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Washington and the Riddle of Peace

H. G. Wells

The book comprises a collection of impressions and reflections from a visitor at the Washington Conference, held with the intent of establishing world peace and addressing the issues stemming from the aftermath of World War I. It particularly focuses on the concept of organized world peace and the.

"Washington and the Riddle of Peace" by H. G. Wells is a historical account. The book comprises a collection of impressions and reflections from a visitor at the Washington Conference, held with the intent of establishing world peace and addressing the issues stemming from the aftermath of World War I. It particularly focuses on the concept of organized world peace and the.

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The conference nominally for the limitation of armaments that now gathers at Washington may become a cardinal event in the history of mankind. It may mark a turning point in human affairs or it may go on record as one of the last failures to stave off the disasters and destruction that gather about our race.

In August, 1914, an age of insecure progress and accumulation came to an end. When at last, on the most momentous summer night in history, the long preparations of militarism burst their bounds and the little Belgian village Vise went up in flames, men said: “This is a catastrophe.” But they found it hard to anticipate the nature of the catastrophe. They 2thought for the most part of the wounds and killing and burning of war and imagined that when at last the war was over we should count our losses and go on again much as we did before 1914.

As well might a little shopkeeper murder his wife in the night and expect to carry on “business as usual” in the morning. “Business as usual”—that was the catchword in Britain in 1914; of all the catchwords of the world it carries now the heaviest charge of irony.

Contents

  1. 01I the Immensity of the Issue and the Triviality of Men
  2. 02II Armaments the Futility of Mere Limitation
  3. 03III the Trail of Versailles Two Great Powers Are Silent and Absent
  4. 04IV the Unknown Soldier of the Great War
  5. 05V the President at Arlington
  6. 06VI the First Meeting
  7. 07VII What Is Japan?
  8. 08VIII China in the Background
  9. 09IX the Future of Japan
  10. 10X “Security”—The New and Beautiful Catchword
  11. 11XI France in the Limelight
  12. 12XII Thus Far
  13. 13XIII the Larger Question Behind the Conference
  14. 14XIV the Real Threat to Civilization
  15. 15XV the Possible Breakdown of Civilization
  16. 16XVI What of America?
  17. 17XVII Ebb Tide at Washington
  18. 18XVIII America and Entangling Alliances
  19. 19XIX an Association of Nations
  20. 20XX France and England—The Plain Facts of the Case
  21. 21XXI a Reminder About War
  22. 22XXII Some Stifled Voices
  23. 23XXIII India, the British Empire and the Association of Nations
  24. 24XXIV the Other End of Pennsylvania Avenue—The Sieve for Good Intentions
  25. 25XXV Africa and the Association of Nations
  26. 26XXVI the Fourth Plenary Session
  27. 27XXVII About the War Debts
  28. 28XXVIII the Foundation Stone and the Building
  29. 29XXIX What a Stably Organized World Peace Means for Mankind
  30. 30Transcriber’s Notes

About this edition

Author
H. G. Wells
Era
Modern (c. 1800–1945)
Reading level
Advanced: for close, demanding reading
Formats
EPUB, PDF
Length
167 pages
This edition
Modern Philosophers