Evening star., 1922-02-19
BY MYRoN EVERETT PIERCE.

VINO was CHOSEN chief JUS
tice. or president, of the
permanent court Of interna-
tional justice. inaugurated with i'm
pressive ceremonies on Wednesday
last at The Hague. may be said to
have been the natural choice for that
honor. 1t almost seems as if he had
been in training all his life for the
position. His character. his environ
ment, his education. the branch of the
law to which he has devoted himself,
his judicial experience and the inti-
mate part which he has taken in the
long process of evolving the court it
self. carrying on the Dutch tradition
Of international service. all contribute
to make him the logical selection for
chief justice of what Elihu Burritt
said at Brussels in 184S would be 1.-The
highest court Of appeal this side of
the bar of eternal Justice"
X X r X
The Earl of Reading, then Chief
Justice of England. after hearing DR..
Loders Portsmouth address on a
world court. paid a high tribute to
his intellectual capacity" DR..
Loder also displays an Intellectual
honesty Of high order. expressing
his views in conference with unusual
candor and clarity when balancing
the arguments. and at the same time
with tact, consideration and modesty.
He has the simplicity of manners so
often noticeable in great men. An
extraordinary gift for selecting the
essentials in the arguments presented
Is also his In short, he seems to have
the qualities necessary to give weight
called upon to pronounce. He will hold
office for three years instead Of for
the entire term of nine years. 1t was
felt that the prestige of the position.
it's power and influence. were so i'm
mense that the sh rter term was ad-
visable, If coupled with eligibility
for reelection. His salary will be
about $4,000 a year. 1t is paid by
the league of nations.
i: X X
DR.. Loder only recently said of his
native land. Freedom and the wor-
ship Of law have been deeply rooted
In the soil for centuries" Here lived
Grotius. the founder of modern inter-
national law. In such an environ
ment DR.. Loder was born on Septem-
Der 1a. 1s4s. in the city Of Amster-
dam. the same city which welcomed
so cordially our own Pilgrim Fa-
thers.' He has breathed the atmos-
phere of the two Hague conferences.
conferences which have laid the
foundation for law and order in the
world. The first inaugurated the in
ternational court OF arbitration.
which has settled. not by the meth
DDS OF a court Of law. which will be
followed by the new court, but by
arbitration and compromise, sixteen
international controversies. The Sec
ond laid the plans for an interna-
tional court of law and also for an
international prize court, but unfor-
tunately neither >had been set up
when the world war overwhelmed u.s.
DR.. Loder has often looked upon the
symbol and promise Of the perma-
nent court Of international justice,
the Peace Palace. "the. splendid gift
Of Andrew Carnegie" as he ex-
pressed it, where the court will be
housed. No doubt he was we'll ac-
quainted with DR.. Asser, a country
man Of his, who was an important
factor in the cause Of international
justice.
\ X
OF his early education he says. in
a letter just received by the writer:
Like every one in my country who
belongs to the better situated CLASSES,
I have learned in my school days be-
sides my own language also English,
French and German and hter, of
course. Latin and Greek. The class