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VOL. LXVII. _ BOSTON,
THE AMERICAN PEACE SOCIETY,
PUBLISHERS, 31 BEACON STREET, BOSTON, MASS.
MONTHLY, ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR.
Entered at the Boston Post Office as Second Class Matter.
TEN CENTS PER copy
PAGE 189-194
CONTENTS.
ND sins oon to6 cans cent sdkse pnts shen wenesbanercgeien Ask enes The End of the Russo-Japanese War—The Peace Congress at Lucerne —- The Interparliamentary Conference at Brussels—The International Law Conference at Christiania.
AE, Fie sik ces cov nvcccccdececcsccccpscsseces cone .0sscens 194-195 The Anglo-Japanese Treaty — The Feeling in Japan — Horrors in Manchuria.
BREVITIES 195
GENERAL ARTICLES:
Put up thy Sword. Poem. Joaquin Miller 196 Peace. Poem. Mrs. Whiton-Stone 197 Annual Report of the International Peace Bureau to the Peace Congress 197-198 Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Peace C ongress .. 198-205 Address of Hon. Richard Bartholdt at the Brussels Inte rparlia- mentary Conference. .... Coteoes 0900 se0ecnesces et} a General Treaty of “Arbitration. “Hon. Richard Bar- 44:94 6959: 0606.0:6 96 SESE COOKERS HERD DO CD LEC SESE CODE SECT DES SECS Text of the Treaty of Portsmouth The New Anglo-Japanese Treaty
The End of the ‘Ruseo-Japancee War.
It has been a long time since the civilized world gave such a sigh of relief as it did on the last day of August, when the announcement was made from Portsmouth that the Russian and Japanese peace envoys had come to terms, and that a treaty of peace would be forthwith signed.
The proceedings of the Commissioners, so far as they could be known, had been watched daily with deep interest and solicitude, and people everywhere stood appalled when the negotiations threatened, seemingly, to end in failure, and the great armies in Manchuria to fall again upon each other in deadly conflict. The war had from the beginning been deplored as no other war of history had been, and it had at last come to be a depressing burden upon the conscience of the world not easy longer te bear. In Europe the feeling of regret over the war was deeper even than in this country, and the sense of relief correspondingly greater at its termination.
As for ourselves, notwithstanding the alarming rumors daily given out by the press, and the hitches which occurred in the negotiations, we never had any doubts, after the Commissioners had once met, that peace would be the outcome of their conference. The situation was such that any other result was practically inconceivable. The war had become im- mensely burdensome financially; it had desolated
“OCTOBER,
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1905.
eatin of homes in both countries; the continu- ance of it, on the vast scale which it had reached, would have been enough, after the losses and burdens already incurred, to strain both governments to the breaking point; to have gone back to it, after the Portsmouth meeting had once begun, would have been to the United ‘States, through the good offices of whose President the negotiations had been opened on our soil, an act of discourtesy amounting almost to insult. These considerations, as well as the gen- eral pressure of public reprobation of the war, seem to have weighed heavily with the responsible experi- enced statesmen at both Tokyo and St. Petersburg, and thus the end of fhe war came.
The action of President Roosevelt in urging upon the two governments, after the naval battle of the Sea of Japan, to open at once negotiations to see if terms of peace could not be agreed upon, was a timely and courageous move, worthy of the universal recog- nition and appreciation which it has received. The merit of it was all the greater because of the general apathy and unwillingness of the European heads of government to make any move for peace, either separately or jointly. It must not be forgotten, however, that the American people, or at least a con- siderable portion of them, are entitled to share in the credit of whatever was done here for the termination of the war. Time and again, after every great battle, and especially after the fall of Port Arthur, the President was urged by the peace societies, by chambers of commerce, by civic and _ religious bodies, and by many individuals, to offer to mediate, either alone or with other governments, between the fighting nations. All his powerful efforts, during the negotiations, to bring them to a successful issue, were backed by the people who were insistent that the war should stop. The President spoke oppor- tunely and bravely, especially at the critical moment toward the close of the Conference, but he was the spokesman of the people as well as of himself.
