The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-01
THE LEAGUE DID NOT FAIL

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 THE LEAGUE DID NOT FAIL
 Now that the din of the Italo- Greek dispute has died down, it may be well to appraise the league status in the light of it's relation to that event. It will be remembered that, in the heat of discussion and while Mus solini's defiance was at it's height, many declared that the league had not met the test and had failed. From this 1t was predicted that the end of the league was not far off. Such opinion loses sight of the fact that Mussolini, In the face of worldwide disapproval of his acts, backed down from his original position, and actually contented himself with far less than his original demands. Indeed, had it not been for the readiness of the Greek government to accede to part of the Italian ultimatum, it Is prob able that the Italians would have re- ceded still further, especially if the ambassadors council had so ordered.
 What escaped general notice at the time was that in the beginning the dis pute was not within league jurisdic- tion, and that only upon the seizure of Corfu, which constituted an un- warranted act of war, was the au- thority of the league assailed. Italy's haste to repudiate the seizure as an act of war was ludicrous effort to forestall the leagues censure. The league has emerged from the affair with augmented dignity. Mussolini's lustre as a diplomat and statesman has gone into almost total eclipse in world opinion.
 It Is true that such a well known observer as Mark Sullivan declares that 'at the moment of this writing, the league is at low point of pres tige, due to it's failure to function in the conflict between Italy and Greece, following it's failure to assert juris- diction over the Ruhr matter" This is indeed begging the question, for in the Ruhr occupation, carried out ill accordance with the terms of the same document by which the league was created, the league had no juris- diction. In the case of the Italp- Greek trouble the affair was compro- missed without recourse to the meas ures of embargo against Italy provided for in the covenant.
 As the Worlds Work editorially re- marks: "Powers that are facing diff faculties are expected to solve their own troubles so far as they can and to make use of any existing agencies all this in the hope that an appeal to the league will be unnecessary. This is precisely the course which Greece and Italy now took. They referred their quarrel to the council of am bassadors, body organized by the Versailles peace conference to deal with disputes arising out of the treaty." AS a result, the solution oy the council was accepted and Italy announced that she would withdraw from Corfu. "The act that consti- tuted a defiance of the league, the seizure of Greek territory, had been undone. Out of the whole episode, therefore, the league emerges satis- factorily. It has justified the hopes of it's founders. Its business was to prevent injustice and war; it has &C., complished both these ends in the Greek-Italian affair.""
 Most significantly the Worlds Work presents the obverse of the shield: Ut needs only to picture what would have happened rad the league not stood in the background. In that event does any one doubt that Italy would have retained Corfu, or that another war would have started in the Balkans? Is it not more than probable that war in the Balkans would have produced another Flu ropean conflagration? And, once Europe got to fighting again, what would have been tke end?"
 Thus it is perceived that the league is strong, stronger than Italy, and stronger than the forces that once produced war. It has stood it's first test.