1166 
to change the conditions that render 
necessary such a policy. 
IS WAR NECESSARY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT 
OF HUMANKIND? 
Now there are those—and I am not 
disposed to do other than to reason with 
them—who say that war is absolutely 
necessary for the development of human- 
kind, and they can point in history to 
certain wars without which the progress 
that was made might not have been. They 
can say, for instance, that we should 
still be related to England as a colony 
but for the War of Independence; that 
we might still have slavery but for the 
Civil War, by which we were enabled to 
excise the cancer of slavery. But there 
are other wars that we might have 
avoided had we proceeded as we are 
planning to proceed today. 
War doubtless does develop the stronger 
virtues of men; anything that tends to 
make men sacrifice themselves does so. 
But I rather think that in hunting through 
the life of a nation and the life of a 
generation, we will find enough things to 
test character, to invite sacrifice, without 
our insisting upon having war in order 
to develop human nature. 
I am glad to be here today, because it 
is only about a year ago that I had the 
honor of attending a banquet of this 
same Society, and of repeating at that 
banquet what I had ventured to say only 
casually some six months before, to wit: 
that I had noticed in a number of our 
treaties with foreign nations that there 
were excepted from the causes which 
were to be arbitrated those which in- 
volved national honor or vital interest; 
that I did not see any reason why we 
might not just as well arbitrate a ques- 
tion of national honor or vital interest 
as anything else. That observation was 
followed at th: banquet of this Society 
- year age by the statement that I hoped 
we might V2 able to make a treaty with 
some  drominent nation in Furope by 
which we would agree to arbitrate every 
controversy that could arise between us, 
whether it involved national honor or 
vital interest or not. 
That remark was taken up first by the 
ambassador from France, who sat next 
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, 
to me. When I sat down he said, “We 
will make such a treaty with you,” and I 
replied, “I’m your man.” 
Then we waited awhile and Sir Edward 
Grey, on the floor of Parliament, in de- 
ploring the increase in naval appropria- 
tions, referred to my remarks and said 
that, speaking for his government, they 
were most anxious to enter into such a 
treaty. He was followed by Mr. Bal- 
four, the leader of the Opposition, who 
concurred in his statement and urged the 
wisdom of such an agreement between 
us. ‘There followed the necessary nego- 
tiations, which resulted in these treaties, 
one with Great Britain and one with 
France. They were submitted to the Sen- 
ate. The majority of the Committee on 
Foreign Relations reported the treaties 
to the Senate with the recommendation 
that they be ratified with an amendment. 
which struck out the third clause. I am 
coming to that a little later. 
QUESTIONS OF NATIONAL HONOR 
I only want now to take up the first 
proposition involved in these treaties, 
and that is the elimination from the ex- 
ceptions in the old treaties of questions 
of national honor and vital interest. It 
struck me, as I am sure it must strike 
you when you read a treaty that says, 
“We will agree to arbitrate everything 
that arises between us except questions 
of national honor or vital interest,” that 
you have omitted, from the things which 
you are to arbitrate, about everything 
that is likely to lead to war. At least, 
you have put into the treaty words which 
any nation that desires to avoid arbi- 
tration can fall back upon as including 
everything that they wish to include 
within that description. 
So far, therefore, as facilitating peace 
and avoiding war are concerned, these 
treaties might just as well have been 
written in water, except that they express 
the general desire to arbitrate when it 1- 
easier to arbitrate than otherwise. 
Now I am asked, “Would you arbitrate 
a question of national honor? Would 
you submit to arbitration your personal 
honor?” I have no hesitation in answer- 
ing that exactly as it is put: I would 
much prefer to submit to a board of 
