By his initiative the Emperor of Russia has desired to fulfill the wish expressed by his predecessor, Alexander [I], that all the rulers of Europe should come to an understanding together, so as to live like brethren and to support one another mutually in their necessities.
It seems to me that Nicholas II desired more than that; the question does not affect so much the necessities of all rulers as those of all nations. The armaments are burdensome to the nations, not to the rulers. The so-called dynastic interest lies more in military pomp and the prestige of warlike power.
And Beaufort again:
The object of the Conference is to seek for means to put a limit to incessant armaments and alleviate the heavy distress that weighs on the nations. The day of the assembling of this Conference will be one of the most notable in the history of the closing century.
After Beaufort’s speech Ambassador Staal is chosen president of the Conference. Then follow the other nominations; the whole piece of business lasts only half an hour,—it was intended to be merely a formal opening ceremony. The first session is appointed for the twentieth, and at the same time it is announced that journalists will not be admitted to the deliberations. (Alas!)
May 19. Bloch arrived. We greet each other like old friends. A man of sixty, with short-cropped, grizzly beard, a bright, kindly expression, unconstrained, elegant manners, a thoroughly natural, simple mode of speech. I inquire of him as to the reception of his book by the Tsar. Bloch tells us the story, and the delegates and journalists in the drawing-room listen with interest:
Yes, the Tsar has studied the work thoroughly. When he received me in audience, the maps and tables from the book lay spread out on the tables, and he had me carefully explain all the figures and diagrams. I explained until I was tired out, but Nicholas II did not grow weary. He kept asking new questions or throwing in observations which testified to his deep appreciation and interest. “So this is the way the next war would develop,” he said; “those would be the results, would they?”
The Ministry of War, to which a copy had to be submitted, furnished the Emperor with a report and voted to authorize its publication. In justifying its report it said: “Such a comprehensive and technical book will not be much read; it is therefore far less dangerous than the Suttner novel, Die Waffen nieder. Inasmuch as the censor passed the latter, Bloch’s ‘War of the Future’ may a fortiori be admitted.”
In the evening a party at Beaufort’s. Like all parties in court or diplomatic circles, and yet so entirely different. Something new has come into the world, namely, the official treatment of the theme “Universal Peace,” and that necessarily—being indeed the raison d’être of this reception—introduces the topic for general discussion.
A question which very commonly serves to start the conversation is this: What do you expect from the Conference? This question was quite frequently put to me, or else this: Are you not happy to see your hopes so realized?