,,this ,,troubled ,,world ,,this ,,troubled ,,world ,,eleanor ,,roosevelt ,,mcmxxxviii ,h4 ,c4 ,,kinsey ,,company1 ,,inc4 ,,new ,,york ,,copyright1 #aich1 ,,by ,,anna ,,eleanor ,,roosevelt ,,printed ,,in ,,the ,u4,s4,a4 ,,by ,j4 ,j4 ,,little ,,ives1 ,n4,y4 ,,first ,,edition ,to ,,mrs4 ,,carrie ,,chapman ,,catt who has led so many of us in the struggle for peace ,,contents ,,the ,,case ,,as ,,it ,,stands #a ,,ultimate ,,objectives #ad ,,immediate ,,steps #bg ,,summary #dd ,,this ,,troubled ,,world ,,the ,,case ,,as ,,it ,,stands ,the newspapers these days are becoming more and more painful4 ,i was reading my morning papers on the train not so long ago1 and looked up with a feeling of desperation4 ,up and down the car people were reading1 yet no one seemed excited4 ,to me the whole situation seems intolerable4 ,we face today a world filled with suspicion and hatred4 ,we look at ,europe and see a civil war going on1 with other nations participating not only as individual volunteers1 but obviously with the help and approval of their governments4 ,we look at the ,far ,east and see two nations1 technically not at war1 killing each other in great numbers4 ,every nation is watching the others on its borders1 analyzing its own needs and striving to attain its ends with little consideration for the needs of its neighbors4 ,few people are sitting down dispassionately to go over the whole situation in an attempt to determine what present conditions are1 or how they should be met4 ,we know1 for instance1 that certain nations today need to expand because their populations have increased4 ,certain people will tell you that the solution of this whole question lies in the acceptance or rejection of birth control4 ,that may be the solution for the future1 but we can do nothing in that way about the populations that now exist4 ,they are on this earth1 and modern science has left us only a few places where famine or flood or disease can wipe out large numbers of superfluous people in one fell swoop4 ,for this reason certain nations need additional territory to which part of their present populations may be moved2 other nations need more land on which to grow necessary raw materials2 or perhaps they may need mineral deposits which are not to be found in their own country4 ,you will say that these can be had by trade4 ,yes1 but the nations possessing them will frequently make the cost too high to the nations which need them4 ,it is not a question today of the 8free0 interchange of goods4 ,if standards of living were approximately the same1 throughout the world1 competition would be on an equal basis and then there might be no need for tariffs4 ,however1 standards of living vary4 ,the nations with higher standards have set up protective barriers which served them well when they were self-contained1 but not so well when they reached a point where they either wished to import or export4 ,when you take all these things into consideration1 the size of this problem is apt to make you feel that even an attempt to solve it in the future by education is futile4 ,faint heart1 however1 ne'er won fair lady1 nor did it ever solve world problems6 ,peace plan after peace plan has been presented to me2 most of them1 ,i find1 are impractical1 or not very carefully thought out4 ,in nearly all of them some one can find a flaw4 ,i have come to look at them now without the slightest hope of finding one full-fledged plan1 but ,i keep on looking in the hope of finding here and there some small suggestion that may be acceptable to enough people to insure an honest effort being made to study it and evaluate its possible benefits4 ,for instance1 one lady of my acquaintance brought me a plan this past spring which sounded extremely plausible4 ,her premises are3 ,we never again wish to send our men overseas2 we wish to have adequate defense2 we do not need a navy if we do not intend to go beyond our own shores2 submarines and airplanes can defend our shores1 with guns along our coasts as an added protection4 ,therefore1 we do not need an army1 for our men are going to stay at home4 ,with our coast defenses strong1 nobody will land here1 so why go to the expense of an army8 ,we do not need battleships or1 in fact1 any navy beyond submarines because we do not intend to own any outlying possessions4 ,in this way1 said the lady1 we will save vast sums of money which can be applied to all the social needs of the day--better housing1 better schools1 old age pensions1 workmen's compensation1 care of the blind and crippled and other dependents4 ,there is no limit to what we might do with this money which we now spend on preparation for destruction4 ,it is a very attractive picture and ,i wish it were all as simple as that1 but it seems to be fairly well proved that guns along our coasts are practically useless4 ,no one1 as far as ,i know1 has ever devised an adequate defense by submarines and airplanes1 or calculated whether the cost of the development of these two forces would really be any less than what we spend at present on our army and navy4 ,the greatest defense value of the navy is that its cruising radius is great enough to allow it to contact an attacking force long before that force reaches our shores4 ,if we trusted solely to submarines and airplanes we would have to have them in sufficient number really to cover all our borders1 and this type of defense would seem to be almost prohibitive in cost for a nation with a great many miles of border to defend4 ,has any one sounded out the people of this