TOPICS OF THE DAY.
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
IF the world is to become safe for those who want to see the true fruits of civilization, some form of league or pact, covenant or agreement among the nations must be secured. That agreement must prevent recourse to war and, what is even more deadly than war, competitive armament. Our sense of the necessity for disarmament, or, at any rate, for keeping armaments within the strictest bounds lest they should be the undoing of us all, is so strong that we will support any and every organization that makes for the objects we have just named. We have regretfully come to hold that the League of Nations as it was finally passed is in many ways an imperfect organ- ization. It aims too high, and so is likely to achieve too little. It tries to accomplish too much too quickly. It regards the superstructure more than the foundation.
It forgot, or was misled in regard to, the essential charac- teristics of the American Constitution. It does not ensure the inclusion of the United States. But though we fear that the faults of construction in the Leag-ue_of Nations may be its undoing, we feel that every effort should be made to render it a success, and that it is our duty, and the duty of every one who feels with us, to support the League as the only organization in being for doing what we desire. The League holds the field as an anti-War Organization. It must not die of inanition. But though we will do nothing to injure the existing organ- ization, we realize, as we believe do all its wiser supporters, that the League can only be saved by something in the nature of reconstruction. Still, having got as far as we have got it would be madness to destroy the whole edifice, even though a thorough process of strengthening the foundations must be resorted to.
The need for some such process was made clear during the course of the last ten days or so in the speeches of Mr. Balfour, Lord Grey of Fallodon, Lord Robert Cecil, and others. Lord Grey, with that unpro- vocative and unexcitable wisdom which is his special characteristic, pointed out the essential fact of the situation. It is that America must be brought into the League if the League is to do what it is designed to do. As long as the richest, the most powerful, the greatest, both for population and territory, of the civilized white communities of the world stands outside the League, the League will be an ill-balanced organization and unable to fulfil its destiny. Almost any sacrifice is worth making which will induce the Americans to help, and to help wholeheartedly. Here, if anywhere, it is true that the new world must be called in to redress the balance of the old. To put it in quite plain terms, the Americans must be told that if they will only join the League they can practically name their own terms. And let us say in parenthesis that as soon as the presidential election is over and we know the complexion of the political forces that are going to prevail at Washington, not merely at the White House, but also at the Capitol, America should be officially asked to suggest such modifications of the existing Covenant as would enable her to join. That will be far better than to have a new Conference for the re-drafting of the League. We confess that we look with consternation upon the idea of another Versailles.
The Americans should be entrusted with the task of drafting a reconstruction scheme, of course in private and unofficial consultation with the representatives of the League. Left to themselves, they will be much more likely to suggest the minimum rather than the maximum of alteration than if a great debating society is opened either in Washington or London or Paris, with all its attendant paraphernalia of Bureaux and Experts and Prime Ministers. A Committee of the Senate—we must never forget the Senate's special rights and duties in regard to Foreign Affairs—reinforced by members of the House of Representatives, and also by nominees of the President and the Supreme Court, could draw up suggestions for the reconstruction of the League which would be consonant with the feeling not of one but of all parties in America. We should not then make the fatal error of confusing the aspirations of a party leader with the desires of the Republic as a whole. Again, resolutions which were officially endorsed by two-thirds of the Senate—nothing less will do—and by the President, also approved by a resolution of COngress, and drafted in con- sultation with the representatives of the Supreme Court, would be a water-tight scheme which could not be thrown over owing to cross-currents in the ocean of party politics. It would be party proof, and, thanks to the genius of Americans for Constitutional Draftsmanship, should also be fool-proof.
Though in some ways the amendments demanded might seem destructive, we do not at all believe that it passes the wit of man to draft a scheme which would satisfy American opinion. Remember, that though party politics have played a large part in the wrangle in the Senate and Chamber, a great many of the grounds on which the Senate passed the reservations and amendments that incurred the displeasure of President Wilson were bona fide American fears and anxieties in regard to the oper- ations of the League. But even if the League had to come down to a much lower level than that which it now occupies, or is supposed to occupy, in order to meet American feeling, the result would very soon prove to be for good and not for evil. If the Americans once join on their own terms we may be quite certain that their natural vigour and their instinctive desire to make things work would prove of enormous benefit. The mere fact that the various nations of Europe are not as suspicious of America as they are of each other will in itself be most helpful.
In our opinion, the way not only to win over the Ameri- cans, but to form a League on the surest foundations, and thus obtain a scheme which might gradually give us a body of world-laws with adequate sanctions, is to base the League upon the securing of the sanctity of Treaty Contracts. By so doing we can attain what it has always been the aim, object, and desire of American statesmen to create. Next, such a plan avoids even the appearance of inter- ference with the internal affairs of the constituent States. Finally, it frees America from that nightmare of entangling alliances by which she is always haunted. Some of our readers may remember that so early as October 26th, 1918, we set forth what in our judgment should be the nature of the constitution of the League of Nations. To be quite frank, our suggestion met with little or no response. The progress of events at Paris was in a direction entirely opposed to our plan. Nevertheless, we think it is worth while to reprint our suggestions in case they may be of use in forming that golden bridge which must be built to bring America into some covenant or League which shall be able to prevent the mad follies of competitive armament, which shall secure the sanctities of Treaties, and, finally, which shall prevent the slightest tincture of 'interference in the domestic affairs of the constituent nations.
Previous page
