The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-09-09
DELEGATE AT GENEVA SAYS ALL
SOUTH AMERICA IS DISSATISFIED
WITH COURSE PURSUED IN EUROPE
League of Nations Con-
cerned Only Wit h
Questions Affect i n g
E a S t Doubtful If
Votes Of South Amer
ican People Would
Sustain the Member
ship of Those Repub-
lies

Geneva, Sept. 9.-Should President
Harding see fit to create a new So.
ciety of nations, Colombia will be
among the first to apply for member
ship.
A. F. Rastrepo, chief of the Colom-
bian delegation to the League of Ma
tions assembly, made this declaration
today in discussing a report that Co.
lombia, among other southern states,
will withdraw because of its rejection
of the Argentine amendment to the
covenant of the league, providing that
all sovereign states that had been
members of the league unless by their
own volition they abstained from
membership.
Colombia did not regard the rejec-
tion as sufficient reason for leaving
the league.
Senor Rastrepo believed all the 9th
er Central and South American states
would follow Colombia into the new
association should it be formed.
Asked if this could be constructed
as meaning that the states withdrew
from the league in any event, Senor
Rastrepo replied: We would have
W wall dHu Se6, DuI, ItNcI II
is a question of public opinion if
South America would support two
leagues"
The South American countries are
finding that virtually all questions
before the league are purely European
in complexion, continued Rastreop.
NEARLY all our interests, commercial
4 ly yund politically, lie in the other con-
tinent and in sense are common to
those of the United States.
COLOMBIA, for example, came into
the league only because we thought
the United States would be MEM
ber and would, ina sense, be pro
tector of all the states OF, North and
South America. We see now we were
badly mistaken and that the United
States probably never will join the
League of Nations.
"This causes us to think, and nat
urally, we are all interested in the
results of the forthcoming Washing
ton conference"
Geneva, Sept 9.-DiscusSion of tho
work done by the council pf the league
of nations. during the past year was
continued at today's session of the
assembly of the league. Henri Ia
Fontaine, Belgian delegate, was the
first to speak this morning and A. J.
Balfour, K w. Wellington KCo, of
China and Viscount Ishii, of Japan
were among those who expected to
take the floor during the day.
NJ La Fontaine dwelt at some
length on the activities of the council
regarding relief work and social
problems.
Yesterdays debate included dis
cussion of the United States note rela
tive to mandates, disarmament and
trade conditions. The United States
was sharply criticised by Lord Robert
Cecil for remaining aloof during the
period of world reconstruction, while
the council Of the league was accused
OF "partiality and extravaganza by
Hjalhar Branting of Sdeden.
NJ La Fontaine, in his address drew
a vivid picture of the misery of the
world armed to the teeth He said
he found no word lof hope in the re-
port of the council. NJ La Fontaine
forecast wars by which entire pop
ulations of cities would be wiped out
unless the league of nations got into
effective action.
DR.. Fridtjof Nansen Of Norway
pleaded for publicity and economy in
the league He declared it was i'm
possible to restore normal economic
conditions in the world until Russia
was put on its feet again.
Geneva, Sept. 9.-Dr. Hanzen ap
pealed to the world through the as
sembly for 3O,OO0,O00 pounds which he
said was required to buy 100000
tons of wheat to save Russia from
starvation. He declared Europe was
menaced with the greatest disaster in
its history.