The Washington herald., 1920-12-27
DEFERRED ACTION
CAUSES WITHDRAWAL.

They were anxious, too, to intro
duce into the assembly and league
a stronger German element. The
Argentine delegates. therefore.
pressed the consideration of an
amendment by which all the mem
bers of the council should be elect
cd by a majority of the assembly.
instead of giving permanent tenure
to five places to the great powers.
They also offered an amendment
making all nations members of the
league unless they declined, thus
bringing Germany in. They could
not have expected to carry such
amendments, because the league
procedure for passing an amend
ment gives to any one of the great
powers the power to veto an amend
ment. 1t was not the defeat of their
amendments which drove the Ar
gentine representatives to their inn
patient outburst and their with
drawal; it was the mere postpone
ment of the consideration of the
amendment for six months. This
irnpatience would seem almost
childish, unless il can be attributed
to a wish to break up the league
at once-an hypothesis somewhat
corroborated by the announced pur-
pose of the delegates of the Argen
tine to go to Paris to have an in
terview with Senator Medill McCor-
mick, one of the Rittcr-cnders. to
consider proposal for new
league. 1t is noteworthy that Chile.
presumably as pro-German in its
sympathy as the Argentine. did not
Join the Argentine in its with
drawal.
CoNCEITs OF SMALL
NATIONS SERIOUS.
1t would be very unwisc to change
the character of the league so as TO
give a controlling voice in the poll
cies of tho league to a majority in
number OF all the nations of the
world. The bumptiousness of the
little nations and the disposition on
their part to use a veto power to
obstruct reasonable measures which
do not accord to them the influence
and power which their vanity de-
mands, is one of the serious 6iifi-
culties in an international arrange
ment. which includes the smaller
powera. This was found fatal in
the time of Senator Knox, when a
plan was sought upon which all
should agree for the constitution of
permanent international court.
Each nation wished to have a per-
manent representative on that
court. This would have made the
court a town meeting rather than a
judicial tribunal of reasonable and
practical number. The truth is that
the members chiefly responsible for
the success of a league or associa-
ton of nations must be the great
powers. When affirmative action of
Importance is to be taken, the bur-
den of il will necessarily fall on
them, whether it be the boycott or
the use of military forces, and,
therefore, they should have a veto
upon any affirmative policy which
may involve them so much more
seriously than it will a smaller
power of which but little aggres-
siveness can be reasonably expected.
Under the existing league a major
ity of the smaller powers can ex-
ercise exactly the same veto power
that the great powers WELD, and
the balance between them is thus
fairly preserved.
DEMOCRACY Is NOT
ALWAYS APPLICABLE.
1t is easy to talk about and urge
democracy in the government Of
league, but the suggestion is wholly
misleading. and an entire misappli-
cation of a principle that properly
applies in the rule of a people of
country where a single elector is
the unit. To maintain that the in
fiuence Of the United states in
league which is to be useful to the
world should be no greater than
that of Venezuela or China or Po-
land or the Czecho-Slovak state, Is
unressonable. and would not make