Evening star., 1924-11-26
COURT ENTRY PUT
BEFORE ARMS CUT
Coolidge Likely to Advocate
U. S. Membership as Con-
dition of Disarmament.
by FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

American entry into the World
Court may precede any further action
by the United States in the direction
OF disarmament. Men in the closest
confidence Of President Coolidge hold
that our adhesion to the Permanent
Court OF International Justice must
be condition precedent to another
reduction Of Americas defensive es-
Enlistment, either naval or military.
That opinion has been expressed
within the past few days by author
tiles with whom the President has
consulted on the foreign relations
section of his impending message
to Congress. 1t IS not at all unlike
ly that Mr.. Coolidge will identify
himself with such views on that oc-
caslon. The basis of the argument
is that security Is the thing the
United States, like other nations,
must safeguard at all costs.
If security against sudden attack
by a foreign power can he guaran-
teed, or reasonably assured, by arl-
hitral machinery which America helps
to run, then America could safely
consider a further limitation or arm
ament.
Will Appeal to Court.
The President promised the World
Court non partisan delegation that
called at the White House on Noyem-
Der % that he would renew his
recomm mendation for American entry
when he communicates with Congress
on December l or 2. AS judicial set
tlement OF international disputes Is so
interviewer with armament questions,
the way will be open for Mr.. Cool
idge to link the two issues OF the
World Court and a disarmament con-
ference.
The President IS neither a pacifist
nor preparedness fanatic. He does
not believe in reducing the Army and
Navy below the danger point" His
position on that score, first voiced In
his maiden message to Congress last
December, has not changed. He said
Further reductions should
not be made. The Army is a guar
antee of the security Of our citizens
at home; the Navy is a guarantee of
the security of our citizens abroad
Both of these services should be
strengthened rather than weakened.
We want no more competitive arma-
ments. We want no more war. But
we want no weakness that invites
imposition. A people who neglect
their national defense are putting in
jeopardy their national honor"
Security Was Emphasized.
It will be noted that Mr.. Coolidge
placed emphasis on the Security"
which the Army affords at home and
the security" which the Navy prc-
vides abroad. 1t Is security in which
the President is mainly Interested.
If 1t can be achieved at a less cost
to the American taxpayer than big
land and sea armaments cost-name-
ly, by such machinery as the World
Court sets up-there Is not the
slightest doubt that Calvin Coolidge
will be among the first to espouse
another international effort to reduce
armies and navies. But without the
safeguard Of genuine arbitral proc
esses, the President is not likely to
advocate cutting the American Army
and Navy below what his first mes
sage to Congress termed "the danger
point"
There is another international
project on which Mr.. Coolidge may
have something more to say to Con-
gress next week. That is the ques-
tion of codification of international
law. International law, as 1t exists
today, is loose-jointed affair. sub
ject to as many constructions as
founding fathers" established the
American Constitution at Phila-
delphia in 1897 they provided for
Supreme Court that had something
to go on
Need of CodiAed Law.
1t was assigned the specific task
of interpreting and safeguarding the
Constitution. On every issue that
comes before the Supreme Court
there Is theoretically constitu-
tional point on which decision or in
depreciation Is based. The World
Court at The Hague has nothing like
an international constitution, which
Is another name for codified inter
| national law, to lean upon. It may
| well be that Calvin Coolidge, lawyer
President that he is, will urge that
| until world law is codif1ed, no ef-
| fective world court can function
| Senator Borah, the new chairman of
! the Senate foreign relations commit
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