South Bend news-times., 1919-08-23
Other Editors Than Ours
NMoN SENSE AND THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS.
COMMON
(By George Allan England.

tBy George Allan EngiandD
The most original thing any one can do in dis
cussing the League of Nations. is to refrain from
quoting Tennyson. I shall do tnis thing. Which
means that l shall put aside much of the idealism
of the subject and approach it from the standpoint
of common sense, alone
In the first place the matter is com nplicated by
the general assumption that in dealing with the
various nations dealing with homogeneous
units The United States, France England and so
on are spoken OF as such units animated pre-
sumably by common purposes. The trainers of the
League have ignored, have either understood
have suppressed the fact that no such hOmogeheity
IN truth exists. salient feature modern cap
alist society. the class struggle. has been cOnven-
iently shelved No effective has proclaimed
the message. in the councils OF the League. that
modern civilized society is cleft ny this dividing
line that the interests OF the different classes
conflict. This League. as proposed, is therefore
sentally a League contemplated by the master
classes for their mutual protection
ages Of war having been amply proved al
togetbe~ too exnansivs q method Of settinr mas
ter-cass quarrels.
Would the peace Of the world he
Curely guaranteed by a covenant between those.
throughout the world. who do most of the suffering
and paving for war that they Will night no more?
throw this hint into the air, ike a Longfellowpan
arrow which may fall earth where"
but which may bear with il germs OF a really effec
tive peace organization.
Another thought: The League contemplates O.
operation between various social groups in
ly different states OF development. Some full
capitalist states others partly still others frank
Is primitive This makes an extremely hybrid or
ganization 1t is like trying add different kinds
OF things and learned in primary school that
different kinds OF things cannot be added There
he a common denominator. Think this out,
also, and see just what the only possible common
denominator ne. in effective international
peace-effOrts I have my idea; what is yours?
In the League goes through, proposed.
certainly justice viii be outraged if each nation.
civilized uncivized capitalized primitive has
an equal There should be upper and a
lower house OF some sort, the former with one
each. for every nation involved: the lat
with representative for each of popu-
laton. be that unit million, FIVE million what
Only thus any sort OF justice be maintain
ed And even this arrangement work Injustice
the smaller weaker nations. IN fine, the prob
lem involved-acceptng the world it really is
and laying all bue-bird dreams aside-is
that the eve of sense it looks be near
" insoluble
ON the whole. however. I in favor OF the
League Faulty though IL may be II is a step in the
right direction Observation-Disclosures this
way. II cannot have the whole apple. common
dictates that accept bite
BY all means. let have League. But let
forget rainbow chasing ia the wake OF LongfeOw
and let realize that any League consti-
tuted be only step toward really effective
which shall for all time efficiently safeguard
the neace OF the world