Frederic Passy was called the ‘doyen’- ‘the Elder,’ of his colleagues,
Those in global peace studies and arbitration work. Though he
Studied law, he much preferred economics and ‘free trade.’
This, he taught, would help Peace flourish: with money paid
By those who embraced the free flow of goods between nations,
Unfettered competition, labor and careful arbitration.
He lectured, created the International Peace Bureau. He gave:
“I have worked incessantly for the peace cause for thirty years,”
He was noted to say as a French candidate, and his peers
Found his leadership rousing, his posture well-argued and staid.
French losses from floods he compared to war’s ‘false’ disasters –
To halt France from war – which he did: no more loss or tears.
Passy, an apostle for the “utopia” of Peace, believed and said:
Stop producing weapons and save our children from the dead.
June Edvenson 