entirely trial and error. Availing himself of no lessons from
the past, he labors under the impulsion of ideas which are
oftentimes remote from present-day reality.

This book is not, however, a history of the peace move-
ment. In favor of a more popular treatment, and through a
desire to apply the obvious lessons of experience to a time
which needs them sorely, I have departed from the method
of the chronicler--though not, I trust, from sound historic
fact.

For definite reasons I have liberally resorted to direct cita-
tion. First, to remove any doubt regarding the authenticity
of the material. Further, to eliminate the boredom of abun-
dant footnotes--which, for the reader who wishes to investi-
gate for himself, are grouped at the end of the book. And
further still, to convey not only the meaning of ideas and per-
sons, but more interestingly the emotional and intellectual
flavor of which they were compounded.

Unorthodox views must invariably run a severe critical
gauntlet. It ought to be so. One test in particular should be
ruthlessly applied to such a work as this. Has the writer, in
order to establish a preconceived thesis, either deliberately or
unwittingly selected untypical facts and quotations in order,
willy-nilly, to prove a case? Few of those who have inquired
even superficially into the literature of the peace movement
of previous days will be free from this suspicion; and it can-
not be denied that each organization has emphasized its own
historic mission and has presented its own efforts and leaders
without any attempt at a critical evaluation. Important facts,
when unfavorable, have often been entombed in diplomatic
silence. The answer in the present instance lies entirely in the
sources, to which I will assist all skeptics.

Again, thoughtful readers will regard one hundred and fif-
teen years--the life span of the organized peace movement--
as a brief time in the life of nations. They may feel moved
to defend the peace groups from certain of the book's criti-
cal observations on the ground that in so short a period no

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