r the war. It can, however, with good reason
be upheld that there is in this a fault against
logic which would have to be paid dearly by them
as well as by the neutral world. Both base a
number of their demands on the necessity of
protecting themselves against renewed onslaughts
by their opponents. Now such protection might be a
necessary thing under the present state of an
International Law which has been outraged and
partly been made inane by themselves and has
partly turned out not to meet the conditions of
modern warfare as they result from the modern
weapons of destruction. But it would be made
unnecessary or its requirements be greatly reduced
if the League of the Nations, such as is in
principle accepted by them, did already exist or
had its rules and regulations already laid down in
detail. Is it reasonable to allow this
contradiction to cause now innumerable deaths and
mutilations of human beings and unbounded
destruction of material wealth instead of seeking
means to dissolve it as early as possible? Ought
not all our wits be exerted to find this earlier
solution?

There are within the means of the neutrals, if
acting together, two ways to bring the war to an
earlier end than that to be expected from the free
decision of the belligerents. The one is to drop
all considerations of neutrality such as at
present regarded and, without directly supporting
the one section to the detriment of the other,
withdraw from both of them all supplies in food,
raw material, half and wholly manufactured goods,
not minding which section would by this be more
damaged than its opponents. In fact, it would most
likely be a decidedly unneutral measure against
the one section which now benefits more than the
other by these supplies, and because of this and
from other reasons there is little probability
that it would find general acceptance. The other
way is to reduce the justification of the
continuation of the war by minimising the objects
for which it is led in the belief of the great
masses of the people engaged as much as in the
eyes of the outside world.

Both belligerents, to say it again, put in the
first line of their requirements security against
renewed attacks, protection against