A PRACTICAL PEACE PLAN.

At the present time when the country is engrossed with the question of national defense, all propositions which ultimately aim at peace are apt to be classed together as useless pacificism, without consideration of their individual merits. The League to Enforce Peace, whose aim and purpose are set forth by Professor Wilson, in an article which appears in another column, is a plan worked out by practical men to reduce the chances and causes of war to a minimum.

The theory of individual defense has permitted the astounding growth of armaments and militarism in the last century which has culminated in the present war. And whatever else may result from it, a step of some sort should be taken to make the repetition of such a war less probable. The League to Enforce Peace contemplates this by forming a combination of nations which will force member nations to refer their difficulties to judicial courts before resorting to war.

The peace that it would bring is based upon compulsion and not sentiment. Such peace is in accordance with the logical development of civilization. Men first settled their disputes by personal combat, and law and order are now maintained only by the employment of the police power. Communities, tribes, cities, and petty states, which formerly fought one another, now live in peace under the force of a stronger national organization. The final step alone remains, international co-operation, which, however, cannot be expected to come at once or completely.

The League to Enforce Peace is a practical step on the way, but if the United States is to be influential in any alliance of this nature, she must have an army and navy, strong enough to do her proportional share in enforcing the decision of the League.