p. 6 | Note and Comment

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 17, 1908

Note and Comment

Universal Disarmament

WHILE the British government was giving a banquet to the peace-congress delegates on July 31, the British prime minister Mr. Asquith, took occasion to express his opinion in reference to universal disarmament. He cordially welcomed the delegates, and approved their ideals, but declared that he “could not indulge in the hope that the youngest person now alive would witness the advent of the day of universal disarmament.” He was not impressed with the idea that the completeness of the preparations for war would serve to prevent nations from declaring war upon each other. He stated that the principal nations were now spending two and one-half billion dollars annually for war preparations, and that they did not purchase these things “for ornament. They were intended for use, and some day they would be let loose upon the world.” The British secretary of war stated, at the same banquet, that “these were not the days when any nation could prudently lessen its national defenses.” These men, who are constantly in touch with the feelings and purposes of nations, are better able to speak with certainty concerning the prospects for universal peace than are those who are giving the cry of peace and safety, which is, in itself, a sign of the perils of the last days.