THE LOCARNO PACT .sx THE signing of the famous Peace Pact was celebrated on Oct .sx 16th in the Hall at Locarno , the address being given by Senator Dr. Mellin , the French Vice-President , and followed by a banquet , in honour of the guests , at the Hotel Metropole .sx The Grand Piazza and public and private buildings were splendidly illuminated in the evening and the Town Band played in front of the hotel .sx In the schools the significance of the day was explained to the children who , with their teachers , visited the hall , opened free all day to the populace .sx The whole town was beflagged and glorious weather crowned the festival .sx As it had done five years ago , the word " Pax " streamed down in the evening from the Madonna del Suzzo , the beautiful basilica on the mountain above Locarno .sx CLEARING THE WAY .sx Lord Cecil , the best qualified of all possible critics , says of the late assembly of the League of Nations :sx " I do not at all share the pessimistic views of some who were not present ; " and with respect to the Disarmament prospects , he says :sx " I am very pleased with what happened about that .sx " Alluding to the strong feeling in France against it , not so much amongst the people as the bureaucracy , there was an absolutely universal view that we must trust that the Preparatory Commission be concluded at the next session .sx The Germans were a little sore because we did not fix a date for the conference ; but I think we did right , for people ignore the immense amount of work to be done after the conclusion of the Preparatory Commission before a successful holding of the Conference .sx There must be something like agreement on the general lines .sx of procedure before it can be summoned .sx There has been a certain revival of nationalistic militarism in the world , and of the old cry that there can be no disarmament without security first .sx Mr. Henderson's declaration makes our point clear .sx If disarmament is agreed upon we shall be glad to go as as far as we can towards security ; but not till disarmament is agreed upon .sx Again a complex proposal respecting the working of the Secretariat was adopted ; a competent Secretariat is essential .sx PEACE MOVEMENT IN THE BALKANS .sx FOR many long years the Balkans have been looked upon as the storm centre of Europe and it was there that the match was applied to Europe's accumulated war preparations that started the Great War in 1914 .sx But the International Bureau at Geneva took a bold step forward in calling a Peace Congress together to meet at Athens last October , when delegates from the six Balkan States , including Turkey , met ; viz .sx : 10 from Albania , 6 from Turkey , 7 from Jugo Slavia , 11 from Bulgaria and 40 from Roumania , and a large number of Greek delegates were in attendance ; the late Minister , President A. M. Papanstastasion , occupying the chair .sx The Congress was unofficial , though the governments did their part in the making up of the delegations ; and the flag which floated over the conference building was that of the new union .sx The purpose was to form a union of the Balkan States which would safeguard peace in the States where the people have for many years , as the chairman said , longed for peace , which would afford a large market for their produce .sx M. Briand's ideal of a United States of Europe contemplated a Balkan Locarno , a Balkan Pact , a Balkan Bank and currency , with-out detracting from the Sovereignty of any state ; proposing an annual congress which might develop into a Balkan Parliament .sx The Congress seems to have closed with a manifestation of complete solidarity , a proposal for a Postal Union and the draft of a constitution for a Balkan Union unanimously accepted ; and the closing session , held in the Amphitheatre of Delphi , issued a statement , including the following :sx " 'We are convinced that union alone can better our condition .sx We have .sx shaken hands and promised one another our support .sx We appeal to you all Albanian , Bulgarian , Greek , Roumanian , Turk , Jugoslavian , to follow our example ; our design is to be really free to gain the respect of the world and to better our lot .sx " THE WAR RESISTERS' INTERNATIONAL .sx THIS movement declares that War is a crime against humanity ; we , therefore , are determined not to support any kind of war , and to strive for the removal of all causes of war .sx As an example of its activity we quote , from the Winter's No .sx of the War Resister , the following items :sx The Annual Congress of the Bulgarian Vegetarian Society was held recently at Rusa .sx Practically all its members accept our Declaration and principles .sx Our friends , founders of the Bulgarian Women's Peace Society , spoke on " The Ways to Peace .sx " Eugen Belgis , our Roumanian representative , was present by special invitation , and afterwards visited Sofia , where he met our whole group .sx Dorothy Woodman , England , of the Women's International League , in connection with their Summer school , also addressed a large public meeting in Sofia .sx Our Bulgarian comrades , in their weekly paper Svoboda , publish anti-militarist articles , of course in Bulgarian .sx The popular journal Misal ( thought ) , reprints many of the replies to Eugen Belgis's inquiries as to an International Pacifist and has initialed correspondence with scientists and well known writers concerning war and its abolition .sx BEYOND EXPECTATION .sx DURING the past thirty years it has been my privilege to make the acquaintance of a number of distinguished personages .sx In all cases I have preached the gospel of international Christian Peace , sometimes provoking lively discussion and keen controversy .sx General Ricciotti Garibaldi laughed hilariously at the idea of a warless world !sx On the other hand , the Emperor William II .sx talked international Peace with all the zeal of a devout Christian !sx In the Spring of 1903 , calling one afternoon on Princess .sx Eulalia of Spain , I mentioned , incidently , that I was going to spend some days in Berlin .sx At that the Princess remarked :sx " Then of