their relationships as members of the union and by instituting certain organs of the union to carry on these processes. It was thus a constitution. By its universal acceptance, the union of all nations became a matter of political fact and practical politics. The union thus constituted was an organized political society with processes and organs of conciliation, arbitration, and lawformulation. The convention, as originally adopted, still holds, although the revisions and amendments made at the Second Conference in 1907 have not yet received unanimous adoption. The union of nations, thus constituted, was, however, a very imperfect union. The processes were unscientific, and the organs were inadequate. These processes may be made more scientific, and these organs may be made more adequate. To do this would be doing, in a new way and on a broader scale, what our American statesmen did in 1787-it would be the formation of "a more perfect union." The perfecting of the cooperative union of the nations will require, not only the scientific development and the local extension of the processes of conciliation, adjudication, and law-formulation throughout the union, but also the removal of the obstacles to the cooperative life and action of the nations. The principal obstacles, at the present time, are the external monopolies of nations, and secret agreements. These external monopolies may be abolished by means of universal agreements for the common and equal use by nations of the sea and the air, which are by nature the common property of all nations; by the extension of the areas of federal or cooperative union on the land; and by recognizing the "open door" in colonies, dependencies, and spheres of influence. Secret agreements can, it would seem, only be abolished by the gradual estab lishment of the principle that all secret agreements are void for all purposes, as contrary to public policy. It may thus be possible to make the existing union of nations so effective that economic or military force will not be required. If, however, such force should be found necessary, a basis will have been laid for the establishment of a suitable and legally limited supernational authority to wield the force of the union with skill and efficiency, and such a supernational authority will no doubt in due time be evolved. The practical course, therefore, is, it would seem, to take as our basis of thought and action the present written constitution of the cooperative union of nations -the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes as originally adopted, the one unanimous act which has ever happened among men, so far as appears, since the dawn of history. On that foundation, it may be possible, by taking thought and proceeding with careful steps, gradually to evolve a more and more perfect cooperative union of the nations, which shall secure to them order and law, and permit them to live in peace. WASHINGTON, D. C., May 15, 1916. |