Evening star., 1938-04-17
This is the first of three articles.
The second 1DiH appear tomorroUJ
BY CRESTON B. MULLINS.
Z YHILE Europe breasts tide draw

BY CRESTON b. MULLINS.
w HILE Europe breasts tide draw
AN/ ing it closer and closer to war,
the Americas are exploring the
frontiers of peace in search OF
the magic formula which will resolve their
disputes and make resort to force unneces-
sary.
Peace Is the common aim and purpose
Of both continents, but east of the Atlantic
the question has become one of prevention
Of imminent war, while In the West 1t is
still one Of perfecting the machinery Of
peace to the degree that hostilities will not
become imminent.
The inability Of the great powers of Eu-
rope-Great Britain, France. Germany,
Italy and Russia-to apply the principles
OF collective security and international
justice, despite their extensive facilities
for doing SO, has left to the smaller
nations Of the Western Hemisphere the
task of proving the practicability of legal
procedure in the settlement of interna-
tional disputes. The weak are the natural
refuge Of justice because it Is their only
hope against the superior force Of the
strong.
Warning Against Aggression.
1t was to those great powers. particularly
aggressive Germany, Italy and Japan, that
President Roosevelt pointed his warning on
Pan-American Day that the American con-
tinents will not permit their peace Ito be
endangered from aggression coming from
outside Of our hemisphere"
If the Monroe Doctrine was ever mori-
bund it has certainly been resuscitated and
broadened, for the President coupled his
words with the conclusion that I'VE have
learned in this Western Hemisphere what
community of interest really means"
The Monroe Doctrine thus has ceased
to be unilateral 1t has become continental
In its Observation-Disclosures the respon-
sibility to defend the Western Hemisphere
from non American aggression belongs to
every American nation. Their common
effort is to be for the repulsion of doctrines
which are subversive Of freedom as we'll
as for the protection of the New World
against aggression from overseas.
Welcomes Lima Farley.
The President welcomed the renewed op-
portunity for common counsel which the
81 American republics will have at Lima,
Peru, next December. There they will re-
new the search begun at the Buenos Aires
Peace Conference IS months ago for the
prescription which will resolve their political
ills without use Of force, threatened or
applied.
As starting point they will have the
accomplishments of the labors in the Ar
gentine capital in December, 1886 Chief
among them were the reassertion of
democracy as the ideal of the Western
Hemisphere in a declaration of principles
OF inter-American solidarity and co-opera-
ton. the addition of consultation to in
vestigation, mediation, conciliation and
arbitration as the cornerstones Of American
peace machinery, and initial steps toward
the organization of common and solid
ary' front of American neutrals
Besides these the delegates to Lima will
have for immediate consideration two pro-
did not permit to be studied at length at
Buenos Aires-the creation OF an American
court Of international Justice and organiza-
ton Of an American association Of nations.
Destruction Of Faith.
Neither one is new An inter-American
court OF justice has long been advocated
and an American league of of nations was
proposed after the war. But the progress
they have made in the last two years re-
fleets the destruction OF faith in the
Americas as well as in Europe in the theory
of indivisibility of peace throughout the
world, and underscores the tendency toward
regional systems of security.
World events since the 1886 congress
have nightly affected the attitudes of the
American governments. Whatever hope
there might then have been to make effec-
tive world peace system-as it is repre-
sented in the Geneva League, the World
Court and the Kellogg BRAND Pact-has
gone glimmering. The expanding inter-
vention Of Germany and Italy in Spain, the
war in China and the forceful incorpora-
ton Of Austria into the Third Reich are
forcing the nations OF the New World to
find in themselves guarantees against ag-
gression from each other and from outside
the Western Hemisphere.
In this break-up Of the world order
the American continents have Travelled
farther than Europe or Asia toward setting
their house in order, and it will be the aim
at Lima to realize this purpose even more
fully. The governing board OF the Pam
American Union has adopted an agenda
for the coming conference. It is now be-
fore the member governments for final ap-
proval.
Demand for Simplification.
The restraint exercised in selecting topics
for study will permit a concentration Of
effort not always possible in the past,
thus materially enhancing the possibili-
ties of tangible result Pan-American
meetings have long been the butt Of criti-
cism because Of the sweeping nature of
tho work laid before them. but the de-
mand for sdmplidcation to permit more