Evening star., 1925-07-12
LEAGUE OF NATIONS PLAN
FACING MARKED CHANGE
Amendments Offered by British, French
and Germans Would Leave Little
Vestige of Original.

i6dRue, was u6InOIlSUeu.
Now today, through the German
proposals, which have a British back
ing, a new experiment is taking form.
We Americans rejected the covenant
because we refused to be concerned
with the defense of any European
frontiers. The British refused the pro-
tocol because they declined to be re-
sponsible for the defense of all Euro
pean frontiers. But the essential diff
ference lies in the fact that while we
can be unconcerned about all Euro
pean frontiers, there are certain from
tiers which are of vital Importance to
the British.
New Form of Contract.
They have, then, through the mouth
of a German statesman, proposed
new form of contract-the limited liza
bility contract, but also the contract
which lies mainly outside of the
league. The British proposal is that
there shall be direct contract be
tween France, Germany and Britain,
with Belgium a signatory, which binds
all three great powers to accept the
western settlements Of the treaty of
Versailles and to go to the aid of any
nation attacked wantonly on these
| frontiers. In reality, il binds France
and Germany to accept the Rhine
boundary as laid down at Paris and
| Britain to defend it against the chal.
! lenge of either.
This proposal, then, substitutes for
| the league as the police power behind
| the peace of Europe, so far as the
| Rhine is concerned, the joint respon-
sbility of France, Germany and Brit
| ain. 1t recognizes the principle that
nations will not undertake unlimited
| responsibilities with respect to foreign
| frontiers. and that, therefore, the
| league will never have the resources
| to preserve peace by force. 1t substi-
| tutes the guarantee of the nations
! Immediately concerned.
! Itfollows quite logically that if there
can be an association of nations to
! guarantee one state of fact there can
! be other associations to guarantee
| other states of fact. Thus the Little
| Entente is an association which guar
| antees state of fact in the middle of
| Europe, and the Franco-Polish alli-
ance another, which assumes respon-
sibility for another system of frontiers.
| But the distinction is that, while all
! interested parties accept the Rhine
| situation, Hungary and Bulgaria re-
fused to resign their hopes for revi-
| sion on the Danube, and Germany de-
clines to surrender her claims with
respect of Danzig, the Polish Corridor
and Upper Silesia.
Problem is Complicated.
At this point the two problems
/ merge. Britain is prepared to guar
antee the Franco-German frontier and
| Germany joiEs in the compact. But if
| France guarantees the Polish frontier
| and Germany refuses to accept it,
! what them If Germany attacks Po-
| land, will the French violation of the
neutralized area in the Rhineland es-
| tablished by the Franco-German-Bri
/ ish compact constitute an offense
against that compact which will bring
| Britain to Germany's side? Obviously,
| If this were the case, then Germany
would have every encoura cement to
| attack Poland. knowing that If France
| interfered Britain would become the
| German ally in the following struggle
But at this point the British and
! French have reached compromise.
=! French invasion of the Rhineland on
I behalf of her Polish ally will not con-
/ Stitute an offense against the Franco
/ German-BritiSh pact, and thus bring
! Britain automatically into the matter,
! provided the League of Nations.
| through appropriate machinery. shall
have pronounced the German attack
upon Poland wanton and unprovoked
OF course, in principle the same thing
| would occur if France wantonly at
| tackled Spain. Italy or Switzerland. but
1t is well understood that this aspect
is purely academic.
But it is essential to see the evolu-
| ton of the league 1t no longer re-
| mains a group of nations united to
| guarantee peace by the combined re-
! sources of all members 1t is no
! longer an association of victor nations
to preserve the settlement of 1919. It's
mission is no more than that of a
court to which is referred the question
| OF the character of any breach of
| peace. 1t does not undertake to en-
hut yI,.,
with the duty to decide whether an
! attack is wanton and unprovoked
! Should it so decide. then its func-
| tion is at an end. If for example.
! German troops entered the neutral
lied area of the Rhineland and the
league declared the invasion unpro-
Voked and a violation of the Franco
German-British pact, then automati-
| cally French, British and Belgian
| troops would be released to share in
the task of repulsing the German in
vasion. Should German troops enter
! Polish territory, then the decision of
| the league would permit French troops
| TO enter the neutralized area of the
Rhine without offense to the Franco
German-British pact, and the British
would be under no obligation to defend
Germany, although, similarly, they
would be under no necessity to sup
port France.
Defense of Frontiers.
In conformity with this arrange
ment, any two or more nations can
concert to defend any frontier which
exists. They may enter into a def
mite alliance, but the contract must be
registered with the league. and it is
for the league to decide whether the
emergency which may arise warrants
the application of the treaty of alli-
ance. Thus, for example, Rumania
and Poland are allied against a Rus
sian attack. but it is for the league to
say whether they are attacked.
If Germany attacks Poland, Britain
has no other responsibility than that
which is implicit in the covenant of
the league, but while in theory and
language this is a great responsibility,
in practice it has come to be without
meaning, as the Russo-Polish and
Greco-Turkish crises showed But
France, because she has a Polish alli-
ance, has a responsibility once the
league has affirmed the fact of an un-
provoked attack. Thus amended. the
| league at last begins to have some re-
lation to the realities of the European
| situation. 1t is no longer the body
charged with the defense of peace and
| devoid of all means of defending that
| peace once it is physically challenged
| Nor are it's members saddled with re.
! sponsibilities which no government
/ could perform, because no people will
consent to go to war save as its own
! immediate interests are patiently i'm
I periled.
Given the situation of 1914, when
Austria issued her ultimatum TO
Serbia and followed it with a declara-