The Legal World nal Law and Criminology, the Com mittee on Reform of the Law of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York,
the
New York
County
Lawyers’ Association, the Committee on Criminal Courts of the Charity Organization Society, and the Prison Association of New York. International A rbilrafion -— Plan of the
Carnegie Endowment The seventeenth annual meeting of the Lake Mohonk Conference on Inter national Arbitration was held at Mohonk Lake, N. Y., May 24-26.
President
Nicholas Murray Butler, the presiding ofiicer, for the first time made public the plans of the trustees of the Car negie endowment for international peace. The trustees, in pursuit of their deter mination to organize this foundation as a great institution for research and public education, had determined, he said, to carry on its work in three parts
385
the direction of Professor John Bates Clark of Columbia University. This work, like that of the first division, will
be scientific and scholarly in character, in organization and in method. With Professor Clark will be associated a
score of the world's leading economists. It will be the duty of the third divi sion, that of intercourse and education,
to supplement the work of the scien tific divisions by making practical appli cation of the teachings and findings of the divisions of international law and of economics and history. Next in importance to President But ler's address, probably, was Hon. Oscar
S. Straus's speech on “Business and International Arbitration.” He said in part:— "The standard of international mor ality yet continues to lag far behind the
standard of commercial fair dealing within nations; the evidences of this are
law, a division of economics and his tory and a division of intercourse and education. Otherwise stated, these three
no more glaringly exhibited than in the exceptions in the laws of neutrality, which rest not on principle but on legal casuistry. As the law now stands it is entirely lawful for the subjects of neu
divisions will represent the juristic, the economic, and, broadly speaking, the educational aspects of the problem.
and ammunition, as well as by public subscription or otherwise raise loans to
or divisions — a division of international
trals to supply belligerents with arms
under the direction of Professor James Brown Scott, will promote the develop
aid belligerents; yet the fact that such loans can be legally contracted, not only makes war possible, when otherwise
ment of international law, and will assist in bringing about such a progres
vented by economic necessities from
The division of international
law,
sive development of the rules of inter national law as will enable them to meet with constantly growing adequacy the needs of the nations. The endow
ment will associate with Dr. Scott a consultative board composed of some of
either or both belligerents would be pre beginning a war, or when begun from prolonging it. The Russo-Japanese War would certainly have come to an earlier
end if neither belligerent could have borrowed money from the subjects of neutrals.
It requires no argument to
the most distinguished international law
prove such acts are against the funda
yers in the world, every point of view being represented.
mental principles of real neutrality, and no more practical work can be under
The second division of the work, that of economics and history, will be under
taken in the promotion of peace than to hasten the day when such contraband