It is to be hoped that the terms on which the war has been brought to an end, as provided in the treaty which we give on another page, will prove to be such as to ensure permanent peace in the Far East. It seems monstrous that, at this advanced stage of the world’s history, a new region like that in Manchuria, capable of realizing a great and powerful civilization, should have to be the scene of gigantic struggles of barbarous brute violence, like those experienced by Europe when she was just emerging from darkness.
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The seeds of war, we know, are hard to destroy, and this war has sown many of them, the bitter and poison- ous fruit of which will be hard to prevent. But if the terms of the treaty are carried out honestly and with mutual respect and fairness, we see no reason why in time ill feeling between the countries so lately enemies should not pass speedily away, and they be- come codperating forces in developing a civilization founded on reason and right, on friendship and mutual service. Perhaps in time they may both come to realize that Korea, as an independent nation of ten million people, has rights which they have little re- spected in the war, and even less in the treaty of peace. Settled peace in any quarter of the world can hardly be expected until the nations which pos- sess it renounce forever the so-called right of conquest and recognize the right of any people freely to deter- mine its own political status.
There has been a good deal of talk of diplomatic victory in connection with the Portsmouth Peace Treaty; but this is a small matter compared with the great consummation reached by the Conference. And, besides, it is not certain on which side the victory was the greater. It was something, of course, that Mr. de Witte prevented his government from having to pay an indemnity of a billion or half a billion dol- lars, even though in the determination to do this he ran the risk of wrecking the Conference and letting loose again the dogs of war, and thus saddling upon his country another enormous war bill. But Baron Komura seems to us to have won at least as great a victory, and on a higher plane, by renouncing indem- nity entirely. The ultimate fruits of this renuncia- tion, which has met with so much reprobation in Japan, will probably save his country several times the amount of indemnity which it at first demanded. Germany’s exaction of a billion dollars indemnity from France proved to be one of the most disastrous financial transactions of which she was ever guilty. Japan’s renunciation, so far as its influence goes to- ward counteracting other evil forces, will tend power- fully to prevent exasperation and the spirit of revenge in Russia, and may prove to be the determining factor in preventing another war hereafter. Besides this, it was most meritorious from the moral point of view, for war indemnity is, after all, only a species of con- quest and rubbery, which differs merely in form from the stealing of land. If war ever becomes really “ civilized,’ —- of which we permit ourselves to en- tertain the strongest doubts, — war indemnities will be as unknown as the enslaving of prisoners is to-day.
Some important general lessons of the war we must reserve for comment hereafter. As we write these words the last stage in the completion of the Ports- mouth Treaty has been reached and the ratifications will shortly be exchanged. It is cause of profound
gratification that the horrible orgies of the war are over, and we shall hope that its mournful lessons
THE ADVOCATE OF PEACE.
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have so stirred the judgment, conscience and heart of the peoples of the world as to make impossible hereafter in any quarter of the earth any repetition of its dreadful tragedy. To this end, at any rate, it is our duty to work incessantly with such means and strength as God may give us.
The Peace Congress at Lucerne.
The Peace Congress at Lucerne, which was looked forward to with so much expectation, has made its record and passed into history. It was not, in some respects, all that we could have wished, but it was a great meeting and its influence will be large and lasting. Frederic Passy, who has attended nearly all of the peace congresses, said at one of the banquets that the Lucerne Congress seemed to him to surpass all the others in seriousness of conviction and effort. Perhaps the difference noticed by him could be accounted for by the general development of the peace movement and the stronger hold which it now has everywhere upon the public. This gives the peace congresses of to-day an air of greater confi- dence than in former years, and leads them to deal with the subject in eminently practical ways.
The attendance at the Congress was not so large as we had expected. Four hundred and fifty dele- gates and adherents had been announced, but less than four hundred of them reported. But the dele- gations from the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Switzerland were unusually large. That from the United States numbered about fifty, the largest delegation that has ever gone from this country to a European peace congress. Germany had forty delegates, France sixty, Great Britain seventy, and Switzerland more than a hundred. There were good delegations from Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands and Italy, and smaller ones from Belgium, China, Spain, Hungary, Monaco, Russia and Sweden. Altogether some one hundred and twenty organizations were represented.
