Great Falls tribune., 1921-05-11
The HQski,l Letter
Bv FREDERICK
j HASkM
WHAT rs "A MANDATE.

| the natives forbidden except for pollce
! and local defense forces necessary 70
keep peace. On the other hand, the
power holding the mandatory right Is
not allowed to build military or naVai
bases or to establish any fortlficatiohs
in the territory under its authority. :
| The free exercise of all forms OIL
religious worship is allowed, ana ms
sionaries. nationals of states. members
of the League Of Nations, shall be per
mitted to travel and reside in the ter
ritories and follow their eallings., iro-
| visions are made for educational nee
| dom and advancement, also.
Position Of Associated Powers.
Mandatories are required to report
to the League of Nations annually on
| the territory under mandatory rule ana
the measures taken to carry out tleir
obligations in accordance with 'he
above rulings. ;,
The consent of the council Of the
League Of Nations is required to MAKE
any modification of the terms OF
mandate.
This declaration is deposited in the
archives of the League Of Nations Epu
copies ofrwarded to all the powers ssg
natory to the treaty of peace WITH
Germany. It is to be noted that mem
bers of the League Of Nations. are
granted special privileges, according to
the terms of such mandates as the
above, but associate powers are NOT
necessarily included in these priylleges
on mandatory territories. The United
States is, Of course, an associated
power, having never Joined the League
of Nations or signed the peace treaty.
It is upon just this exclusion of our
government from a voice in these mat
ters and above mentioned privileges
granted to members of the League OF
Nations. that the United States govern
States protests. This exclusion is
carefully stated in the Mesopotamia,
Palestine, and zap mandate drafts, as
well as in the 3 mandates.
In a note to the secretary of state
(then Bainbridge Colby the president
of the council Of the league OF nations
{Gastao da Cunha) says:
THE most fundamental contention
brought forward by the American note
is that the approval of the United
States of America is essential to the
validity of any determination which
may be reached respecting the man
dates which have been. or may be
submitted to the judgment of the coun-
ell.
The United States was one of the
leading actors both in the war and IN
the negotiations for peace. The rights
which it acquired are not likely to
be challenged in any quarter. But
the American government will itself
recognize that the situation is ccmpli-
Gated by the fact that the United
States. for reason which the council !
would be the last to question. has so
far abstained from ratifying the peace
treaty, and has not taken her seat
on the council of the league Of ma
tons"
In mandate A. the British govern
ment proposes definitely that Ma
tionals of any country not a member
of the league of nations have no rights
whatever in Mesopotamia.' This has
been interpreted generally as a partial
reply to the unanswered note of Form
er Secretary Colby that the United
States should share in the spoJs Of
war so far as they relate to oil. This
has also been construed as another
effort to force our government to en-
ter the league, as the draft emphasizes
that only member will be given rights
and such members will have almost
to develop the natural resources of
Mesopotamia The other terms of the
Mesopotamia. or Near East mandate.
are similar in effect to those of the
3 mandate already quoted. Because
of the hot discussions over the A
mandates the former Turkish posses
sions, the council has postponed its
decision as to the final form of this
until the next session, which will take
place either in May or June. The B
will also be definitely settled
at that time.