Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-03-28
THE HAGUE TRIBUNAL.

Former Secretary of State Lansing
has shown in recent writings that he
believes that the Hague tribunols-over
which the spiders spun cobwebs be
tween 1914 and 191s-would be more
eficacious in preventing wars than the
Ieasue OF Nations, which is now
f,nctioning tribunal was not at home
functioning body. one might point out
the fact that the Hague tribunal was
not at home" when the Kaiser sounded
his cali to the colors. but Mr.. Lansing
couId answer that that occasion was
unusual, and not TO be taken as
criterion.
The workings Of that institution are
little known TO the average man who
has not given time to studying its his
tory. There is a general impression ex-
listing that it had some power 10 stop
war. that it was striving TO prevent war.
OF course such is not true. In its later
davs it degenerated into sort Of in
,erna+ional debating society on the
rules Of war. H G. Wells, in his Out
line Of History, devotes paragraph TO
it which is illuminating
THE lesson Of the United States OF
America ne wrote in the chapter de-
voted to The international Catastro-
phe of 1914" which showed that there
could be neither unity of action nor
peace until the thought Of the people
NJ virginia and the people Of Nassa-
chrsetts' had been swept aside by the
thought Of the people Of the United
States went entirely disregarded IN the
European attempts at pacifcation. Two
conferences were held at the Hague in
Holland. one in 1899 and another in 1907.
and at the second nearly all the
sovereign states of the world were rep
resented. They were represented diplo-
,,a+tcaUv there waszno direction of the
| general intelligence Of the world 10
their deliberations, the ordinary com
mon man did not even know that these
! conferences were sitting, and for the
most mart the assembled representa-
tives haggIed cunningly upon points OF
! international law affecting war, leaV-
! ing aside the abolition Of war as a
chimera. These Hague conferences did
nothing to dispel the idea that interna-
tional life is necessarily competitive.
They accepted that idea. They did
nothing TO develop the consciousness OF
a world commonwealth overriding SOW
e,siqns and foreign offices. The interna-
tional lawyers and statesmen who at
tended these gatherings were as little
disposed to hasten on world common
wealth on such basis as We're the
pr,tseian statesmen Of 1848 to welcome
an alderman parliament overriding the
rights and policy Of the King OF
Prussia. /" = 1t was no cessation
of international competition with its
acute phase of war that they desired
but rather n cheapening Of war, which
was becoming too costly. Each wanted
to econor1ize the wastage Of minor dis
mites and conflicts, and 10 Establish in
ternational laws that would embarross
its more formidable opponents in war
time without incommoding itself. Thesf
were the practical ends they sought al
the Hague conference"
Mr.. Lansing holds to the views o.
those who do not think that wars car
ever be prevented. Those siding with
him are legion. There is the other fac
ton and they also are numbered il
Iegions, who think that wars can b.
prevented. There is this difference be
tween the two groups The first is no
willing 70 give a new idea fair show
ing: the second group is. The one i
| conservative; the other progressive
For The time being Mr.. Lansing's fac
ton holds the power in the TTnite'
states But more than 40 nations ar