The number of new faces in the Congress was very noticeable. These came largely from Germany and France, except so far as they were local Swiss. Of the old leaders, Frederic Passy and Emile Arnaud from France, Fredrik Bajer from Denmark, Baroness von Suttner from Austria, E. T. Moneta from Italy, Elie Ducommun from Switzerland, Senators La Fon- taine and Houzeau de Lehaie from Belgium, Felix Moscheles, J. G. Alexander, Dr. W. Evans Darby, George H. Perris, J. Fred. Green, Miss Peckover and Miss Robinson from England, A. H. Fried and Pro- fessor Ludwig Quidde from Germany, Baart de la Faille from The Netherlands, were present and never seemed fuller of faith, youthful vigor and enthusiasm. The absence of Hodgson Pratt and of Dr. Adolf Richter, two pillars of the movement in their respective countries, was greatly regretted and messages of greeting were sent them.
1905.
The matter of language created some confusion and delay, in the early proceedings, as is always the case in international gatherings. But though Eng- lish, French and German were all used, the transla- tions were so admirably done that soon everything fell into harmony, and general unity of spirit became a prominent characteristic of the meetings.
The Congress also suffered somewhat from a few faddists, and was compelled to devote an unnecessary amount of time to comparatively unimportant mat- ters, though on the whole there was really less of this than in some former years. On all but one or two of the great subjects presented a fine practical spirit was manifest, and general sanity and good sense marked the proceedings, even where there was most enthusiasm and demonstration.
For a fuller account of the deliberations and the resolutions adopted, we must refer our readers to the digest of the proceedings given in this issue. The principal subjects treated were the neutralization of the Scandinavian countries, the neutralization of passenger and mail steamers and of the great trade routes across the Atlantic, the reconciliation of France and Germany, the adoption of a general treaty of obligatory arbitration, the creation of a regular congress of the nations to meet at stated periods, the codification of international law, an in- ternational system of education with uniform courses in certain universities, pacific education in the schools, the arrest of armaments on land and sea, a universal auxiliary language, the codperation of labor with the work of the peace congress, adequate financial equipment of the peace organizations, etc. The program was a very full one and was well carried through.
The proposition of the Massachusetts State Board of Trade for the neutralization of the great com- mercial routes across the Atlantic, which was pre- sented by Mr. Ashton Lee, of Lawrence, Mass., supported by Mrs. Mead and Dr. Trueblood, was entirely new to most members of the Congress. It was received with decided favor by most of the delegates except those from the Socialist ranks. These made opposition to it because they imagined it to be a scheme gotten up by great commercial corporations and capitalists in their own interests without regard to the welfare of the people. The arguments which they used in opposition were as extraordinary as any we have ever listened to, as will be seen by consulting the report given herein- after. No action was finally taken on the subject, but it was gotten clearly before the delegates, and the curious opposition deepened interest in it. This proposition, as well as that of the International Law Association for the permanent neutralization of pas- senger and mail steamers, is so evidently practical, and in the interests of permanent peace, that it will very soon receive the support of all unbiased men.
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The central point of interest in the Congress was the question of Franco-German reconciliation, and no person who was present at the session when this was considered can ever forget the occasion. It had never before been possible for the Peace Congress to say anything on the subject, so great was the sensi- tiveness of both French and German delegates. All resolutions had died, some of them almost “a violent death,” in committee; but this time, after six hours of deliberation, the committee had unanimously re- ported a resolution, giving the bases on which the difficulty between the two countries should be set- tled. When this resolution (given on another page) came before the Congress, it was recommended in an admirable speech by Professor Quidde for the Germans and by the veteran Frederic Passy, in an eloquent appeal, for the French. When at the close of Mr. Passy’s address the two speakers clasped hands, without premeditation, and stood side by side on the platform, France and Germany symbolized, the appeal was irresistible. The whole audience was carried away with emotion, rose spontaneously to its feet, many moved to tears, and made such a demon- stration of approval as is rarely witnessed. It was a great triumph and indicates great advance toward the final healing of the sore spot of Europe.
