Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-10

tCO0GlnuGQ FTUfn mira EGRe,D
most halfway along toward the tradi-
tional voting age-and voting already
place, some of the leaders come from
triumphant scene at The Hague. When
I was In Paris, a few weeks before, q
letter was received from one of the
French delegation to The Hague proph-
esying adjournment until after the
League meetings were concluded and
resumption OF bargaining again at The
Hague. Within q week the pessimism
evaporated: for some of the leaders
made up their minds to settle it up be-
fore the Assembly met. Adjustments
and sacrifices were engineered, and M.
BRAND came to the League to announce
that at The Hague the final step was
taken I'm the liquidation of the war" I
cannot help feeling that a number of
leaders came rejoicing that they had
given up something to prove the efficacy
of conference and their personal desire
for peace. Their generous sentiments
we're set for expansion at the Assembly
meeting. In the third place, the British
empire was represented by members of
probably the most intelligent, repre-
sentative, we'll organized and peace
minded political organization the world
has ever seen-the Labor party. They
came disguised with the shambling of
the Conservative party, with principles
well scrutinlZed. with the enthusiasm
Of new power, peaceful crusaders for
the hopes Of the League. When the
Assembly started its meetings these and
other forces began to converge.
Enthusiasm for the Peace Ideal.
To the outsider it seemed as though
the politicians were competing among
themselves to propose or second pro-
gressfNe plans. BRAND dropped a bomb
when at a luncheon, in discussing the
economic disarmament of Europe, he
used the name the United States Of
Europe" His audience at first thought
they misunderstood him. They had
heard the name from Count Couden-
hove, who has been speaking and writ
ing on the subject, but even the intel
ligent public never expected it to fall
from the lips of an experienced poll
tician for at least another decade. M.
BRAND might have spoken Of the idea
without having used a name which will
brighten many a nationalist. Yet he
chose, not thoughtlessly, to use a term
Impractical" political idealists. As re-
markable still was the fact that the
newspapers and the public have ac-
cepted 1t as q basis of discussion, It is
not being ridtculed; 1t is being seriously
analysed
In other respects politicians have
shown themselves unwilling to be
caught on the side of the reactionary.
one leader announced his nation would
sign the optional clause the next
haStened to remark his would sign Il
before the end Of the session: Italy let
1t be known that she had already sign
ed 1t. One recited the 10 years of
achievement Of the League; another
pointed out problems accruing and sug-
gssted expansion to meet them; and
still another propheSied doubled useful
ness IN the next 10 years. One spoke
hopefully of the conversations between
the U. S. A. and Britain on the subject
of naval limitations; another said that
we must look not to naval or military
limitations, but to general world dis
armament; and a third pointed out
that these would be ineffective with
out study and action in the field of eco
nomic disarmament. mean in no way
to suggest that the politicians expect
these steps to be taken at once: hard
ly one but stressed the minute and
tangled complications in each problem;
but / do mean to say that politicians
who are fully aware of the fact that
their constituencies back home will
read their words in cold black print
have boldly let themselves in for the
dreaming of dreams. 1t seems almost
as If old Europe, when she is once freed
from the weight of armies and navies
and from the immensely of war indem-
mites and from the blight of inter-
national distrust, might shake herself
out into startingly experimental at
titude in the. realm Of international re-
lations.