Evening star., 1941-11-16
Initial Step in Planning Peace
Is to Avoid Defects of League
on Treaty Ending the War; Mechansms
Should Be Regional
By Felix Morley.

Many Of those who voted against re-
pealing the remnants Of the Neutrality
Act cannot, with any accuracy, be called
isolationists. The opposition to this step
includes a number who favor active
American participation in an effective
form Of international organization, but
who do not regard our entry into the war
as necessary preliminary thereto.
On the other hand, many Of those who
voted for repeal are dubious converts to
the doctrine that the United States, in
common with other nations, must cede
some of its sovereignty to an interna-
tionsl body competent to preserve peace.
Some who support the administration
in this issue are much more partial TO
hostilities with Germany than they
would be to federal union, or even TO
American membership in a revived
League of Nations.
Nevertheless the recent congressional
debate Is in substance an admission that
isolationism is no longer either desirable
or possible for the United States. And
equally apparent in the debate as well as
in the voting, is the conclusion that con-
tinuation of the condition of world an
archy is as intolerable for this country
as it is for those areas which are. as vet.
more Immediately and bitterly affected.
Effect of Repeal.
There is no question that repeal Of the
Neutrality Act could be regarded by the
fo,
But 1t is equally true that the close vote
in both Senate and House calls insistent-
lv for more constructive sequel than
mere belligerency For making war
would of itself neither terminate isola-
tionism. nor eliminate the international
anarchy. This We learned, or should
have done so. between 1916 and 1920
Beyond and above the issue of retro
active authority to make naval warfare
the Neutrality Law discussion has raised
further and fundamentally more i'm
portant issue. II has tacitly authorized
the administration to proceed with the
planning of new order in which the
United States will fully cooperate to
make a third world war impossible And
the first step in such planning is obvious
ly to learn from the lessons of the peace
machinery which failed to avert the
present catastrophe
Four major mistakes of composition. as
distinct from shortcomings in operation
are now generally attributed to the
League of Nations by those who have
studied its history closely BY itself no
one of these would necessarily have
caused collapse. But collectively, under
the strains initiated by the depression
period, the four faults proved fatal
The first Of these faults was psyche
logical: The inclusion of the covenant
Of the League of Nations as an integral
part Of the treaty of Versailles. Whether
or not the terms of this treaty were un-
duly severe and, in the reparations
clauses, economically impossible, is not
the issue. The point is that the design
for better international order was COM
bined with an admittedly punitive and
vindictive settlement of the last war.
From the start this prevented the
League from attaining, or even success
fully claiming, the essential attribute of
lmpartiality.
Lack of Power.
The second major fault was political;
the emphasis placed by the unanimity
rule on the preservation rather than the
pooling of sovereignty. Far from be-
ing "Super-State" as was often falsely
asserted in this country. the League
had no power to coerce a member even
II so nations wanted a course of action
which only one opposed. With this
handicap it is extraordinary that the
Geneva organization achieved anything
The third major fault was structural:
The Capitalization of the entire admin
istrative machinery in European city
In retrospect one can see that it would
have been far better if three leagues
of more limited scope had been estab-
lished-one for the Americas with head
quarters in Havana; one for the Far
East with Offices in Shanghai: one at
Geneva for essentially European prob
lens. The British Commonwealth of
Nations, itself functioning league with
units in every continent. could then have
served to coordinate with activities of
the three great regional groupings.