The proposition for the creation of a regular congress of the nations was unanimously and cor- dially approved, as were those for a limitation of armaments and the conclusion of a general treaty of obligatory arbitration. Great interest was mani- fested likewise in the subject of pacific education.
The termination of the war in the Far East was matter of great relief and gratitude on the part of the members, and every reference to the courageous course which President Roosevelt had taken in the matter was most warmly applauded. So was his action in taking the initiative in calling a new inter- governmental conference at The Hague, and the Congress sent him a cablegram of grateful appre- ciation of the services which he had rendered to the cause of peace and of encouragement to continue in the same course hereafter.
The last day of the Congress was a red letter day for the cause from a financial point of view. Count Gourowsky, a Polish fellow-countryman of John de Bloch, living at Nice, knowing the present situa- tion and needs of the Bloch Museum of Peace and War at Lucerne, made a gift of six hundred thousand francs for a permanent building for the collection, provided the directors would make it a real museum of peace against war. He was of course the “ Lion of Lucerne” for the rest of the day. The same day a German Baron, whose name was not published, made a gift of ten thousand francs to the International Peace Bureau at Berne.
The Congress was received with the most generous hospitality by the Lucerne authorities, who did
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everything in their power to make its deliberations pleasant and successful.
The entire occasion was of such a character as to make one feel the enormous gain which the cause of peace has made in recent years, and to deepen one’s faith in its early and complete triumph. The na- tions are moving more and more together; their interests are increasingly one; the old grudges and animosities between them are rapidly breaking down ; the causes of war are being eradicated; the peoples are feeling deeply their kinship, their unity in a common humanity; they are getting their voice and speaking out their abhorrence for the cruel system which has so long burdened and destroyed them: they are determined that peace shall be organized on such solid bases that it can never more be broken; and they are making the governments feel that they are right and will have their way ;— these are the thoughts and feelings with which one returns to his labors from such a week as that spent in peace work on the banks of the beautiful lake of Lucerne.
The Interparliamentary Conference at Brussels.
Though now sixteen years old, the Interparliamen- tary Union for the promotion of arbitration and friendly relations among the nations is yet but little known to the general public. It is not a popular body, and does not therefore lend itself easily to pic- turesque reporting. But it is an organization of the utmost importance in bringing about the permanent establishment of peace among the nations. Its mem- bership is entirely confined to members of parliament, who are practical statesmen that have experience in political affairs, and who are close to their respec- tive governments and know the methods by which governments are moved and brought to act. The Union has grown quietly to large proportions, having now more than two thousand members. Its annual meetings, therefore, are occasions of the utmost in- terest to those occupied with the practical measures necessary to the establishment of general peace throughout the civilized world.
The Union held its thirteenth conference at Brus- sels, from the 28th to the 31st of August. The meet- ings were in the hall of the Belgian House of Represen- tatives, and were presided over by the distinguished Belgian statesman, Mr. Auguste Beernaert, long speaker of the House. The attendance of members was larger than at the St. Louis Conference last year, even the American contingent, eighteen in number, being greater than that which went to St. Louis. Representatives were present for the first time from some of the South American states. Nearly three
hundred delegates in all were present from the various national groups, and when they came together, filling practically every seat in the Chamber, the spectacle was a most interesting and inspiring one, and sug-
THE ADVOCATE OF PEACE.
October,
gested many thoughts about the coming parliament of man.
It seems almost a miracle that after so many gloomy centuries of hatred and discord and blood- shed, during which the nations have acted as if they were of different orders of beings and natural enemies, we should now see meeting regularly each year such an international body of statesmen as this. It is evi- dence, that cannot be gainsaid, that a new order of affairs has already come to the world, and that inter- national order and peace are no longer a dream, but are now a matter of the most practical sort, the era of which has already begun.
The deliberations of the Conference were confined almost entirely to two subjects: that of a general treaty of obligatory arbitration and that of the crea- tion of a regular parliament of the nations. Both these subjects secured their place on the program on the initiative of the American delegation. Indeed, outside of the American delegation there seemed to be little or no initiative in the Conference.
