New-York tribune., 1922-08-12
Separate States
ACOllstant Spur
Tow ar,He Says
Philip Kerr, Ex-Secretary to
Lloyd George, Says Con-
fficts Will Continue Until
Mankind Gets Together
Experience No Security
Economic Chaos and An
archy Chief Menace That
Confronts World To-day
By Arthur S. Draper

Dy arthur y. LIapGr
WILL1AMSToWN, Mass, Aug. Ii
Speaking tonight before the Institute
Of Politics on the subject of "The Pre-
vention of War" Philip Kerr, who was
private secretary to Premier Lloyd
George for five years, declared that so
long as civilized mankind remained ar
ganized into separate states wars
would continue "to decimate mankind
and set back civilization, as they have
done ever since the fall Of the Roman
Empire"
Mr.. Kerr has been student Of in
ternational affairs for many years. and
from the end of 1916, when Lloyd
George became Premier, until year
ago he knew every secret of the Brit
lsh government, saw every important
state paper and attended all the inter
national conferences. Consequently, he
speaks with authority, and, though rep
resenting no official body, he certainly
reflects the views of an influential
group in Great Britain, Mr.. Kerr's
lectures follow those of Lionel Curtis,
Of the British Colonial Office, who de-
veloped the commonwealth of nations
scheme.
"Have we, as the result of the terri
Bile experience of the late war and Of
the victory of the Allies, any real Sc
curity against repetition of world
war? To this question have to an
swer no." he said. 81 do not believe
that the peoples who have fought in
the last war would submit to be driven
to such wholesale slaughter again.
They are, l believe, substantially i'm
mune from the kind of militarism
which drove them to death by the mil
lion in 1914. The menace to-day is
anarchy and economic chaos, involving,
perhaps, local fighting, with Europe re-
treating toward barbarism, as the hab-
its of order and the machinery of pro-
baton and exchange break down.
Says War Is Not Inevitable
"The question which | wish to dis
cuss is this: Is war really necessary
to human progress? Must we continue
to submit to regular recurrence of
these appalling evils every few decades
as the price of winning more freedom
for humanity? I would answer unhesi-
tatingly that war is barbarism that is
never inevitable and that if it takes
place between civilized powers it is
simply because they have failed to
create an alternative system whereby
their disputes or great issues involved
in human progress can be settled by
other and more sensible means"
In Mr.. Kerr's opinion wars will not
be abolished by passing "pious resolu-
tions" or having professions against
war, or "even in the long run by inter-
national conferences at Washington or
The Hague"
"All these are good" he said "pro-
vided they are recognized as process
Of getting up steam for the real thing
Lord Balfour once said to me that he
was almost more disturbed by peace
m movements than by talk of war For
he said, these demonstrations do not
deal with the real causes of war. They
Just put up a paper screen painted to
delude the people of goodwill all over
the world that something is really be-
ing done to prevent war, while in real
ity, behind the paper screen, the forces
of militarism are sharpening their
knives all the time
World Not Thinking About War
"To-day the civilized world is stand
ing i'll relation to this problem Of war
exactly where England and America
stood in regard to the Great War be-
fore 1914. 1t is talking about it, but
it is not thinking about it. 1t made a
feeble effort in the covenant of the
League of Nations. 1t has run away
even from this slender hope. 1t has
now come back to passing resolutions
against the use of poison gas, resoiu
tions which will be just as effective
as the resolutions of the Congress of
Paris in 1895, which disappeared like
snow in the face Of the fierce heats of
the World War. 1t is again at its old
amusement of building paper screens.
"Inexorably all the time the forces
are piling up which years hence will
drag new armadas and fresh armies
across the waters Of, the world in order
TO save by human slaughter what could
be secured by other and better means.
The only question is; Is it going to
take another and a worse world war
to wake the nations up to the neces.
sity of taking action, or are they going
to allow wisdom to lead them in time
to take the steps necessary to prevent
it? To my mind, these alternatives
are inexorable. The issue is squarely
drift once more into world war we
shall have only ourselves to blame.
Humanity Divided Causes War
"What is the fundamental cause of
war? I do not say the only cause of
war, DuC Cno mOSJ acVlYe ana COHStdHC I
cause. 1t is not race or religion or
color or nationality or despotism or
progress or any of the causes usually
cited. 1t is the division of humanity
into separate states That humanity
should be so divided seems natural
almost law of nature. That it can
ever be otherwise seems almost i'm
possible. Yet it is by all odds the
greatest cause of war, and until it is
overcome wars as frequent and as ter
rible as those of the past will con-
tinue to scourge the earth. In my
Judgment, every movement for the abc-
lition of war which does not recognize
this fundamental fact and deal with it,
will fail as every peace movement in
the past ohas failed because it did not
deal with it.
"The international world to-day is
in the same position as were the West
ern communities of the United States
seventy years ago. When it is with
out, law every state has to rely For
It's rights upon It's own power and
force is supreme. In point of fact,
it is in a worse condition because,
while peoples in Western mining
camps were united by constant contact,
by the common bond of human asso-
citation and by fairly vigorous pub
lie opinion, the international world
has no bond of unity at all. The high
est condition to which any state has
ever reached is indifference to it's