drowned the voice of protest and the civilized
world--yes, the Christian world--went into a prepared war, each nation
protesting that it was drawn into the conflict against its will.

Permanent peace cannot rest upon terrorism; friendship alone can inspire
peace, and friendship has no swagger in its gait; it does not flourish a
sword. Our nation has invited the world to a conference to consider the
limitation of armaments; if disarmament by agreement fails we should
enter upon a systematic policy of reduction ourselves and by so doing
arouse the Christians, the friends of humanity and the toilers of the
world to the criminal folly of the brute method of dealing with this
question.

We should also join the world in creating a tribunal before which every
complaint of international injustice can be heard. If reason is to be
substituted for force the forum instituted for the consideration of
these questions must have authority to hear all issues between nations,
in order that public opinion, based upon information, may compel such
action as may be necessary to remove discord.

It does not lessen the value of such a tribunal to withhold from it the
power to enforce its findings by the weapons of warfare. In the case of
our own nation, we have no constitutional right to transfer to another
nation authority to declare war for us, or to impair our freedom of
action when the time for action arrives.

Then, too, the judgment that rests upon its merits alone, and is not
enforceable by war, is more apt to be fair than one that can be executed
by those who render it. A persuasive plea appeals to the reason; a
command is usually uttered in an entirely different spirit.

There is another difference between a recommendation and a decree; if
the European nations could call our army and navy into their service
at any time they might yield to the temptation to use our resources
to advance their ambitions. As the man who carries a revolver is more
likely than an unarmed man to be drawn into a fight, so the European
nations would be more apt to engage in selfish quarrels if they carried
the fighting power of the United States in their hip pocket. For
their own good, as well as for our protection and for the saving of
civilization, it is well to require a clear and complete statement of
the reasons for the war and of the ends that the belligerents have in
view, before we mingle our blood with theirs upon the battle-field.

Our nation i