Mr. Bartholdt, president of the American group and the seventeen other members of the House of Rep- resentatives whom he induced to go with him, took a strong lead in the meeting from the very start. Their presence was much appreciated by the Euro- pean members, for it was the first time since the organization of the Union that our national Legisla- ture had been adequately represented, only one or two Congressmen having previously attended any of the conferences. Mr. Bartholdt received a royal welcome when he rose to speak, his work in connec- tion with the St. Louis Conference last year and his remarkable success in increasing during the year the United States group from forty to two hundred mem- bers having marked him outasa wise and efficient leader.
The draft of a general treaty of obligatory arbitra- tion, prepared by Mr. Bartholdt and submitted to the Conference, we print in full on another page, as well as Mr. Bartholdt’s speech in explanation of it. We confess that the draft seems to us in certain particu- lars to be open to criticism. As a whole it is too complex and brings into connection with arbitration matters which do not seem naturally related to it. The provision in Article III., in regard to contra- band of war, the opening and closing of hostilities, etc., would read very strangely in a convention of peaceful arbitration, however proper it might be, as the nations now are, in some other kind of agree- ment. Nor are we at all sure that there is any real demand for international Courts of First Instance. Diplomacy, either directly or through special commis- sions, easily deals with the class of cases which would go to these courts, and will deal with them more and more easily as the Hague Court develops and is more widely used. Machinery ought not to be multiplied unless there is real need of it.
But Mr. Bartholdt’s draft is a serious and very able study of the subject, and we are all under great
1905. THE ADVOCATE OF PEACE. 193
obligations to him for having spent so much time during the past year in preparing it for the Brussels Conference. It will come to the attention of the New Hague Conference, as it well deserves to do, and will no doubt be of great utility in helping to shape the new arbitration convention which that Conference will find itself under the necessity of drafting.
The American proposition at Brussels for the creation of a regular international parliament awak- ened great interest in the Conference. It was very ably presented and supported by Mr. Bartholdt and four or five other members of the delegation who spoke. It was most encouraging to hear them one after another advocate in an unequivocal way the creation of such an international institution, already approved by the Massachusetts Legislature and other eminent bodies, which is sure in the near future to be created and to play a great part in the future development of civilization.
The proposition was not, however, formally approved by the Conference. Count Apponyi, the distinguished Hungarian statesman, and others, while in full sym- pathy with the purpose of the proposal, felt that the subject was a most important and at the same time difficult one. Anything that might be done in this direction must carefully provide for the preservation of national sovereignty and autonomy. The Confer- ence finally decided to refer the subject, as well as that of the draft of an arbitration treaty, to a special committee, who should further study the subject and have power to call a meeting of the Executive Coun- cil of the Union, if this should seem advisable in order to get the subject properly before the next Hague Conference.
The action of President Roosevelt in taking the initiative for a new conference at The Hague, as he had promised the Interparliamentary deputation at Washington last year, as well as his effort to bring the Russo-Japanese war to an end, was warmly ap- plauded by the Conference, and a cablegram of thanks and congratulation was sent him. There was a good deal of anxiety and fear among the members lest the peace negotiations at Portsmouth might fail. Some were very skeptical about the matter. The first word of the successful issue of the negotiations reached Brussels during the last evening, while a great reception by the municipality was going on in the Hétel de Ville. The delegates were overjoyed at the news, and it was the principal subject of con- versation during the evening. The American delega- tion was enthusiastically congratulated on every hand. Count Apponyi, who had been very doubtful of a successful outcome of the Portsmouth Conference, on seeing the cablegram, came almost in a run across the reception hall to congratulate the present writer that peace was assured and that our country had done such a noble service to humanity in bringing about
the happy result. He expressed very great admira- tion for President Roosevelt as a peacemaker, as did practically everybody whom the writer met in Europe.
The Conference was most hospitably received by the Belgian Interparliamentary group and the Brus- sels authorities, and the proceedings ended by a visit to the Exposition at Liége, where the last meeting, with luncheon, was held.
The International Law Conference at Christiania.
