Evening star., 1938-05-08
D|PLOMAT|CF|GHT
AWAITING LEAGUE
Ethiopia, China and Spain
Questions Face Council
Tomorrow,
BY the kssc ciated Press,

GENEVA, May THE diplomatic
battle of the year" will open here
Monday over the question Of recoe-
milton Of Ethiopia as part Of the
italian empire. The League Of Ma
tions Council will open its 10lst meet
| ing then on the second anniversary Of
1taly's annexation Of the East Afri-
can nation.
single adverse vote could wreck
Council decision. No unanimous
vote, however. is required for a mere
recommendation by the Council-usu-
ally the practice on questions Of pro-
cedure.
Ethiopia's legal existence as an IN
dependent state, League quarters in
dicated tonight, may be treated as
/ just that-a mere question Of pro-
cedure.
Other issues to be before the states
men will include.
l. China's appeal against Japans
undeclared war.
2. Foreign intervention In the Span
ish civil war
3. Switzerland's demand for "in-
tegral' neutrality.
4. The position Of refugees from
Austrian Germany.
Resentment Growing.
Growing resentment faced the plans
of Great Britain and France to have
the Council give membeys Of the
League freedom to recognize the Ital-
ian conquest il they desire to do so.
The French and British foreign Of
fees already have laid the ground
work in the campaign to get this per-
mission, to grant Switzerland neutral
ity within the League and to push
other matters through the Council
within a week
A group including Soviet Russia.
China, Bolivia and New Zeala'.d-all
members of the Council-are bitterly
critical of any effort to turn the
League into a rubber stamp for the
two democracies
The opposition was split In two
parts-one anxious to fight the Anglo
French moves in the Council; the
other which believed the only way to
defeat them was to call a meeting
of the League Assembly to deal with
recognition.
1t was indicated in Paris that both
China and Soviet Russia had been
persuaded not to vote against the
Anglo-French resolution when it is
presented.
Statesmen Due Tomorrow.
The foreign ministers of France.
Britain and Russia-Georges Bonnet.
Viscount Halifax and Maxim Litvinoff
are expected to arrive here by Mon
day
If France and Britain win their
fight in the Council it will amount to
League recognition of the fact that
one OF its members whose represent
atlves even sits in the Assembly-has
ceased to exist-swallowed up by an
other nation which is no longer a
member
With Britain and France stand
strange group of allies, for not only
their own allies, but the friends of
the totalitarian states want to see
Ethiopia recognized as italian. Many
OF them have accorded recognition
already
Emperor Halle Selassie, still recog-
nized by the League itself as the King
Of Kings of Ethiopia, has sent his
representative and seeks a seat at the
Council table when the Ethiopian
question is discussed.
Ethiopia's legal existence as an in
dependent state, League quarters in
dicated tonight. may be treated as
just that-a mere question of pro-
cedure
Other Matters on Program.
Other matters are on the program
OF the l0lst Council when it assemblies
under the presidency of Latvia. repre-
sented by its keen, handsome foreign
minister. Wilhelm hunters.
China's appeal to the League against
Japan's undeclared war still is on the
Council agenda. Astute Wellington
Koo, armed with the possible ability
to throw monkey wrench into French
and British plans regarding Ethiopia,
has chance to do some smart
trading
The Spanish government has asked
to have the question of foreign inter-
vention in the civil war put on the
agenda.
Switzerland's demand for her "inte-
grail eutrality-recognition Of her
absolute freedom from League obliga-
tions-was not placed on the provision
al agenda printed before the meeting,
but the matter will be discussed at
Geneva none the less.
Refugees Also Topic.
One of the Councils duties will be
to deal with a request by the British
and French governments that Austrian
refugees be placed on the same foot
ing with German refugees, for whom
high commissioner has been ap-
pointed by the League.
Still another is a question OF League
reform originally raised by Chile. This
issue long has attracted the interest,
not only of the American
States, but Of the entire membership
of the League and particularly the
neutral bloc" led by Switzerland.
The Council Committee of %. study
ing the question of reforming the Gov
enant of the League, is scheduled to
make report on its progress to the
Assembly in September.