The Dominion. MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1918. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 236, 24 June 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1918. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Unless it is done less than justice in the cabled summary, Viscount Grey's pamphlet on the League of ■Nations proposal contains nothing that is strikingly original. Its author, however, is' well placed to give a practical turn to' the discussion of a problem which is admittedly of capital importance and can be regarded with indifference only by those who have failed to envisage the present war as a war against militarism and the part, of the- Allied nations as an effort not 'merely for victory but to establish enduring peace. Organised effort by; all right-thinking nations to the end of making war impossible is demanded both on moral and material grounds. The alternative will not bear contemplation. Taking account of the marth of scientific progress and invention and the ever-increas-ing forces of destruction they are making available, it is only too clear that even the unprecedented,horrors the war now raging has brought upon the world will be magnified and intensified in future wais if they are permitted to arise. Upon the broad question involved there is no room for uncertainty or difference of opinion. So far as the Allied nations and a great part of the neutral world are concerned the League of Nations proposal can be regarded as contentious only on account of the immensely complex detail issues involved. These are so formidable that oven if universal agreement had been reached on broad principles the international organisation demanded would still be extraordinarily difficult of attainment. But the grand obstacle to the creation of an international authority devoted' to maintaining peace is, of course, the attitude of Germany and the group of nations she_ dominates. It is sufficiently obvious that the continued existence of German militarism is incompatible with the creation of a League of Nations, and that until Germany and her vassals have been compelled not merely. to retreat from their present aggression, but to. transform theii whole national an.d-inter-national outlook, the full realisation of the conception of an interI national league to preserve peace ia impossible. Viscount Gbey is nowhere (n firmor ground than when he says in regard to Germany tfot she will have to be convinced that force does not pay, and the policy of her military leaders will inflict upon her intolerable sufferings. Until she feels this, a League of Nations in tho eonee intended by President Wilson ie impossible, as, such a league must include Germany. To consider tho nature of tho transformation demanded of Germany is to realise the tremendous magnitude of tho problem'. It is not enough that Germany should be decisively defeated and compelled to surrender at discretion. This is the first essential, but in addition, if tho League of Nations is to become a reality, Germany must be compelled or induced to jettison the ideas and ideals to which she has been wedded for generations. We have to deal not only with soldiers who acknowledge no other arbitrament than that of the sword, but with scholars and thinkers who sec as an ideal not aLeaguc of Nations based upon devotion to common ideals and the protection of common interests, but a world-empire of brute force with Germany at its head. An example in point is an article contributed to a German journal by Professor Ostwald. of Leipzig. Discussing the conditions of a German peace, ho observed, amongst other things: In the first place, England, tho greatest enemy to the peace of Europe, must bo rendered incapable of doing harm, and that in a lasting manner, by putting an end once- and for all-to her uncontested naval supremacy. The foundation of-,her power/namely, her Meet, should bo taken from her, or eo reduced as to present uo danger in tho future. Aβ to her Aiiny, we shall bo 60 superior to her ivud to our other neighbours that all of them will give up any pretonco of maintaining an army at their own expense, and will entrust 113 the tnsk of guarding against any danger from tho East.

Later in his article' Ostoaud refers to the time "when the United Sfcatoa of Europe, unclci , German direction and with the_ German Emperor for president (will) have again taken up the tasks of civilisation and humanity." This typically _ German outburst assists a realisation that if a League of Nations is to be established which will banish war from the world Germany must not only be crushed as a belligerent in this war, but muet bo educated into an outlook dia-

metrically opposed to that now in favour. So long as it is possiblcfor German professors to exalt an empire of force there can be neither pe,\co nor international guarantees of peace. The decisive defeat of Germany is the first step towards the ideal of a League- of Nations. That step taken, it will remain to grapplo with an almost bewildering array of detail problems related to and incidental to the main problem. Britain, for instance, is under the necessity of maintaining a dominant Navy, and always will be until.the absolute security of her sea communications is guaranteed in some other way. She could not accept any partial guarantee- in substitution for thte security her own Fleet haa afforded hitherto, and affords to-day. Other obstacles and difficulties might be cited almost indefinitely. The chaotic state to which Russia has been reduced by rcvolu--tipn makes it doubtful whether she will for a long time- to come be capable of effective partnership in a League of Nations. It is not impossible that conditions somewhat similar to those which now obtain in Russia may arise before long in the Dual Monarchy. At all events, it is difficult to feel any such confidenco as Viscount Grey apparently does in the lip-service some Austrian statesmen , have'rendered to the League of Nations ideal. Under existing conditions Austria and the . smaller Teutonic allies equally with Germany stand directly athwart the path of the prbgressi,vo and liberty-loving nations which desire to banish war from the world. But while approach to this ideal is opposed meantimo not only by an unbeaten Germany, but by a host of obstacles and difficulties arising from diversity of national and racial development, circumstances, and interests, it is equally clear that the interests of all humanity demand that no effort should be spared which makes for its realisation ; and also that the events which have so luridly emphasised the necessity of organised measures to exclude- war have- at the same time done much to make progress in that direction possible. There can be no effective League of Nations until German militarism has been destroyed, but Germany's abominable attack upon the liberties of the world has thrown other nations into a_ partnership from which much is to be hoped when victory has crowned the Allied arms. History affords no precedent to the spontaneous alliance of all but a comparatively small part of the non-German world with which' Germany has to reckon to-day and must reckon when tho time comes to conclude peace. In this alliance there is at least the early promise of such a League of Nations as is needed to enforce and maintain world peace. Of the nations at war with Germany. Britain and America have given clear expression to a determination to make such a league their goal. In the Message to Congress in which he outlined American' war aims early this year, President Wilson declared that

A general Association of Nations must be formed, under specific covenants, for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small States alike.

In a speech delivered almost simultaneously, Mr. Lloyd George affirmed on behalf of Great Britain that

... wo must seek by the creation of somo international organisation to limit the burden of armaments and diminish, the probability of war.

More recently the proposal was discussed somewhat more in detail by Mil. George Barnes, Labour representative in the British War Cabinet. He said there must be an agreement on a reduction of armaments, the suppression of private capital in their manufacture, and the inauguration of some international machinery by which effect could be promptly given to international decrees. , Mr. Barnes added that the inclusion of Germany in the League of JTations should not be regarded as a favour to Germany, but rather as something to which she should bo required to subscribe. It might well bo one of the terms imposed upon her at the Peace Conference. With Germany defeated and compelled to acquiesce, these proposals will rio doubt gain widespread support throughout the world not only from Allied nations, but from many that are now neutral. If the acceptance or rejection of tho League of Nations proposal depended upon the feasibility of forthwith creating an international organisation • capable of absolutely guaranteeing the future peace of -the world, it would have to be rejected. But, short of that impossible achievement, international organisation under tho limitations that are inevitable, and will diminish only w ifch time, experience and the growth of new ideas, will crown as nothing elso could tho efforts and sacrifices of the Allied nations'in this war, and will go far to ensure that they shall not lave been made and incurred in vain.