LII
FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR 1897
From my collections of letters · Signing of the Anglo-American arbitration treaty · The ratification fails by three votes · Insurrection in Crete · The concert of the powers · Outbreak of the Turko-Grecian War · Extracts from diary · The letter “to all good men” from Fortress Montjuich · Letter from Prince Scipione Borghese · Our literary labors · My audience with Emperor Franz Joseph I · Text of the petition submitted
Here let a few specimens from my collections of letters be reproduced. Some weeks before the annual meeting of my Union, which took place early in January, 1897, I applied to various personages, asking for communications to be read; and I received numerous replies, among them the following:
Political Department of the Swiss Confederation, Bern
December 10, 1896
My dear Madam:
Your letter of the fifth instant was duly received, and I thank you most sincerely for the congratulations therein conveyed from the Austrian Society of the Friends of Peace to the Swiss government.
The Parliament indeed follows with genuine interest the philanthropic endeavors to spare the civilized world the horrors of war, and it joins with great sympathy in the demonstrations that aim to make nations comprehend the priceless advantage of peace.
In expressing to you the best wishes for the complete success of your general assembly, permit me, my dear Madam, once more to thank you heartily and to assure you of my distinguished consideration.
The President of the Swiss Confederation
Lachenal
Secretary’s Office
Bern, December 9, 1896
Honored Colleague:
Every isolated effort of the friends of peace resembles those tiny globules of mist, the condensation of which will afterwards form the rain for which the caravan is yearning. These particles are not noticeable; no one heeds them, and when the cooling rain is falling the atoms that so patiently worked to constitute it are no longer remembered.
“Who cares for that,” say our faithful prophets, “if only it rains?”
For more than five years the Austrian Society of the Friends of Peace has been resolutely pushing forward, and its efficacy has been gaining in breadth without losing anything in depth. It will have a significant share in the final success of our united effort, and it desires, just as we all do, nothing else than that the law of international peace may some day appear as much a matter of course and as self-originated as the law of gravity and the light of the sun.
In those happy days the peace unions and peace bureaus will exist only as mere traces in the recollection of a few archivists, who will have made the discovery that there were, in that strange epoch of cannons, anti-cannon endeavors also.
Accept for yourself, honored colleague, and for your worthy fellow-workers, the assurance of my perfect consideration and high attachment.
Honorary Secretary of the International Peace Bureau
Brussels, Chamber of Representatives
Office of the President, October 13, 1896
My dear Baroness:
I was absent from Brussels when your letter of the fourth arrived, and I reached home too late to be able to send in season the lines desired for the meeting.
It is now certain that Brussels will have the sequel of Budapest in the course of the coming summer. I hope that on this occasion we shall have the honor of seeing you again. This would greatly delight Madame Beernaert as well as myself.
Accept, etc.
Beernaert
... King Humbert told me that he had heard with great pleasure the fine results of the Peace Congress in Budapest. “I am for peace,” said his Majesty; “Italy needs peace, and you see that now a more friendly understanding with France is coming about.”
My best greetings to all of the old fellow-combatants
S. Türr
At that time somewhat strained relations existed between France and England. I had learned that Gladstone’s friend, our proved fellow-worker Philip Stanhope, was introducing an act which had for its object the improvement of the relations between the two countries. I wrote him asking for detailed information and received the following reply:
Algiers, December 11, 1896
Dear Frau von Suttner:
I am unfortunate in always being away from home when you do me the honor of writing me, and so it happens that your letter of November 23 reached me only day before yesterday.
It is correct that I am among those who are at the present time working for a combination to improve the relations between France and England. You, who follow with such keen attention the development of public opinion, are in a position to appreciate the dangerous tendency in those relations which has recently developed, especially in a portion of the press. These influences are difficult to resist, and the work required will demand much time and energy. The combination[19] of which you have heard is as yet only sketched in very indefinite outlines; but on the reassembling of Parliament on the twentieth of January we hope to make some progress, and I will send you accurate details.
As regards the Venezuelan affair, the treaty in settlement of it has been definitely concluded between England and the United States; and we are just in receipt of the news that it has been accepted by the government of Venezuela. So this question is in a fair way to be settled by arbitration; and as regards that far greater question, namely, the conclusion of a general and permanent treaty between the two powers, President Cleveland in his message to Congress of December 7 announces that the negotiations touching it are on the point of coming to a favorable and definite conclusion.
So as soon as I reach London for the opening of Parliament, I hope to be in a position to send you a fuller résumé of this question,—which we may expect will then be definitely decided,—together with all the details that you may desire.
Accept, etc.
