t because they are children, that they have one Father in
Heaven, and that they shall send their prayers to Him. But even if they
send their prayers in different directions, they will arrive at the same
place. All prayers, whenever and wherever sent, go always the same way.
Let the children from the northern ice and from the tropical heat carry
on a correspondence. Millions of letters are written and sent every day,
which mean nonsense and evil. The post communication will justify itself
much more by bearing the children's mail, with truth and love, than by
bearing perfidious diplomatic notes or letters which mean nonsense and
evil. One of the unforgettable events in Serbia during this war happened
in 1914 on Christmas Day, when an American ship arrived and brought
gifts and letters from the children of America to the children of
Serbia. This wonderful mail produced the greatest imaginable excitement
among the Serbian children. They were busy, very busy for some weeks,
reading the friendly letters from so far, and answering them. I am sure
they will forget many sad events of the war, but they never can forget
this wonderful and surprising mail, which made for peace more than any
of the costly commissions for the investigation of war cruelties, or any
of Carnegie's empty, although wonderful, luxurious halls of peace.
Let the children, the representatives of all the countries in the world,
come to The Hague to hold the International Peace Congress. The
programme of this Congress should be: Singing, playing, dancing, smiling
and praying. They will meet as friends and speak every one in his native
language, and they will understand each other very well as friends
always understand each other. This Children's Hague Conference will
promote the world peace more than The Hague Conference composed of
enemies, mutually annoying themselves by obligatory politeness and bad
French.
But, you will ask, who is going to arrange and execute all this? The
International Board of Education.
But, you will say, it will be very expensive? Yes, but, supposing it
will be as expensive as the war, for which of the two do you prefer to
give money--for such a salvatory experiment or for the war? Yet, I am
sure of one thing, it will cost less than a war.
THE INTERNATIONAL CONTROL OF EDUCATION.
If you do not watch the education of a country all other international
precautions for peace and mutual understanding will be wholly illusory.
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