country as to their willingness to wait until an attacking enemy comes within the cruising radius of our planes and submarines8 ,have we faced the fact that this would mean allowing an attacking enemy to come unmolested fairly near to our shores and would make it entirely possible for them to land in a nearby country which might be friendly to them1 without any interference on our part8 ,have our citizens been asked if they are willing to take the risk of doing without trained men8 ,we have always had a small trained army forming the first line of defense in case somebody does land on our borders1 or attempts to approach us by land through a neighboring country4 ,our army has not been thought of as an attacking force2 do we want to do away with it8 ,are all the people in this country willing also to give up the outlying islands which have come into our possession8 ,some of them cost us more than they bring in1 but others bring certain of our citizens a fair revenue4 ,can we count on those citizens to accept the loss of these revenues in the interests of future peace8 ,perhaps this is part of what we will have to make up our minds to pay some day as the price of peace2 but has any one as yet put it in concrete form to the ,american people and asked their opinion about it8 ,one of the things that is most frequently harped upon is the vast sums of money spent for war preparation in this country4 ,very frequently the statements are somewhat misleading4 ,it is true that in the past few years we have spent more than we have for a number of preceding years because we had fallen behind in our treaty strength but1 in a world which is arming all around us1 it is necessary to keep a certain parity and these expenditures should be analyzed with a little more care than is usual4 ,for instance1 few people realize that in the army appropriation is included all the work done under the army engineers on rivers and harbors1 on flood control1 etc4 ,one other consideration which is frequently overlooked is that1 because of the higher wages paid for labor in this country1 whatever we build costs us more than it does in the other nations4 ,one significant fact is that we only spend twelve percent of our national income on our army and navy1 as against anywhere from thirty-five to fifty-five percent of the national income spent by nations in the rest of the world4 ,it is well for us to realize these facts and not to feel that our government is doing something that will push us into a position which is incompatible with a desire for peace4 ,we are the most peace loving nation in the world and we are not doing anything at present which would change that situation4 ,one very intelligent friend of mine developed an idea the other day which seems to me common sense for the present time1 at least4 8,why do we talk10 she asked1 8about peace8 ,why don't we recognize the fact that it is normal and natural for differences to exist8 ,almost every family1 no matter how close its members may be1 is quarrelsome at times40 ,quarrelsome may be too strong a word1 so we might better say that differences of opinion arise in the family as to conduct or as to likes and dislikes4 ,why should we expect therefore1 that nations will not have these same differences and quarrels8 ,why do we concentrate on urging them not to have any differences8 ,why don't we simply accept the fact that differences always come up and concentrate on evolving some kind of machinery by which the differences may be recognized and some plan of compromise be worked out to satisfy1 at least in part1 all those concerned8 ,compromises1 of course1 have to be made2 they are made in every family4 ,there are usually some members of a family1 who1 by common consent1 are the arbitrators of questions that arise1 and who hold the family together1 or bring them together if relationships become strained4 ,the ,league of ,nations was an effort to find for the nations of the world1 a method by which differences between nations would automatically be brought before the court of public opinion4 ,some kind of compromise would be made and those involved would feel that substantial justice had been done1 even though they might not at any one time achieve all of their desires4 ,many of us have become convinced that the ,league of ,nations as it stands today cannot serve this purpose4 ,the reason for this is unimportant4 ,the important thing now is that we should concentrate on finding some new machinery or revamping what already exists so that every one will function within it and have confidence in its honesty4 ,the people of the ,united ,states have congratulated themselves on the fact that they had made a beginning towards the development of this machinery in their conferences with the representatives of the other ,american governments4 ,perhaps we have a right to feel a sense of satisfaction for as a nation we have made a small beginning4 ,we were cordially disliked throughout ,south ,america for years because we were the strongest nation on this continent4 ,we took the attitude of the big brother for a long time and constituted ourselves the defender of all the other nations4 ,we were not only the defender1 however1 we also considered it our duty to set ourselves up as the judge1 and the only judge1 of what should happen in the internal as well as the external affairs of our various neighbors4 ,to them it seemed a bullying1 patronizing attitude4 ,as they grew stronger1 they resented it1 but we went right on regardless of their feelings4 ,during