Evening star., 1935-07-21
MEXICAN PEACE CODE
SETS UP AIR-TICHT RULES
Practical Means of Enforcing Anti-War
Regulations Contained in Plan
Offered at Conference.

In February OF l928-at the sugges-
ton of the Mexican delegate Senor
Gonzales Roa-thus antedating the
Kellogg pact by several months.
But the great flaw IN both the Ha-
vana declaration and the Kellogg pact
was that no means were provided to
define an sggreSSor state. Article
of the Mexican peace code corrects
the omission by specifying that it will
be considered an aggreSsol any state
which is responsible for one OF the
following actions: (al To declare war
on another state: (bI to invade the
territory of another state. even with
out declaration of war, or to attack
its naval or aerial forces; (c) to block
ade the coast or the ports of another
country; and (d) to render aid to
foreign elements who, having organ
lied themselves within its borders, set
out from its territory to attack their
original country. In the text Of this
article may be recognized the spirit
of several non-aggreSsion pacts lately
concluded by Soviet Russia in Europe,
the spirit of President RooSeveltS S
peace proposal of May. 1888, and that
of the Venezuelan draft at Monte
video. The Mexican code. embodying
all these. rounds them up with a
statement that mo consideration OF
a political. military or economic ma
ture may justify the Sino of asgres-
sion referred to in this article"
toll sa stVaan mt ut
famous Calvo and Draso doctrine Of
non-forcible collection Of information
al debts which in 1910 resulted in a
convention signed at the fourth Pam
American conference at Buenos Aires.
calling for arbitration of such mat
ters. In the Mexican peace code the
parties agree mot 10 take recourse
to arms for the collection of con-
tractual debts"
Boundary Principle Reiterated.
Article 4, although it reiterates q
principle which is not at all new to
the American republics, having been
advanced from the very beginning Of
their independent life, is important
because such principle has been con-
stantly disregarded and never in
cluded in a formal treaty. The prin-
ciple is that boundary questions must
not be solved by sheer violence and
that no territorial settlement will be
recognized which is not brought about
by peaceful means. The first part
of it was stated as early as 1926 at
the Panama Congress called by Bo-
livar. The second part made its ap-
pearance more than 40 years ago at
the First Pan-American Conference,
although it is only recently that 1t
has been revived and made popular
by the Hoover-Stimson policy with
regard to the Manchurian crisis. In
August, 1892, g. declaration to this
effect was signed at Washington by
the representatives of 10 American
governments, but in the Mexican
peace code the non-recognition OF
territorial acquisitions by force is for
the first time offered in q contractual
form.
Article 5, logical corollary of the
preceding ones, pledges the signatory
parties to use all the means at their
disposal to enforce the provisions OF
the code and insure the maintenance
of peace in the American continent.
In case of violation. they agree
to adopt a common SOLITARY attitude
and exercise the political. juridical
and economic sanctions authorized