Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-04-01
THE MACHINERY OF THE
LEAEJ'E


The present covenant proposed for
the league of nations does not provide
Tor any legislature. II does provide
! for two advisory boards. They are
! not called that but that is about
| what they are. One of them is called
| the body OF delegates, and win in
| clnde representatives mot more than
| three from any one country from all
nations belonging to the league. The
other is called the executive council,
and will have representatives from
the five great powers and from four
other nations. In the beginning these
four powers will be named in the COW
enant, but after the league is running
they will be selected by the body OF
delegates. Then there is a secretar-
lat under the direction of a secretary
general appointed by the executive
council.
This general scheme looks very
much like the organization of the
present peace conference. The body
of delegates to the league of nation;
corresponds to the whole number of
delegates at the peace conference,
while the executive council of the
league OF nations corresponds to the
supreme council. And in exactly the
same way, one body may be a part OF
the other. The covenant does not say
that the members of the executive
council are to be members of the body
or delegates; but surely, If the two
bodies were to be quite separate. they
might be in session at the same time
"a possibility which is not contem-
plated in Art. V, where the secretary
general is instructed to act as secre-
tary at all meetings of the bodv of
delegates or of the executive coun-
ell.
This point is not importont hrt n
suggests that the farmers of tho roy.
enant had in mind for the league ma
chinery patterned after what they
have been using for the paace conrer.
ence.
But just as the present peace conn
ell can not bind the several nofions 70
any permanent treaty witbout tho
consent of the home governments 81
after the league of nations is formed
the executive council ana tbo nod, as
delegates will have no newer, - i';,,d
the home governments Tho faot
that we have but one vote ont of nina
does not seem so very onoinous wha,,
we recall that the executive co',nciI
has very little authority. tn faot all
the talk about setting nm n povarn.
ment over us that will destroy oI,,,,,n
tional sovereignty appears obsurd IN
the light of a careful reading of tba
covenant Whatever danger Iies In
the covenant is to be found In +ba
principles that we accent and ~
agreements that we make. IF is h., no
means in any power that we vest i,
the body of delepates mr. tho oveo,,-
tive council.
The whole question resolves itself
then, into what principles we accent
and what agreements we make Ana
if there are any important nrincinice
that we should like to see incorporat-
ed in the covenant, their omission
may perhaps leave the covenant In
complete, but it can not make II dan.
gerous. If q man presents Won with
five apples when you wanted six vo,,r
failure to get the sixth doesn't snoil
the five you have. Don't throw awav
the five you have. Keen them Yo,
may get the sixth tomorrow
My statement that the present row
enant does not set I'm n government
over us or provide for a legislature
has been challenged will exnlain
Just what | mean. and then leave #
to the readers of the journal ia de-
eide whether my statement was sub-
stantially correct.
When we choose a legislature we
turn over to it some of our sovereign
power and tell it to go ahead and
make laws. Sometimes it doesn't 20
ahead. Sometimes it goes - far
And there isn't any telling in advance