The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-08-26
Frederic Haskin's Letter
Taxes and War.
ID, cs-ruspcsas.s. q ~ ArEnsl

!, been under way in the upitss
States since before the election las,
autumn. Roughly, the exuectss
! outcome of the conference NAV h
set down now, so far as Ameries
is concerned, from information al
tanned from the most reliable az.
cial sources. American arma.
ments are expected to be reduces
to II f1rst-line battleships in mn
commission, three squadrons n
four ships each, divided between
the Atlantic and Pacific. No lint
tations will be placed upon coast
defenses, which by their character
! cannot be used Extensively. Tbs
standing army will be reduced IN
between 10000 and $4,000 men
/ The other nations OF the worIs
will agree to reductions in ms
same proportion. There will be
strong and definite Limitation Of
the numbers of aircraft each nation
may construct. The use of deadly
gases and submarines and tbei,
production will be rigidly pre-.
scribed.
It is the belief of the statesmen
behind the move for limiting world
ornaments that the greatest &C.
curity against future wars lies in
holding down professional armies
and navies to the point where no
sudden and tremendous offensive
can be launched in the future. such
as Germany launched into Belgium
in 1914. The time required for
preparations for war after a break
between nations will be counted
upon to a large extent to allow the
injured feelings of both to be
smoothed down.
Many Efforts at Peace.
The earliest effort at preserving
peace recorded in history was
made by the Amphictyonics more
than five hundred years before
Christ. In 1923 one Emeric Cruce
or de Lacroix, wrote the "Nouveau
Cynee," proposing that the Euro
pean world agree to the formation
OF a permanent corps of ambassa-
doris which would make Venice its
Headquarters. The votes of these
pIenipotentiaries were to settle all
international disputes and this plan
formed the basis of many brought
forward in the intervening years
down to the present time. Hugh
Grotius. the first great writer on
international law. published al
work in 1925 recommending the or
ganization of courts of arbitration
designed to constrain the national
parties to a quarrel to agree tOi
settlement
The duke of SulIy0in 1884 gave
to the world the program for
long time attributed to King Henry
" of France, under the title Of
THE Great Design. It was pro
posed that all of Europe be divided
into Is states making up one great
Christian republic. War was to be
by a conclaVe Of 40 dele
gates, meeting annually in the most
centrally located cities Of the b
states in rotation.
The philosopher Kant proposeda
plan for perpetual peace IN 1875 E
by the terms of which every ma
ton would become republican IN
form, with a pooling of their mill
tary forces for the preservation Of
peace. william Jennings Bryan
while secretary of. state, had plan 4
to divert military and naval appfo- E
priations in the United States TO
the construction of highways, with E
the idea that the United States, Il
invaded, would be defended by ciu-
zens armed with shotguns speeding
over these roads in automobiles 70
the point of attack.
Ernest Landgrave, William Penn,
John Boilers, Rosseau. PuffendoTf
and others worked for world peace
without success. The Hague III
bunals accomplished little, Ger-e
many in 1914 showed the futillty (
Of treaty agreements between ma
tons, unless there is some great 4
economic force IN the
to make observance OF
the treaty expedient. National
selfshness OVERRIDE every other
in the past Nation
al poverty seems likely to bring y
about the accomplishment vainiy
striven for throughout the ages.
Kings, philosophers, diplomats ana
lemagogues all have failed to stop q
war, but when the common man
says nay to the tax collector, then
war will stop, for a while at least