The League of Nations What the Council Can and Cannot
Do COAL AND STJGAR.
The League of Nations Council ended to-day with a quite unexpected little argument, which, on the whole, was all to the good as a sign of life and interest even when apparently purely routine business is being disposed of. The controversy, such as it was, centred around coal and sugar. There is not at first sight much in common between these two indispensable commodities, but both industries in point of fact are suffering from over-production, and the Economic Consultative Com- mittee, which met at Geneva a few weeks ago, had proposed (among other items in a series of important recommendations) that the League should undertake an organized inquiry in both fields. Herr von Schubert, who was sitting for Germany this time, in Dr. Stresemann's absence through illness, proposed that this suggestion should be carried out. To everyone's surprise—for no warning had been given of any opposition—Signor Scialoja, the Italian member of the Council, objected, protesting that the League was in danger of going well beyond its sphere and that money was not available for all these luxuries. Italy, it appears (though not from Signor Scialoja's speech), as a consumer of both sugar and coal and producer of neither, was afraid prices might go up if the indus- tries got better organized ; hence the attempt to sidetrack a League inquiry. However, with Sir Austen Chamberlain sympathetic but none the less in favour of the proposed inquiry, and Mr. Paul Boncour and Herr von Schubert more so, the Italian capitulated, and the inquiry is to be carried out, but, in deference to Italy, it is not to go too fast nor, in deference to France, too slowly.
THE MACHINE GuNs.
But the Council was concerned more this time with politics than with economics. The greatest general interest was excited on the Continent of Europe by a question which has left British opinion entirely cold—the affair of the Hungarian machine guns. A lively story could be written about this mysterious consignment of machine-gun parts dispatched from Verona by a sender who seems since to have vanished, and seized on the Austro-Hungarian frontier, on January 1st, on its way to a destination which no amount of subsequent inquiry has succeeded in discovering. The affair raised the whole question of the disarmament clauses of all peace treaties and the League's responsibility for investigating breaches thereof. The Little Entente Powers were up in arms. M. Paul Boncour, for France, dwelt eloquently on all the suspicious features of the incident. Sir Austen Chamberlain admitted that in the light of events a different and more drastic form of investigation might have been desirable. The Hungarians themselves prudently said very little. Nothing had definitely been proved against them and there the matter had to rest, the Council winding it up with a resolution emphasizing the gravity of such occurrences.
HuNuAtto-RumANIAN DisatrrE DEADLOCK.
That was only one of Hungary's appearances in the picture. She took the stage once more in connexion with the eternal Optants question, of which the Council is by this time thoroughly tired. The problem is far too complicated to be discussed in any detail without an exhaustive examination from every point of view. For the general public, particularly the general public that frequents Geneva, it is of interest mainly for the intellectual exhilaration provided by the periodical duel between the infinitely subtle M. Titulesco of Rumania and that amazing octogenarian, Count Apponyi, who regularly appears as protagonist for Hungary. Now, at last, the Council, having tried every expedient, has washed its hands of the affair. Sir Austen Chamberlain, as rapporteur, has laboriously carried through the most thankless of tasks. In September, as he recalled, the Council proposed a solution which Hungary refused. In March, it proposed a solution which Rumania refused. It has no power to impose its will on either. It simply remained, therefore, to urge the two countries to endeavour once more to reach agreement by direct negotiation.
POLAND AND LITHUANIA.
But if the Council was determined to get rid of the Optants question, it was equally determined to hold on to the Polish- Lithuanian affair. Here we had an example of one of the smallest and least experienced States of Europe stubbornly defying the unanimous opinion of the Council. Lithuania, never reconciled to the loss of Vilna, maintained a so-called "state of war" against Poland from 1920 till last December, when the Lithuanian Dictator, M. Voldemaras, yielding to general pressure by the Council, consented to abandon it and to enter on negotiations for the establishment of normal relations with her neighbour State. In the intervening six months those negotiations have made no progress worth calling progress. The fault is entirely Lithuania's, for Poland has done everything she undertook to do. M. Voldemaras himself has been here this week and, sitting at the Council table, met every criticism with protracted quibbles. Sir Austen Chamberlain, who, in the absence of M. Briand and Dr. Stresemann, has been easily the dominating figure at this Council Meeting, addressed to him stern admonitions in admirably chosen language. Other members of the Council did the same. At M. Paul Boncour's suggestion a resolution was framed proposing that a time-limit should be set to the negotiations and progress be reported to the Council at that date. M. Voldemaras rejoined that such a resolution required unanimity, and that he would vote against it. (Lithuania was sitting temporarily as a member of the Council because her interests were at stake.) "Very well," said Sir Austen, "then I will propose a resolution which, as involving merely questions of procedure, requires only a majority vote," and, on the British delegate's motion, it was decided to inscribe the question of Polish-Lithuanian relations on the agenda of the next Council meeting, and take cognizance of the situation existing then. AU fourteen members of the Council sup- ported this, and M. Voldemaras himself, seeing that an adverse vote in this case would be valueless, voted for it as well. So the Polish-Lithuanian problem will be up once more in September.
SOME OTHER QUESTIONS.
In regard to these three questions it may be observed that the Council has palpably failed to achieve complete success. As was explained on this page last week, there are definite limits to its powers, and if two States insist on disagreeing, it is not in a position to knock their heads together. But this Council meeting, as a whole, has been anything but a demon- stration of the Council's impotence. On the contrary, the variety of subjects dealt with and the satisfactory outcome of almost all the discussions goes to show how firmly the League has established itself as the international or, at all events, European forum. European reconstruction progress (in Hungary, in Bulgaria, in Greece) is reported and disposed of largely as a matter of routine, but that is only because efficient committees have thrashed every detail out and those who know the facts can see prosperity rising out of ruin through the efforts of Geneva. Albania, coming with quite secondary complaints against Greece and trying to raise them under Article XI. as serious international differences instead of under the normal machinery for minority problems, has been told quite amicably but quite firmly that steam-hammers are not to be used for cracking nuts. Trifling school questions from Upper Silesia raise the question whether the Council ought to spend its time on such details, but there must be some ultimate court of appeal in such matters.
So—with matters like health, and opium, and women and children, and hides, skins, and bones (this latter important as providing the first example of a collective tariff agreement negotiated through the League) all taken in its stride—ends the last full meeting of the existing Council. In September Holland, China, and Colombia go off. Holland in particular will be greatly missed, for her Foreign Minister, Jonkheer Beelaerts van Bloldand, has shown himself a most valuable member of the Council.
Geneva, June 9th, YOUR GENEVA CORRESPONDENT.
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