Evening star., 1938-11-20

rev IcdOllIlcS Ndlleu LHe opening Oh
the Assembly of the League of Nations
in September. Such an event not many
years ago would have been of prime i'm
portance. 1t was the first time the AS
sembly began its regular annual ses-
sions at Geneva-always held in Sep
tember-in it's own magnificent palace.
For years the League had been build
ing these gorgeous quarters. moving in
the various departments as the several
sections were completed. The secre-
tariat, in February, 1896, was the first
to be housed and the Assembly was the
last, at the end of the regular 1887
meeting.
Just before the close of the Assembly
sessions of 1887, Aga Khan was elected
president of the Assembly and gave a
great ball. 1t is curious to note that the
reports of the Leagues doings that year
lay stress on the quantity of champagne
Aga Khan provided for the invited
guests at the ball, but casually record
the fact that disgruntled former men-
Der OF the League, Adolf Hitler, and a
member of the League with grievance,
Benito Mussolini were holding a private
consultation at Munich.
Palace of Peace Eclipsed.
No, the opening of the League of Ma
tons regular session in September,
1888. found the world-a at-large intent on
other things Hitler and Mussolini were
again at Munich, working more openly.
Their unchecked maneuvers toward the
dismemberment of Czechoslovakia and
colonies and the dread of another World
War overshadowed the comforting fact
that the League-to-end-war was at last
sumptuously housed in its own magnifl-
cent palace.
Other severe blows have fallen upon
the League during the second decade OF
its existence. Japan resigned in Septem-
Der, 1888, and in october of the same
year Germany followed suit. Italy re-
signed in December. 1887. In the minds
of many these Withdrawals were not
made up for by the admission of Soviet
Russia in September 1884.
The depression hit the League hard.
BY 1881 a considerable portion of its in
come was reported In arrears. Salaries
had to be cut 10 per cent 1t was said.
and. all departments suffered, with the
exception Of the International Labor Of
fee. This single department was said to
be still paving 100000 pounds (nearly a
million dollars) each year to its perma-
nent officers From the beginning all
League expenditures were upon a lavish
scale.
The first shot of Japanese guns at
Mukden, in September. 1881, was a
challenge to the League. The Chaco
warfare and Spains civil war were no
kindly gestures in the direction of Ge-
neva And when Mussolini, in the sum-
mer of 1886, invaded the ancient en-
pire of Ethiopia. he defied the League
of Nations directly. Hitler's taking
over' of Austria in May. 1888. was a
staggering blow BY the time the Su-
deten question had been settled" to
Hitlers satisfaction. the world at large
was wondering-is the League of Ma
tions disqualified as we'll as discredited?
SllOTIl Vi 81 HULL plCollsc oiid Po"SA
can it continue to function? Must 1t, in
time, collapse?
Giant Shrinks.
Europe's most brilliant political figures
were to be seen and heard in the narrow
crowded. ill-ventilated little audience
hall hired by the League for former as
sembly sessions. Now, in its new marble
halls, with a greatly diminished attend
ance and the undistinguished to the fore,
is the League "all dressed up and no
where to 60? There is much to dis
turb the friends of the League in the
statement of the Bulgarian delegate at
the Assembly session of September 80
1898. THE League of Nations, which
was conceived as giant. has reached the
lowest point of it's importance"
The distressing paradox is that never
before in history have so many people
been so strong for peace, and never be-
fore have so many wars (most OF them
undeclared) been in active operation
Since 1928 (year of the Kellogg BRAND
peace pact), $10,000,0O0000 has been
spent in warfare. The Chaco War took
100000 lives. The 1talo- Ethiopian War
$4,000. The Chinese-Japanese War, to
date, has cost 100000 lives. Another
million lives have been lost in Spain,
with the end not yet in sight.