the twentieth
century opened they have twice illustrated in their own practice--first
in Cuba, and then in Mexico--this democratic objection. They believe
that extensions of national territory should be brought about only with
the indubitable consent of the majority of the people most nearly
concerned. They also believe that commerce should always be a means of
promoting good-will, and not ill-will, among men, and that all
legitimate and useful extensions of the commerce of a manufacturing and
commercial nation may be procured through the policy of the "open
door"--which means nothing more than that all nations should be allowed
to compete on equal terms for the trade of any foreign people, whether
backward or advanced in civilization. No American Administration has
accepted a "concession" of land in China. They also believe that
peaceable extensions of territory and trade will afford adequate relief
from the economic pressure on a population too large for the territory
it occupies, and that there is no need of forcible seizure of territory
to secure relief. It is inevitable, therefore, that the American people
should hope that one outcome of the present war should be--no
enlargement of a national territory by force or without the free consent
of the population to be annexed, and no colonization except by peaceable
commercial and industrial methods.

Aggressive Force a Failure.

One of the most interesting and far-reaching effects of the present
outbreak of savagery is likely to be the conviction it carries to the
minds of thinking people that the whole process of competitive
armaments, the enlistment of the entire male population in national
armies, and the incessant planning of campaigns against neighbors, is
not a trustworthy method for preserving peace. It now appears that the
military preparations of the last fifty years in Europe have resulted
in the most terrific war of all time, and that a fierce ultimate
outbreak is the only probable result of the system. For the future of
civilization this is a lesson of high value. It teaches that if modern
civilization is to be preserved, national Executives--whether imperial
or republican--must not have at their disposal immense armaments and
drilled armies held ready in the leash; that armaments must be limited,
an international Supreme Court established, national armies changed to
the Swiss form, and an international force adequate to deal with any
nation that may sud