance as
we'll as mutual sacrifice. We have, at least, no
aggressive intentions as against any nation in
the conference. That makes a good beginning
for the "desire for peace" Starting upon that,
and expecting from other nations a similar
spirit, We have indeed the promise of noble re-
suit from the first real world conference for
real peace that ever has been held.