MINIMIZE THE VALUE OF PREPAREDNESS

In another column, the CRIMSON prints an appeal by President Lowell for pacifists and preparationists alike to interest themselves in the recently formed League to Enforce Peace. The league plans to abolish war by minimizing the value of preparedness. This will be done by a contract between nations not to go to war with each other until the matter has been referred to arbitration. All the nations will bind themselves to fight against one which declares war without referring the matter to a tribunal.

Experience has shown that nations as well as individuals will break an unenforcable contract. But no nation, however well prepared, would risk engaging all the other combined powers at once. The delay occasioned by the judgement of the tribunal would allow hasty passions to cool and sober second thought would be satisfied with an adjustment which could not be made in the first anger. The prepared country would moreover, lose all the advantage of its preparedness through the delay.

This suggestion, while offering some technical difficulties, as explained by President Lowell, appears to be the best of those advanced for the abolition of war. It does not advocate disarmament but preparedness, but it makes of preparedness a larger issue than local protection, for it applies it to the prevention, of strife internationally. It realizes that not only must war with one's own country be prevented but with any country if peace and prosperity are to come to the world.