Evening star., 1945-03-25

equal before the law. II human beings
are equal before the law, then nations
rs groups of human beings, however
weak, however poor, however rich, how
ever powerful they may be, are equal
before the law. In fact, there can be NO
discrimination in this respect If justice
is to prevail In human and international
relations
There is growing tendency to seek
ways of compromise with this basic
principle on the plea of modern ver-
sion of realism. True realism in state
manship, however, precludes ignoring
the human element. Moreover, in our
enlightened conception of Christianity
and democracy-power should only be
exercised as last resort to uphold hui
man rights, but never to suppress them.
No just, secure, stable and practical
system of peace could endure, If, first
one were to allow some great powers to
assuage their imperialist appetites at
the cost of weaker or defenseless ma
tions, and then-after allowing this to
happen-the resulting status of the
world were to be frozen into an explo-
sive system of security and given the
name of peace Such a concept of
security would be but short-lived at
tempt to substitute disreputable and
unstable methods of appeasement for
the sound fundamental principles of
freedom and justice. The irony of such
a power-political settlement would be-
come apparent when, at later stage
one or more of the victimized nations
would rise in desperate attempt to
throw of their bondage. For then, in
evitably, they, rather than the enslaving
powers, would be accused of disturbing
the peace and branded as aggressors.
(Appeasement Proved Unsound.
In the last prewar period those same
methods of appeasement proved un-
sound, insincere and ultimately fatal
and were responsible for the present
unprecedented World War. 1t may be
possible for a short and precarious
time to appease aggressive imperialism
in process Of rearmament. One cannot
appease justice. The fundamental prin-
ciples of humanity admit no compro-
mise.
1t should be matter of deep salts
faction and pride to all Americans that
in the course of American history this
the most noble and constructive ideas of
its great statesmen gradually developing
in accordance with American funda-
mental principles of freedom and justice
and the requirements of American Sc
curity.
AS in all great theological evolutions,
this growing American concept of hui
man and enduring peace has its basic
landmarks leading the way toward the
creation of world concept of peace
among men. These landmarks are: The
Bill of Rights lin force since December
Is, 179D; the Monroe Doctrine De-
cember 2, 1929; the Fourteen Points of
President Woodrow Wilson 1January 8,
1919: the Kellogg BRAND Pact august
u, 1923; Secretary of State Stimson's
declaration on Manchuria (January Z,
1882, and, finally, the Atlantic Charter
of August IA, l941, and the Declaration
of the United Nations of January l,
1912, embodying the Atlantic Charter.
The Atlantic Charter is the culminat-
ing point in this evolution of interna-
tional law, in which the United States
has played so prominent a part. It is
one Of the finest declarations ever made
to express the desire of humanity that
peace and justice be equally made avail
able to all nations, large and small. It
is an attempt to formulate rules of con-
duct for all nations-large and small,
rules which, if applied in their entirety,
would eliminate the potential of world
conflict.
Peace Depends on Justice.
Starting with the Monroe Doctrine.
these documents may appear superb
cially unrelated to each other. In reality,
they form sequence, for they are all
born of the same desire to assure first
to the Western Hemisphere, and finally
to the world as whole, maximum of
internal and external security and peace.
They are based on the assumption that
a lasting peace must be founded on
justice and on the return to legal pro-
cedure acknowledged by international
law. They are the expression of pre-
serving, stubborn line of policy OF the
American Nation throughout the 18th
and Goth centuries which tends to use
the rising power of the United States so
as to assure conditions of progress and
peace to all the nations of the world.
1t is therefore important to determine
the place of the Atlantic Charter in in
ternational law and its binding power in
relation to its signatories and to third
parties who have not signed it.
The authors Of the Atlantic Charter
did not intend to conclude an interna-
tional treaty in the strict sense of this
word, or they would have expressly