the past few years we have put ourselves imaginatively into their situation4 ,the final result is that we have reached an amicable understanding and actually are in a fair way to get together and discuss subjects of mutual interest with little or no sense of suspicion and fear being involved in the discussion4 ,this can1 of course1 be spoiled at any time by the selfishness of individual citizens who may decide that1 as individuals1 they can exploit some other nation on the ,north or ,south ,american continents4 ,the restraint of these individuals will not be a question of government action1 but of the force of public opinion which1 it is to be hoped1 will be able to control and exert a potent influence because of the sense of responsibility acquired by our citizens4 ,this is satisfactory1 but there is still much to be done before we can feel that even here in the ,americas we have a thoroughly sound working basis for solving all misunderstandings4 ,we cannot be entirely satisfied with anything1 however1 which does not include the world as a whole1 for we are all so closely interdependent today that we can only operate successfully when we all cooperate4 ,we have had the experience and can profit by the mistakes and the difficulties through which the ,league of ,nations has passed4 ,every nation in the world still uses policemen to control its unruly element4 ,it may be that any machinery set up today to deal with international difficulties may require policemen in order to function successfully1 but even a police force should not be called upon until every other method of procedure has been tried and proved unsuccessful4 ,we have some economic weapons which can be used first and which may prove themselves very efficient as the guardians of peace4 ,,ultimate ,,objectives ,what are our ultimate objectives and how shall we achieve them8 ,first1 the most important thing is that any difficulties arising should automatically go before some body which will publish the facts to the world at large and give public opinion an opportunity to make a decision4 ,then1 a group of world representatives will have to decide with whom the fault lies4 ,if their decision is not accepted by the nations involved and either nation attempts to use force in coercing the other nation1 or nations--in opposition to what is clearly the majority opinion of the world--then and then only1 it seems to me1 the decision will be made that the nation using force is an aggressor nation4 ,being an aggressor1 the majority of nations in opposition would be obliged to resort to some method designed to make that nation realize that they could not with impunity flout the public opinion of the majority4 ,we need to define what an aggressor nation is4 ,we need to have a tribunal where the facts in any case may be discussed1 and the decision made before the world1 as to whether a nation is an aggressor or not4 ,then the steps decided upon could be taken in conjunction with other nations4 ,first of all1 trade should be withdrawn from that nation and they should be barred as traders in the countries disagreeing with them4 ,it would not seem probable that more than this economic weapon would have to be used but1 if necessary in the end1 the police force could be called upon4 ,in the case of a clearly defined issue where the majority of nations agreed1 the police force would simply try to prevent bloodshed and aggression1 and it would be in a very different position from an army which was attempting to attack a country and subjugate it4 ,even the use of a police force1 which so many think of as tantamount to war1 would really be very different and there would be no idea of marching into a country or making the people suffer or taking anything from them4 ,it would simply be a group of armed men preventing either of the parties to a quarrel from entering into a real war4 ,of course1 ,i can imagine cases in which the police force might find itself in an unenviable position1 with two countries engaged in a heated quarrel trying to do away with the police so they could get at each other6 ,all we can hope is that this situation will not arise and that the non-aggressor party to the quarrel1 at least1 may be willing to sit peacefully by and see the police force repulse the enemy without wishing to turn into aggressors themselves4 ,with all our agitation about peace1 we lose sight of the fact that with the proper machinery it is easier to keep out of situations which lead to war than it is to bring about peace once war is actually going on4 ,i doubt very much whether peace is coming to us either through plans1 even my own as ,i have outlined it1 or through any of the theories or hopes we now hold4 ,what ,i have outlined is not real peace1 just a method of trying to deal with our difficulties a little better than we have in the past1 in the world as it is today4 ,we may1 of course1 be wiped off the face of the earth before we do even this4 ,our real ultimate objective must be a change in human nature for ,i have1 as ,i said1 yet to see a peace plan which is really practical and which has been thought through in every detail4 ,therefore1 ,i am inclined to believe that there is no perfect and complete program for bringing about peace in the world at the present moment4 ,i often wonder as ,i look around the world whether any of us1 even we women1 really want peace4 ,women should realize better than any one else1 that the spirit of peace has to begin in the relationship between two individuals4 ,they know that a child