The corporation is constituted for the purpose of educating the people of all nations to a full knowledge of the waste and destructiveness of war, its evil effects on present social conditions and on the well-being of future generations, and to promote international justice and the brotherhood of man; and, generally, by every practical means to promote peace and good will among all mankind.-By-laws of the Corporation. It is to this patient and thorough work of education, through the school, the college, the church, the press, the pamphlet and the book, that the World Peace Foundation addresses itself.-Edwin Ginn. The idea of force cannot at once be eradicated. It is useless to believe that the nations can be persuaded to disband their present armies and dismantle their present navies, trusting in each other or in the Hague Tribunal to settle any possible differences between them, unless, first, some substitute for the existing forces is provided and demonstrated by experience to be adequate to protect the rights, dignity and territory of the respective nations. My own belief is that the idea which underlies the movement for the Hague Court can be developed so that the nations can be persuaded each to contribute a small percentage of their military forces at sea and on land to form an International Guard or Police Force.Edwin Ginn. *Incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts, July 12, 1910, as the International School of Peace. Name changed to World Peace Foundation, December 22, 1910. A LEAGUE OF NATIONS PUBLISHED BIMONTHLY BY WORLD PEACE FOUNDATION 40 MT. VERNON STREET, BOSTON, MASS. The subscription price is 25c. per year in advance, or $1.00 for five years. 'General Secretary, EDWARD CUMMINGS. Corresponding Secretary, and Librarian, DENYS P. MYERS. "I need scarcely remind you of the urgency of the work of labor amelioration, for it is known to all that new thoughts are surging up among us and about us and that the world as a result is in a ferment. Nor need I dwell on its importance, an importance second only to the prevention of war, to which we have already given our hand and seal. Our scheme will, we think, give strength to the League of Nations by enabling it to take root in the daily life of peoples. It will, we believe, give hope and health to those whose lives are scarred by toil and sorrow, and on behalf of the Commission I commend it to your favorable consideration."-GEORGE NICOLL BARNES, reporter of the Commission on Labor Legislation to the Plenary Session of the Peace Conference, April 11, 1919. LABOR IN THE TREATY OF PEACE I. BEFORE THE WAR. On May 10, 1881, the Swiss Government in an instruction to its diplomatic agents at Berlin, Vienna, Brussels, London and Rome directed them to inquire whether the Governments were disposed to enter upon negotiations for the legal protection of labor. The invitation was not then cordially received, but the passage of the German insurance laws of 1884 shortly after aroused general interest in welfare legislation. March 15, 1889, Switzerland renewed the suggestion; and this time, with German interest in the matter still further stimulated by a strike in the Ruhr district, better success was attained. The Governments of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden and Norway were approached. Great Britain and Italy reserved; Russia refused; Germany, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, and Norway did not reply; the others accepted. February 5, 1890, a formal invitation was issued by Switzerland to an international conference to be held at Berlin, March 15-29, 1890. Simultaneously two rescripts of the German Emperor appeared referring to the arrangements. All the states originally invited by Switzerland, with the exception of Russia, were represented at the conference, which, however, resulted only in the formulation of a series of opinions. Seven years later an international conference on labor legislation was held under private auspices at Zurich. The session of August 23-28, 1897, was followed by one at Brussels, September 27-30. A third private gathering was assembled at Paris, July 25-28, 1900, and at that time the International Association for Labor Legislation was organized. Chiefly under the direction of Stephan Bauer, it has for two decades been an important factor in the international labor situation. The association met in the month of September at Basel in 1901, at Cologne in 1902 and at Basel in 1904. |