Evening star., 1943-01-05
lndorses Wallace IdeoI
OfInternutionuIJustice
Writer Believes World Now
Ready to Accept Principles
Urged by Vice President
To the Editor Of The Star:

| To the Editor Of The Star:
| The importance and excellence of Vice
| President Wallace's statements on the
| postwar world are best illustrated by
the columns that appeared in The Star
last week, for the strange spectacle
| afforded by the concurrence of Samuel
| Grafton and Frank Kent in their praise
| Of the Vice Presidents speech can mean
| only that the general policies there
| enunciated are acceptable to almost all
| groups in the Nation.
At this time the speech necessarily
| had to deal with generalities, for the
details of postwar administration must
be based ultimately upon the postwar
state Of mind Of the people within each
of the United Nations and upon compro-
misses and bargainings among the repre-
sentatives of those nations. The ma
ture and size of the international police
| force, the mechanics of policy making
by an international council, the sane
tions to be applied in case of any viola
ton of an international obligation, and
the extent and nature of disarmament
cannot be determined now with any
eXactness. But whatever the decision
! in these regards, recourse must be had
in the postwar world to international
arbitration and adjudication for the
settlement of all disputes and disagree
ments.
A long history of international arbi-
tration, though by no means completely
successful, indicates the course which
must be followed after the present
struggle The earliest treaty of which
any written record remains is one con-
cluded about 5000 BIC. in which the
kings of Umma and Lagash voluntarily
submitted boundary dispute to the arbi-
tration of the King of Kish, who was
successful in adjusting the differences
between his two neighbors
Important principles of international
law have been established since that
time by tribunals created to deal with
some of the disputes among nations,
eliminating with the decisions of the
Permanent Court of Arbitration created
by the first Hague Conference of 1899,
Of 1907-l7, and the Permanent Court of
International Justice the World Court
provided for in the Covenant of the
League of Nations.
Even more important than the many
principles of law established by these
and other courts, however are the les
sons that can be learned by study
of their limitations and failures. With
the exception of the Short-lived Central
American Court, all international tribu-
nails have had only voluntary juris-
diction-i. e., the court could pass only
on those questions voluntarily submitted
to it by both parties to dispute The
weakness of any such system is obvious
nations submit only those disputes which
ordinarily are not of sufficient impor-
tance to constitute a cause of war or
international conflict.
However, the committee of the worlds
leading jurists, including Elihu Root of
the United States, which drew up the
document outlining the jurisdiction and
work of the World Court made much
stronger suggestions that the world was
not yet ready to accept. These sug-
gestions, rejected by the Council and
Assembly of the League of Nations,
would have given to the court compul-
sorry jurisdiction of certain enumerated
disputes. All nations would have been
compelled to submit to the court any
dispute as to % the Interpretation Of
any treaty, C2) any question of inter-
national law, 80 the existence of any
fact which might constitute a breach Of
an international obligation and 4 the
nature or extent of the reparation to be
made for the breach of an international
obligation.
Mr. Wallace has suggested that the
world. not President Wilson, was at fault
in 1918 But the failure of Wilsonian
ideals and his reputation by the Senate
serve only to emphasize the value of
the principles on which he hoped to
base a peaceful and cooperative society
Of nations. For almost a quarter of a
century the common people" Of the
United States, like those of other ma
proval the ideals that President Wilson
championed Experience has taught
both the statesman and the common
man that nations cannot be permitted
to determine which disputes are to be
solved by law and reason and which
by war. The past has developed vast
body Of just and equitable principles to
govern not only personal conduct within
| nations but also the conduct of nations
themselves in their relations with each
| other. Today it is our task to see that
nations henceforth are governed by those
| principles to the end that law rather
| than war will determine what is just
accept those suggested principles that
would require all nations to submit their
| disputes to an impartial tribunal How
ever the decision Of a World Court is
| to be enforced-a problem which must
be solved in detail at the peace confer
ence-it Is an essential of world peace
that the jurisdiction of such a court
extend to all disputes which have been
or might be the cause of international
conflict, for no world peace can exist
until the realm of international law is
cotermlnous with the realm of interna-
tional politics. PAUL BARRON.
Religious Education Considered
The Most Important Instruction.
| To the Editor of The Star:
Concerning education, the recent diff
ferences of opinion expressed by Mrs.
Roosevelt and Dorothy Thompson on