atriotism to be as just as
ours. We do not ascribe your desire to avoid war to be a fear of death
to yourselves or your sons; but rather to your sense of the horrors,
injustice, and ineffectiveness of settling any international issue by
such a brutal arbitrament. Nevertheless, we differ with you in
judgment that, in the world of nations as they are, war can be
completely avoided.

_We believe it is still necessary to use a threat of overwhelming
force of a great league with a willingness to make the threat good in
order to frighten nations into a use of rational and peaceful means to
settle their issues with their associates of the league._ Nor are we
militarists or jingoes. We are trying to follow a middle path.

Now what is the machinery, a resort to which we wish to force an
intending belligerent of the league--it consists of two tribunals, to
one of which every issue must be submitted. Issues between nations are
of two classes:

First--Issues that can be decided on principles of international law
and equity, called justiciable.

Second--Issues that cannot be decided on such principles of law and
equity, but which might be quite as irritating and provocative of war,
called non-justiciable.

The questions of the Alaskan boundary, of the Bering Sea seal fishing,
and of the Alabama Claims were justiciable issues that could be
settled by a court, exactly as the Supreme Court would settle claims
between States. The questions whether the Japanese should be
naturalized, whether all American citizens should be admitted to
Russia as merchants without regard to religious faith, are capable of
causing great irritation against the nation denying the privilege, and
yet such nations, in the absence of a treaty on the subject, are
completely within their international right, and the real essence of
the trouble cannot be aided by a resort to a court. The trouble is
non-justiciable.

_We propose that for justiciable questions we shall have an impartial
court to which all questions arising between members of the league
shall be submitted._ If the court finds the question justiciable, it
shall decide it. If it does not, it shall refer it to a Commission of
Conciliation to investigate, confer, hear argument, and recommend a
compromise.

We do not propose to enforce compliance either with the court's
judgment or the Conciliation Commission's recommendations. We feel
that we ought not to attempt too much--we believe that the for