AT THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCE: V 1899 333 



ever done, not excepting Alexander II with his emanci 

 pation of the serfs; that I had thought very seriously 

 of writing, at the close of the conference, to M. Pobe- 

 donostzeff, presenting to him the reasons why Russia 

 might well make a practical beginning of disarmament 

 by dismissing to their homes, or placing on public works, 

 say two hundred thousand of her soldiers ; that this would 

 leave her all the soldiers she needs, and more; that he 

 must know, as everybody knows, that no other power 

 dreams of attacking Eussia or dares to do so ; that there 

 would be no disadvantage in such a dismissal of troops 

 to peaceful avocations, but every advantage; and that 

 if it were done the result would be that, in less than forty 

 years, Russia would become, by this husbanding of her 

 resources, the most powerful nation on the eastern con 

 tinent, and able to carry out any just policy which she 

 might desire. I might have added that one advantage of 

 such a reduction would certainly be less inclination by 

 the war party at St. Petersburg to plunge into military 

 adventures. (Had Russia thus reduced her army she 

 would never have sunk into the condition in which she 

 finds herself now (1905), as I revise these lines. Instead 

 of sending Alexeieff to make war, she would have allowed 

 De Witte to make peace peace on a basis of justice to 

 Japan, and a winter access to the Pacific, under proper 

 safeguards, for herself.) 



Raffalovitch seemed to acquiesce fully in my view, ex 

 cept as to the number of soldiers to be released, saying 

 that fifty or sixty thousand would do perfectly well as 

 showing that Russia is in earnest. 



He is one of the younger men of Russia, but has 

 very decided ability, and this he has shown not only 

 in his secretaryship of the conference, but in several of 

 his works on financial and other public questions pub 

 lished in Paris, which have secured for him a correspond 

 ing membership of the French Institute. 



It is absolutely clear in my mind that, if anything is to 

 be done toward disarmament, a practical beginning must 



