Evening star., 1925-09-13
LEAGUE ASSEMBLY APPROACHES
SHIRT-SLEEVE DIPLOMACY IDEAL
Nears Realization of Open Covenants Favored by
United States-Really Is Bar of Justice for Ma
tons Large and Small, Rich and Poor.

Der gathering OF the assembly Is really
4 meeting of the stockholders in world
destiny. 1t is the climax of a years
labors to maintain the rule of law and
order.
Weeks Of Brainwork.
On the one hand, the work of the
council. which we may term a select
Of the nations carrying on
between assembly meetings like a
board Of directors, passes in review;
on the other, the labors of the secre-
tarfat, the office force in charge of the
Immediate execution of activities, are
examined. With the new business that
may come up in the actual meetings.
1t means the statesmen of the world
are in for a strenuous few weeks of
brainwork ever balancing national In
terests against the international needs
of the nations as a whole.
The secret OF the leagues success
in surveying and meeting world prob
lens lies in its careful preparation
for the assembly work. The agenda,
as every one now speaks of a pro-
gram, has been built up by the sec
retariat in detail and the problems
worked over by the council in a ses-
sion just preceding the assembly; so
the groundwork Is laid with all the
efficiency Of a meeting of Rotary
Clubs. Just recently the council went
over % international problems, rang
ing from the disposition of the Mosul
oil fields to where mail boxes may be
placed by Poland in the streets of the
Free City of Dantzig. Each item rep
resented expert study by the secre-
tariat, its technical organizations or
a special investigatory body. Knowl-
edge, not guesswork. dominates.
Near East Problem.
The outstanding assembly discus
sions promise to be over the Near
East, the reconstruction of central
Europe and the progress of the pa
cific settlement Of international dis.
putes. Related to these questions are
matters such as the mandate problem
in general. especially in view of the
recommendation from the Mandate
Commission that the development of
these peoples ''in trust" rest on solid
economic foundations; the German re-
quest for league membership, now
tied up with the fate of the security
pact, and the league efforts to re.
strict the ravases Of war, on the one
hand, while Strengthening the possi.
bilities Of conciliation. on the other
by extending the activities of the
World Court. Other reports debated
Will be from the Opium Commission
the Minorities Mixed Commissions, the
Slavery Commission, the preparatory
committee on the development of an
international relief union as a
super Red Cross and the committee on
intellectual cooperation.
Nearing Open Policy.
All this is formidable, but it is very
business-hke, reducing the chaos OF
before the war to orderly procedure
1t Is the nearest approach to the
realization OF the American ideals OF
"shirt-sleeve diplomacy" and 'open
covenants" the world has seen-all
proceedings are public property, as
open to the day as the discussion of
your neighbor's faults and virtues
Yet, it is far more than a. debating
society. The difference is that instead
of discussing questions in general
terms, the assembly gets down to act.
ing upon concrete data dealing with
individual problems.
Now the story of mans progress Is
bound UP largely with his ability to
govern himself in accordance with the
needs of his time. Civilization, there
fore. more and more has represented
the application of peaceful discussion
and cooperation to the problems OF
the day. The assembly really becomes
a great court in equity where the ma.
uons of the world, large and small
rich and poor, powerful and impotent,
can appear before the bar of organized
world opinion.
lCopsright. 1884