Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-11-05
To DISCUSS USE
Of BLOCKADE AS
LEAGUE WEI ON
Rr The AssocInted Pressl

important questions to be consul
cred by the assembly of the league
of nations at its first meeting, be-
ginning November Is, at Geneva, /
will be the preparations required to
enable the league to use, II neces-
sity arises, the weapon of interna-
tional economic and financial
blockade contemplated in article
XVI of the covenant.
A memorandum by Sir Eric
Drummond, the secretary general,
now being distributed to the MEM
bers of the league, and received
here by the League to Enforce
Peace, shows that this question will
come before the assembly on the
recommendation OF the league
council in the form of a proposal
to appoint a body TO be known as
the international blockade commits
sion. The secretary general sug-
gests that this commission consist
of representatives nominated by
the countries entitled to permanent
membership in the council, with
the addition of representatives of
four other members of the league
selected by the assembly, for the
purpose of studying the problem
and settling the general plan of ac-
ton, the organization of the more
permanent machinery required and
the principles on which it should
work.
Interests United States.
This question is of peculiar in
terest to the United States. because
one of the first problems such a
commission would consider prom
ises to be the method of rendering
a blockade effective against states
which are not members of the
league. In a report adopted by the
council of the league at the San Sc
bastian meeting in August, M. Tit
toni, the Italian representative,
stated: TT should be clear that
the states members of the league
| of nations who declare the block
ade have the right to render it eff
| fective against all states including
those who are not members of the
! league, but they have not the right
to force the states who do not form
part of the league to declare the
blockade themselves"
Article XVI provides that, should
l p. L
to war in disregard of its cove
nants all the other members shall
undertake immediately to subject
it to the severance of all financial,
commercial or personal intercourse
between the nationals of the cove
nant- breaking state and the ma
tionals of any other state whether
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
circumstances a specific duty i'm
posed by article XVI. This duty
cannot be effectively carried out
without great loss of time and eff
ficiency unless there has been con-
siderable previous preparation be-
fore the time at which action is re-
quired.
situations might we'll arise in
which the knowledge that the
weapon is ready for use would
have very salutary effect. Many
people think that the league is
founded more upon good intentions
than upon a cool consideration of
the stern realities of international
trouble. 1t is, therefore, desirable
on general grounds that while the
first meetings of the council and
the assembly should give the world
the positive hope of removing mis-
understanding and promoting in
ternational cooperation they
Id, oil oil, oil
the members of the league as a
whole are determined, if necessity
arises, to enforce their will by eff
fective action on any particular
country in which the circumstances
contemplated by the covenant de-
fies the general verdict of the
world"
The memorandum calls attention
to one important difference be-
tween the two forms of pressure
economic and military which the
league may use, as follows
where a member of the league
resorts to war in disregard of
specified covenants, all other mem
bers of the league are by the cove
nant itself specifically obliged to
use their military or naval forces.
In the latter case, the article
(XVD only provides that it shall
be the duty of the council in such
cases to recommend to the several
governments concerned what ef-
fective military or naval forces
they shall severally contribute"
The secretary general is of the
opinion that the article clearly
contemplates that, SO far as possi-
BILE, 1.-The responsibility for enforc-
ing economic pressure shall be de-
centralized, /. e., primary respon-
sibility rests upon each government
to take action so far as its own ma
tionals and own machinery arc
concerned, arrangements being
made by each of them separately
and not by single international
authority"
AT the same time. he concludes
that central co-ordinating au-
thority will be required If the
weapon of economic pressure is to