The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1919. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 January 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1919. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

According to the forecast of the Paris journal Le Petit Parisien as to the sessions of the Peace Congress, the general conference concerning the League of Nations, freedom of the seas and the limitation of armaments will not take place until after the peace preliminaries are signed. President Wilson has been doing all in his power to further the promotion of j this league, and he is backed up] by a considerable section of hisj eountrymen, In a recent cable from New York it was stated that | Mr David Laurence, the New York Evening Post's correspondent at Rome, asserts that President "Wilson is studying the plan of a League of Nations drawn up by General Smuts and submitted to the president. The plan is said to reflect the point of view of the British Government, and calls for close economical and political co-operation, without yielding national sovereignty, and it does not make acceptance of the league's decision necessary when that deei' n, i endangers the security of the affected nation. It is diffi-

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in the abstract, although, in this ease there is an attractive idea embodied in the project. It can readily be understood why the details of the scheme have not been made public—and probably wil| be kept secret until after peace preliminaries are signed—for it would be unwise and impolitic to furnish Germany with any openingl to avoid the penalty of her crimes or to escape the fulfilment of any pledge she may give at the I impending settlement of terms. The fact that the British Government has given its approval to General Smuts's scheme certainly entitles it to serious notice. Yet the league is more or less an ideal, though its object—the establishment and maintenance of a world wide peace—appeals to the imagination with telling force. No project of this vital and far-reach-ing scope can possibly be free from blemishes, some of which may strike at the root of cherished principles. The unimpaired retention of national sovereignty ,&t once raises a serious difficulty, for, as an American Senator recently exemplified when denouncing the project, it would mean the transference to European governments of the powers of the United States Congress. That is only one case in point, but there arc many others. It is quite possible to formulate a workable scheme for a league of Nations, but it can only be evolved by the exercise of whole souled co-opera-tion and willingness to make sacrifices commensurate with the greatness of the object in view. Will the nations make these sacrifices ? It is possible, but scarcely probable for they have not yet attained to the spirit which belo p:s to the millenhrm. Would the United States, for example, submit to an alien tribunal the settle'lnent of questions of vital national importance such as the operation of the Monroe Doctrine? Would Prance be willing to accept the dictate of a tribunal as to giving back Alsace-Lorraine to Germany? Would Britain consent to a verdict which meant giving up India, or her navy? Yet it is proposed to set up a tribunal Which would pass judgment on these and other kindred questions and to enforce the verdict. What good did the League of Nations which guaranteed the neutralit of Belgium or the Pact of Lou don? Nothing but failure resulted. All leagues, compacts, treaties and other conventions are only of service so long as the signatories please, so that they can only be regarded as temporary expedients, having no guarantee of durability and cohesion. It is a curious coincidence that the president of the United States should be taking such pains to found a league which would necessitate the abandonment of principles which have come to be regarded in America as £xed as the laws of the Medes and Persians. Admitting that the idea is alluring and that if carried out loyally it would be the greatest blessing the world had ever received, the question arises whether the nations have arrived at 4 such a frame of mind that they are willing to place implicit trust in a league of this kind to administer international justice, maintain perfect freedom, and eliminate armed force as the arbiter of disputes. Would that they had reached this parting of the ways, for then in verity a golden era would have dawned on the world. In the late war we have seen a league of nations banded together to oppose the greatest military tyranny that has ever existed, and even America took part in the work. Force had to be met by force, and so it Avill again. Still, it is necessary to safeguard treaties and a League of Nations might accomplish work of that nature provided the requisite force could be depended upon. President Wilson regards I lie balance of power method as I icing unworthy of consideration as an alternative to the league, but unless the league possesses the balance of power it will be as unstable as a reed. Obviously there must be compromises and we all know whither they trend. The only real safeguard for the nations is to be found in the maxim that those who wish for peace must be prepared for war. The Allies have demonstrated to the militarists that war does not pay, and the object lesson is one that must ever be kept in the foreground. Each 1 nation has to war against its criminal class and the same principle applies internationally. Starting from a common under* standing of this nature, then it would be possible to control hostilities by means of a League of Nations, The Allies' aim in the recent war was to ensure a lasting peace, but to expect that aim can be carried out by any means but force would be futile. At the same time much good may be accomplished by evolving a scheme for the maintenance of peace, but it is manifest that the crux of the position is the solidarity of the Powers on whom that m'intenance is imposed and their being