The League of Nations

Sir Arthur Salter

[The Economic Committee of the League is now in session at Geneva. This article pays tribute to a great Englishman who is acknowledged to be its 'moving spirit in his capacity of Director of the Economic and Financial Section of the Secre- tariat.]

SIR ARTHUR SALTER'S achievements in international adminis- tration—from the organization of Allied Shipping Control to the stabilization of Austrian currency and the flotation of a series of loans under the auspices of the League to assist

• other countries to restore their finances—are the fruits of a remarkable combination of mind and character.

In writing of him one naturally thinks first of his intellec- tual gifts. In the analysis of a complex situation, in the marshalling and interpretation of facts, figures, and argu- ments, and in the constructive planning of big events, he is unrivalled. He excels in logical exposition, and has a crisp, pointed style, both in writing and speaking. He thinks and talks like a two-page memorandum with numbered head- ings and sub-headings. According to those who know him it was always so. "He lisped in numbers and the numbers came."

, There is a tradition, possibly apocryphal, that when

Salter stood for his Civil Service examination he was awarded not merely top marks, but the maximum possible for his English Essay.

His CAREER IN THE CIVIL SERVICE.

In the early days of his career he was employed in the Transport Division of the Admiralty, where he found little scope and less encouragement for his constructive gifts. One cannot easily associate Salter with perfunctory routine. He would always be wanting to probe and analyse and suggest improvements.

In 1911, when the call went round for staff for the new National Insurance Department, the slow-moving Board of

Admiralty parted with him without regret. (In 1915, however, when the emergency came, they knew enough of Salter to

recall him without delay.) Salter thus became one of the distinguished group of Civil Servants who served under Sir Robert Morant. " Morant's young men" were encouraged to have ideas and to take responsibility. The very qualities that had made Salter rather a thorn in the flesh to his official superiors at the Admiralty were just the qualities needed in planning and carrying through the complicated organization of national insurance—in the teeth, it will be remembered, of a pretty vigorous opposition.

This experience in creative work, added to his technical knowledge previously acquired at the Admiralty, gave the nation the Salter of "Allied Shipping Control." As Director of Requisitioning at the Ministry of Shipping, he was the chief author of the vast scheme of controlling imports, allo- cating tonnage and fixing freights. No ship could sail on the high seas, even between neutral ports, without its movements and the cargo it carried being recorded in Salter's card index.

Salter, more than any other single man, was responsible for the initiation and introduction of the " convoy " system, which marked the turning-point in Britain's fight for life against the submarine campaign.

For many critical weeks the plan was blocked by doubts whether mere mercantile marine captains would be able to navigate at close quarters without running into one another. Salter had faith in their ability to rise to the occasion ; and his confidence was justified. Collisions were almost unknown. Before the convoy system was introduced one in every four ocean-going vessels that left British ports was being sunk, and a continuance of these losses for a few weeks longer would have meant unconditional surrender.

THE MODEL INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANT.

Later, as Secretary of the Allied Maritime Transport Council, he was almost, one might say, the first international official. Already, before the end of the War, he was thinking and acting internationally, and turning over in his mind the possibilities of a new technique of international administra- tion for the coming League of Nations. His special contri- bution to League organization has been the emphasis he has always laid on the need for co-operation and personal contact between experts of different nations engaged in the same sphere of activity. The Technical Organizations of the League, apart from his own responsibility for Economics, Finance and Transport, owe much to his initiative and inspiration.

His quick, logical mind, combined with a disarming frank- ness and modesty that win him instant confidence, explains the unique popularity and influence which he established with the Allies during the War and has maintained ever since. As Secretary-General of the Reparation Commission he found himself at one time of crisis the only channel of communication between the British and French delegations. They were not on speaking terms ; but Salter like a true international civil servant, was able to retain the confidence of both without becoming a partisan of either.

A story is told of an incident during the War which illus- trates Salter's resourcefulness and pertinacity. It was essential to get the French to agree without delay to some important new move. Salter drafted a memorandum for his Minister to circulate to the Cabinet ; drafted the decision of the Cabinet, and the official dispatch to be sent by the Foreign Minister. He then took the dispatch himself to M. Clementel in Paris ; drafted a submission to the War Council ; drafted the terms of their decision ; and finally left for London the ame day with an official dispatch from the French Govern- ment in his pocket. The terms of the reply were precisely what the British Government, or rather Salter, desired ; for Salter had drafted it !

In Social Reform, in War and in Post-War Reconstruction Salter has occupied a pivotal position behind the scenes. Apart from his outstanding intellectual gifts his success is due as much to his transparent honesty and singleness of purpose as to his indomitable energy and belief in human nature.

HIS PERSONALITY.

He is, of course, an effective speaker and makes an ideal broadcast lecturer. But he has no spell-binding gifts. Rhetoric and vague sentiment he abhors. The arts of the orator and the subtleties of diplomatic finesse are not his métier. He appeals to reason and good sense, and flatters men only by the implicit assumption that they are open to reason. He is consequently greater as a strategist than as a tactician.

Salter was never very athletic, is not interested in sport, and seldom plays games. He is notorious in Geneva as the only Englishman who has never been seen on a golf course. For exercise he prefers swimming in the Lake. He has also the reputation of being a dashing motorist A native of Versoix who had often seen him flash through the streets on his way to Geneva greeted him one day when he hap- pened to stop, and said how pleased he was to make the acquaintance of one who up to then had been nothing but "(a vitesse qui passait." It was a true word spoken in jest. Salter has a way of passing swiftly to his goal without wasting much time in gossip or social intercourse by the way.

Not that he is unsociable. He has a genius for friendship, and a keen sense of h umour ; but you would not find him disporting himself with evident enjoyment either at a village pub or at a fashionable tea-party.

He reads poetry but few novels. In men and in hooks he prefers to cultivate the best. Life is too short to take a keen interest in the second-rate.

If these are limitations Salter makes up for them by a complete absence of intellectual arrogance or personal vanity. In appearance and manners he is unassuming. He has the look of a distinguished savant rather than an aggressive "executive." International fame and the respect and confidence of statesmen and financiers have not affected the simplicity of his tastes or impaired his intellectual integrity and social idealism.