Immediately following the Conference of the Interpar- liamentary Union at Brussels came the twenty-second Conference of the International Law Association at Christiania, from the 4th to the 7th of September. It proved to be one of the most successful meetings held by the Association in recent years. About eighty members out of the four hundred were present, representing ten different countries. A large number were of course from Norway, where much interest is taken in interna- tional law, especially in maritime law.
Unusual interest was added to the occasion by the fact that the meeting was held in the new building which has been constructed for the Nobel Institute and the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament. The building, which has a lecture hall, committee rooms, lib- rary rooms, and quarters for the Nobel Committee, has just been completed, and this was the first conference ever held in it. It was therefore a sort of inauguration service for the building which is destined to play a con- spicuous part hereafter in the international peace move- ment, to the extension of which Mr. Nobel devoted a considerable portion of his great fortune. From this building will go out every December the announcement of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Conference was organized by the election of Jus- tice F. V. N. Beichman, president of the Court of Ap- peal of Trondhjem, as president. Mr. J. Anderson Aars, president of the Exchange and Chamber of Commerce Committee, which had invited the Association to Nor- way, made the address of welcome, not only in the name of the Exchange and Chamber of Commerce, but also of the Barristers Association and the City Government, both of which contributed immensely to the success and pleasure of the meeting.
After an excellent address by the president of the Conference the remainder of the first day’s session, after the election of vice-presidents and secretaries, was de- voted to the subject of international arbitration and the work of the Norwegian government and parliament in promoting arbitration and neutrality. The paper on ar- bitration presented by Dr. W. E. Darby, secretary of the Peace Society, London, gave the details of all the latest phases of the development of the principle in its practical application in the settlement of controversies. The gov- ernment and parliament of Norway were shown to have done admirable service in promoting arbitration, through their official approval of the principle, through the Inter- parliamentary Union, through their subventions to the Peace Bureau at Berne, ete.
On the second day the subjects considered were: “ Neutral Trade in Contraband of War,” “ Coals as Con-
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traband of War,” “ Questions of International Law Aris- ing out of the Russo-Japanese War,” “ Recrudescence of Belligerent Pretensions” and “ Prize Courts and an In- ternational Prize Court of Appeal.” The papers on these subjects by Mr. Douglas Owen, of the London Bar, Mr. George Marais, Advocate in the Court of Appeal of Paris, Dr. Thomas Baty, barrister, of London, and Mr. J. Pawley Bate, lecturer on international law at the Inns of Court, London, were able and instructive, though technical in character.
A resolution was voted by the Conference in favor of the neutralization of all passenger and mail steamers, under severe restrictions as to carrying contraband of war. A resolution was also voted that coal should be considered only conditionally contraband of war. The spirit of the Conference was strongly in favor of the extension of neutral rights and of the increased restric- tion of the so-called rights of belligerents.
On the third day the legal relations between charterers and ship owners, and kindred topics under maritime law, were discussed.
On the last day the topics discussed were: “The De- sirability of Extending the Berne Railway Transport of Goods,” “Rules for the Recognition of Foreign Com- panies,” “ Foreign Judgments,” ete.
In relation to all the subjects that came before the Conference, there was manifested a strong desire that the governments should act in a spirit of increasing codpera- tion in the interests of trade, of the preservation of life, and of the avoidance of friction through carelessness and injustice.
One could not but observe the conspicuous absence from the Conference of delegates from Sweden. None, of course, were expected, as the Conference met at the time when feeling between the two countries was strongest on account of the formal withdrawal of Norway from the Union. But the Norwegian members of the Con- ference could not have conducted themselves with greater self-restraint and propriety than they did. Not a word of criticism of Sweden was heard, nor a word of boastful self-justification of the Norwegians. One would not have known, from anything that was said, that anything unusual had happened. Even in private prominent men answered with great care and moderation questions put to them about the situation. The seriousness of the situ- ation was felt, but there seemed no disposition to ex- aggerate or make it worse by rash and untimely speech. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that, since such a spirit as this prevailed, an agreement between the two countries was quickly reached which averted all danger of war.
