The outstanding characteristic of modern civilization is the ever increasing use of the intensive scientific method; while the most striking single feature of the present war is the universal vagueness as to the issues involved and the amateurish nature of discussion as to the means of settlement.

The conference to be held at Cornell during the second and third weeks of June, details of which are printed on another page, offers an exceptional opportunity for the scientific study of international affairs. Those attending the conference should start with no presuppositions other than a sincere desire to discover the true causes for the present war and the means of averting similar conflicts in the future. Working on these premises, under the leadership of such sound thinkers as have, agreed to attend the meetings, some progress at least should be made toward the discovery of means for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Of hardly secondary importance to agreement upon the form which the promotion of international justice and world organization should take, is the necessity for educating public opinion at large in a truer understanding of the basis of international relationship. The discussion of effective methods and tactics for creating and spreading this public opinion should be one of the most important benefits of the conference.

Every man who goes to Cornell in June will not only gain a deep insight into the real nature of the international problem, but also, just to the extent that he has gained such knowledge and has been prepared to impart it to others, will he have contributed to that problem's solution. He will have made a constructive contribution towards peace which no number of weeks of military training in a summer camp can duplicate.