Man with a Message

In the seven weeks since he launched the U.S.'s first Law Day (TIME, May 5), American Bar Association President Charles Sylvanus Rhyne, 46, has traveled from Washington to Alaska to Mineola, L.I., to St. Louis trying to arouse his fellow lawyers to do their part in a crusade to achieve world peace through world rule of law. Last week's way station: the annual meeting of the Erie County Bar Association in Buffalo. Last week's Rhyne proposal: that the International Court of Justice, now all but "unused" at The Hague, move some of its sessions to U.N. headquarters in New York to rule on disputes between law-abiding powers.

"Most of the world," said Lawyer Rhyne, "doesn't know the International Court exists. It has 15 judges who sit at The Hague waiting for work. It has decided only an average of slightly more than one case per year since its creation in 1945. The entire court, or even a chamber, should sit rather constantly at U.N. headquarters. The law then would move more to the forefront in the deliberations of the U.N." He added: "Let the free nations of the world agree on a plan to snuff out war among themselves before the next step of tackling Russia. Let us offer this plan for settlement of disputes under law in the courts as the free world's plan for world peace."

Then Rhyne fitted the week's specific idea into his week-by-week world theme.

"World government," he summed up, "is not a part of the picture I paint. Such a government has inherent defects similar to those of disarmament agreements. This idea of peace under law can grow out of the enlarged use of law by the world community and does not require any 'super' or other world legislative body.

"Our plan can capture the minds of the uncommitted peoples of the world and leave Russia naked of friends. Even Russia does not envision such nakedness as desirable--that is the reason for her constant propaganda efforts.

"To launch this plan--unlike a disarmament agreement--we do not need Russia, nor do we trust her word. She can hurt only herself by her failure to cooperate. Here only actions would count, and all could evaluate those as we go along developing peace under law. An idea can be more powerful than any atom."

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