Evening star., 1925-01-11
LEAGUE FIVE YEARS OLD:
ACCOMPLISHMENTS CITED
Results Far Surpass"Wildest Hopes"That
We're Entertained for Success, Writer
Says-55 Nations Hold Membership.

league seems to have become an in
ternational fixture.
Perhaps the best criterion of judg-
ment may be found in a comparison
of the record of these five years with
the aspirations for international or
ganization in mems minds during the
decade preceding the war From 1904
to 1914 the most that any of us dared
to hope for was a continuation of
periodic conferences at The Hague
In 1904 President Roosevelt began his
effort to assemble a second peace
conference at The Hague. The con-
ference met, after prolonged nego-
tiations, In 1907. From 1907 to 1914
the utmost end of effort was the as
sembling of a third Hague confer
ence in 1915 or 1916. 1t was not that
any one expected such conferences to
grapple with the most significant
problems of current international
life. 1t was not that any one en-
visaged the coordination and regular
development of normal cooperative
intercourse among peoples. 1t was
not that any one expected substantial
progress to be made toward ridding
the world of war. But many men
were convinced, certainly the leaders
of American thought were convinced,
that a'conference Of the powers every
or 10 years would In time, yield
some good results. The efforts to
crystallize the artificial system of
sea law, which tho naval powers had
allowed to grow up in the nineteenth
century, were uppermost in many
minds. But the first Hague confer
ence did build a scaffold Of machinery
for the pacific settlement of disputes.
and the second Hague conference did
reach its high-water mark In q decla-
ration that compulsory arbitration
was desirable in principle. A third
Hague conference might have gone
still further and, after celebrating
the law governing the use of sea
power, it might have given us an in
ternational prize court.
Many Parieys Held.
But in five years we seem to have
leaped a whole century beyond the
second Hague conference. 1t is a
short period, but one can almost saw
that 1t has been long enough for a
tradition and a habit of periodic in
ternational conference to become ac-
| cepted. In each of the Ave years, an
| international conference has assem-
bled at Geneva with more powers
represented than were represented at
either OF The Hague conferences of
1888 and 1907. In each of the past
| six years an international labor con-
ference has met at Washington or Genoa
or Geneva, with more powers represent
ed than were represented at either of
the Bern conferences of 1906 and
1913. In five years, 33 meetings have
| been held Of a smaller international |
conference called a council, replacing
to some extent the old European con-
| cert. And during this brief semi
decade, numerous special interna-
tfonal conferences hpve heAp da,ltn -
with such problems as those of transit
and communications. OF the traffio in
women and children, OF customs for
maltties, of the circulation of obscene
publications, of the traffic in opium
and dangerous drugs.
Plan Generally Accepted.
In short, these five years have
brought the world to a general ac-
ceptance of the conference method of
handling international affairs, and
the spasmodic employment of this
| method during the generation prior
to 1914 has given way to it's organ
| lied and continuous use. Today, on
the calendars of 55 foreign offices of
| the world, the first Monday in Sep
| tember is crossed as the date for the
assembling of a general world con-
| ference called the assembly of the
League of Nations, and the current
| work in these foreign offices Is car
ried on with reference to the assem-
bling every three months of smaller
conference called the council of the
| League of Nations.
| Another ambition of the decade
| prior to 1914 has been realized as
fully. The Permanent Court of Arbi-
trsl Justicss which The 0sysrnment Of