WORKING FOR PEACE

Evening Star, Issue 19790, 14 February 1928, Page 5

WORKING FOR PEACE

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS SOME INSIDE INFORMATION ADDRESS BY MR J. V. WILSON “Intrigues there are in the work of the League of Nations, but they are just eddies in the main current of the League’s life, which is a current flowing towards peace and conciliation. If I people will only have patience they will see the work accomplished. ( “At any moment of crisis, when two Governments are ready for war, it is probable that a majority of the Governments and all the peoples desire peace. The League’s w'ork is to mobilise those forces of peace.” , These were two of the many interesting statements made by Mr J. V. Aidson in the course of his lecture at the University Club last evening. There is noljpdy in Dunedin at the present time better qualified to speak on the League of Nations than Mr AVilson, for he is the personal assistant to Sir Eric Drummond, the Secretarygeneral of the League itself, and his work in Geneva has given him an intimate knowledge of its affairs. Although the gathering last evening was something of a private nature, Mr Wilson had among his audience representatives of practically every local body in Dunedin. The Rev. H. E. Bellhouse, chairman of the Council of the League of Nations Union, in introducing Mr Wilson said the speaker of the evening was a New Zealander who, during the war, had left for England, and who afterwards qualified for the position of assistant to the secretary of the League of Nations. His work for the League had been of an important nature, and had resulted in his securing some firsthand knowledge of that organisation’s policy. Three years _ ago Mr AVilson had previously been in New Zealand. In the present instance it was suggested that he should speak in a less formal fashion than formerly, and it was for this purpose that the council had organised the gathering that evening. Mr AVilson opened his address by stating that he was glad to meet people among whom no doubt were many who, if not absolutely sure of the League’s success, were at any rate convinced that it was a useful organisation. In making a speech of this nature he could gain comfort, if comfort he really needed, from the assurance that he was speaking in Dunedin, a city which had the reputation of knowing a sound proposition from a bad oiie. It was his intention to dwell on one or two phases of the present developments of the League’s work in Geneva. In the first place he stressed the fact that the League’s work was based on minimising the risk of war, when it seemed likely to arise, by exerting every means possible to secure a settlement of such an international dispute—a difficult programme which could not be carried out in a day. The League sought to provide something better than war for the settlement of such disputes. The problem was far from being solved, but the League had continued and would continue to work steadily in that direction. As evidence’ of how the League had grown in prestige, “take the case of Germany,” said Mr Wilson. “It is a country which, for good and had reasons, disliked the League very strongly. Most Germans would have said a tew years ago that it was impossible she should ever enter it, and yet in 1926 Germany took the tremendous step of ac cepting the Covenant of the League of Nations.” In the second place, the speaker continued, the United States hud extended towards it the hand of fellowship—a rather clammy hand, perhaps—hut nevertheless one which resulted in America little by little exerting its influence in'the desired direction. True, America did not support the League’s work from a political point of view, nor did she accept the obligations of the League’s Covenant. But in every other respect she was as fully represented as Great Britain, France, or any other Power in the League. By her generosity she had helped greatly, much having been done in the -way of health conditions through the Rockefeller donations, and the investigation into the white slave traffic hud been made possible by the American Society ot Hygiene. Moreover, Mr Rockefeller had endowed the League with a first-class library. Then, again, the Soviet Union had undoubtedly made advances to the League. A tone of courtesy had been adopted, and the Union had sent a full delegation to the Conference, in spite of the fact that it still maintained its opposition to the principle of the thing, and probably suggesietl by its demeanor that the League was a futile, even an evil organisation. However, it was'certain that these delegations constituted the beginning of a. recognition which would continue. Strictly speaking, the League was a League of Sovereign States which assembled for definite purposes, and through the Assembly business was done which affected a great number of States.

