TO KEEP THE PEACE. - Scientific American - May 29, 1909

There is a growing sentiment throughout the world in favor of arbitration with its concomitant disarmament. The enthusiastic promoters of the peace movement call for the immediate institution of an inter­national tribunal and the immediate reduction, if not entire abolition, of armament!! and military forces.

These good people, however, lose sight of the fact that an international tribunal, if its findings are to be of any value, must leave behind it some strong physical force wherewith to back up its decisions; put down with a strong hand any opposition thereto, and permanently preserve the world's peace. The mere reduction of naval and military forces until each nation maintains. only what is judged to be sufficient for the support of its own government in the administration of its internal affairs, would not meet the case; for the several armies would be relatively as strong as they are in their present overgrown condition. Moreover, should any nation disagree with a decision of the international tribunal, it would be in a position to repudiate the findings of the court; and it is conceivable, nay, even probable, that the parties in dispute would resort to the final arbitrament of war. The possession of their several armies, even in a depleted condition, would breed distrust, and would constitute a standing menace to the peace of the world.

The institution of an international court of arbitration carries with it, then, as an inseparable corollary, the abolition of independent national armies and navies, and the substitution therefor of an international army, subject to the international court of arbitration, and maintained solely for the purpose of enforcing its decrees. It is. undeniable that in the recent discussion of disarmament and arbitration. Recognition of the necessity for the maintenance of. an international force of some such character as this has become increasingly evident.

In a discussion of the problem by Arthur H. Dutton, late of the United State navy, in a contemporary journal, the writer outlines. the character of the force which would be necessary for this purpose. He proposes that an international army be formed; a "compact, thoroughly trained, well-equipped and mobile force, to the personnel of which each civilized nation would contribute its quota i n proportion to the population." It would be the international police force, and would stand in the same relation to the nations of the world that the United States army does to the States. of the American Union. Among the civilized nations today there are taken from industrial pursuits, during peace times, no less than 4,250,000 able-bodied men, whose maintenance costs nearly $2,000,000,000 annually. These many millions would be returned to peaceful occupations, and their place would b e taken by an international army of arbitration of 500,000 men, costing annually about $150,000,000. To co-operate with this army there would be an international navy. in which there would be no battleships, consisting only of cruisers, gunboats, and transports for the moving of the troops. The International army would b e concentrated in three divisions of 100,000 each, one in Europe, one in North America, and one in the Orient, with the remaining 200,000 scattered in smaller detachments. The decree of concentration of the three great armies would b e a matter for decision of the strategists. All the permanent fortifications would be abandoned, and the nations, having disbanded their national armies, would depend upon their civil police for the execution of their own local laws. Each nation would agree to maintain no individual military force whatever; and the intelligence bureau of the international army would see that this obligation was fully lived up to. Military training would be restricted to international schools, the manufacture of arms and munitions of war to international factories.