Philip Stanhope
The contents of these letters have a historical interest, as they show how leading men in influential positions were all the time working to bring the postulates of the peace movement to validity. On the other hand, these varied and occasional fragments from my extensive store of letters have also a biographical interest, for they mirror the course of development of that cause which ever more and more was becoming my vocation, my very life, my “one important thing”! And I was enabled to find therein such profound contentment for the reason that I knew I was in harmony with so many and such a rapidly increasing number of noble contemporaries, and especially in complete unanimity of soul with an endlessly beloved and loving life companion. Every inward experience and every outward event aroused in us both the same feelings. And therewithal was that full consciousness of peace, that absolute sense of security against all that might happen, which we feel when we know that there is a heart in whose fidelity we may have absolute confidence, a breast in which we may find a refuge from all the bitterness of fate—in a word, the boundless happiness of unconditional unity of love.
On the eleventh of January, 1897, the permanent arbitration treaty, which had been so long in preparation, between England and the United States was signed by Ambassador Sir Julian Pauncefote and Secretary of State Olney. President Cleveland designated the event as the beginning of a new era of civilization. The golden pen with which the treaty was signed was deposited in the National Museum. Queen Victoria said in her address from the throne that she hoped the example would be imitated in other countries. In the daily press and among the general public the news attracted no attention whatever.
It is true this first attempt did not come to fruition. The treaty had to be ratified before it could be made effective. In order that a law may be passed or an agreement become valid a two-thirds majority in the American Senate is required. When the arbitration treaty with England came up for ratification, three votes were lacking of this two-thirds majority, and thus it was defeated.
This in no respect altered the main significance of the fact that it was signed by the representatives of both governments; the forces that brought about the drawing up and signing of the treaty would in time also overcome the opposition of the Senate.
An insurrection breaks out on the island of Crete. Kanea is burning. The villages in the vicinity are on fire. Skirmishes between Turks and Greeks are taking place. Who began it? No matter; the island of Crete declares that it will shake off the Turkish yoke and join Greece. Street demonstrations in Athens; tremendous excitement. The Chamber in its session of February 25 votes to send war ships to Crete.
Something new makes its appearance,—the “Concert of the Powers.” The powers unite to restore order and quiet in Crete and guarantee Cretan autonomy.
In the entries in my diary during April, 1897, I find an echo of the way in which these proceedings were conducted. Let me introduce a few passages here:
That was an Easter gift!—the outbreak of hostilities between Greece and Turkey. So then the “Concert of the Powers” was unable or unwilling to hinder the misfortune? Probably both. In the circles of diplomacy and the regents neither power nor will are as yet sufficiently developed in the direction of the spirit of peace; they still remain under the curse of the thousand-year-old Genius of War.
That the war was so long controlled, that it is now to be localized, that the “European Concert” will prevent the general conflagration,—this is a victory of the New. That the war broke out at all, that the powers look on and hesitate to interfere,—this is a victory of the Old.
It is clearly shown how necessary and advantageous at the present time an effective European code of laws, a European tribunal, one European army, would be. The embryo of these things has shown itself, to be sure, but the development into a strong, healthy, living thing is yet to be.
Yes, tendencies toward a federation of the civilized countries are included in the “Concert.” If this has gone forward with little harmony and unsteady step, the fault lies in this fact: it is the might of the mighty, not the rights of the weak, that they want to support. Much stress is laid on the consideration that is due the will represented by the great powers, not on the consideration that should be given the cause of the weak. Compassion, righteousness, and liberty,—that is the triad that must lie at the basis of a genuine peace concert!
A picture from the campaign: Wild flight of the Greeks. For miles and miles around the darkness of the night was illuminated by the flashes of the shots which the fugitives in wild confusion fired at one another. Horses, becoming unmanageable under the blows of the whip, dashed off and overturned the wagons with all their contents. Helpless men and wailing women everywhere, over whom the fugitives, impelled by despair, like wild hordes, recklessly trampling everything and everybody under foot, dashed away through the night....
In the meantime, while the war is raging on one side, in perfect silence the conflicts obviated by arbitration are increasing in number. The controversy between the United States and England as to the Guiana boundary, and a similar controversy between France and Brazil, have been submitted to arbitration, the former on the fifth, the latter on the tenth, of April.
A war cloud, however, is rising between Great Britain and the Transvaal. Will public opinion be influenced strongly enough by our friends in England to avert the danger?
Egidy writes me that he has applied to the Spanish ambassador in Berlin with regard to the cry for help from Barcelona.[20]
About that time I received the following letter from Prince Scipione Borghese, the same who ten years later was to make the great automobile trip from Pekin to Paris:
London, April 28, 1897
My dear Baroness:
Accept my heartiest thanks for your most encouraging letter, which was sent to me here from Rome.
The trifling service that I have done for the ideal of peace is only a shadow compared to what in greatness and brilliancy other and better men have done for the progress of mankind. In my opinion this perpetual struggling forward toward a better and more righteous life must be the end and aim of all our actions.
I am happy to be able to come into direct alliance with you, and I hope very much to make your personal acquaintance soon.
In the meantime, my dear Baroness, I remain respectfully,
Your most devoted
Scipione Borghese
Our literary labors do not rest. My husband is putting the last touches to Sie wollen nicht, and I am beginning the novel Marthas Kinder (“Martha’s Children”), the second part of Die Waffen nieder, having just finished the translation of an English book, “Marmaduke, Emperor of Europe.” Die Waffen nieder is appearing in a French translation in the Indépendance belge.
