Fifth Session.

Friday Morning, June 1, 1906.

The Conference met at 10 o'clock.

THE CHAIRMAN: There is present with us a gentleman who is to leave before our adjournment, and who could not leave with our consent without being heard from. We are to hear from RIGHT REVEREND WILLIAM N. McVICKAR, Bishop of Rhode Island.

THE TRUE CONCEPTION OF PEACE.

ADDRESS OF BISHOP WILLIAM N. MC VICKAR.

I am glad indeed of a chance to say even a few words in such a cause as this, and perhaps at the very beginning I am bound to make a confession. I am a convert, a neophite, I might say. I think in the past things have been misunderstood; certainly I have misunderstood them. I think that grand old word "Peace" has been misused. We have been obliged to re-mint that word, to redeem it from its associations and misunderstandings. Peace, as I once thought of it, seemed associated with a condition of weakness and inferiority; of course, the weak cause or the weak person or the weak nation cries out for peace. Since then I have learned better, I have learned that the grandest cry for peace, in its right understanding, comes from the strongest and the best. Then another thing in which we have made a mistake is in holding that peace is a primary thing, to be wished for, or to be attained. Peace is a fruit, a result. "The wisdom which is from above is first pure, then peaceable." "the fruit of righteousness is peace," and peace which is not a fruit of righteousness is a false peace at best, founded on the sands. We have attained to a great deal in the years that have gone by, and although patience is called for in the years to come we must not be discouraged. Just think for a moment what it means to eradicate one of the primitive instincts of human nature, that of retaliation, revenge, and in its place to introduce that spirit of mutual consideration and self-restraint which alone makes for peace and which will find its complete realization only and at last in that glorious City which St. John saw descending out of Heaven, paved with gold, and gated with pearl, and when you think of the long distance between that scene and the one in which primitive man, ranging the forest, makes might right, and depreda

194

tion the rule, surely we may well take courage for what has been already accomplished. I remember speaking one day to the principal of our Hampton School, and I asked him whether they ever had trouble between the races there or among the Indians themselves. "No," he said. "Once in a while there is a little disturbance, but it does not amount to anything." One day, for instance, an Indian spoke disparagingly of the tribe to which another belonged. In a moment they were ready for a fight; their coats were off and their fists were doubled up, but before a blow was struck they stopped. "No," said one of them, "the time for that is passed-that belongs to the old condition," and they were brothers again in a moment with their hands clasped in friendship. We have got a great deal yet to do to bring about that new time for the nations, but it is coming; coming just as surely as the better age is to dawn when the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and these Conferences are doing a great work in that direction. If we could only get together near enough and often enough, if this Conference could only be the type and sample of the conferences of the nations themselves, we should soon find heart speaking to heart, with God o'erhead, and peace would be the result.

Let me tell you a story, which may be familiar to some of you. At some convention, it may have been a convention of the Young Men's Christian Association, they were singing that familiar hymn, "Jesus, Lover of My Soul, Let Me to Thy Bosom Fly," when one of the singers was strangely moved by the voice of another man near him. He had heard that voice before singing that same hymn, but under how different circumstances! In a few moments when the singing was over, he approached his neighbor and said, "Tell me, do you remember once singing that hymn alone under trying conditions years ago?" "Indeed, I do," he answered, "it was one night, when I was on sentinel duty in the Civil war. The lines were close together, and we had been bidden to keep close watch on each other; as I tramped to and fro, a sense of loneliness and of personal danger. such as I have never felt before or since, came over me, and then my feelings found vent in the words of that dear old hymn, sung very softly, almost to myself." "Not so softly

but that I heard them," cried the other as he grasped his hand, "I was on sentry duty too on the other side just opposite you. I saw you and had raised my rifle to shoot, as you reached the words, "Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing." My rifle dropped from my shoulder; I could not shoot a brother with that prayer on his lips.-for you were a brother although in the ranks of the enemy. My friends, let us only get nearer to one another, as men and as nations, and under that sense of God which is universal, and a growing sense of

human brotherhood, we shall find ourselves unable to shoot, and the great "Peace of God" shall at last settle down upon the world. May God hasten the day. (Applause.)

THE CHAIRMAN: The next thing in order is a report from the special Committee on the work among colleges and universities, which will be presented by the Chairman of that Committee, DR. DANIEL C. GILMAN, of Baltimore.

REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON WORK AMONG COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

DR. DANIEL C. GILMAN.

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I come forward simply for the purpose of presenting a report from the Committee appointed here one year ago. One of the speakers at that time. made the suggestion that for the permanent success of the movement in which we are interested it was desirable that the young men and women in our colleges and universities should be encouraged to study and discuss international arbitration. The Committee appointed included two former members of the Hague Conference, Hon. Andrew D. White and Hon. Seth Low, also President Angell, of the University of Michigan, who has twice. represented us in foreign capitals, President Wheeler of the University of California, President Alderman of the University of Virginia, President Seelye of Smith College and myself. The Committee was requested to issue an address to the colleges and universities of the country, asking their co-operation in the discussion and diffusion of these ideas. The work of correspondence has been carried on almost exclusively by Mr. Phillips, of Lake Mohonk, the permanent secretary of the Conference, who has also been the special secretary of our Committee. He has received a very large number of replies which make a most interesting collection, and he has given me a synopsis which tells pretty nearly all that needs to be communicated at this time. The circular address was widely distributed and a large number of colleges and universities responded. One hundred and fifteen (115) institutions, or nearly a third of the entire number enrolled, took favorable action. Thirty-six (36) arranged for public meetings, sixteen (16) planned students' debates and oratorical contests, fifty-four (54) brought the subject forward in lectures before the students, special student meetings and in various other ways, and six (6) maintained standing prizes for the best essays or papers on the subject. Many institutions took steps to secure the permanence of the movement within their respective student bodies.

