Evening star., 1923-11-01
INVITING THE
SWORD
BY DIR. FRANK CRANE.

There Is no path 10 the millennium
other than the path Of justice. and
IL We discard the best attainable In
strumentalities of justice, to that ex-
tent we Invite the decisions of the
sword"
These ae the words used by Sec
retary of State Hughes in a recent
speech. They invite our attention to
one Of the fundamental laws of ma
ture.
Nature. as well as the United States,
has its constitution. its foundation
laws, which no court nor congress
may set aside. The kings of the earth
take counsel together, but these great
laws of nature shall go serenely on
undisturbed forever, while those who
scheme to violate them shall lie In
forgotten graves.
There are, for instance, certain ply
sical laws, laws of health. You may
violate them II you choose. Thousands
OF silly asses have done the like, and
thousands more will continue the
same fatuous experimentation. But
Adam and Old Man Noah, and they
Will still be in force upon your chill
dren of the millionth generation
You cannot eat poison without get
ing sick. you cannot live in dirt
vithout becoming diseased, you can
not refuse all exercise and not have
1abby muscles. No man made these
laws and no man can unmake them.
And the laws OF the spirit, the great
:osmic laws that govern souls are
every whit as inflexible.
You canpot give way to the winds
OF hate and vengeance without reap
ing the whirlwind of disaster
.ll
piine without coming to grief.
You cannot lie and, be trusted
So also no nation can hope for per-
manence except as 1t approximates
justice. Wherever injustice is done,
whether 1t Is a sporadic act of weak
moss or passion, or a deliberate fraud
incl usted in an institution, some day
or other that injustice Is going to
bear its legitimate fruit of violence
and ruin.
magnificence and dignity, you may
decree 1T from the imperial throne
vote 1t by majority of the senate or
approve 1T IN the supreme court-the
worm or evfl in 1t never dies and will
some day breed its unpleasant prog
disaster.
Justice Is merely another name for
wisdom and common sense What
ever is unjust is always foolish
state to create the instruments of JUS
tice. That means that 1t is necessary
Tor the state to put force, including
me police. the army and navy, be-
hind the decisions of that body whose
business 1T is to determine what is
right,
In the same way there can be no
salVation for humanity until the su-
preme force, the power of military
coercion, is put behind that interna-
!ional court or deliberative assembly
whose business 1t shall be to admin
lister Justice to all mankind
our present system of nationaIism
invites the sword. We can hardly
say that another war may come. An
other war is bound to come. 1t will
come automatically 1t will come
simply because we have developed the
machinery for rule by superior might
instead of developing machinery for
obtaining Justice
AT present the armed forces of the
world stand behind the willful pride
or each separate nation. Nothing but
periodic disaster can come from this
system, as. indeed. it always has come
from it.
To pray for peace in church while
IN the counsels of state we refuse to
institute the machinery for peace is
arrant hypocrisy when it is not fatsA
GUS ignorance.