New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1928-12-31
PEACE Of WORLD
PROMISE Of 1929
PROGRESS Made Toward Inter
national Amity During 1898

Washington, Dec. ~ N-Anno
Domini 1928 goes down the corridor
Of time marked AZ perhaps no year
before it with the budding promise
that the era Of peace may be dawn
ing at last.
Within the pages Of Its history
are written developments that
stand like signposts. marking prog
ress along the highway toward
world peace.
In all that has been done toward
realization of that never-dying hope
of mankind. the sovereign will Of
the American people has led the
way.
Resistlessly It has impelled doubt
ing statesmen to action; called
hopefully across the seas to stir
the wills Of other peoples: and
goaded inert governmental bureau
cracies at home and abroad out OF
lethargy.
As the New Year dawns aroused
public opinion seems a concrete
force for peace with which govern
Inents must reckon as never before.
| For the American people them
selves the dying year saw giant
strides made on the peace path
way. Three times within the year
international situations that were
tense with grave possibilities
yielded to pacific national policieA
Within the year also there has been
born OF American initiative and
offered to the world for universal
acceptance an anti-war pact Of
incalculable significance.
| 1t took years of labor to bring
F., the American traditional policy
/ OF peace to the fruition OF 1928 in
! the projected worldwide anti-war
| pact.
Root Father of Treaties
The cycle of formal treaties aim
: ing at peace began under Secretary
Root. 1t was widened and expanded
by Secretary Bryan with the even
more drastic Cancellation pacts that
bound America and each individual
signatory power to delay and cool
/. thought, however gave the ques-
ton in dispute.
| But 1t remained for Secretary
! Kellogg in 1928 to complete the
! picture for America through more
+! forceful biiateral arbitration cove
nants and more widespread bila,-
4, eral Cancellation compacts and then
to superimpose on this foundation
the vision of world universally
pledged to abandonment OF war As
an agency of national policy.
When the Root arbitration treat
/ les were framed and put through
the limited pledge they embodied
represented the extreme point to
which even American opinion was
ready to go.
! A domestic question. that Of the
status Of foreign obligations of the
southern confederacy which be-
came valueless paper when the
north triumphed, dictated the res
/ ervation from arbitration Of those
matters touching national interest
or honor.
For sixteen Of the post civil war
years. however the political party.
the chief strength of which lay In
the solid South" held sway III
Washington and no hint OF a move
to saddle the reunited nation with
an obligation to make good the
! foreign Indebtedness Of the van-
ished southern confederacy de-
reloped.
I This was the underlying situation
that made possible In 1927 Secre-
tary Kellogg's move. beginning with
France. to moderci:e and strengthen
the Root arbitration treaties ons
by one as the time for reaffirming
each arrived.
Vague Issues Eliminated
In the new form. the vague
reservations as to national interest
and honor disappeared Only those
issues affecting domestic jurisd,u-
! ton, the interests Of a third party.
! the Monroe Doctrine. and obliga-
tons under the covenant of the
League of Nations, are excluded
from arbitration in the new form.
In addition, set out in the Pre-
amble Of each new bilateral arbs-
| tration pact, is the declaration tina.
the two powers renounce as be
tween themselves resort to war for
purposes Of national policy. That
declaration lacks treaty force in its
hilateral assertion. however great
may be the moral obligation i'm
posed. But it is the foundation,
stone on which the multilateral
anti-war pact. restating 1t as a
definite treaty commitment having
the full force and effect of inter-
national law and open to universal
adherence, was footed.
1t was not until this revision OF
the arbitration treaties was begun
in 1927 that full significance of the
Bryan Cancellation pacts was real.
ICED completely even in the state
4 department. In the new light Of
decade or more later they took
I