The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1920-12-18
WARNSLEAGUE
FACES WRECK
Arbitrary Domination by Council
May Be 0eathbIow, Says
Lord Cecil.
MAKES BITTER ATTACK
Assembly Rejects Rumanian
Plea to Send International
Army to Armenia.

GENEVA, Dec. 1S.--Rumanla' as
proposal to send an international
army to the relief of Armenia
was rejected by the Assembly of
the League of Nations today.
The Assembly adopted a COM
mittee report on the Armenian
mandate leaving it to the council
to fix the terms of the mandate.
The mandate committee express
ed the hope that mandatory powers
will not increase their military
forces by cOnscripting natives in
the countries for which they hold
mandates nor exploit the natural
resources. Haiti asked for ap-
pOintment of a commission to in
vestigate the treatment of natives
by the mandatory powers, but the
assembly voted it down.
GENEVA, Dec. 1S.-Solemn
warning that the League Of Nations
may break up if the League council
continues arbitrary domination was
sounded today by Lord Robert Cecil,
representative of South Africa at
the Assembly meeting and one OF
the chief founders of the League.
BITTER ATTACK.
Lord Robert Cecil delivered a bitter
attack against the council for refusing
to deliver secret mandate drafts to the
assembly for open consideration. He
charged that the assembly had been
stripped of power over the important
mandate question by the action OF the
council.
THE League of Nations is entering
critical stage" said Lord Robert
Cecil. III the council Is not careful
it will plunge the league into disastrous
failure"
The world will be disappointed over
the assembly's failure on the mandate
question:" said Charles J. Doherty, OF
the Canadian delegation.
A. j. Balfour, of the British dele
cation, took issue with the critics of
the councils handling OF the mandates.
THE British view is that the council
alone Is responsible for the former Ger
man colonies" said MIR. Balfour. The
assembly may adopt a mandate for the
colonies, but IL so. Great Britain will
announce reservations"
CLEAN Up ROUTINE.
AS this was the last day of the as
sembly meeting, the delegates met
especially carly to clean up routine
matters
Many of the delegates will leave
Geneva in a hostile mood over the
mandate question. The assembly
was ignored completely. The man
date decisions Of the inter-allied su-
prcme council and the League of Ma
tions Council have been put into ef-
feT fa frn ~ Les
members.
This reopens Germany's contention
that the mandates for tho former
German colonies should be held by
the League of Nations instead of by
the big powers controlling the Su
preme council. Germany threatened
TO break the treaty OF Versailles un-
less her protest was needed, but II
was ignored. All indications OF the
closing session of the assembly meet
ing are that the fight TO give the
assembly equal power with the coun-
Gil will be resumed at the next meet
ing.
DEFER sHANTUNG ISSUE.
DR.. Wellington HOO, former Chi
nese ambassador to the United states
and head of the Chinese delegation to
the League of Nations meeting, nm
nounced Mt tho final session OF the
assembly today that China hns de-
cidcd TO swnit n more favorable time
TO press for evacuation OF the shan
tunE peninsula by the Japanese.
Delegates from former enemy coun-
tries sat in the League OF Nations
meeting for the first time today.
Representatives from Austria and
Bulgaria were present Some OF the
smaller states that were admitted to
the League had representation also.