The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-05-12

washington. u. ", may liz La
is mandate, and what II the rela-
ton Of the United States to the
various mandates that have been
handed out by the league Of nations
to its members?
The mandate is asserted BY in
ternational lawyers to be q new
principle In international rela-
tons. We are going to hear q great
deal about mandates in the next
few years. and it is very likely
that some Of US are going to be
called upon to fight about them.
Therefore, let US see. II possible,
what a mandate is.
In theory a mandate is an order
from a league Of the civilized ma
tons of the world to one OF those
nations, making it responsible for
the welfare of q certain nation or
piece Of territory considered to be
less civilized. Tho ideal of the
mandate is that the civilized ma
tons. instead Of exploiting the
backward ones, each as it can.
should care for them tenderly and
be responsible to the whole world
for the results.
In practice, q mandate is per-
mission, given BY the powers which
won the late war to one Of those
powers, to supervise the affairs Of
some backward country. The man
datory nation enjoys certain adj
vantages in that territory. but it
also has certain responsibilities to
the league Of nations, which, il en-
forced, would raise the develop
ment Of backward countries to a
higher level both from the eco
nomic and the humanitarian point
Of view. OF course, In this matter,
everything really depends upon
what the council of the league
wants to do and is able to do.
The mandate also seeks to keep
one nation from exploiting exclu-
s1vely a backward territory, and to
give the other members of the
league certain rights in it But
It does not do az much for the ma
tons which are not members Of
the league. And that is the chief
interest Of the mandate for the
United States. BY reason of our fail
ure to join the league, We have not,
in the opinion Of the members Of
the league. the same rights in man
datory territory that they have, al
though We bore q full share in the
war.
The Three Kinds.
The council Of the league of ma
tons acknowledges three chief
kinds of mandates. The A class
mandates cover former Turkish
possessions including MesopotamAa.
The B class mandates cover islands
OF the Pacific, south of the Equator,
and the c class mandates cover is
lands in the Pacific. north of the
equator. The Palestine mandate is
in a sense fourth kind.
1t is often said that A, in man
datory language, stands for oil,
and c stands for cables. In the ad-
ministration Of the B class man
date, therefore, il anywhere, we will
see exemplified that high interna-
tional altruism which is supposed
to be the motive of the mandate.
According to the terms Of this
mandate. Samoa is to be admins
tered by New Zealand; Naurau
pleasant Island), in the Pacific
ocean. a short distance south of
the equator. by Great Britain; Ger
man Southwest Africa. by the Union
of South Africa; and former Ger
man possessions in the Pacific
south OF the equator (other than
Samoa and Uauru) by Australia.
These mandates Of class B, pro-
vide for the promotion and ma
terial well-being OF the territor-
les under mandatory power. They
prohibit slave trafic and forced Ia
Dor in these territories except for
the essential public works for which
adequate remuneration is paid.
These mandates do not affect the
individual ownership Of land in
the territories under mandatory
rule. The taxes and general pol
icy are more or less affected by
such a change Of government. In
accordance with the Treaty Of YER
all of the former German
possessions will be so affected.
Mandates prohibit traffic in arms
and ammunitions and between the
natives Of the mandatory territories
and other countries. Intoxicants