the convention provide
for the maintenance of general peace, the exercise of good offices and
mediation, the formation of commissions of inquiry, and international
arbitration.

The mediation provided for by the convention is purely voluntary and
advisory, and is intended to avoid any invasion or limitation of the
sovereign rights of the adhering States. The commissions of inquiry
proposed consists of delegations to be specifically constituted for
particular purposes by means of conventions between the contesting
parties, having for their object the clear understanding of
international differences before resorting to the use of force.
The provision for arbitration contemplates the formation of a permanent
tribunal before which disputed cases may be brought for settlement
by the mutual consent of the litigants in each separate case. The
advantages of such a permanent tribunal over impromptu commissions of
arbitration are conceived to be the actual existence of a competent
court, prepared to administer justice, the greater economy resulting
from a well-devised system, and the accumulated judicial skill and
experience which such a tribunal would soon possess.

While earnestly promoting the idea of establishing a permanent
international tribunal, the delegation of the United States was not
unmindful of the inconveniences which might arise from an obtrusive
exercise of mediation, and in signing the convention carefully guarded
the historic position of the United States by the following declaration:

Nothing contained in this convention shall be so construed as to require
the United States of America to depart from its traditional policy of
not intruding upon, interfering with, or entangling itself in the
political questions or policy or internal administration of any foreign
state; nor shall anything contained in the said convention be construed
to imply a relinquishment by the United States of America of its
traditional attitude toward purely American questions.

Thus interpreted, the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of
International Conflicts may be regarded as realizing the earnest desire
of great numbers of American citizens, whose deep sense of justice,
expressed in numerous resolutions and memorials, has urged them to labor
for this noble achievement. The general character of this convention,
already signed by the delegates of more than twenty sovereign States,
further commends it to the favor