denly become lawless agreed upon by treaty and held
always in readiness. The occasional use of force will continue to be
necessary even in the civilized world; but it must be made not an
aggressive but a protective force and used as such--just as protective
force has to be used sometimes in families, schools, cities, and
Commonwealths.

At present Americans do not close their eyes to the plain fact that the
brute force which Germany and Austria-Hungary are now using can only be
overcome by brute force of the same sort in larger measure. It is only
when negotiations for peace begin that the great lesson of the futility
of huge preparations for fighting to preserve peace can be given effect.
Is it too much to expect that the whole civilized world will take to
heart the lessons of this terrible catastrophe and co-operate to prevent
the recurrence of such losses and woes? Should Germany and
Austria-Hungary succeed in their present undertakings, the whole
civilized world would be obliged to bear continuously, and to an
ever-increasing amount, the burdens of great armaments, and would live
in constant fear of sudden invasion, now here, now there--a terrible
fear, against which neither treaties nor professions of peaceable
intentions would offer the least security.

It must be admitted, however, that the whole military organization,
which has long been compulsory on the nations of Continental Europe, is
inconsistent in the highest degree with American ideals of individual
liberty and social progress. Democracies can fight with ardor, and
sometimes with success, when the whole people is moved by a common
sentiment or passion; but the structure and discipline of a modern army
like that of Germany, Austria-Hungary, or Russia, has a despotic or
autocratic quality which is inconsistent with the fundamental principles
of democratic society. To make war in countries like France, Great
Britain, and the United States requires the widespread, simultaneous
stirring of the passions of the people on behalf of their own ideals.
This stirring requires publicity before and after the declaration of war
and public discussion; and the delays which discussion causes are
securities for peace. Out of the present struggle should come a check on
militarism--a strong revulsion against the use of force as means of
settling international disputes.

America Cannot Be Indifferent.

It must also be admitted that it is impossible for the American peop