Evening star., 1923-07-29
AGENCY TO BRING PEACE
, TO WORLD KEENLY SOUGHT
No More War Demonstrations i'm l9 COun.
tries Today Bring to Light Chief
Stumbling Block.

the naval Limitation treaty and the
four-power Pacific treaty by all the
powers affected Is real accomplish
ment This success, 1t is expected,
will give added impetus to the Presi-
dents plan for adherence to the
world court.
Voters Interest Aroused.
The organizations affiliated with
the National Council to Prevent War
are being urged to aid in the election
to Congress only of those candidates
who are in favor Of having the United
States take an active part in interna-
tional cooperation to prevent war.
The League OF Woman Voters, Is
prime mover in this selection Of can
didates. 1t is proposed to put all the
candidates on record prior to the
coming elections. The National Peace
Council in Great Britain did much in
the last parliamentary elections, it
Is said. by drafting a questionnaire
for candidates and educating the
voters. Among the questions which
the candidates were called upon to
answer are found: will you favor
the submission of international dis
putes to the Permanent Court Of JUS
tice. and will you promote the imme-
diate prohibition of private manufac-
ture Of armaments with a view to
their progressive reduction?" There
were seven other questions along
similar lines. The efforts of the
British peace council bore results,
too, for Ramsey Macdonald and many
other strong advocates of the peace
program were elected.
The great difficulty faced by the
peace movement in this country, as
has been indicated. is the fact that
all those fayoring the movement SO
far have not been able to get behind
a single, concrete plan. 1t is. per-
haps, due to the fact that the proper
plan has yet to be evolved. 1t might
pay the country IL Congress. which is
so prone to Investigations of all kinds
and descriptions. would undertake
through a special committee or, per-
haps, the foreign relations commit
tees of the Senate and House, to
evolve a plan that would meet gen.
eral approval. But partisan politics
would have to be laid aside IL any
progress Is to be made. 1t Is idle to
speculate now on what would have
been the effect on world conditions
had the United States thrown in it's
lot with the league of nations. But
Ii is none the less fact that partisan
politics played a tremendous part In
the failure of the Versailles treaty
in the Senate. And any other plan for
International peace would fail under
similar conditions
Policy In Approved.
The major political parties in this
country for more than half a century
have gone on record in their plat
forms in favor of international peace
and the settlement of disputes through
arbitration and mediation. The league
of nations and the world court, for all
the failure Of the United States to
join in them, had an American origin.
1t Is popular today to declare how
wise this country has been not to
become entangled in foreign affairs
through the league. The nations Of
Europe for the most part have been
bankrupt, or well nigh bankrupt,
through the world war. The United
States is prosperous, though the peo-
pie feel the burden Of war taxation. 1t
would be difficult to convince the
directors of a prosperous railroad
system that they should merge their
property with that of a weak and
Impoverished system, and then it is
just as difficult to convince Ameri-
cans today that they should merge, to
the extent joining the league of ma
tions would effect such a merger with
the nations of Europe. 1t appears
that the people Of America. or some
Of them, are anxious TO bring about
world peace, but they are not willing
to pay for it. 1t Is difficult to get
something worth while for nothing,
however. And in any International
peace plan that eventually Is worked
out-if ever-America must be will
ing to do her bit, or 1t will amount
to nothing.