Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-30

which, if effect had been given to them,
would have left Turkey in less power
full position than she now occupies.
Praises Work of League.
The League, however, is now in being
and is establishing itself. 1t is pulling
the Old World together, building up q
public opinion for future guidance and
promoting a spirit of world corpora
ton to take the place OF that obsession
of national vanity which led to past
wars. 1t is also doing much, mainly
through its auxiliary bodies such as the
labor office, to remove possible causes
of friction between the nations. The
covenant of the League provided for
the establishment of Court of Inter-
national Justice provision which has
eventuated in the court, now success
fully functioning, at The Hague. And
it also provided for the submission OF
certain specified disputes of a judicial
Although not binding on the afiliated
nations, "a nations have bound them
selves to this procedure. Further. the
covenant provided for reconsideration
of any treaty which may become map
plicable owing TO changed circum-
stances and the continuance of which
might endanger the peace OF the world.
The terms Of the Paris treaty itself
should. therefore be considered in the
light Of that provision.
Says Sea Freedom Was Omitted.
Let me now turn to the terms of
peace. They were largely based on the
IA points of President Wilson, which
were formulated before the armistice.
There was. however, one omission. They
left unsettled the question of the use
of the seas. This was left open and
remains as 1t always has been. The
British conception is based on block
ade during war, the American on free
dom at all times. President Wilson
had proposed compromise, which may
be briefly described as freedom except
when blocked to a nation breaking the
covenant of the League. believe that
existing uncertainty as to what would
happen If a nation broke its bond has
been-and still is--the main outstand-
ing danger to world peace.
Presumably Great Britain would be
called upon to apply the blockade
against the offending nation and
American commerce would become sub
ject to the ban.
What then would the American Gov
eminent say if her nationals wanted to
trade? Nobody knows. But the Kellogg
for nation breaking the covenant
would also be breaking the pact and
America would come under moral obli-
CATION to stand in" with Great Britain
against the lawbreaker. Will another
pact be necessary, giving legal express
sion to this moral obligation? Or will
there be such gesture on the part of
the two governments as to make such
pact unnecessary? These, to my
H. {sytA
tions arising from the failure of Paris
to deal with the question of the use Of
the seas. And they are questions which
have now the greatest bearing on the
peace Of the world.
Holds War Means No Money Gain.
On the positive side of the peace
terms the main defect of the treaty lies
in the reparation demand. The war
was second offense on the part OF
Germany autocracy, and there was
much to be said for the attempt to
make the German pay, but experience
has proved it to be impossible to exact
payment with advantage. 1t would
have been far better to have cried
quits" so far as reparations were con-
cerned, but to have tried and punished
the authors of the war. For in modern
war there are no winners IN the sense
"a lllOAlCy gam anu tLlc IldBblIlB lOT
money payments during the postwar
years has but delayed the coming of an
assured peace. Another disappointing
outcome OF the treaty has been the un-
satisfactory working out Of the principle
Of INSTRUMENTATION. Some of the new
or reconstructed, nations have been
pulled up with pride in nl-fitting I'm
portance and have kept themselves IN
! ferment which has endangered the
peace. The only remedy for this Is,
| suppose, better sense of prospective to-
gether with a strengthening OF the re-
straining power of the League.
Position Good, However.
But. on the whole, the position oil
the world affairs Is as good as could be
| expected, having due regard to all thc
| facts as they are and have been. 1t Is
true that better things we're hoped fol-
in 1929. But we had scarcely Their
realized the psychological unsettlement
| or the break In our social order caused
by four years Of horror. We had beer