ries
include continents. It has been an equally difficult task to weld the
spirit of diverse peoples into a homogeneous whole. And the story of
this development constitutes a heritage not soon to be given up. The
tales of victory and defeat are held even more dear to a united people
than life itself. Rightly will any nation jealously defy him who dares
advance to plunder its possessions. And it is well that men do not
wish to surrender it upon slight provocation. That has been a good
diplomacy that sought to protect the nation by war. By the extension
of political unity peoples gain moral and physical strength. Thrift
becomes more common and moral courage greater when a people strike
forward with common aims. And in proportion as the nation as a whole
enjoys these advantages and opportunities, the individual widens his
horizon in peaceful association with fellow men and receives a benefit
beyond computation.

But, good as nationalism has been in the past, a gradual change seems
to be overtaking the world's politics. National diplomacy hesitates
where a century ago it was firm. Forces which once drove the nations
apart seem now to be drawing them together. The discord of disputes
seems to be disappearing in the harmony of cooperation. It is no
longer possible to determine easily what a nation's interests really
are. And it is of the forces that are bringing about this change in
the policies of nations, of this new nationalism and its bearing upon
the peace movement, that I wish to speak.

Within the last two centuries economic forces have worked a mighty
revolution. Continents have been converted into communities. The
prosperity of our eastern industries controls the activities of the
West, and a disturbance from any section throws a tremor over all.
Tribal barter has developed into a world-wide commerce until the most
distant nation may easily acquire the products of another. Steel rails
weave a web of commercialism among the peoples, and the cable welds
them in a mighty network which, responsive to every flash of news,
brings all the nations into a mutuality of interests. So
interdependent are the nations and so vital are their relations that a
single fluctuation in the most distant market finds a response in our
own. A slight disorder in Wall Street strains the whole financial
world. And thus through intercourse in commerce, industry, the press,
Christian missions, and scholastic research a system has been
develope