The Daily Alaska empire., 1928-11-27
Coolidge, the Peace Pact and Cruisers.
Manchester Guardian.) )

Manchester Guardian.)
 MT Wickham steed, in a midday address at the Birmingham Parish Church last week, said that the motive for the American Governments action in proposing the Paris Peace Pact was undoubtedly desire to remove from the United States the reproach of being indifferent to the efforts of other nations who were seeking to pre- vent war. A secondary motive the wish to decrease the probability of Anglo American conflict in the League should have to take eoercive action against Coyenant-breaking State
 My own firm belief is (continued Mr. steed) that, in the Peace Pact. the United States has given a great gift to the world. International lawyers and diplomatists may differ as to it's precise meaning; but l know the meaning which it's responsible author, President Coolidge, at taches to it. In his eyes it is the only prac- ticable present method of securing constitutional validity in the United States for at least tact assurance to nations who members of the League that, if they have to take action under articles 16 and IT of the League Covenant to prevent war, they will not on that account incur the hostility of the United States be in danger of coming into conflict with it. It means also, in President Cooidge's eyes. that, should an in ternational dispute arise, the United States will be consulted in regard to the rights and wrongs of it before after, the dispute has degenerated into open strife. In other words, the Peace Pact brings the American people back into the society of nations that wish to prevent
 It does than this For the first time in human history the Pact of Paris sets the lconcepton of permanent, positive peace before the eyes of civilized mankind So is this conception that even those governments which have signed the Pact of Paris cannot yet ac- custom their minds to the notion that war is no longer to be regarded the final arbiter be- tween them. During the very months when they were engaged in negotiating the Peace Pact two Iof them, Great Britain and France, laboriously worked out technical formulas of agreement upon the warships they would respectively need to ward lof attack upon their territories their com municatons by sea.
 Speaking of his acquaintance with President Coolidge, MT. Steed said
 Nearly a twelve-month ago he per
 mitted to discuss for some hours
 with him the prospects of peace in gen
 eral and the Anglo-American naval posi-
 tion in particular. He who is sup
 posed to be taciturn to the point of
 muteness and cool to the point of frg-
 idity, expressed his bitterness at the
 failure of the Three-Power Naval Con-
 ference at Geneva last year, and then
 added passionately: 'I want to see
 things in such shape that the American
 people shall look upon every British
 cruiser as an additional pledge of their
 security that the British people shall
 lock upon every American cruiser as an
 additional pledge of their security; and
 that both of them looking at things in
 this way, we shall together need as
 few cruisers as possible. That is what
 1 want"
 While I fully aware that in
 quoting the words of the President of
 the United States, I shining against
 an unwritten American law I think if
 right that, at this critical juncture the
 people of this country should know what
 was and. believe still is in the heart
 Of the main author of the Paris Peace
 Pact. When he spoke thus the Pact in
 its final form not yet adumbrated
 Now that it has been concluded and
 awaits ratification by its signatories I
 am certain that President Coolidge is m
 less eager than he was a year ago to
 lft the affairs of nations. and Anglo
 American affairs in particular on to A
 hlgher plane and to place them in new
 dimensions that the English-sneak ing peoples at least can set themselves
 wnoe-heartedly to prepare and to organ
 lze new era of deliberate international
 friendship. With him stand heart and
 soul, millions of his fellow-eitizens
 Against him, in their hearts, stand only
 the partisans of armaments and ulti matey of war-partisans who have their counterparts in this and other countries There will be no peace in the world
 without Anglo-American concord While
 remaining true to old friendships IetNns
 therefore work with might and main
 to foster this essential friendship so as
 to hasten. by the power of it. the advent
 or effective progressive dynamic con
 structive peace in the world