Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-01-08

wrought out, in a group Of prece-
dents, the beginnings of what might
be called the constitutional law Of
the league, but it has also shifted
the emphasis in activities of the
league and foreshadowed important
notifications In it's constitution, the
covenant.
At its birth the Covenant of the
League bore, vaguely in Article X
and more clearly in Article XVI, the
impression of general agreement to
enforce and coerce. Both of those
articles suggest the action of q
world state which never existed and
does not now exist. How far the
| present league is actually removed
from functioning as such state is
| sufficiently exhibited in it's dealings
| with Lithuania and Poland over
| Wilma and their common boundary,
and with Greece and Italy over
| Corfu
Experience in the last three years
| has demonstrated probably insuper-
able difficulties in the way of fulfill
ing in all parts of the world the large
promise of Article x in respect to
either its letter or its spirit. No one
| now expects the League Council to
! try to summon armies and fleets,
! since it utterly failed to obtain even
| an international police force for the
| Wilma district.
Each assembly Of the league has
witnessed vigorous efforts to inter
pref and modify Article x. In the
! fourth assembly an attempt to adopt
an Interpretation Of that article in
! essential agreement with the sena-
! torlal reservation on the same sub
! ject in 1920 was blocked only by a
small group Of weak states like Per-
! STA and Panama, which evidently at.
tributed ITO Article x a protective
power that it possesses only on
| paper.
Such states. in possible fear of
unfriendly neighbors, must decide
whether the preservation of form
! of words in the covenant is more
vital to their peace and security,
:. and to the peace and security of
the world. than the presence of the
| United States at the council table of
the family of nations.
AS to Article XVI, the council of
the league created a blockade cor.
mission which worked for two years
to determine how the economic
weapon" of the league could be eff,
GENTLY used and uniformly applied
! The commission failed to discover
any obligatory procedure that weak
| er powers would dare to accept. 1t
was finally agreed that each state
| must decide for itself whether d
breach of the covenant has been
! committed.
Public Opinion Main Weapon
i The second assembly adopted a
radically amended form of Article
| XVI from which was removed ali
reference to the possibility Of emf
! ploying military force, and in which
the abandonment Of uniform obliga-
! ton was directly provided for. The
| British government has since pro-
/ posed to weaken the form of re
quiremenr still further.
Articles X and XVI, in their origi.
| nal forms. have therefore been prac-
tically condemned by the principal
| organs of the league and are today
| reduced to something like innocuous
! desuetude. The only kind Of COM
| pIlsion which nations can freely en-
gage to apply to each other in the
name of Peace is that which arises
from conference, from m raj judg-
n1ent, from full publicity, and from
| the power of public opinion.
Another significant DEVELOPMENT
IN the constitutional practice of the
league is the unwillingness of the
| League Council to intervene in anv
| all states in the new world except
/ three are members of the league
Ihis refusal became evident in the
Panama-Costa Rice dispute in 1921
| and in the quarrel between Chile,
! Peru and Bolivia, quarrel which
! lmpelled the last two states to alb
sent themselves from the third as.
| sembly, wherein a Chilean was chos.
en- to preside.
u. S. Recognized AS Leader
Obviously the league intends to
| recognize the leadership of the Unit
ed States in the New World precise.
ly as the United States claims it.
| This is nothing less than the OBJ
| serVance of an unwritten law limit
ing the powers and duties of the
| league council, defined in Article XI
| or the Covenant, to questions that
seem to threaten the peace Of the
| old world. When the United States is
willing to bring the two halves of
the world together for friendly con-
sideration of COMMON dangers, duties
and needs. it will be possible to Sc
cure, if it is desired. closer co-opera-
ton between the league organiza-
tons and the Pan-American union,
already potential regional league.
1t is conceivable that the family of
nations may eventually clearly de-
fine certain powers and duties of
relatively local significance which
may be developed upon local associa-
tons or unions But the world of
business and finance is already uni
fled. The worlds of scientific knowl-
edge and humane effort are nearly
so. Isolation of any kind is increas-
ingly impossible and world organiza-
ton, already centralized, is no more
likely to return to disconnected ef-
fort than the United States is likely
to revert to tie Calhoun theory Of
states rights and secession.
Tie operation Of the league has.
therefore, evolved a council widely
different from the body imagined by
the makers of the covenant. 1t can
employ no force but that of persua-
sion and moral influence. Its only
actual powers are TO confer and adj
wise. to create commissions, to exer-
else inquisitive. consultative and arbi-
( trail functions. and to help elect
judges of the permanent court.
In other words. the force Of cir
cumstances is gradually moving the
! league into position upon the four
dations so well laid by the world
! leaders between 1899 and 1907 in the
great international councils OF tina.
period. The assemblies of the league
and the congresses of the interna-
tional labor organizations are sue
/ eessors to the Hague conferences.
The Norma nenf court has a. 1nast