Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-17
Leon Bourgeois of France
Elected Chairman at First
'Session-Says Honor Should
Have Gone to Wilson.
FIRST PROTEST FILED
BY ENJOYS OF IRELAND
Object to ''Engine of Empire,
Designed to Secure and Per-
petuate English Hegemony
In Both Hemispheres."
By Associated Press.

Paris, Jan. l6.-Representatives Of
France, Great Britain, Italy, Greece.
Belgium, Spain, Japan. Portugal and
Brazil, members of the council of
the league of nations, met in the
"c,ock room" of the French foreign
Office at 10 o'clock this morning for
the first meeting in the history OF
the league
The council organized at 1880
o'clock by electing Leon Bourgeois
chairman and confirming the choice
of Sir Eric Drummond of Great
Britain as general secretary.
The first official act of the council
was the appointment of commits
sion to trace upon the spot the from
tiers of the territory of the Sarre
basin.
Plans Are, Outlined.
Leon Bourgeois, French repre-
sentative, who presided, said:
"The task of presiding at this
meeting and itiaugurating this great
international institution should have
fallen to President Wilson. We re-
spect the reasons which still delay
final decision by our friends in
Washington. but express the hope
that their difficulties will soon be
overcome and that representative
of the great American republic will
occupy the place awaiting him
among US. The work of the council
will then assume definite character
and will have that particular force
which should be associated with our
work.
January Is, 1920, will go down in
history as the date of the birth of
new world. Decisions to be reached
today will be in, the name of ali
nations adhering to the covenant
of the league. 1t will be the first
decree of all free nations leaguing
themselves together, for the first
time in the world, to substitute right
for might. But the organization Of
the league of nations will not be
complete until the assembly of all
the states meets"
u. S. Only Absentee.
All the members of the council
called for by the covenant of the
league. with the exception of the
representatives of the United States
were present when M. Bourgeois
call the meeting to order. Besides M.
Premier Venizelos, without rising,
opened the proceedings by nominal
ing M. Bourgeois for chairman.
Lord Curzon seconded the nomina-
ton and M. Bourgeois was unani-
mously elected. After speeches by
M. Bourgeois and Lord Curzon,
Signor Ferraris, on behalf of Italy,
said his nation was glad to respond
to the invitation "of the president
and the great American people" :" He
mentioned the skepticism amidst
which the leagne was born and said
this was fact to be neither exag-
gerated nor ignored. He added that
among the duties ,of the league
would be to give attention to the
high cost of transportation, the high
cost of living, and the state of in
ternational finance.
First Protest From Ireland.
The council received the first for
NAL protest to be presented to it al
most before it came into being. The
protest was from "the ENJOYS of the
elected government of the Irish re-
public" against "the unreal English
si1pulacre of an international league
of peace"
No mention of the protest was
made during the meeting of the
council, but copies were handed to
the newspaper correspondents after
they left the foreign Office. The doc
ument was signed "Quaklaigh Duff
fy" It registered objections to the
pretended league of nations" and
declared the league to be an "engine
of empire, designed to secure and
perpetuate English hegemony
throughout. both hemispheres.'
The protest insisted that the
league was illusory and incomplete,
lacking authority and sanction and
declared that the United States stood
out in indignation and reputation
of II