alone may be unhappy because he is alone1 but there will be no quarreling until another child appears on the scene1 and then the fur will fly1 if each of them desires the same thing at the same time4 ,women have watched this for generations and must know1 if peace is going to come about in the world1 the way to start is by getting a better understanding between individuals4 ,from this germ a better understanding between groups of people will grow4 ,in spite of this knowledge1 ,i am sure that women themselves are among the worst offenders when it comes to petty quarrels4 ,mrs4 ,j---- will refuse to speak to ,mrs4 ,c---- because ,mrs4 ,c----'s dog came through the hedge and mussed up ,mrs4 ,j----'s flowerbed4 ,no one will deny that occurrences of this kind are irritating in the extreme1 but is it worth a feud between two neighbors1 perhaps old friends or even acquaintances who must live next door to each other and see each other almost every day8 ,at the moment we1 as a nation1 are looking across the ,atlantic and the ,pacific1 patting ourselves on the back and saying how fortunate we are to be away from all their excitements4 ,we feel a little self-righteous1 and forget that we ourselves have been engaged in a war on the average of every forty years since our nation was founded4 ,we even fought a civil war1 complicated by the alignment of other nations with one side or the other1 though no foreign soldiers actually came to fight on either side4 ,the people who settled in ,new ,england came here for religious freedom1 but religious freedom to them meant freedom only for their kind of religion4 ,they were not going to be any more liberal to others who differed with them in this new country1 than others had been with them in the countries from which they came4 ,this attitude seems to be our attitude in many situations today4 ,very few people in any nation today are inclined to be really liberal in allowing real freedom to other individuals4 ,like our forebears we want freedom for ourselves1 but not for those who differ from us4 ,to think and act as we please within the limits1 of course1 caused by the necessity for respecting the equal rights which must belong to our neighbors1 would seem to be almost a platitudinous doctrine1 yet we would frequently like to overlook these limits and permit no freedom to our neighbors4 ,if this is our personal attitude1 it is not strange that our national attitude is similar4 ,we are chiefly concerned with the rights and privileges of our own people and we show little consideration for the rights and privileges of others4 ,in this we are not very different from other nations both in the past and in the present4 ,i can almost count on the fingers of one hand the people whom ,i think are real pacifists4 ,by that ,i mean1 the people who are really making an effort in their personal lives to bring about an atmosphere which will be conducive to a solution of all our difficulties in a peaceful manner4 ,the first step towards achieving this end is self-discipline and self-control4 ,the second is a certain amount of imagination which will enable us to understand situations in which other people find themselves4 ,we may learn to be less indignant at any slight or seeming slight1 and we may try to find some way by which to remove the cause of the troubles which arise between individuals1 if we become disciplined and cultivate our imaginative faculties4 ,once we achieve a technique by which we control our own emotions1 we certainly will be better able to teach young people how to get on together4 ,they may then find some saner way of settling questions under dispute than by merely punching each other's noses6 ,when we once control ourselves and submit personal differences to constituted authorities for settlement1 we can say that we have a will to peace between individuals4 ,before we come to the question of what may be the technique between nations1 however1 we must go a step farther and set our national house in order4 ,on every hand we see today miniature wars going on between conflicting interests4 ,as the example most constantly before us1 take capital and labor4 ,if their difficulties are settled by arbitration and no blood is shed1 we can feel we have made real strides towards approaching our international problems4 ,we are not prepared to do this1 however1 when two factions in a group having the same basic interests cannot come to an agreement between themselves4 ,their ability to obtain what they desire is greatly weakened until they can reach an understanding and work as a unit4 ,the basis of this understanding should not be hard to reach if the different personalities involved could forget themselves as individuals and think only of the objectives in view1 and of the best way to obtain them4 ,granted that they are able to do this1 then we can approach our second problem with the knowledge that more deeply conflicting interests are at stake but that those with common interests can state their case so the public may form their opinion4 ,here again1 if you could take it for granted that on both sides a real desire existed amongst those representing divergent interests to consider unselfishly ultimate goals and benefits for the majority1 rather than any individual gain or loss1 it would undoubtedly be possible to reach a peaceful agreement4 ,human beings1 however1 do not stride from peak to peak1 they climb laboriously up the side of the mountain4 ,the public will have to understand each case as it comes up and force divergent