It is not easy to see how hospitality could be more sincere and generous than that which was extended to the foreign delegates. Every Norwegian met did his best, with what English, French or German he knew, to make us all feel at home. On the first evening there was a reception, with supper, given by the Chamber of Commerce Committee at one of the most beautiful suburban resorts; on the second afternoon and evening a dinner was given by the same Committee at another of the fine resorts outside of the city; on the third afternoon the guests were taken on an excursion on the fjord, which terminated in another dinner on an island not far from the city; and on the last evening a great
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October,
banquet was given the members of the Conference by the municipality in the Hotel de Ville, which was pre- sided over by the mayor. We have heard of people being killed with kindness, but this week in Christiania we came near realizing in fact what it meant. Certain it is that no member of the Twenty-second Conference of the International Law Association can ever find it in his heart to think ill of the Norwegians.
Editorial Notes.
The diplomatic event of the last month
The Anglo- was the publication of the new Anglo- Japanese . ° Treaty. Japanese treaty, which was signed in Lon-
don on the 12th of August by Lord Lansdowne and Baron Hayashi. We give the text of it on another page for the convenience of those who may wish to examine its provisions. It is in some respects a renewal of the treaty concluded by the two powers three years ago, though it is a broader and much more significant document. It is open to the serious objections which may be brought against all offensive and defensive military alliances, which are wrong in principle, and always work more or less mischief in practice. ‘The treaty has already aroused much indigna- tion in Germany, and is quite certain to widen the breach between her and England. Its effect upon the relations between England and Russia is also sure to be bad, as it is clearly aimed against the latter country. But it is more than a military alliance. Its main purpose is the maintenance of general peace in the Far East, and with this aim we must all sympathize. It guarantees the in- dependence and integrity of China and equal opportunity for the commerce and industry of all nations in China. It does not, however, treat Korea as it ought to do. It practically turns her over to the control of Japan, and to speedy annexation without consulting the Korean people. The former treaty guaranteed the independence of Korea. While this new treaty, in spite of its funda- mental defect, goes a good way in the right direction, a very much better treaty might have been made in the interests of the East. All the important nations having relations with the East ought to have entered into a general treaty in the interests of peace and commerce, and the independence of the Eastern nations. No mili- tary provisions of any kind need have gone into such an agreement. There is little doubt that Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, the United States, etc., could easily have been induced at the present auspicious moment to join in such a purely peace compact, and thus the whole Eastern question have been once for all settled. It seems strange that no responsible statesman should have seen this extraordinary opportunity to do for the East what England and France have done for themselves ina smaller way by the Great Agreement recently drawn
1905.
between them. The time has not yet passed, and Presi- dent Roosevelt might well find in this direction an oppor- tunity to do a still greater service for the world’s peace than any which he has yet rendered.
Later reports of the feeling of indigna- tion in Japan against the government over the terms of the Portsmouth peace treaty and of the riots and disorders attending it prove that the earlier accounts were not at all exaggerated. A private letter received at this office speaks of the smoking ruins of the offices of newspapers which had supported the government, of police stations wrecked, of the intensity of the war spirit prevailing, etc. This indignation and violence of the people was exhibited because of the fact that the government had decided to drop the claim for indemnity, which had at first been put forward at Ports- mouth, in order to end the war. The people had been led by the successes of the Japanese armies in the field to believe that they could force Russia to accept any terms laid down by the victors, and they proposed to exact from the beaten foe enough to cover their own government’s expenses in the war. This display of passion and determination to exact as much as possible from Russia is not to be wondered at. It was the natural fruit of the conflict. Something like it has attended every war. The war passion grows by what it feeds on, and those who are affected by it often lose all sense of reason and are led blindly away by hatred of the enemy and desire to humiliate him to the utmost possible extent- The Japanese government is to be warmly commended for having stood firm during this storm of violence. The people will get over their childish madness, and will in time see that the government’s course was one of great wisdom. And the government will do well if it learns once for all that war is a very dangerous thing to play with. An intelligent Japanese, who has been in Tokyo during the entire conflict, writes us: “The war has ended as we prognosticated, to the great disappointment of the nation. War JS foolish—that is the lesson taught by this expensive war.”
The Feeling in Japan.
