The Seward gateway daily edition, and the Alaska weekly post., 1920-11-24

ONE YEAR. b advance - -- - -- - Slo TIE ALA1A WEEKLY P0ST hs nail .
 Editorial and Business Office
 MEMBERS OF THE
 The Associated Press is exclusive of an news dispatches credited to it ( and also the local news published hes,
 NEW YORK. Nov, ~ One of the important questions to be considered by the Assembly of the League If Nations at its first meting, at Geneva, will be the preparations required to enable the League to use, if necessity arises, the weapon of international economic and financial blockade con- templated in Article XVI of the Cove nant.
 memorandum by Sir Eric Drum mond, the Secretary General, now be- ing distributed to the members of the League, and received here by the League to Enforce Peace shows that this question will come before the As Sembly, on the recommendation of the League Council in the form of a p:o- posal to appoint body to be known as the Internationl Blockade Commissi'n. The Secretary General suggests that this commission consit of representa- tives nominated by the countries en- titled to permanent membership in the Council, with the addition of re- presentatives of four other memhers of the League selected by the Assem- bly, for the purpose of studying the problem and settling the general plan of action, the organization of the m Ire permanent machinery required and the principles on which it should work.
 This question is of peculiar in. = est to the United States. because one c: the first problems such commits sion would consider promises te tt the method of rendering a blocka le ef- fective against states which a.: not members of the League. In a report aaopted by the Council of the l.s.gue g: The San Sebastian meeting in Aug c.,:, M. Tittoni, tae !saiian represents eve, stated: 1t Sh IL be cleat ;l,a, t'ir states men,l,c,s of the League - Nations who des.i2, the blockade h:Ic lhr right to raace.' effective agai,,s' :." states in~'r ,ns " SC who are not members of the .eSyue. but the hare rt; the right ta for, the states Sao i: not form pat f Ia" League 3" d. clare the blockade themselves
 Article XVI provides that, should any member of the League resor: to war in disregard of Its covenants. all the other members shall undertake immediately, to subject it to the sever ance of all trade or financial relations and the prevention of all financial commercial or personal intercourse be- tween the nationals of the covenant. breaking state and the nationals of any other state whether a member of the League or not" and that the mem bers shall mutually support one an other 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 eff Actively carried out without great ldss of time and efficiency unless  there has been considerable previous pteparation before the time at which action is required.
 Situations might we'll arise in which the knowledge that the weapon $ ready for use would have a very salutary effect. Many people think that the League is founded more upon good intentions than upon a cool con- sideration of the stern realities of in- ternational trouble. It is, therefore, de- sireable on general grounds that while the first meetings of the Council and the Assembly should give the world