The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-11-05
Blockade Question to Be Decided By League

New York, Nov. 5.-One of the inn portant questions to be considered by the Assembly of the League of Ma tlons at it's first meeting, beginning preparations required to enable the League to use, if necessity arises, the weapon of international economic and financial blockade contemplated in Article XVI of the Covenant
 memorandum by Sir Eric Drum .mond, the Secretary-Genera1, now Z being distributed to the members of the League, and received here by the League to Enforce Peace shows that this question will come before the Assembly on the recomnleE dation of ti,e I.ealuc Council in the form of 9 'Eroposal to appoint a body to be . fnown as the International Blockade Commission. The Secretary-Genera1 suggests that his commission consist nt representatives nominated by the countries entitled to permanent mem bership in the Council, wifl the ad- fdition of representatives of four other members of the League selected by Istudying the problem and settling the general plan of action, the organiza- tion Of the more permanent machin- cry required and the rinciples on which it. should work.
 This question is of peculiar interest to the United States, because one If the first problems such a commission would consider promises to be the f@tCtiAOd Ol ItIlue-tHS d DIpCkduC 0l- fective against states which are not members of the League. In report adopted by the Council of the League at the San Sebastian meeting in Au- gust, M. Tittoni, the Italian represen- tative, stated: 'It should be clear that the states members of the tLeague of Nations who dcclare the blockade have ,he ~ight to render il these who are not mernp CTS of tIfe Lea que. but they have not the righ! to force the states WIG do not form part of the League 70 declare to de- clare he blockads ther :se:ves
 Article XVI provides that, should any member of the League resort to war in disregard of it's covenants, all the other members shall undertake erance of all trade or financial rela- ltions and the prevention of all financial, commercial or per sonal intercourse between the nation als of the covenant breaking state and the nationals of any other state whether a member of the League or not and that the members shall mu- tually support one another in the financial and economic, measures taken under this article
 The use of this weapon" says the Secretary General, "is in certain cir cumstances a specific duty imposed by Article XVI. This duty cannot be effectively carried out without great loss off tme and efficiency un- less there has been considerable pre- vious preparation before the time a which action is required
 "SituationS might well arise 1T which the knowledge that the weapon is ready for use would have very - salutary effect. Many people think that the League is founded more upor good intentions than upon cool con sideration of the stern realities of in ternational trouble. It is, therefore desirable on general grounds tha while the first meetings of the Coun ci1 of the Assembly should give tht world the positive home of removing misunderstanding and promoting in ternationa1 cooperation, they should also show quite clearly that the mem bers of the League as whole are de termined, if necessity arises, to en force their will by effective action o1 any particular country which in th' circumstances contemplated by thu covenant defies the general verdict O the world.'
 The memorandum calls attention t one important difference between tn two forms of pressure Economic. am military which the League may use aS as follows: Where a member of tn League resorts to war in disregard o ,, specified covenants, all other member of the League are by the covenan itself specifically obliged to apply tn economic weapon. They are not simi lar1yobliged to use their military o naval forces. In the latter case, tn Article (XVD only provides that shall be the duty of the Council i such cases to recommend to the sev eral governments concerned what ef fective military or naval forces the shall severally contribute.'
 The Secretary is of tn opinion that the Article clearly cor templates that, so far as possibl, "the responsibility for enforcing eco homie pressure shall be decentra- ized, 1. e., a primary responsibilit rests upon each government to talk action so far as it's own nationals an
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