Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8, 1926. AN INTERNATIONAL WAR CHEST.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 9, 8 December 1926, Page 8

Manawatu Evening Standard. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8, 1926. AN INTERNATIONAL WAR CHEST.

We are not at all surprised to liear of liostile criticisms in the British press of . the prpposal which is to be submitted by Finland to the Council of the Lfeague of Nations this week, for the provision of an international war chest to finance any member of the League becoming victim of aggression. Apparently the proposal is that Great Britain and the other Great Powers (presumably Italy, Prance, Japan and Germany) should each provide ten millions, making fifty millions for the proposed war chest; the several Governments to guarantee that their share will be raised by their bankers. The Finnish authorities consider that such a provision would avoid the necessity of exposed States, such as those along the Russian frontier, maintaining heavy armaments and munition factories. The proposal does not appear to contemplate the immediate handingover of the fifty millions to the League of Nations, and, assuming that the provision to be thus made is a reasonable one, the mere promise to pay seems to constitute the weak point of the proposal itself. If the money is only to be collected and handed over to such member or members of the League as may become the victims of aggression on the outbreak of hostilities, the latter may be well over before the financial assistance arrives. It will be remembered that a former proposal discussed by the Council of the League of Nations practically sought to make the British navy responsible for the policing of the seas, and the carrying on of punitive measures against any belligerent attacking a member of the League. The Finnish proposal seems to be very much on the same lines, and to be lackingin any provision for ensuring the required funds when the necessity arises for their employment. Promises nowadays are more readily made than they are fulfilled, and while we have no doubt Great Britain would cheerfully provide her ten millions, it is far from certain that the other Powers, beset with financial difficulties arising out of the war, would be at all eager to find, much less provide, the moneys required of them. It has. to be further noted that warfare in this twentieth century is a far more costly business than it was fifty, or even twenty years ago, and fifty millions would not go very far in meeting the cost of a defensive war in which League members might be forced to engage. In her dealings with her Allies Great Britain is finding out that the war loans she made to them are not easily recoverable. The Russian loans have gone overboard altogether, and there is very little likelihood of the moneys advanced to Russia prior to', the revolution of 1917 being ever recovered. Britain’s other important allies—France, Italy

and Belgium—do not appear to be greatly concerned over the repayment of their war indebtedness, and the German reparations payments permit only of relatively small sums being handed over to Britain. The ten millions which Britain would have to subscribe to the international war chest would only be a first instalment of the moneys required to prosecute a defensive war, and it is very doubtful if the already overburdened British taxpayer would be prepared to shoulder the cost of a foreign war, even if he had the assurance that the other four Powers concerned were cooperating in providing the moneys to finance it. If provision is to be made for an international war chest, the Council of the League of Nations should make sure that the money is in hand before they accept the responsibility of financing any member of the League assailed by predatory action on the part of a hostile nation.