The New York herald., 1922-03-26
international
Relations

Relations
THE HISTORY AND NATURE OF
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.
Edited by Edmund A. Walsh. S. J.
The Macmillan Company.
RUSSIAS FOREIGN RELATIONS
DURING THE LAST HALF CEN
TURY. BY Baron Sergius A. Korff.
The Macmillan Company.
VTYITH each succeeding year
wv the subject of interna-
tionai relations assumes
greater Importance. From a group
of savage tribes whose only inter
course was by means of the sword
the human race was gradually de-
veloped until great nations are en-
tering into far reaching diplomatic
relationships. BY reducing the dis
tance from country to country. mod
ern inventions have increased the
nearness of people to people; and it
Is now coming to be recognized that
the day of national aloofness is past,
and that law is as necessary among
the nations as within any commu-
nifty.
The principles governing interna-
tional politics find effective express
sion in the two books under review.
Perhaps the more valuable to the
general reader, because the more
comprehensive in scope. is the vol
ume edited by DIR. Walsh. This con-
sists OF a collection of essays by ten
leading international authorities,
and contains contributions by men
so prominent in their field as John
Bassett Moore and James Brown
Scott. Practically the entire range
of international relations is covered,
and there are discussions of sub
jects SO diverse as the development
Of diplomacy and the position of the
United States in international affairs.
1t was not until the close OF the
Middle Ages that the institution of
professional diplomacy arose. Dur
ing Medieval times there had, in
deed. been embassies and negotia-
tions. conducted by ecclesiastics and
mobiles. yet there had been nothing
even remotely approSimating our
present system. But with the rise
Of professional diplomacy there
cpraprp nm aartofp at.ilr r..f,icb bara
not yet been eliminated. 1t was not
only that the ambassador worked
for the good of his sovereign rather
than of his State. for that difficulty
has been eradicated by the develop
ment of democracy; it was not only
that diplomats operated with a fox
like shrewdness and 4 Machiavel-
lian regard for expediency rather
than honesty. but that they were
a. to conduct their Vaccinations
under the pail of secrecy, and to
bind their nations by agreements
that would not for moment have
been tolerated had they been made
in the light of day.
The subject OF secret diplomacy is
pointedly discussed in Prof. Korff's
volume. Though devoted primarily
to consideration of Russia's rela-
tions with her neighbors. the book
incidentally makes some valuable
comments on the question of diplo71
macy in general. The author sees
no harm. and even some decided adj
in maintaining secrecy IN
diplomatic negotiations;
but lie Is unstlntcd in his condemna-
tion Of those secret agreements that
treat a nation like a helpless child
whose unscrupulous guardians plot
to tie II In the dark. Secret diplo-
macy, he maintains. was to blame for
the constant friction and cnmity
which existed between Russia and
il was "a potent cause of
the japanese conflict; and.
more important il was one of the
prime factors making foI. the world
war.
As 4 remedy. Prof. Rorff recon
mends that the diplomatic service be
unified in plan and policy; that the
caste system be abol-
ished, and that the diplomatic ser
vice be opened to all educated men.
selected BY competition.