Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-12-03
League to Be Reborn
If 1t Should Lapse
BY A. G. GARDINER.

LONDON, December 2.-Nothing Is
more significant Of the condition Of
Europe than the "fadeout" of Geneva.
1t has suddenly ceased to be the Mecca
to which all good Europeans" turned
faithfully to see the dawn of a new
era. The postponement of the Dis
armament Conference and the derelict
condition of the League of Nations
have pretty well eclipsed the hopes of
any such dawn and have left the con-
tinent more cherries welter of con-
fusion than at any time since the war.
Even at the worst period of the
postwar years there was always a GER
tain ultimate direction in view, GER
tain confidence that one day Germany
would be invited to take the Beulah
road to Geneva and that once there,
all would be well. Today that vision
has been realized and has vanished.
Germany has been and has gone and
the League is at a lower ebb Of prestige
and authority than has been the case
since it was founded.
X 4 +
Premier Macdonald and Sir John
Simon in England and NJ. Paul-Boncour
in France still declare the loyalty Of
their respective countries to it and the
first named never loses an opportunity
of expressing his hope that the Teutonic
wanderer will return to the fold. In
deed, there has been persistent sug-
gest!on in the press that Mr.. Mac
Donald holds his foreign secretary
largely responsible for the situation
that gave Germany the excuse, if she
wanted an excuse, for retiring. So in
sistent have the rumorS been that 1t
has been thought desirable to give an
elaborate and semi official denial OF
the notion that acute differences exist
between Macdonald and Simon. I ex-
press no opinion about that denial, al
though I have one.
In any case. the early return Of Ger
many to the League is not now to be
anticipated and it is difficult for France
and England to fill the Geneva sails
with wind and give to the League the
appearance of buoyancy which 1t once
possessed. For it is not merely that in
the course of twelve months the League
has lost Japan and Germany, and that
Of the other five major powers of the
world, two, the United States and Rus
STA. have never been formally allied
with It.
In addition to this, the attachment
of Italy becomes increasingly fragile
and problematical. Her passion for the
League has never been excessive and
Premier Mussolini has never honored
Geneva with his presence or given any
indication that he cared much about
what went on there. His recent refer
ence to the League as absurd and dis
credited need not be taken as indicat-
Ing an intention to cut the painter.
He would, Of course, prefer the four
nouer mart Ia become The medium OF
European negotiations, for in that case
Rome would displace Geneva, for which
I fancy he has q feminine dislike as.
ISOLATED with his disagreeable expert
ences of Switzerland in his socialistic
days.
Nevertheless, if Mussolini has little
love for the League, don't think he
land on that subject. His entente
cordiale with France has yet to stand
the strain Of heavy weather. but his
desire to keep on good terms with Eng
land is unquestioned. All the same he
cannot be regarded as very reliable
buttress of the League of Nations.
But If the League goes 1t Will be to
reborn in some shape, for without
concert in Europe there can be no re-
covery for the continental system and
no escape from the new race in arma-
IucIltS. IL every COullbly ID W PAoJ q
lone hand the confusion will become
worse COMPOUNDED. Even desirable
fraternizings unsanctifled by a Euro
pean pact will have fatal repercussions
and will create suspicious and fears
outside the parties to those fraternix-
ings.
* X
For example. Germany and Poland
are to have direct negotiations under a
common resolve ito renounce the use
of force" in their relations. No an
nouncement could be more welcome and.
under the umbrella of the League, more
free from menace. 1t follows from the
recent understandings arrived between
Danzig and Poland. In view of the
unsolved problem Of the Polish corridor,
nothing could be more hopeful than
that the principals involved in that
problem should be ready to talk freely
and above all the renounce force.
But the incident has sent a shudder
Of alarm through France. She sees
in the rapprochement q new menace
! to the peace Of Europe. It Is regarded
as an attempt to detach France from