The Washington herald., 1922-01-08
Judge O'TooIe .DeIighted.-

chosen, whether proper or not. to
break the law of nations. That
wretched example might unhappily
be followed in the future, and
therefore no nation could forget
that 1t was open to attack by un-
scrupulous enemies; no nation
therefore could forego the duty of
examining how such attacks could
be properly dealt with and effec-
lively met. Again there was a
parallel in the case of the subma-
rine.
The British Empire delegation
had desired to abolish submarines,
but that was found impossible, and
it was admittedly impossible to stop
the erection of works in which
poison gases could be manufactur-
ed in unlimited quantities. The
British Empire delegation there
fore had to -say-snd .he was sure
they had the sympathy round that
table, for no dissentent voice had
been raised-that IL submarines
were allowed they had to contem-
plate as a conceivable possibility
that they would be misused, and
that precautions would have to be
taken against such misuse. He be-
lieved that every other nation
recognized that unhappily subma-
rines would remain a necessity as
in the case of poison and lethal
gases.
Therefore the relief which such
a resolution as this would give to
the world in connection with poison
gas would not be the complete re-
lief which they all desired; il would
not remove the anxieties and pre-
occupations which the possible use
of gas necessarily involve. But
were they therefore to say that
they would do nothing? Were they
therefore to say that resolutions
such as that now before them were
useless? Were they therefore L"
say that il was an empty form SOL
emnly to repeat rules which were
already accepted although they
were not in a position by the es-
tablishment of new sanctions abso-
lutely to prevent their use by any
nation interruptions enough to de-
sire to use them? Those questions
he would answer in the negative
He believed that II by any action
of theirs on such an occasion as
the present they could do some
thing to bring home to the con-
sciences of mankind that poison gas
was not a form of warfare which
civilized nations could tolerate they
would be doing something impor-
tant towards discouraging them.
No sanctions were provided in the
present document; no sanctions
could be provided there.
But IL anyone looked back even
upon the history of the late lament
able war they would see. notably
in the great test case of the United
States. that the gradual rising of
public Indignation against some
grossly immoral use of the weapons
of war had had a profound lnfiu-
ence upon the history OF th,- world.
He was quite sure that tie moral
indignation reused in the con-
sciences of the United States had
had a most powerful effect upon
the whole trend of events. He
thought that by the present reso-
luton, backed as it was by the
consciences of the civilized world,
although there was no sanction
laid down in it, for no sanction was
possible, they would in fact be cre-
ating a sanction not formally but
informally.
He believed that the outraged
consciences of the world would rise
in indignation and that any nation
would be very bold and very Al
advised IL in ethe face Of that uni
versal opinion 1t deliberately vio-
lated the rules which on the pres
ent occasion they were invited de-
liberately to affirm. Therefore,
without committing himself to the
actual language of the resolution
he most heartily associated himself
and also the British Empire dele
cation with the policy which the
American delegation through the
mouth of Mr.. Root had put for
ward for their acceptance.
Admiral Baron Kato said that the
question of poison gases had been
discussed fully and the opinions in
regard to them were now very well
known. He would not. therefore,
take the committees time by re-
peating them:-he simply wished, to
express his approval, on behalf of
the Japanese delegation. of the
resolution presentedtby Mr.. Root.
The resolution. was then unani-
mOusly adopted