, 1923-09-05
DECISION FROM
COUNCIL ASKED
BY ITALY, SAID
Dispute With Greece Is
Question for Ambas-
sailors, Claim.

GENEVA, Sept. 5.-(By
The Associated Press).-
Italy's representative Signor
Salandra, told the council of
the League of Nations today
that Italy would regard in
Prevention Of the league in the
Greco-Italian crisis as unjustified.
The league, he asserted. had no com.
potency in the affair, which belong
Cd properly to the interallied council
OF ambassadors.
Tho italian government expressed
IT'S i~rrevocable opinion through him
that the council should not accept
h Greek request that the league
take UP the matter. BY her appeal,
said signor Salandra, Greece sought
to escape her responsibility. He
emphasized that the present Greek
government had not yet been recog-
nized by a great number of coun-
tries; hence the necessity OF Italy to
seize Corfu to obtain satisfaction for
the assassination of the TeIlini
s1ission.
The ambassadors council, he said.
was the logical body to handle tho
incident, because the question of
living up to the terms of the a
treaties vas concerned. If the
league closed its eyes to this fact It
would be acting in excess of it's
powers. he declared.
NJ. Politis, former Greek foreign
minister. In reply said Greece had
no desire to escape her RESPONSE
bflities and showed her good faith
by requesting the appointment of
neutral commissions on investiga-
ton.
A crowd clamored before the
doors of the room where the council
was convened. struggling for ad-
mission and the ushers were often
swept away as the eager visitors,
including many women. formed fly
Ing wedges and surged into the
chamber. The members of the coun-
ell themselves gained access with
difficulty.
Signor Salandra's statement ere
ated n sensation in the council
chamber. which had many Ameri-
cans among the spectators.
Lord Robert Cecil of England
added q sensation by insisting that
articles 10, IL and 10 OF the covenant
of the League Of Nations should be
read Immediately both in French
and In English and by declaring
that IL these articles were to be dis.
regarded. tho whole settlement of
Europe would be shaken.
Thu arftc1os tp Question xvor~ ctt.1
by Greece as the basis of her appeal
to the league and stipulate that tho
council Of the league has a clear
right to an investigation when there
is danger of rupture between any OF
the states which are members of the
league. Further discussions of the
Greco-Italian crisis was adjourned
to an unfixed date but perhaps to-
morrow, in order to give the mem
bers of the council an opportunity
to examine the italian declaration
and decide upon their future attitude
In the crisis. which is generally re-
garded as having been aggravated
by Signor Salandra's pronounce
ment.
NJ. Poliis remarked that It was
Tor the council TO say Wnether II
was competent to deal with the
Greek affair and not for one of the
parties to the dispute to declare the
leagues incompetency.
IF such a point of view was ad-
mitted." asserted the Greek spokes-
man. at would mean the definite
ruin of the pact OF the league and
CT the international organism which
the pact has created. because II
would always be possible to pretend
for one reason or another that the
pact did not apply to the nations
, which were parties to the dispute.
and also that n nation interpreted
the pact differently and that on
sequently the leagues organism
would not operate"
This would mean that the league
was not to operate for the mainte-
nance of peace" added NJ. Politis.
but merely a kind of official body,
effective only when two parties had
reached an accord"