War should never be entered
upon until every agency of peace has failed; peace is preferable to war
in almost every contingency. Arbitration is the true method of
settlement of international as well as local or individual differences.
It was recognized as the best means of adjustment of differences between
employers and employees by the Forty-ninth Congress, in 1886, and its
application was extended to our diplomatic relations by the unanimous
concurrence of the Senate and House of the Fifty-first Congress in 1890.
The latter resolution was accepted as the basis of negotiations with us
by the British House of Commons in 1893, and upon our invitation a
treaty of arbitration between the United States and Great Britain was
signed at Washington and transmitted to the Senate for its ratification
in January last. Since this treaty is clearly the result of our own
initiative; since it has been recognized as the leading feature of our
foreign policy throughout our entire national history--the adjustment of
difficulties by judicial methods rather than force of arms--and since it
presents to the world the glorious example of reason and peace, not
passion and war, controlling the relations between two of the greatest
nations in the world, an example certain to be followed by others, I
respectfully urge the early action of the Senate thereon, not merely as
a matter of policy, but as a duty to mankind. The importance and moral
influence of the ratification of such a treaty can hardly be
overestimated in the cause of advancing civilization.
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