Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01
THE WORLDS PALACE OF PEACE
This Month Work Is Expected to Begin the League of
Nations Permanent Home Beside the Lake at
(1eneva-History of the Movement.

ana the Route Qe Pregny IL gives the
city similar rights of occupation of the
three lakeside properties it owns-Bar-
tholoni, Perle du Lac and Moyier. AS
these properties are a direct continual
ton of the Pare de Mon-RepoS the
local authorities will be able to create
new lakeside park of great beauty
and extent 70 replace the lost Ariane
Park.
The hard-tried architects got their
plans back again and were requested to
adapt them to the new site. They
adapted them, and. sending them back
to the special committee pointedly re-
quested that If they were approved this
time the necessary contract between the
signed without further delay in order
to establish the relations between the
two parties on a proper legal basis.
The scheme now comprises three
buildings, each answering certain
purpose, but of different size and or
namentation, and together forming a
harmonious whole.
One is destined for secretarial use,
with a hall to contain 500 officials,
other smaller public rooms and the
messing hall for the League Council.
This may be called the office block for
workaday Purposes.
Then there Is the enormous library
made possible by the Rockefeller gift.
1t is to contain all the works dealing
with international questions, litera-
ture so considerable already that ca
pacity for a million volumes is being
provided for a start and engagements
are allowed for. It holds, besides lee
ture rooms, workrooms, committee
rooms, some open to the public, some
reserved for the Secretariat.
Principal Structure.
But the principal structure is the
great assembly hall with its satellite
chambers-l3 workrooms for the diff
ferent committees, 60 Offices for the
representatives of the member states
and various other rooms.
The assembly hall is to be vast and
unique, q classic chamber equipped with
the latest devices known to science and
engineering, with a seating capacity of
close to 5000 people and separate tables
for each delegation.
On the first floor 600 journalists will
be seated at their desks and on the floor
above 1000 assistants will overlook the
whole assembly. In fact, the magma
lions of the architects rather ran away
with them and they planned chamber
so vast that one of their number, Joseph
Vago. tactfully pointed out that the
smaller meetings which have to use the
hall would be lost in it, and got his COL
leagues to agree to diminish the original
dimensions by 80 per cent.
Even then the grand hall will be too
large for such small meetings as the
May conferences of the International
Labor Bureau (Which. although its
budget is controlled by the League. has
its own constitution, governing body
ond Snnrafa riot ond q homo nf itC
not far Off; and Vago has a plan for
Installing mechanism which, actuated
by an electric button, reduces the hall
to half its size without destroying the
acoustics or the symmetry.
Will Use Microphone.
The late lamented Danton might
have conquered that mighty hall, but
there is no Dantonesque voice among
modern statesmen. consequently orators
in the grand hall will talk into a
microphone. Then there is the Ian
guage difficulty. This has always been
Snag. English and French are the
two official languages, and all speeches
and documents have to be translated
delegates are ignorant of any language
save their own. Hence complications
which are not lessened at all by the
hazards Of Interpretation.
For instance, at one dull and lengthy
committee meeting the chairman po-
litely said toward the lunch hour: I'VE
have listened this morning to many
very interesting speeches upon which I
am sure my colleagues will desire to
reflect. I feel that we should meet
again this afternoon, and the ideas that
I,4, hi inn 20
of such importance that If my COL
leagues agree would suggest we should
now adjourn" The hungry interpreter
at once stood up and ratified out. THE
chairman says that unless We adjourn
now we shall be late for lunch"
On another occasion, when the sug-
gestion was advanced that Spanish
should become third official language,
one delegates objection was translated,
THE League will soon become another
Tower of Babylon"
Two faux pas were made by transla-
tors when the Leagues scheme for the
reconstruction of Austria was being dis
cussed. An elderly delegate known As
the father of the League" tottered to
his feet and made cautious speech in
which he wished the scheme we'll, but
foresaw enormous difficulties. An en-
thusiastic interpreter then took the plat
form and asserted that the delegate had
declared that 1--WE are going to see this
thing through"
One of his colleagues thereupon COM
plimented him IN speech which made
reference to the aged delegates youth
full vigor but when the verbatim report
came out youthful vigor" appeared as
youthful figure"
In the Leagues new assembly hall
every member of the international au-
dience will be able to hear, through a
special telephone installed in his place,
the orators speech translated into his
own language. 1t sounds like black
magic, but the device is simple enough.
Behind the speaker line of expert in
terpreters will be posted to translate the
speeches in full into score or more of
languages and repeat them into the
telephone systems.
All the listener at his delegations
table has to do to get in touch with his
interpreter is to press button. And If
he is bored and doesn't want to listen
he can leave his telephone alone and
quietly doze. (The seats in the Leagues
new home are being exceptionally well
padded and Sprung0
Mr.. Ford Is Fortunate.