320 SYMPOSIUM ON INTERNATIONAL LAW. 



Such a suggestion would seem to offer the most fruitful possibilities 

 from every point of view as a practical means of helping on the 

 cause of international solidarity. 



An international " clearing house " which has in it the elements 

 of great promise is the Pan-American Union in Washington. Here 

 center the interests of twenty-one American republics. If Canada 

 could find the way to come in, this Union would comprise virtually 

 the whole of the Western Hemisphere, a world in itself, set apart 

 from the troubled worlds of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 



It is true that the Pan-American Union as yet possesses little 

 power of an administrative nature. Nevertheless it exists as the 

 tangible utterance of an ideal that may ultimately be realized. 

 There do not seem to be any insuperable obstacles in the way of 

 conferring increased powers on the Union to at least discuss ques- 

 tions of mutual interest to the nations concerned, or to recommend 

 legislation or action which their relations may demand. It is quite 

 conceivable that the Union might even be given legislative power to 

 enact ad referendum, regulations and laws on specified topics such 

 as intercommunication, trade, industry, and other {questions of a like 

 character. Here might gradually be centered the routine adminis- 

 tration of many matters, very much as is done now through the 

 various international bureaus established in Switzerland. 



It is possible of course that such an organization through the 

 natural accretion of administrative powers might take on something 

 of the character of an international executive. Whatever might be 

 its ultimate evolution, by serving as a general " clearing house," a 

 central common forum for discussion, suggestion, or even legisla- 

 tion, the Pan-American Union \vould certainly prove of immense 

 service in achieving some degree of international organization in at 

 least this portion of a distracted world. 



By way of summary, I have endeavored within the necessarily 

 restricted limits of this paper to establish in rough and cursory out- 

 line the following points. 



I. There is no true analogy between international and municipal 

 problems. Though nations must need have recourse to war at times, 

 they are not savages. The ends sought by individuals within a com- 



