refusal to do anything to aid
unoffending weak powers which are dragged into the gulf of bloodshed
and misery through no fault of their own. Of course it would be folly
to jump into the gulf ourselves to no good purpose; and very probably
nothing that we could have done would have helped Belgium. We have not
the smallest responsibility for what has befallen her, and I am sure
that the sympathy of this country for the men, women, and children of
Belgium is very real. Nevertheless, this sympathy is compatible with
full acknowledgment of the unwisdom of our uttering a single word of
official protest unless we are prepared to make that protest effective;
and only the clearest and most urgent national duty would ever justify
us in deviating from our rule of neutrality and noninterference. But
it is a grim comment on the professional pacifist theories as hitherto
developed that our duty to preserve peace for ourselves may necessarily
mean the abandonment of all effective efforts to secure peace for other
unoffending nations which through no fault of their own are dragged into
the War."

The rest of the article concerned itself with the lessons taught by the
war, the folly of pacifism, the need for preparedness if righteousness
is not to be sacrificed for peace, the worthlessness of treaties
unsanctioned by force, and the desirability of an association of
nations for the prevention of war. On this last point Roosevelt wrote as
follows:

"But in view of what has occurred in this war, surely the time ought to
be ripe for the nations to consider a great world agreement among all
the civilized military powers TO BACK RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FORCE. Such an
agreement would establish an efficient World League for the Peace of
Righteousness. Such an agreement could limit the amount to be spent on
armaments and, after defining carefully the inalienable rights of
each nation which were not to be transgressed by any other, could also
provide that any cause of difference among them, or between one of them
and one of a certain number of designated outside non-military nations,
should be submitted to an international court, including citizens of
all these nations, chosen not as representatives of the nations, BUT
AS JUDGES and perhaps in any given case the particular judges could
be chosen by lot from the total number. To supplement and make this
effectual it should be solemnly covenanted that if any nation refused to
abide by the decision of su