This same translation two years later was issued in book form by Zola’s publisher, Tasquelles (Charpentier). From the French public came now many newspaper notices and private letters which showed me that the theme treated in that book was waking a loud echo among contemporaries in other countries.
In May, 1897, I received from London, from the ecclesiastical Arbitration Alliance, a letter asking if I would be willing to present to the Emperor of Austria a copy of an address which a hundred and seventy dignitaries of the Church were sending to all rulers. I assented, and thereupon received the document, a beautifully engrossed copy of the text in a tasteful roll, with the autograph signatures of the petitioners. A special copy was provided for every potentate. At the head of the hundred and seventy names, which comprised only high ecclesiastical dignitaries, were the Archbishop of Dublin, the bishops of Ripon, Durham, and Killaloe, Queen Victoria’s chaplain, and others.
I applied at the office of the cabinet for an audience, and it was granted for the third of June at ten o’clock in the morning. I was obliged to state the object of my desire in my request for an audience.
On the day set, at the appointed hour, I presented myself in the imperial palace, accompanied by the vice president of my Union. There was a perfect swarm of uniforms in the anteroom to the audience chamber. Generals and staff officers were awaiting their turn to be summoned. We were not kept waiting long. When the door opened to permit the personage who had just been with the Emperor to pass out, we were immediately summoned. This preference was not at all due to the fact that the presiding officers of the Peace Society were bringing an “arbitration petition,” but simply because my escort was a prince (at court everything goes by rank and title).
I had my artistic-looking roll in my hands and a well-prepared speech on my tongue,—which at the crucial moment completely failed me,—and we passed through the door, which was held open by an adjutant and closed behind us. The Emperor was standing by his writing table and he took a few steps to meet us. After a low, courtly bow, which I am under the impression was a success, I gave utterance to my desire. My escort added a few explanatory words, and I handed the Emperor the document; he received it with a kindly smile. When I told him that the address was concerning an international arbitration tribunal he replied: “That would indeed be very fine ...; it is difficult however....” Then a few questions to us both, the assurance that the document would be carefully read and considered, an inclination of the head, with a gracious “I thank you,” and we were dismissed.
Here is the text of the petition which we presented, and which is now buried in the archives:
To his Majesty Franz Joseph I
Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary
King of Bohemia, etc.
Blessing and Grace and Peace!
In common with other organizations of the Christian Church we are taking the liberty of appearing, in all humility, before your Majesty, as the monarch of a great and mighty people, for the purpose of calling your Majesty’s attention to the method of peaceful solution of such difficulties as may arise between the nations of the earth.
The spectacle which Christian peoples present as they face each other with portentous armaments, ready at the slightest challenge to go to war and settle their differences by the shedding of blood, is, to say the least, a stain on the glorious name of Christ.
We cannot, without the deepest pain, look upon the horrors of war, with all the evils which it brings in its train, such as unscrupulous sacrifice of human life, which should be regarded as sacred; bitter poverty in so many homes; destruction of valuable property; interruptions in the education of the young and in the development of the religious life; and general brutalization of the people.
Even when war is avoided, the presence of a powerful army withdraws vast numbers of men from family life as well as from the productive occupations of peace; moreover, in order to support this state of things, heavy burdens must be laid upon the people. It is also true that the settlement of international differences by force of arms does not rest on the principles of right and justice, but on the barbarous principle of the triumph of the stronger.
What encourages us to recommend this matter to your Majesty’s benevolent consideration is the fact that already so much has been accomplished; as, for example, in the settlement of the Alabama question by the Geneva Court of Arbitration, or in the deliberations of the American Conference at Washington, not to mention other important cases. Happy for the world will be the time when all international controversies shall find their peaceful solution!
This is what we are earnestly striving for. Regarding the ways and means for attaining this end we refrain from all special suggestions, confidently intrusting to your Majesty’s superior intuition and wisdom all details in the domain of political life.
We offer our prayers that the richest blessings of the Prince of Peace may rest upon your Majesty’s realm and people, and especially on your Majesty.
I learned how the petition was presented to the other rulers. Frédéric Passy presented it to the President of the French republic. In Switzerland the President received it from Élie Ducommun; the President of the Confederation declared that the contents of the address corresponded perfectly with his ideas and those of the Parliament. Dr. Trueblood, of Boston, undertook the service for America, Marcoartu for Spain, and the address was presented to the Queen of England by Lord Salisbury. The Tsar also received it, but I do not know through whom.
The petitioners themselves could scarcely have expected that the action would have an immediate effect. Words of this kind scattered abroad are seeds of grain, or, by a better figure of speech, hammer blows. New ideas are like nails; old conditions and institutions are like thick walls. So it is not enough to hold up the sharp nail and give it one blow; the nail must be hit hundreds and hundreds of times, and on the head too, that it may be firmly fixed at last.