THE LEAGUE OP NATIONS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 269, 9 August 1919, Page 7

THE LEAGUE OP NATIONS

SIR'JOSEPH WARD IS OPTIMISTIC. The establishment of the League of Nations, in the' opinion of Sir Joseph Ward, was the most important work done by the Peace Conference. - "It is not a question of" whether the Leagtic to-day-Is perfect or"not,"-he said to a-Dominion reporter yesterday "The real- point is ■what'the Lea.gue-is going to become dur-ing'-the next five or ten years." The Minister of Finance indicated that ho believed the Leaffiio was destined to be a factor of enormous importance in international affairs, and that it would be able to" exercise; a tremendously strong restraining influence on any nation .that wight threaten to disturb the-peace of •the world in the future. Germany-and'Russia .were outside the League, but ho hod no doubt that, they would come in. The Germans had depleted their country- financially, and with a. va.st bill to pay to tho countries they had -wronged they would realise their need of.peace. The Kussians, practically bankrupt and at present Tidden by the Bolsheviks, would feel their need of a long period :-of peace. Tho Russians to-dav,.lacking adequate-communications and an effective Press, were.at present, in much, the same position as the Chinese people occupied during the Boxer War. They imagined - that they were on the winning side. , But they would learn orally, if no ■ other ■n-av, what was going on in me .world, and their desire for peace and for settled conditions would be as great as that til any other nation. ■ ■ ■ 'The Leaguo of Nations, added Sir Joseph Ward, would provido a breathing space during which the education, of the nations, and certainly the education of tlw. youth of tho nations, would transform the world. Other generations had been taught that war was the sole path to the goal of freedom and securitywithin their own territories. - The new generation would be taught that freedom-a.nd-security could be found witliin the organisation of tho League of Nations, which woukl be ready to apply united pressure to'tho nation that threatened to disturb the world's peace and inflict injustice on a neighbour.