THE year which opens on Sunday can be justly greeted in a spirit of hopefulness. On every hand there are signs of a determination to profit not by the lessons of the war only but by the follies of the past three years. In other words, the civilized world, after reeling perilously on its foundations, appears to be recovering its equilibrium, and avoiding the disaster which many thoughtful men predicted. That their expectation should be falsified is a testimony to the resiliency of human institutions, and the best possible augury for the adaptation of national and international life to new conditions. Without doubt there are many disappointments ahead. The failure at Washington [the International Conference on Naval Limitation] to reach an understanding in respect of submarines is a check on impatient optimism. But however sadly such efforts to ensure peace and prosperity may fail, there still remains the positive gain represented by the will and desire of the nations to confer with such ends in view. That is in itself a new thing in international affairs, and must be the beginning of an entirely new conception of international relations and international responsibilities.