The prestige of the League of Nations has, as everyone
recognizes, shot up suddenly in the eyes of the world as a result of the Council's decisions on the Saar and the Hungarian dispute. I get from a particularly reliable and unbiassed observer an equally good impression of its more invisible progress. The Secretariat, on whose competence the smooth working of the machinery depends, is in an extremely healthy state. M. Avenol is achieving a universally acknowledged success in Sir Eric Drummond's former office, the only breath of criticism coming from some Frenchmen who regard the Secretary-General as a little too British. Someone has not inaptly described him as an admirable example of the characteristic Frenchman's idea of a characteristic Englishman. What is notable about the Secretariat is not the presence in it of a number of conspicuous figures, but sound and solid team work, with—what was not always the case—a striking absence of national string- pulling. Of the highest officials in particular it is eminently true that they recognize that so long as they are at Geneva their first allegiance is to the League— and show it.
Previous page