interests to find a solution4 ,the real mountain climber never gives up until he has reached the highest peak and the lure of the climb to this peak is always before him to draw him on4 ,that should be the way in human progress--a peaceful1 quiet progress4 ,we cannot follow this way1 however1 until human nature becomes less interested in self1 acquires some of the vision and persistence of the mountain climber1 and realizes that physical forces must be harnessed and controlled by disciplined mental and spiritual forces4 ,when we have achieved a nation where the majority of the people is of this type1 then we can hope for some measure of success in changing our procedure when international difficulties arise4 ,what we have said really means that we believe in one actual way to peace--making a fundamental change in human nature4 ,over and over again people will tell you that that is impossible4 ,i cannot see why it should be impossible when the record of history shows so many changes already gone through4 ,only the other day ,i heard it stated that there are only two real divisions which can be made between people--the people who have good intentions1 and the people who have evil intentions4 ,the same man who made this distinction between people1 made the suggestion that eventually there should be in the government1 a department where business--the business that wishes to be fair and square--could lay its plans before a chosen group of men representing business1 the public and the government4 ,they could ask for advice as to whether the plans proposed were according to the best business interests of the country and the majority of the people and receive in return a disinterested1 honest opinion4 ,immediately the remonstrance was made that this would be impossible because it would be difficult for an advisory group to know if the plans laid before them were honestly stated1 and people of evil intentions could use such a group to promote plans for selfish interests rather than for the general welfare4 ,this is undoubtedly true1 and we are up against exactly the same situation in trying to obtain peace between groups within nations as we are on the international fronts4 ,human beings either must recognize the fact that what serves the people as a whole serves them best as individuals and1 through selfish or unselfish interests1 they become people of good intentions and honesty4 ,if not we will be unable to move forward except as we have moved in the past with recourse to force1 and constant1 suspicious watchfulness on the part of individuals and groups towards each other4 ,the preservation of our civilization seems to demand a permanent change of attitude and therefore every effort should be bent towards bringing about this change in human nature through education4 ,this is a slow way and1 in the meantime1 we need not sit with folded hands and feel that no steps can be taken to ward off the dangers which constantly beset us4 ,,immediate ,,steps ,we can begin1 and begin at once1 to set up some machinery4 ,our international difficulties will then automatically be taken up before they reach the danger point4 ,one of our great troubles is that it is nobody's business to try to straighten out difficulties between nations in the early stages4 ,if they are allowed to continue too long1 they grow more and more bitter and little things1 which might at first have been easily explained or settled1 take on the proportions of a bitter and important quarrel4 ,we do not scrap our whole judicial machinery just because we are not sure that the people who appear before the bar are telling the truth4 ,we go ahead and do our best to ascertain the truth in any given case1 and substantial justice seems to be done in a majority of situations4 ,this same thing would have to satisfy us for a time at least in the results achieved by whatever machinery we set up to solve our international difficulties4 ,i am not advocating any particular machinery4 ,the need seems fairly obvious4 ,to say that we cannot find a way is tantamount to acknowledging that we are going to watch our civilization wipe itself off the face of the earth4 ,for those of us who remember the ,world ,war1 there is little need to paint a picture of war conditions1 but the generation that participated in that war is growing older4 ,to the younger group what they have not seen and experienced themselves actually means little4 ,i heard a gentleman who loves adventure say the other day that he could recruit an army of young people at any time to go to war in any part of the world4 ,they would believe that the danger was slight1 and the fun and comradeship and adventure would be attractive4 ,i protested violently that youth today was not so gullible1 but down in the bottom of my heart ,i am a little apprehensive4 ,therefore1 it seems to me that one of our first duties is constantly to paint for young people a realistic picture of war4 ,you cannot gainsay the assertion that war brings out certain fine qualities in human nature4 ,people will make sacrifices which they would not make in the ordinary course of existence4 ,war will give opportunities for heroism which do not arise in every-day living1 but this is not all that war will do4 ,it will place men for weeks under conditions which are physically so bad that years later they may still be suffering from the effects of this 8period of adventure0 even though they may not have been injured by shot or shell during this time of service4 ,upon many people it will have mental or