Determining the fate of the surrendered German and Austrian fleets is one of the first practical questions to be decided by the Allies. To destroy them will be the same as admitting the impossibility of adjusting international affairs amicably. To distribute them according to the will of an international committee will give a proof to the world that a new friendly spirit exists between nations.

Certainly there can be small hope for peace in the future if the Allies of today, fresh from fighting side by side amidst the most cordial relations, fall out over an affair of so comparatively little magnitude. If the Great Powers become disaffected now for such a reason, what will happen in fifty years, when vital economic interests may be at stake?

One of the chief arguments in favor of the destruction of the ships is that their distribution would increase taxation. We fall to see how this is true. Taxes would be needed only for the upkeep of the ships, a negligible amount in comparison to those required for building and maintaining new ones. And even admitting that the League of Nations will be adopted, each country must keep increasing its naval armament until the "Executive Council shall formulate plans for effecting . . . . . reduction." Most people will agree that the proposed reduction is intended to be gradual, caused by discontinuing to build more ships rather than by destroying ones already built.

No one knows exactly what to do with the German colonies. But that doesn't mean that they are to be laid waste so that no one will profit by them. They must be distributed or placed under international control. The same principle applies to the disposition of the German and Austrian warships. Destroying valuable property because of its potential ability to create ill feeling is nothing else than a cowardly action.