America and the World War

In America and the World War, the writer says that if the United States had a serious purpose, a serious sense of its obligations to world righteousness, its plain duty as the trustee of civilization is to investigate the charges solemnly made as to the violation of the Hague conventions. The writer calls it the prime fact that Belgium committed no offense whatever, and yet that her territory has been invaded and her people subjugated.

The text says illegal and excessive contributions are expressly condemned under Articles 49 and 52 of the conventions, and mentions sums of $40,000,000 from Brussels and $90,000,000 from the province of Brabant. The writer says his disagreement with the peace-at-any-price men, the ultrapacificists, is not in the least because they favor peace, and objects that they have proved themselves futile and impotent in working for peace. The text says that in the earlier ages of which history speaks there was practically no such thing as an international conscience.