psychological effects which will take them years to overcome4 ,in many countries of the world there are people to attest to the changed human beings who have returned to them after the ,world ,war4 ,men who could no longer settle down to their old work1 men who had seen such horrors that they could no longer sleep quietly at night1 men who do not wish to speak of their experiences4 ,it is a rather exceptional person who goes through a war and comes out unscathed physically1 mentally or morally4 ,secondly1 it is one's duty to youth to point out that there are ways of living heroically during peace times4 ,i do not imagine that ,monsieur and ,madame ,curie ever felt the lack of adventure in their lives1 for there is nothing more adventurous than experimentation with an unknown element4 ,their purpose was to find something of benefit to the human race4 ,they jeopardized no lives but their own4 ,i doubt if ,father ,damien ever felt that his life lacked adventure2 and ,i can think of a hundred places in our own country today where men or women might lead their lives unknown or unsung beyond the borders of their own communities and yet never lack for adventure and interest4 ,those who set themselves the task of making their communities into places in which the average human being may obtain a share1 not only of greater physical well-being1 but of wider mental and spiritual existence1 will lead an active and adventurous life to reach their goal4 ,this will need energy1 patience and understanding beyond the average1 qualities of leadership to win other men to their point of view1 unselfishness and heroism1 for they may be asked to make great sacrifices4 ,to reach their objectives they may have to hand over their leadership to other men1 their characters may be maligned1 their motives impugned1 but they must remain completely indifferent if only in the end they achieve their objectives4 ,moral courage of a rare kind will be required of them4 ,in the wars of the past1 deeds of valor and heroism have won decorations from governments and the applause of comrades in arms1 but the men who lead in civic campaigns may hope for none of these recognitions4 ,the best that can happen to them is that they may live to see a part of their dreams come true1 they may keep a few friends who believe in them and their own consciences may bring them inner satisfactions4 ,making our every-day living an adventure is probably our best safeguard against war4 ,but there are other steps which we might well take4 ,let us examine again1 for example1 the ever-recurring question of the need for armaments as a means of defense and protection and see if something cannot be done immediately4 ,many people feel the building of great military machines lead us directly into war for when you acquire something it is always a temptation to use it4 ,it is perfectly obvious1 however1 that no nation can cut down its army and navy and armaments in general when the rest of the world is not doing the same thing4 ,we ourselves have a long unfortified border on the north which has remained undefended for more than a hundred years1 a shining example of what peace and understanding between two nations can accomplish4 ,but we also have two long coast lines to defend and the ,panama ,canal1 which in case of war must be kept open1 therefore it behooves us to have adequate naval defense4 ,just what we mean by adequate defense is a point on which a great many people differ4 ,innumerable civilians have ideas as to what constitutes adequate military preparedness and the people most concerned1 our military forces1 have even more definite ideas4 ,many people in the ,united ,states feel that we are still rendered practically safe by the expanse of water on our east and west coasts4 ,some people even feel1 like ,mr4 ,william ,jennings ,bryan1 that if our nation needed to be defended a million men would spring to arms over night4 ,they forget that a million untrained1 unarmed men would be a poor defense4 ,we must concede that our military establishments have probably made a more careful1 practical study of the situation than any one else1 for they know they would have to be ready for action at once4 ,whether we accept the civil or the military point of view on preparedness1 we can still move forward4 ,we can continue to try to come to an understanding with other nations on some of the points which lead to bad feeling4 ,we can begin first1 perhaps1 with the ,central and ,south ,american nations and continue later with other nations1 to enter into agreements which may lead to the gradual reduction of armaments4 ,if we only agree on one thing at a time1 every little step is something to the good4 ,simply because we have so far not been able to arrive at any agreement is no reason for giving up the attempt to agree4 ,no one has as yet discovered a way to make any of the methods of transportation by which we all travel around the world1 absolutely safe1 but nobody suggests that we should do away with ships and railroads and airplanes4 ,i feel that the people of various nations can greatly influence their governments and representatives and encourage action along the lines of reduction in arms and munitions4 ,every international group that meets must bear in mind that they have an opportunity to create better feeling1 but to move forward along this particular front also requires the backing of public opinion at home4 ,this opinion may be formed in many little groups all over the world and may be felt in an ever widening circle of