Evening star., 1932-03-13
BY FRANK III. SIMONDS,

~ ENEVA.-Watching the drama
of the Far East unfolding day
by day as a parallel play tC
~ the Council Assembly of the
League Of Nations, it is hard
to escape the conviction that these
contemporary events will produce his
toric results which will be decisive as
they affect the Wilsonian conception OF
international cooperation to maintain
world peace. After nearly half a genera
ton, the Wilsonian conception is sud-
denly bankrupt because it was founded
on an assumption which the first great
test has proved unsound. The result
has been a disaster to the League and
q disillusionment of the Leaguers of
unimaginable proportions.
Thus, while it is perfectly true that
no one even now talks of the disappear
ance of the League altogether, there is
almost universal agreement that no
phase of the enormous phenomenon of
world deflation has been more far-going
than that concerning the League. The
WilSonian conception was of future
peace insured by the League of Nations
serving as executor of world opinion.
That voice of authority from beside the
waters of Lake Geneva was to have
an effect beyond eXaggeration. and If
any recalcitrant nation were to refuse
to heed, the world would, through the
League, bring the offender to reason
and to justice
Both here at Geneva among the
secretariat and elsewhere among loyal
1eaguerS there has been almost a mys-
tlcal value attached to the influence of
the League. Thus, when the Sino-Jap-
anese episode opened, Leaguers all over
the world, particularly in Great Britain
and in certain of the smaller continent
tai states, hastened to push Geneva
toward decisive action. The machinery
was invoked, the voice of authority
sounded, but nothing happened Japan
proceeded on her Manchurian adventure
ana IN cue course extended the field
OF operations to Shanghai.
World Opinion Divided.
During the Autumn davs. when Gen
Dawes conferred and co-operated with
the Council of the League at Paris
nothing was so striking as the rapid
progress of defiation of the moral au-
thorlty OF the League. World opinion
SO far from proving unanimous and
ready, was divided and hesitant. even
impatient at the action of the League
secretarlat in forcing the issue when
only disaster could result
LatCle Dy ICIle IL became clear that
Great Britain in the League and America
outside would not undertake bv an eco
nomlc boycott and a naval blockade
10 give erect to sanctions. Geneva,
Ike Clendower, has undertaken to sim
mon spirits from the vasty deep. but
tney refused to come on cali. On the
contrary, day by day the japanese, with
1ull assurance as to the hollow char
acter OF League demands, have con-
tinued their course with increasing
energy.
So eventually the Chinese appealed
from the Council to the Assembly. and
the last weeks have seen the larger
body graphing with the problem. Yet
once more disillusionment has been
rapid Nations significantly lacking
nayles or seacoasts, like Switzerland
and Czechoslovakia, have urged drastic
metnods to restore the prestige of the
League, but nations like Great Britain.
America, France and Italy. which would
have to do the work, have stood sig
nificantly aside, limiting action to words.
If you have read comments of Ieaeuers
all over the world, and if you encounter
the official secretariat here, you must
recognize at once that for them what
has occurred Is the end of a dream.
They have believed that popular opinion
within the nations would drive states
men to quick and effective action. but
popular opinion has been extraordi-
narily quieScent, whereas in England it
has not been so outspoken in forbidding
action involving war as concerning DOS
sible economic losses.
All Values Lost
This all means that for the future no
nation which feels itself menaced is
going to base its security on justice or
Its cause on the moral authority of the
League. The covenant, the Kellogg
pact, the nine-power treaty have all
lost their chief values in the eyes of
the signatory states. In China, above
all at Shanghai, Japan employed war
as an instrument of policy, and nothing
happened. The Chinese defense of
Chinese soil has been overwhelmed;
armies have advanced over wide areas:
cities have been destroyed; civilians and
soldiers have been slain. All this time
the League was able to do nothing ef-
fective. but was condemned to rely upon
the sdmirals of the sea powers TO in
form it as to the development of the
war
For any armed nation in Europe this
example constitutes a warning to stay
armed; for the disarmed it is an en-