Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-09-15
SEE AUGMENTED
PRESTIGE LEAGUE !
IN GENEVA TALKS

Geneva, Sept. 14.-(By A. PHO
Sunday relaxation lightened the weari-
ness of DR.. Benes. Czechoslovakia' S
strenuous foreign minister. who has
been charged with the stupendous task
Of framing a draft pact of arbitration
and security by his fellow delegates
to the League Of Nations assembly.
Throughout the day DIR. Benes shaved
at his desk trying to fashion a draft
convention as a basis for later general
discussion which would meet all OBJ
jections and answer all needs.
Everybody in Geneva is beginning
to show signs of tense strain from the
laborious endeavors of the past fort
night to solve the problem of the out
lawing of war.
One distinct result stands out prom
inently as an achievement Of the past
week. and that is the decision that the
compulsory arbitration clause of the
world court Of justice need not be re-
modelled.
Ramsay Macdonald. the British
prime minister. told the assembly that
this clause did not seem to be precise.
and he wanted it examined and
brought up to date before Great Britain
would subscribe to it. but no changes
will be made in its phraseology. The
goal of precision will be attained by
allowing ali countries. including and
especially Great Britain, to make res
ervations when signing it.
Great Britain's reservation Will be
that the action of the British fleet
while engaged in the service of the
League of Nations in outlawing war
will not be subject to tribunal prob
ings of the world court. In other
words. Great Britain will not have her
sea law, including her right of search
and capture, Judged by court of COM
pulsory arbitration.
This outstanding development of the
week has emphasized the tendency
here to make the League of Nations a
powerful entity for the maintenance
of peace and an international organ
ization especially striving for the well
fare of its members.
The ultimate object of this move
ment is to keep peace between menu
bers of the league, with the deter
mination not to be harassed by out
siders while engaged in general po-
lice work for the good of the league
of nations. This Is interpreted as
hiSiuIhS Iudb any SOlhASI
between the British fleet and the
citizens of powers not members Of
the league-as. for instance. citizens
of the United States, Russia. Ger
many, Mexico or Turkey-the Brit
ish fleet would have the backing of
all the league members. Under these
circumstances all economic blockade
by Great Britain would virtually be-
come q blockade by the entire league
of nations.
The French apparently have car
ried the day so far in demanding
that the proposed international
agreement on arbitration and secur-
ity should stand as a separate in
strunent, apart from disarmament
treaties but as all the signatories
would be bound to participate in a
disarmament conference, it is point
cd out that the United States would
have an opportunity to defend her
viewpoint on international questions
II present at the disarmament con-
ference.
When DIR. Benes began to work on
his draft project today he was al
most officially forced to give serious
attention to the draft pact on secur-
ity and disarmament proposed by the
Americans. The importance while
all the delegates attach to the Am
erican document is shown by the fact
that the official summary Of the
original pact of mutual assistance
and of the objections which the va
rious governments have made there
to is accompanied by detailed
analysis of the American plan. which
is officially labelled 'the Shotwell
draft" 1t was Professor Shotweii
and his colleagues who discovered. to
the qualification of the experts, that
the best way to decide the question
of an aggressor state was by declar-
ing an aggressor to be any nation
which refused to submit to the Jur-
isdiction of the world court.