nations until it becomes a formidable force in the world as a whole4 ,then there is the matter of private interests involved in the manufacture of arms and munitions4 ,i know there are many arguments advanced against government ownership of the factories making arms and munitions4 ,when you know the story of the part played by certain families in ,europe whose business it has been to manufacture arms and munitions1 however1 you wonder if the arguments advanced against this step are not inspired in large part by those whose interests lie in this particular business8 ,it is true that a government can lose its perspective for a number of reasons4 ,the need for employment may push them to over-production1 as well as fear of their neighbors1 and they may manufacture so much that the temptation to use it may be great4 ,some governments today manufacture practically all they need for peace-time purposes and this is a safeguard1 but for war-time use1 all governments would have to fall back on private manufacturers who could convert their plants easily for the manufacturing of war materials4 ,some governments today encourage private manufacturers to produce arms and munitions needed in peace time by buying from them1 but the great danger lies in the uncontrolled private production which is used for export4 ,the element of private profit is a great incentive towards the increase of this business just as it is in any other business4 ,governments are not tempted in the same way1 for they do not manufacture for export or for profit4 ,it seems to me that we must trust some one and ,i think perhaps it is wiser to trust a government than the more vulnerable and easily tempted individual4 ,besides which1 a democracy has it within its power to control any government business and1 therefore1 the idea that our government should control the manufacture of arms and munitions fills me with no great trepidation4 ,this control of the manufacture of arms and munitions is a measure which could be undertaken by one government alone4 ,it does not have to wait for all the other governments to concur1 and so ,i believe either in complete government ownership or in the strictest kind of government supervision1 allowing such manufacture as will supply our own country but which will not create a surplus for exportation1 thus removing the incentive for constantly seeking and creating new markets4 ,the next step will be the mutual curtailment1 very gradually ,i am sure1 of the amount of armaments the world over4 ,this is a difficult step1 because it requires not only an agreement on the part of all the nations1 but sufficient confidence in each other to believe that1 having given their word1 they will live up to the spirit of the agreement as well as to the letter of it1 and not try cleverly to hide whatever they have done from possible inspectors4 ,they will not1 for instance1 destroy a battleship and add a half dozen airplanes1 telling the other members to the agreement that they have carried out the promised reduction1 but forgetting to mention the additions to some other arm of their military service4 ,this lack of integrity1 or perhaps we should call it more politely the desire to be a little more clever than one's neighbor1 is what promotes a constant attitude of suspicion amongst nations4 ,this will exist until we have accomplished a change in human nature and that is why for the present it seems to me necessary to have inspection and policing as well as an agreement4 ,the objection will be made that in the nations which are not democracies a government might build up a great secret arsenal2 but in those countries this could be done today for most of them control the press and all out-going information with an iron hand4 ,outside of the democracies1 government ownership is a much more serious danger on this account4 ,if all nations were obliged to report their military strength to some central body1 and this body was allowed to inspect and vouch for the truth of their statements1 then all governments could feel secure against that hidden danger which is now part of the incentive for a constant increase in the defense machinery of every nation4 ,here again we are confronted with the need of some machinery to work for peace4 ,i have already stated that ,i doubt if the present ,league of ,nations could ever be made to serve the purpose for which it was originally intended4 ,this does not mean that ,i do not believe that we could get together4 ,we might even begin by setting up regional groups in different parts of the world which might eventually amalgamate into a central body4 ,it seems to me almost a necessity that we have some central body as a means of settling our difficulties1 with an international police force to enforce its decisions1 as long as we have not yet reached the point everywhere of setting force aside4 ,joint economic action on the part of a group of nations will undoubtedly be very effective1 but it will take time to educate people to a point where they are willing to sacrifice1 even temporarily1 material gains in the interests of peace1 so ,i doubt whether we can count at once on complete cooperation in the use of an economic boycott4 ,to be a real weapon against any nation wishing to carry on war1 it must be well carried out by a great number of nations4 ,another small and perhaps seemingly unimportant thing might be done immediately4 ,it might be understood that in war time every one should become a part of the military service and no one should be allowed to make