Billia, L. Michelangelo

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MISCELLANEOUS.THE PEACE IDEA.Prof. L. Michelangelo Billia, of Turin, an enthusiastic supporter of thepeace movement, sends to The Open Court an open letter addressed to M.Frederic Passy, one of the chief champions of peace in France. M. Passy iswell known in his own country and among the adherents of the cause ofpeace in all parts of the world. As early as 1867 he was one of the foundersof the International and Permanent League of Peace (later entitled "TheFrench Society for Arbitration Among Nations") ; in 1888 he establ/sht'dwith W. Randal-Cremer the Interparliamentary Union for Arbitration andPeace. In 1892 he was a member of the committee of the InternationalBureau of Peace at Berne, and in 1901 he was the recipient of the first awardof the Nobel Peace Prize. To show how strongly Professor Billia feels thejustice of his country's cause in connection with the present troubles in Tripoli,we shall first quote in an English translation a personal letter from him tothe Editor:"Nothing more senseless and intolerant can be imagined than the unfair-ness with which some English and German journals deride and slander Italy.Their information is gained from the destroyers of peace and from slave deal-ers. According to these writers we Italians are bandits and thieves becausewe dare to oppose a domination which turns men into brutes and makes theland sterile. You know that I am an idealist of old, but I am convinced thatnothing but bad faith of the worst kind could defend the rights of Turkey."I enclose for The Open Court a letter which I have addressed to myhonorable friend, M. Frederic Passy. You will see how I have succeeded inconciliating the good right of my country with respect for the man who is toonoble to array himself on the side of the enemies of Italy and of justice."You have a broad mind, dear Dr. Carus, and I think you will recognizethat the Anglo-American world ought to know that Italy is conscious ofhaving a lofty mission to accomplish, and that those who are given to under-stand that we are risking and sacrificing the blood of our heroic youth forpetty commercial interests are dupes of a gross error. In this hour Italyrepresents Right, and Reason goes to battle!"Therefore I hope you will publish the enclosed letter. I am drunk withenthusiasm ; I am working myself to death ; my strength is failing."Professor Billia's letter to Frederic Passy, translated into English, readsas follows:"To M. Frederic Passy:"To you as the highest authority among the friends of peace, I appealagainst many insults hurled at Italy by international Tartufes pretending to758 THE OPEN COURT.be on the side of peace, especially those who give instructions to break theheads of workmen who refuse to strike. They pretend to be unaware of themassacres which occur from time to time, of children's heads held up on pikesunder the windows of the consuls, of very recent assassinations for whichTurkey has refused us reparation, in order that the restoration of law, theperformance of the duty of human responsibility in which Italy sets an exampleshould pass as an act of violence and theft. To consider Turkey as a stateand to pretend that there is no question of a domination which is a disgraceand scourge to humanity, is simply dishonoring the cause of peace and de-nying its fundamental principles. The rights of Turkey! The right to keepmen in bondage, to forbid agriculture and civilization, to prescribe carnage,to destroy populations ! Ah it is not violence to give free rein against thedisarmed, against women and children, the wounded and the sick in the hos-pitals—yea, even the dead in the cemeteries ! Violence they call the behaviorof the Italian soldier who spares others' lives as much as possible and riskshis own to burst the fetters of slaves, to return the land to cultivation andmen to human life; who can lay aside his gun to become a laborer, judge,physician, farmer—to nurse even his most obstinate enemy. Oh were notTartufe so intelligent, men would call him an imbecile!"But Italy is winning! Would that all the nations of Europe had won inthis manner, to this title, and in the same degree!"I admit that disputes may arise about the financial and political phasesof the enterprise, but let us not speak of violation of rights because then theword "right" would lose its significance."Now you have always labored so nobly to set forth ideas clearly, to makethe truth understood; you have so often borne testimony with your exampleand your work that next to covetousness the greatest cause of the evils thatafflict humanity lies in the confusion of ideas and in lying words."Therefore I appeal to you to say a word to set right the deceived, tounmask the deceivers, to declare that there is no right which opposes thesupreme right of the human being and his advance, that the idea of peace isnot the idea of lax and selfish toleration of all that is most disgraceful andcruel, but the idea of human solidarity ; that nothing works better for the es-tablishment of peace than force directed by intelligence and conscience againstthe state of injustice; finally that the action of civilized nations againstTurkish control is not war waged by well meaning men in place of arbitra-tion, but it is police duty which every individual and every community witha conscience ought to perform against brigands and monsters if it would notbecome their accomplice."I await this word from you, that I may repeat it to Italians, and thatI may have the pleasure of telling you for the hundredth time how much ad-miration, appreciation and veneration we feel for Fredeic Passy."Yours sincerely,"L. Michelangelo Billia."AN EXAMPLE OF THE MELIKERTES MOTIVE IN MODERN ART.A modern artist, Mr. Theodore Baur, has utilized the Melikertes motive(see May Open Court, pages 275-278) in a beautiful tile which was pub-lished in The Century of April, 1882, illustrating an article by Frank D.Millet on "Some American Tiles." Here it is simply called "Boy on Dolphin"

The Peace Idea.

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The Peace Idea.

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