course you will see William ?sx " I could hardly believe that she meant the Emperor , and enquired what William .sx .. When I fully realised her meaning I objected that , for an audience with the Emperor , it would be necessary for me to be formerly presented by the British Ambassador , and that was impossible as I was unknown to that diplomat .sx " Not at all , " replied the Princess ; " William has read your books which I have sent him , and he has written to me ex-pressing his pleasure with them and saying that he would like to see you .sx Look .sx .. " and she produced a letter , in English , in the Emperor's autograph , in which I read :sx " If your English friend , Mr. Delisle , should ever come to Berlin I would like to see him .sx " I handed back the letter to Princess Eulalia , who immediately wrote a note of introduction of my-self to the Emperor , enveloped it , and handed it to me with the advice that , on my arrival in Berlin , I should write to the Imperial Chamberlain enclosing her note and asking for an appointment with His Majesty .sx This I did , and all the rest was easy .sx On arrival at the Palace I presented the Imperial Chamberlain's letter of appointment and very soon found my-self in the presence of the man who was later to be accused ( unjustly ) of all the responsibility in connection with the Great War .sx The Emperor said , in effect :sx " When I came to the throne I resolved that my aim should , above all things , be the maintenance of peace .sx History will , I hope , do me the justice to admit that I have pursued this aim unswervingly until now .sx To seek peace and ensue it is one of the chief duties of every man calling himself a Christian .sx I may say without exaggeration that my people's views and wishes correspond with my own in this respect .sx It is only by the nation's mutual trust in one another that commerce can develop and industry prosper .sx " He spoke with evident sincerity ; I am sure that no other reasonable man in nay place could have doubted him .sx If , however , he believed that the best way to preserve peace was to be prepared for war , he sinned in common with his fellow-rulers .sx For a year or two before the outbreak of hostilities nearly all the European nations were holding pistols at each other's heads , and when such a state of things prevails an ex-plosion is bound to occur .sx Consequently it is nonsense to say that either the German Emperor or the German people were responsible for the War .sx The responsibility for the Peace may be even a graver matter that the responsibility for the .sx War .sx The conditions set forth in that instrument , or rather instruments , are absolutely untenable , as should be quite plain to every intelligent man who will open his eyes to see facts .sx Another general upheavel in Europe is imminent unless steps are immediately taken to revise the Peace Treaties .sx It is futile to blame this nation or that ; when peoples are struggling vainly amidst parlous economic conditions as witness the enormous figures of the unemployed in Germany , Austria , Hungary , and other Continental countries they may in sheer desperation be expected to act in defiance of all laws human and divine .sx Another royal worker in the cause of Christian peace is Prince Maximilian of Saxony .sx He was a Pacifist long before the Great War so that it cannot be said that his conversion was influenced in any way by Germany's debacle .sx Some time ago , on sending him a copy of some verses of mine , he acknowledged them by a letter entirely in verse 15 stanzas in German .sx These I have put into English verse , preserving the original metre .sx They may one day appear in P. & G. when the Editress can find space for them .sx One afternoon a short time ago , my friend , Baron de Montagnac , dropped in to tea .sx He is a very interesting young gentleman .sx He is , of course , a Roman Catholic , but a very enlightened one .sx His long , thin nose indicates the type of man that ( as the Americans say ) always " gets there .sx " Formerly an officer of the Noble Guards under the pontificate of Pius X. , he has an amiable weakness ( if one may call it so ) for waiting upon the ecclesiastical dignitary in whatever town he may happen to visit .sx He has just returned from a prolonged tour in Spain .sx At Valladolid he , according to his wont , entered the archiepiscopal palace and , handing in his card , announced his desire to pay his respects to His Eminence .sx Presently the card was returned by the hand of the secretary with the verbal message to the effect that " His Eminence makes it a rule never to receive a stranger unless formally presented .sx " The Baron took back his card , wrote upon it these words :sx " Jesus Christ said , Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out ; and , The disciple is not greater than his Master nor the servant than his Lord .sx Will not Your Eminence reconsider your decision ?sx " and requested the secretary to " try again .sx " After a little delay the secretary reappeared with the invitation :sx " Follow me , Senor !sx " Thus the Baron's pertinacity was rewarded by an interesting conversation with the Cardinal Archbishop .sx On my showing the Baron a copy of the tract " Utrum Vultis Christem an Martem ?sx " he asked me if I could spare him more copies , which he would send , enclosing his card , to all the ecclesiastical dignitaries of his acquaintance .sx I enquired how many he could use .sx He suggested one hundred .sx I warned him that the consequences of his intended action might be serious for him , and offered him fifty , saying :sx " Take these , and if you survive with your zeal undiminished I will gladly give you fifty more for a similar purpose .sx A curious thing has just come to my notice .sx A few years ago , having read in some newspaper that the University authorities of Louvain proposed to place on the wall of the restored University Library a marble tablet , bearing the inscription :sx " Deruit par la fureur germanique ; rebatie par la generosite americaine " ( Destroyed by German fury ; re-built by American generosity) .sx