94 FINAL, ACT OF SECOND PAN AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS. 



the people whom negotiators represent and to whom arbitrators must return 

 shall be able to consider the controversy and judge the action of their rep- 

 resentatives in this instructed and reasonable way. 



One means to bring about this desirable condition is to increase the 

 general public knowledge of international rights and duties and to promote 

 a popular habit of reading and thinking about international affairs. The 

 more clearly the people of a country understand their own international 

 rights the less likely they are to take extreme and extravagant views of 

 their rights and the less likely they are to be ready to fight for something 

 to which they are not really entitled. The more clearly and universally 

 the people of a country realize the international obligations and duties 

 of their country, "the less likely they will be to resent the just demands 

 of other countries that those obligations and duties be observed. The more 

 familiar the people of a country are with the rules and customs of self- 

 restraint and courtesy between nations which long experience has shown 

 to be indispensable for preserving the peace of the world, the greater will 

 be the tendency to refrain from publicly discussing controversies with other 

 countries in such a way as to hinder peaceful settlement by wounding 

 sensibilities or arousing anger and prejudice on the other side. 



At the Conference of Teachers of International Law, under the presi- 

 dency of Mr. ROOT, he delivered an address in which, while dwelling 

 upon the importance of international law, he called attention to the 

 fact that more and more democracy was coming to its own and that 

 unless democracy were educated in its duties as well as in its rights it 

 would not render the services which could properly be expected of it 

 and which would justify its existence. On this particular point he said : 



I think no one can study the movement of the times without realizing 

 that the democracy of the world for it is not alone in this country is 

 realizing its rights in advance of its realization of its duties. And that way 

 lies disaster. That way lies hideous wrong. That way lies the exercise of 

 the mighty powers of modern democracies to destroy themselves, to destroy 

 the vitality of the principles upon which they depend. And there is no 

 duty more incumbent to-day upon the men whose good fortune has made it 

 possible for them to acquire a broader knowledge upon the subjects with 

 which democracy deals, than to become themselves leaders of opinion and 

 teachers of their people. Unless the popular will responds to the instructed 

 and competent leadership of opinion upon the vital questions of our foreign 

 relations, the worst impulses of democracy will control. At the bottom of 

 wise and just action lies an understanding of national rights and national 

 duties. Half the wars of history have come because of mistaken opinions 

 as to national rights and national obligations, have come from the unthink- 

 ing assumption that all the right is on the side of one's own country, alt the 

 duty on the side of some other country. Now, I say the thing most neces- 

 sary for the good of our country in the foreign relations which are growing 

 every year more and more intricate and critical, is that there shall be 

 intelligent leadership of opinion as to national rights and national obliga- 

 tions. 



