The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-11-30
THE LEAGUE ASSEMBLY,.

THE LEAGUE ASSEMBLY,.
The league OF nations has convened Tor ITS
first session at Geneva, Switzerland What
work it will undertake and what it will accom-
plsh are conjectural. 1t is the popular body OF
the league, each member being entitled to rep
resentation in it and to vote III its dehDera-
tons except such are disputants before IT,
4 All governments have the same voice IN TINS
/ body. Haiti being as powerful as Great Brit
ain Forty-two nations are entitled 10 nave
their delegates sit in the present session All
the varied views of International relations
will be brought to the gathering The man
ner in which they are met, solved, conclliated
or decided will leave a strong impress upon
the governments. If the smaller governments
by their larger number of votes attempt to
force through policies which are advantageous
TO them. but inimical to larger governments,
there will be a sharp cleavage which will
leave much of the work uncertain, if not de-
stroyed.
It has been foreseen for sometime that in
the assembly the clash of different nations
because OF their different Importance, prob
ABLY would be the rock upon which the body
would ground. The enthusiasm for the league
having cooled, as all such things do after the
wave of emotion which brought them into ex-
istence wanes, the governments will begin
struggle for advantages which in time will
have pronounced effect upon the course the
assembly will follow. Those things will not be
openly in evidence at the present meeting, but
the seeds will be there, and the future crops
will be harvested in due season.
One OF the things which the smaller and
therefore weaker nations will attempt to
bring about, either at this meeting or at a
subsequent one, is an understanding prohibit
ing the larger nations from using force to col
lect debts due their nationals against the small
er governments or against their nationals. The
United States took armed control Of the ad-
ministration OF the government OF Santo Do
mingo to prevent Germany and Great Britain
from using naval force to collect the obliga-
tions of the government to citizens OF these
nations. History is replete with instances OF
a like nature. The smaller nations have never
willingly consented to the policy OF naval
! collection Even the benehcent policies OF the
United States in preventing the exploitation
of the American nations under the application
| of the Monroe doctrine is resented. These
nations want to be left alone. They resent the
| insinuation of inability to defend themselves
yet they are victims OF stronger nations when
ever they fail to comply with the latter's ex-
actions.
! One question of importance which will come
before the present meeting, if it is not side
tracked, is the formulation of details for en-
| forcing the boycott against recalcitrant mem
bers which refuse to comply with the leagues
decisions. This attempt will bring on a sharp
conflict between the exporting and importing
nations between those which must get their
bread and meat from the outside and those
which have food to SELL The nations which
may be reduced to starvation by short boy
colt will resist the rigid application Of the
boycott principle. Those which are able tc
feed their people on their own productions
will not be so determined. Their action viii
! be based on the possible loss of trade instead
| of the possible starvation of their people. But
the two purposes will be used to accomplish
the same end. 1t will be no surprise if the
assembly, if it acts definitely on this subject
pulls the teeth from the league boycott leav-
ing nothing but military force to make the
leagues mandates effective