any profit either in increased wages or in increased interest on their capital investment4 ,this might bring about a little more universal interest in peace1 and more active interest in the efforts to prevent war whether a man were going to the front or staying at home4 ,of course1 when we talk of 8the front0 in connection with future wars1 we are taking it for granted that future wars will be much like those of the past1 whereas most people believe that future wars will have no fronts4 ,what we hear of ,spain and ,china makes this seem very probable4 ,gases and airplanes will not be directed only against armed forces1 or military centers1 they may be used for the breaking of morale in the opposing nation4 ,that will mean shelling of unfortified cities1 towns and villages1 and the killing of women and children4 ,in fact this means the participation in war of entire populations4 ,one other element must be considered1 namely1 the creating of public opinion today4 ,wars have frequently been declared in the past with the backing of the nations involved because public opinion had been influenced through the press and through other mediums1 either by the governments themselves or by certain powerful interests which desired war4 ,could that be done again today in our own country or have we become suspicious of the written word and the inspired message8 ,i think that as a people we look for motives more carefully than we did in the past but whether issues could be clouded for us is one of the questions that no one can answer until the test comes4 ,i am inclined to think that if a question as serious as going to war were presented to our nation we would demand facts unvarnished by interpretation4 ,whether we even in our free democracy could obtain them is another question4 ,who controls the dissemination of news8 ,is the press totally1 uncompromisingly devoted to the unbiased presentation of all news insofar as possible8 ,is it possible for groups with special interests to put pressure on the press and on our other means of disseminating information1 such as the radio and the screen1 and to what extent8 ,this is an interesting study in every country where people are really interested in good will and peace4 ,if these sources of information are not really free should not the people insist that this be one of our first reforms8 ,without it we can have no sound basis on which to form our opinions4 ,these are things we can work for immediately1 but some of my friends consider that one point transcends all others and epitomizes the way to 8peace40 ,,summary ,we can establish no real trust between nations until we acknowledge the power of love above all other power4 ,we cannot cast out fear and therefore we cannot build up trust4 ,perfectly obvious and perfectly true1 but we are back again to our fundamental difficulty--the education of the individual human being1 and that takes time4 ,we cannot sit around a table and discuss our difficulties until we are able to state them frankly4 ,we must feel that those who listen wish to get at the truth and desire to do what is best for all4 ,we must reach a point where we can recognize the rights and needs of others1 as well as our own rights and needs4 ,i have a group of religious friends who claim that the answer to all these difficulties is a great religious revival4 ,they may be right1 but great religious revivals which are not simply short emotional upheavals lifting people to the heights and dropping them down again below the place from which they rose1 mean a fundamental change in human nature4 ,that change will come to some people through religion1 but it will not come to all that way1 for ,i have known many people1 very fine people1 who had no formal religion4 ,so the change must come to some1 perhaps1 through a new code of ethics1 or an awakening sense of responsibility for their brothers1 or a discovery that whether they believe in a future life or not1 there are now greater enjoyments and rewards in this world than those which they have envisioned in the past4 ,i would have people begin at home to discover for themselves the meaning of brotherly love4 ,a friend of mine wrote me the other day that she wondered what would happen if occasionally a member of ,congress got up and mentioned in the ,house the existence of brotherly love4 ,you laugh1 it seems fantastic1 but this subject will1 ,i am sure1 have to be discussed throughout the world for many years before it becomes an accepted rule4 ,we will have to want peace1 want it enough to pay for it1 pay for it in our own behavior and in material ways4 ,we will have to want it enough to overcome our lethargy and go out and find all those in other countries who want it as much as we do4 ,some time we must begin1 for where there is no beginning there is no end1 and if we hope to see the preservation of our civilization1 if we believe that there is anything worthy of perpetuation in what we have built thus far1 then our people must turn to brotherly love1 not as a doctrine but as a way of living4 ,if this becomes our accepted way of life1 this life may be so well worth living that we will look into the future with a desire to perpetuate a peaceful world for our children4 ,with this desire will come a realization that only if others feel as we do1 can we obtain the objectives of peace on earth1 good will to men4 ,,the ,,end ,transcriber's ,note ,this book contained no real illustrations4 ,there were some simple decorations1 and they appear in the ,,html version of this e,book4