Page:Jay William Hudson - America's International Ideals (1915).djvu/14

 At both of these Conferences the American representatives made important contributions to the discussions. After the Hague Conference established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the first case which this court had to decide was one brought before it by the United States and Mexico. Thus in the public mind, in public speech, and in conspicuous deed America has more and more been the champion of international democracy,—as over against the reign of autocratic force as the arbiter of international questions.

It is this principle of reason in civilization which the European conflict now ruthlessly repudiates. First, if the issue, whatever it is, over which the European war is being fought, is a rational issue, a civilization of reason would settle that rational issue by the only means that can settle issues of reason: namely, reason itself. But it is notorious that no serious and concerted attempt was made by the European nations to settle their difficulties by an appeal to arbitration. Indeed, the conflict was precipitated too quickly for public opinion to reason about the issues at all, or even to know precisely what the issues were. Instead of appealing to reason, which alone can settle rational problems, there was an immediate appeal to force, which in itself never solved a single rational problem. But it may be objected that the issues concerning which the European nations are fighting do not represent the sorts of problems which could be decided by an appeal to reason. If this is the case, then the problems themselves are not rational problems and European civilization sins in going to war on account of irrational or non-rational impulses and prejudices rather than on account of intelligible and intelligent ideals. If it be replied that not all European civiliza-