Evening star., 1946-03-23
Iran Issue Scheduled
To Be Met SquoreIy
UNO Security Council Seeking
To Avoid Leagues Mistakes
Ry Rerfrou Rpnod;cf

By Berfram Benedict
The first meeting of the UNO Sc
curity Council in London last January
lodged the dispute between Russia and
Iran. The Council agreed to leave it
to direct negotiations between the two
countries, although reserving the right
to be kept informed of the negotiations.
The second meeting of the Council, to
open in New York on the coming Mon
day, now seems determined to meet the
Russian-Iranian issue directly.
The course adopted by the UNO
Council in January was similar to the
course taken by the League of Nations
in the first ticklsh problems to come
its way. And perhaps the UNO Coun-
Gil has become convinced that the
dodging tactics adopted by the League
in its first years were one prime reason
why the League failed.
/. The League had plausible pretext
for lodging the issue of the Polish
Russian war. The League had come
officially into existence on January 10,
1920 before then, France, Great Brit
ain and Poland were unofhcially at war
with the Soviet government. Winston
Churchill was quoted by Senator Pep
per Of Florida in the Senate last We'd
nesday as saying: "The Allies
stood as invaders on Russian soil. They
armed the enemies of the Soviet gov
ernment. They blockaded its ports and
sank its battleships. They earnestly
desired and schemed its downfall"
Sidestepped Problem.
SO when the unofficial war broke out
into official war in April, 1920, when
Polish troops invaded Soviet territory,
the Council could truthfully say that
this was a pre-League problem, still
being handled by the Supreme Council
of the Allies. Russia wasn't a member
of the League.
When the League came into existence,
Poland and Lithuania were in dispute
concerning Wilma and the surrounding
territory. The new state of Lithuania
had made Wilma its capital When Polish
and Lithuanian troops clashed in the
disputed territory in August, 1920,
Lithuania appealed to the League, OF
which it was not yet member.
On October Lithuania and Poland
signed an agreement whereby Wilma went
to Lithuania. But three days later
Polish irregulars under Gen. Zeligorski
occupied the city. The League called
for a plebiscite, but this couldn't be
held while the Polish troops were in
possession, and they refused to get out.
In March, 1921, the League called off
the plebiscite. The League washed its
hands of the problem in January, 1922,
and in February, 1923, practically
accepted the Zeligorski fait accompli.
Memel and Lithuania.
The Peace Conference had detached
the city of Memel Chiefly German
and the surrounding territory (chiefy
Lithuanian from Germany, but had
not reassigned them. For three years
they were governed by small French
force acting for the Allies. In jan
uary, 1923, Lithuanian troops moved in.
The League first left the problem to the
Council of Ambassadors, itself took up
the problem in September, 1928 ulti-
mately let Lithuania keep Memel, with
certain trade rights for Poland.
In August. 1928, four Italian ma
tionals engaged in deli1niting the AL
bantam Greek frontier were murdered
on Greek soil. Mussolini delivered q
stern ultinlatum to Athens, which ac-
cepted some of its provisions, rejected
others, offered to submit the dispute
to the League. Thereupon an italian
squadron bombarded the Greek island
of Corfu and then occupied it.
On the same day Greece, like Italy
a League member, submitted the dis
pute to the League, also consented to
jurisdiction by the Council of Ambas-
sadors. Mussolini rejected the jurisdic-
ton of the League, but accepted that
of the ambassadors. The League let
these handle the situation; their de-
ciSion was favorable to the great power
and unfavorable to the small one.