THE PEACE BALLOT
[To the Editor of Tim SPECTATOR.
Sne,—Major Yeats-Brown insinuates that the League of Nations Union is mainly composed of, or at least contains a large proportion of, idealists who " render any kind of security more difficult." Had he been present at the General Council of the Union at Cambridge last week he would have been surprised to find a resolution supporting " any measures however drastic " for upholding the covenant in regard to the dispute between Italy and Abyssinia passed without a single dissentient vote. The issue is not between isolationists and pacifists but between the supporters of self-defence and collective security.
Major Yeats-Brown urges the Union to exercise its powers of persuasion for " military preparedness." He forgets that military power, like any other, is worse than useless if mis- used. Few members of the Union would be found to oppose practical measures, military or otherwise, to support and uphold the covenant and obtain security by collective defence ;• no member of that Union can, with loyalty to the covenant, support increase of national forces when the reason for such increase is national competition and the control and use of such forces remains in the hands of those who believe in the pre-War standards of imperialism and self-defence. They would not do so because they do not believe such increase will bring security but on the contrary, increase the prospect of war.—
Yours, &c., PITTLIP S. MUMPORD.
S. Mary's Grange, Easthorpe.
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