Another point, to observe was the League’s relationship to an ordinary diplorna#c machine. Its grade was something higher than this, and it was really a machine geared particularly high. Diplomacy was the normal method of settling international disputes, but when such a dispute reached a certain stage of gravity they found that State# were only too willing to have recourse to the League. It was the right of any country to bring before the council any dispute in which it was involved in order that the council should use its good offices in the way of bringing about a settlement; and this right had been freely exercised, Great having used it more than once. A ?fe example of this step was when trouble arose between Poland and Lithuania, and in this case success had been difficult to achieve because the two countries had been at loggerheads for some five or six years and were approaching a state which at any moment might lead to open hostilities; at last, however, the council had got the two parties concerned to confer. It was often said that these little quarrels did not matter, but they had a habit of growing until they became big ones. In this case Russia and Germany might have become involved; whereas, as it was, the League received promises that neither country would enforce its claims by war. The League had not been asked to deal with the trouble between Italy and Jugo-Slavia, but it was inevitable that before anything serious occurred it would have been brought before the League. Perhaps the most important work done by the League was .the work it did not do (officially); that was to say, it was not confined to the work Bet out in the agenda raper, for representatives of the Great Powers nad many of meeting privately and settling various troubles in an unostentatious manner.

Sir Edward Grey strove to get the Great Powers to meet in order to discuss the situation which led up to the Great War, and he failed in this effort only because the Germans and Austrians considered that the Serbian affair was entirely their own business. But for that, the crisis might have been averted. If there was a ruling thought at the back of the League it leemed to be that there was a general lentiment in favor of peace. If this were wrong, then the whole case went by the board. In evidence of the rapidity with which representatives of the League worked Mr Wilson instanced the case

of the trouble between Bulgaria and Greece. At about 5 o’clock one morning a messenger from _ Bulgaria, requesting a meeting of the council, brought news of the warlike movements to Geneva, and by 6 a.m. the machinery of the League was functioning, and officials were acting under authority. By 11 a.m. the council had been summoned to meet in Paris within three days’ time. . At the appointed time the council met, and as a result of that meeting of Great Powers the belligerent parties gave way, and the one which was considered to bo in the wrong paid up certain damages. Before the war there were many arbitration treaties. It was understood that disputes were susceptible to two forms of treatment, the third party method and that of conciliation. None of the pre-League treaties, however, were complete arbitration treaties. Under the Covenant of the League it was arranged that disputes should be dealt with by arbitration. In lieu of the famous Protocol of Geneva partial protocols had been adopted which, acting in the form of a big network, constituted a complete system. In dealing with the arbitration question the speaker .stated that the League had to deal with the question of disarmament. According to many nations the efforts to reduce armaments immediately struck a blow _at their security. In spite of all this the disarmament system remained. After all it was a question of confidence all through, and because of their closer relationship with the diplomats who were working for world-wide peace the people of Europe had a stronger recognition of the forces flowing towards peace than they had here. Without asserting that the League would stop all wars, the speaker _ stated that it would certainly minimise the risk of wars, and in order to keep the peace co-operation must bo brought into play. In conclusion Mr Wilson quoted a speech made in the House last July by Sir James Allen, who had said that the League’s effective influence would bring more widespread results as the years went by. Replying to Mr Ralph Harrison, who asked if the League had done anything in China, Mr Wilson stated that in the meantime nothing could be done, the reason being that nobody knew which of the Governments in China was in power. So far no assistance from the League had been sought by the parties in question. Mr G. W. C. Macdonald asked if it were true that armaments for China in the way of lighting ’planes were being supplied by a nation belonging to the League? Britain and America had given assurance that they would allow no aeroplanes other than passenger machines to go to that country. Mr Wilson answered that some of the facts suggested by the speaker were true. Nationals of France had been supplying China with fighting ’planes. Any country could well bring that sort of thing before the League, which would endeavor to raise the policy of all nations up to the standard of Britain and America.

In answer to a question from the Rev. Dr Herrington, Mr Wilson said that the arbitration system in vogue in the United States could not create any organisation which would compete with the League. Mrs Denton Leech, with special reference! to Germany, asked what would happen if there were no disarmament conference in 1928 or 1929? Mr Wilson stated that Germany’s disarmament was controlled by the Versailles Treaty, and legally it would be unaffected.

On the motion of Sir James Allen, seconded by Sir Charles Statham, Mr Wilson was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his address.