Among the colleges taking advanced ground were Columbia

University, Brown University, the Universities of California, Colorado, Minnesota, Kentucky, Idaho, and Wyoming, the State Universities of Iowa and Nevada, the State College of Washington, Leland Stanford Jr. University, Earlham College and Vassar College.

The movement was restricted by the action of the Conference last year to colleges and universities; no attempt was made at that time, or in this connection, to reach the public or high schools; important as that may be, it was considered wise at first to concentrate attention on the institutions I have named.

There are on file a very large number of interesting letters. One of them I will bring forward. It is from President Wheeler of the University of California, and says in part:

"We had over twelve hundred people present at our meeting at Berkeley. Altogether it seems to me that we have inaugurated now the usage with sufficient force to give it reasonable assurance of continuance in future years. If I were to suggest any amendment to our own programme for next year, the amendment would take the direction of more student participation, that is, I should incline to give the meeting over to the students, placing it under the direction of the president of our undergraduate associate students. It seems to me likely that this would assure the institution its permanency."

That, as I have just reminded you, was the very thing recommended in our action of last year, that this should not be imposed upon the students, but developed among them. It is far better that spontaneous action should be taken, rather than they should be requested to follow any prescribed regulation.

Of the specific accounts of the various meetings held, I will ask leave to print two: One of the gathering at the University of California, and one of the meeting held by Columbia University. There are many others almost equally interesting had we space for them. The report of the former meeting is as follows:

"A meeting at the University of California was held on the afternoon of Washington's birthday, in the Greek Theatre. An enthusiastic audience was addressed by Professor Bernard Moses, head of the Department of History and Political Science of the University, and by Dean George Hodges of the Episcopal Theological School of Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to the two principal speakers, short addresses were made by representatives of the two debating societies of the University. The addresses were followed by a patriotic concert by the University of California Cadet Band. The clergy of San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley announced this meeting from their pulpits the preceding Sunday and also co-operated in making the meeting a success by their presence."

The meeting at Columbia University is thus described:

"In pursuance of a plan suggested at the Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration last June, a meeting was held on Wednesday, February 21st, to perfect an organization of undergraduates for the purpose of creating public sentiment in favor of International Arbitra

tion. Professor John Bassett Moore, formerly acting Secretary of State, presided at the meeting, and introduced the two invited speakers, Dr. Lyman Abbott and the Hon. Oscar S. Straus '71, a member of the Hague Tribunal. They were followed by R. W. Macbeth 1906, Chairman of the Board of Student Representatives, who introduced a motion of thanks to Dr. Abbott and Mr. Straus which was passed by acclamation. He also proposed a resolution to the effect that a committee of undergraduates be appointed to forward the movement at Columbia. This resolution was passed in the form of a motion.

"Acting on the motion, Professor Moore appointed the following committee: W. G. Palmer 1907, Chairman, J. B. Spencer 1907 S., J. W. Brodix 1907, E. V. Kehrlein 1907, and W. G. Bradley 1908.

"Wednesday's meeting here is the first of a number which are to be held following the recommendations of the above committee. It was held under the supervision of the Board of Student Representatives."

Therefore, Mr. Chairman, the Committee report progress, and should the Conference choose to continue the same Committee, I have no doubt they will be willing to serve. (Applause.)

THE CHAIRMAN: REV. DR. W. H. P. FAUNCE, President of Brown University, has been asked to contribute to this discussion.

THE MODERN COLLEGE SPIRIT AS A POWER FOR INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION.

ADDRESS OF REV. WILLIAM H. P. FAUNCE, D.D.

Mr. Chairman: I am very happy to follow Dr. Gilman, both because all of us who are engaged in educational work have been following him afar off for the last twenty-five years, and because I profoundly believe in the truth of what he has been saying, and the ripeness of the field which he has described. There are some reasons why this work among college men should be especially and speedily fruitful. College men (and what I say applies equally to college women) are naturally receptive and hospitable to new ideas, especially when those ideas are large ones. They delight in a vision. In dealing with them we are not contending with a mass of acquired prejudice, with great vested interests, with political hopes and fears. We are dealing with natural idealists, who believe in tomorrow, who are facing the sunrise, and who, when they see a vision, are swift and energetic in translating it into action. Looking down on five hundred young men every morning at chapel, is like looking down on so many steam engines, standing on the track with the steam up. There is no trouble about getting them to go, especially in the sophomore year; but the trouble is to get them to go on the right rails, and move off in the right direction. There is a description of old age in the book of Ecclesiastes which is very pathetic: "They shall be afraid of that which is high." When