Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-05

ventions, dealing with the common in
tereSts Of mankind, had been consum-
mated.
What the League Of Nations did was
to stimulate this technique by giving
1t central habitation and a per1na-
nent personnel. Geneva is now the def
nitely accepted center of international
cooperation. 1t is the focus Of the
movement toward international under
standing. And the cause Is now served
by full-time staff Of expert men and
women Of 40 nationalitieS working eff
fect1vely and tremendously for common
, ENDS. The Importance of this innova-
tlon can scarcely be overemphasized.
For international life has reached a
stage where its technical problems can
be met only by continuous scientific
study.
Questions like the transportation OF
hydro-electrlc power across boundary
lines, or the financial rehabilitation of
austria and Hungary, or the double
taxation Of foreigners, cannot be set
tied by the amiable resolutions Of diplo-
matte representatives. They require
the best brains obtainable, and it is in
its capacity to mobolize these brains
, on difficult technical international
problems that the League has made a
distinct contribution to the better
ordering or modern life.
The League of Nations was born of
sheer necessity. If the catastrophe of
1914 had not brought it into existence,
sooner or later it would have come by
other means. If this League fails an
other league is inevitable. The organi-
cation at Geneva sprang from that def
mite sense of the interdependence of
modern nations which was growing be-
fore the war and which was Sharpened
into keen anxiety by that tragic ex-
perience. 1t is the logical outcome of
the mechanical development of the
| nineteenth century, the natural next
step in the political evolution of our
time. On the theory that II the ma
tons Of the world can get together for
discussion around a common table
many of the conflicts of interest and
misunderstanding of purpose can be
reconciled and Smoothed away and
many of the outstanding problems
which confront all nations alike can
be overcome. the League has built up
machinery for international confer
ences such as no previous generation
mas possessed.
Comparison of Decades.
To realize the significance Of this
transformation one has only to compare
the record of the years since 1920 with
the aspirations in mems minds during
the decade preceding the war. From
1904 to 1914 the most that any one
dared to hope for was a continuation
of the periodic conferences at The
Hague. 1t was not that any one ex-
pected such conferences to grapple with
the most significant problems of cur
rent international life. 1t was not that
any one anticipated substantial prog
reSs toward Kidding the world of war
But many men, both here and abroad
were earnestly convinced that a confer
ence Of The powers every eight or ten
years would in time yield some good re-
suits.
And it is true that the first Hague
conference did build at least the scat
folding for the pacific settlement of dis
putes, while the second Hague confer
ence reached its high-water mark in q
declaration that compulsory arbitration
was desirable in principle. A third con-
ference might have gone still further,
giving the world perhaps an interna-
tional prize court.
But in the 10 years that have lapsed
since 1920 We seem to have leaped a
whole century beyond the Hague con-
ferences. What we have done Is to
establish the conference method as an
international habit. The principle of
periodic meetings has been definitely
accepted. In each Of the years since
1920 an international conference has
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