Mr. E. J. Dillon, in Harper’s Weekly, thus describes some of the horrors which attended the war in Manchuria:
Horrors in Manchuria.
“ People who have not witnessed the horrors of actual warfare — and the present campaign is in many respects worse than the struggles of former days — cannot realize the fate that awaits the unfortunate men who are thus condemned without appeal to die. Death pure and simple would be a boon as compared with the destiny in store for them.
“From the day on which they take their places in the railway cars their ordeal commences. Cooped up like
THE ADVOCATE OF PEACE.
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sardines in a tin box, they have too little room, too little air, too littie food, too little exercise, too little heat in winter, too much in summer. They are not as well off as the cavalry horses in the wagons next their own. Fatigued, cramped, weak, emaciated, they are whirled through Siberia, and dumped on some little station in Manchuria, where no preparations have been made for them. Hungry and thirsty, they have then to march for miles and miles in a strange and difficult country, they know not whither or wherefore. All at once, without a word of warning, they are decimated by a slanting hail of bullets which seemingly come from nowhere. They cannot reply, for there is no indication of the enemy’s position.
“ After that baptism of fire the real horrors of war begin. Marches under a scorching sun until the boots drop off in shreds, the feet are swollen and lacerated, the tongue is parched and black, and the brain swim- ming with incipient madness. Or else it is winter, when the toes, the ears, the nose, and it may be the cheeks, are frostbitten and disfigured forever, and when every snow- heap exerts a weird fascination over the jaded and drowsy soldier, who often flings himself surreptitiously upon one and enters upon his long last sleep.
“But hunger and thirst are the two awe-inspiring demons of war whose victims are more to be pitied even than Ugolino in his hunger tower. I have heard of sol- diers who, to quench their maddening thirst as they lay wounded on the millet-fields of Manchuria, drank human blood. I could if needs were name some who came back from the war to their native village invalided, and whose experience had been even still more horrible. ‘ We lay helpless in the fields like children, covered by the millet grass. My leg was as stiff as a board. We were fiercely hungry like wolves, human wolves. We would have eaten refuse had there been any at hand. But there was nothing. Every now and then we cast hungry looks at our dead comrades, and then we gazed at each other. We spoke with our eyes, we agreed with our eyes to commit a heinous crime. All the talk was done by evil glances. I can’t say how, but we under- stood each other perfectly. And then — then we did it.’
“TI break off the grewsome narrative here. It was poignantly realistic. Every detail burned itself into the souls of the invalid’s artless hearers. They saw the whole sickening picture rise up in all its ghastliness before their eyes. It filled them with horror.”
Pe
Brevities.
On August 31, when the successful termination of the peace negotiations at Portsmouth was announced, Hon. Robert Treat Paine, president of the American Peace Society, sent the following telegram of congratu- lations to President Roosevelt :
‘*No event in all history has given such powerful impetus to the cause of peace among the nations of the whole world as your brave and triumphant action.”
To this telegram the President’s secretary sent the fol- lowing reply:
‘“‘The President thanks youn heartily for your congratu- lations.”’
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. . . The Cincinnati Arbitration and Peace Society will celebrate the first anniversary of its organization by a public mass meeting on the 23d inst. Judge Howard C. Hollister will preside, and the principal speaker of the evening will be Hon. Henry b. F. Macfarland, president of the Board of Commissioners of the District of Colum- bia. The president of the Business Men’s Club, Mr. Thomas J. Moffett, will also speak. A letier will be read from the president of the society, Prof. P. V. N. Myers, now in Europe, who will give an account of the Peace Congress at Lucerne, which he attended. The city pastors have been asked to devote the previous Sunday to the advocacy of universal peace. We congratulate the Cincinnati Society on the vigorous and successful work which it has done during its first year.
. A peace conference under the auspices of the State Women’s Christian Temperance Union was held at Pacific Grove, California, from July 30 to August 4. Most of the speakers during the five days’ meetings were women. The program was well carried out, and the discussions following the papers elicited much interest. ** Peace Policies,” “ Christ the Prince of Peace,” “ Justice as a Conservator of Peace,” “The Science of Peace,” “ The Attitude of Women toward