of Arbitration at The Hague which
resulted from the first conference was a notable achievement, although
the Court has accomplished less than its advocates hoped. This was the
most important occasion on which American delegates had sat together
with European diplomats in a general conference. Our delegation was
the object of considerable interest and was not without influence in
shaping the provisions of the final treaty. It was through the
personal influence of Andrew D. White that the Emperor of Germany was
persuaded to permit his delegation to take part in the proceedings
establishing the Court of Arbitration.

The second Hague Conference revised the Convention for the Pacific
Settlement of International Disputes, drew up a plan for an
International Prize Court, and attempted a codification of the rules of
international law on a number of subjects relating to the conduct of
war and the rights of neutrals. The American delegates, headed by Mr.
Choate, not only took a prominent part in these proceedings, but,
acting under instructions from Secretary Root, they proposed to the
Conference the creation of a permanent international court of justice.
The creation of an international court of justice whose decisions would
have the force of law, as distinguished from an international court of
arbitration whose decisions are usually arrived at by a compromise of
conflicting legal or political points of view, had long been advocated
by advanced thinkers, but the proposition had always been held by
practical statesmen to be purely academic. The serious advocacy of the
proposition at this time by a great nation like the United States and
the able arguments advanced by Mr. Choate marked an important step
forward and made a profound impression. There were two difficulties in
the way of establishing such a court at the second Hague Conference.
In the first place, the delegation of the United States was the only
one which had instructions on this subject, and in the second place it
was found to be impossible to agree upon a method of selecting the
judges. The great world powers, with the exception of the United
States, demanded permanent representation on the court. The smaller
nations, relying on the doctrine of the equality of states, demanded
likewise to be represented. If each nation could have been given the
right to appoint a judge, the court could have been organized, but
there would have been forty-four judges instea