Evening star., 1934-09-09
BY ALBIN e. JOHNSON.

~ of the League OF Nations
which begins Monday, is lust
another Assembly" But to those who
know what is going on behind the
scenes (the writer has attended every
Assembly since 1929. the League is
making the biggest gamble it has
made since it was created by the Ver-
sailles treaty.
In inviting Soviet Russia to become
a member the Geneva organization is
stalking everything on single throw
of the political dice. If the dice are
loaded-and Maxim Litvinod, Russia n
commissar for foreign affairs, is one
of the most astute statesmen in Eu-
rope today-the admission of the U.
S. S. r. means the end of the League
as it was originally constituted.
If, on the other hand. the Russians
are playing the game" the League
may emerge, in year or two, into
an organization which will become a
stabilizing influence in a politically
and economically disorganized world
and fulfill the hopes that Woodrow
Wilon, Lord Robert Cecil, Gen. Jan
Smuts. Leon Bourgeoise and other
idealists placed in it.
Any way one looks at the picture,
however, the immediate future is a
gamble. Soviet Russia will officially
be invited to affiliate with the League
just as Washington was recently in
vited to join the International Labor
Office. The United States, after a
delay of two months, accepted; Mos
COW probably will be on hand to take
her place at the green-baize table
around which the council sits imme-
diately. The unknown on the Euro
pean political horizon is: What will
the Russians do?" Will they play the
game according to established rules or
will they be a bull in the china
shop? Certain countries-they are
few, however-Still insist that the Boil
shevists are intent upon world revolu-
ton and are boring in" into the
League for the purpose of disrupting
it. The Swiss, Yugoslavs and Ger
mans and japanese hold that idea.
The japanese and Germans-in an
other year-will be no longer members,
so what they think does not count.
The Swiss and Yugoslavs are rabidly
anti-Russian and have little to say
anyway, so their opposition can be
written off in advance. France, Brit
ain, Italy, Spain and the neutral
States are openly seeking Russian affi-
liation. Other states members are
Indifferent.
Fair Play Is Expected.
That the Russians are going to be
on the level is generally believed. If
Downing Street and the Quai d'Orsay
did not have ample grounds for
trusting Litvinoff they would not have
prepared the way for the entrance
of the Soviets. Whether the British
and French are intriguing for re-
powers" or not does not matter
great deal at the moment. Without
Russia-and the United States-the
League would collapse eventually any
way and the old pre-war alliances
would inevitably emerge again. If
they are negotiated within the
framework of the Covenant" they will
lose little of their effectiveness and
much of what formerly was sinister
Few will argue that "open covenants"
are not preferable to the secret al
liances of generation ago.
There are two outstanding reasons
why Moscow wants to join the League
Both are practical and selfish rea-
sons, Germany and Japan. Con-
fronted on the east by Japanese
militariSt expansion and in the west
by reactionary and hostile Ger
many despite the fact that Poland
lies between them, the Russians are
caught between two millstones. Both
Germany and Japan have announced
their withdrawal from the League for
similar reaSons-to regain their free
dom of action. With Russia a nom
member of the League, and with
their hands free, the Japanese and
Germans, alone or together, could
resort to any policy profitable to
themselves against their neighbor
without fear of legal" complications.
Once she has signed the Covenant,
Russia will be in position to avail
herself of its protection if she is at
country-Whether that country is a
member of the League or not.
The observation may be advanced
that the League was impotent to aid
China when the Japanese invaded
Manchuria. To a certain extent it
is true, but the Japanese themselves
will be the last to claim that the
action of the League did not cause
them considerable embarrassment.
even though they were able to carry
out their objectives.
Positions at Variance.
Furthermore, Russia is not China.
European states would be forced to
take part in any conflict between
Russia and Germany, whether they
wished it or not Similarly, the
United States would be vitally con-
cerned If war were to break out be-
tween Japan and Russia in the Far
East. China would be dragged into
it, Koreans would revolt and the
balance already established would be
upset When Moscow negotiated for
resumption of normal diplomatic re-
AoCAOllo Will WdolIlIlSOO IL Was lUG
particularly to re-establish trade. It
was to improve her chances in the
Far East.
When Litvinoff decided it was time
to forget early hatreds for the so3
called "capitalistic states" and bring
Moscow into the comfy of nations it,
was political necessity that dictated
his action. Political necessity, like
wise, can be counted upon to regulate
Moscow's behavior at Geneva for the
time being. If Japan and Germany
return to the League-and the return
of the Germans is almost a certainty
things may change.
The Russians claim that it is not
they who have changed, in so far as
the League is concerned. The late
Ambassador Dogvalevsky, who next to
Maxim Litvinof is entitled to credit
for bringing the present situation
about, declared before his death that
1t is not Moscow which has changed.
but the League" Dogvalevsky pointed
out that the League shows signs of
developing into a real force for pre-
serving international peace. 1T has
shown that it can slow down hoStili-
ties and art aS q hraka against u,or