The International Secretariat of the Future. (Royal Institute of International
Affairs. 2S. 6d.) WHATEVER the precise form and composition of the international organisation to be created or revived after the war, its efficiency, and indeed its very existence, will depend on the possession of a competent secretariat or permanent staff. The presence in London of a number of former members of the League of Nations Secretariat of different nationalities, including some of the very highest officials, has made possible the preparation of this singularly valuable booklet. Of all the League of Nations mechanism, the permanent secretariat at Geneva was the most successful organ No parallel example of harmonious international co-operation on such a scale for such a length of time is to be found anywhere. It would be a disaster if the experience which the history of the League secretariat pro- vides were lost to those who discuss, as well as those who actually plan, the permanent civil service of the League of Nations of the future. This booklet, which is not a narrative, but an objective discussion of basic principles, ensures that the lessons experience • teaches will not go unlearned.
Previous page
