Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01
BRAND FEDERATION PLAN
RECALLS FORMER EFFORTS
Differs From Predecessors by His Pro.
pOsal for Organization Within
Organization.

imagination Of an American who had
a part in the formation of an actual
union Of states which has made a good
start toward being perpetual.
After the close of the convention in
Philadelphia which framed the Consti-
tuition, Benjamin Franklin wrote to a
friend in Europe: IT send you enclosed
the proposal new Federal Constitution
for these States. I was engaged four
Months of the last Summer in the Con-
vention that formd it. 1t is now sent
by Congress to several States for their
Confirmation. If it succeeds, do not
see why you might not in Europe carry
the Project of good Henry the 4th into
Execution, by forming Federal Union
and One Grand Republick of all its
different States g. Kingdoms: by means
OF like Convention; for we had many
Interests to reconcile"
X X
About so years after Sully had COM
mitted the Great Design to paper and
while 1t was awaiting discovery at the
hands Of st. Pierre-in 1882, to be ex-
act-William Penn submitted to the va
riouS governments in Europe plan for
maintaining peace. He was trying in
his province of Pennsylvania what he
termed "a holy experiment" in govern
ment, one of the novel features of which
was the absence of any armed force.
Even when threatened by the Indians
the Quaker rulers of PENNSYLVANIA were
extremely reluctant to take military
measures, to Franklin's great disgust. 1t
vas natural, therefore, that Penn should
think Of an experiment in peaceful gov
eminent for his own continent.
Coercion Advocated.
Penn'S plan enviSaged a parliament
OF Europe, meeting every three years,
which should settle all questions among
the countries represented. But sup
pose that some country refused to SUBJ
NIT to the decision of the international
parliament. Then the peace-loving
Penn, like Sully and st. Pierre and
many others down to and including
Woodrow Wilson, would have had the
recalcitrant nation coerced by its fell
low states
An ingenious feature of PENIS plan
was his suggestion of a circular room
for the meeting place of the parliament,
with door for every nation. In a
circular room everybody could consider
himself to be at the head of the table
and with door for the representatives
OF every nation there could be no
awkward question of precedence. No
two representatives of different nations
would ever flnd themselves attempting
to enter or leave a door ahead of each
other.
We may smile at PENIS circular room
and individual doors, but If he were
alive today he could point to the Gam
Longworth contest for precedence in
Washington and argue that his archi-
tectural arrangement for a European
parliament in the seventeenth century
might serve useful purpose in the
America of the twentieth century. In
ternationally, however, we seem to have
made some progress in the vexed posi-
ton of precedence. The League of Ma
lions gets along very we'll in a hall of
conventional design. Yet it may be
noted that BRAND, In his plan for a
European federation, proposed that the
presiding officer be chosen annually
from each nation in turn.
X x
Paradoxically enough, 1t was another
Quaker who made the first suggestion
of an international army. This was
John Boilers, who In ITO put forward
a plan for a European Parliament to
be denominated 1.-THE Christian Com
monwealth" Previously, the force
wnicn 1t had been proposed to place
at the disposal of the central organi-
cations would have been a combination
OF continents from the member nations,
Boilers advanced the idea of an inter-
national army, Europe being divided
into hundred provinces, each province
to supply at least 1000 men or equiva-
lent in money or ships.
Even more striking is another of the
proposals of Bellers-nothing less than
reduction of ornaments. Without
such reduction, Boilers commended, peace
would be little better than truce. st.
Pierre believed that when people came
to have confidence in arbitration, dis
armament would follow. We are still
struggling with both of these methods.
Brands plan does not need to con-
slider the settlement of disputes or the
preservation of peace. Those matters
are for the League of Nations or the
World Court. His plan is something
new under the sun-a European fed
Grafton for objects mainly economic.
But 1t must face jealousy and rivalries
which are as sharp as those of politics.
Can 1t mitigate those jealousies and
rivalrieS by supplying rallying sound
against the economic competition of
the United States-a Nation which was
not even in existence when most of the
plans for European federation were
put forward? Or, like all of those
plans previous to the League of Nations
covenant, will 1t remain a dream? It's
reception is not particularly promis-
ing Brands name is likely to be re-
membered for Locarno rather than for
q European federation.