UC-NRLF ^B STD ^&^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/firstyearofleaguOOwilsrich THE FIRST YEAR OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS THE FIRST YEAR OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS WITH THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN AN APPENDIX GEORGE GRAFTON WILSON PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW HARVARD UNIVBR8ITY BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1921 Copyright, 1921, By Little, Brown, and Company. • ••• V*' •••^*«« All rights reserved ' ' J • • • ' t • • • * • 1 1 \ •*♦ * *• W :'\ /":••* ':: .•• •'•"•Ihilblislied March, 1921 Norivootr ^rrss Set up and electrotyped by J. S. Gushing Co., Norwood, Mass.) U.S.A. ^*Even if this first edifice^ which so many States have helped to huild, were destined to collapse — an impossible hypothesis which I must apologize for advancing — the foun- dations would still remain and the very ruins would cry aloudf and would summon new workmen to the task of rebuilding" — President Motta of Switzerland at the meeting of the Assembly on the opening day. "/ ask for patience and not for scepticism.*' — M. Leon Bourgeois of the French Dele- gation at the meeting of the Assembly on the closing day. 448728 FOREWORD The following pages embody the substance of an address made on January 22, 1921, before the Twentieth Century Club, Boston. The address aimed to present a view of the work of the League of Nations up to the end of the first year of its existence, January 10, 1921. The work of this first year is fully set forth in thousands of pages of printed material. This little book, printed in response to many re- quests, attempts to summarize this material and to show what those engaged in the work hoped to accomplish as they came together, and believed they had accomplished when they separated. So far as possible the words of responsible oflScials of the League are re- produced. The Covenant of the Leagile of Nations under which the work has been carried on is printed in an Appendix. George Grafton Wilson. Martard University February 1, 1921 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION pAoa The War, 1914-1918 . . . . , .1 CHAPTER I Making the Covenant Making the Covenant 2 Revising the Covenant 4 Adoption of the Covenant 4 Plans before the Treaty 4 Preliminary Organization under the Covenant . 5 CHAPTER n The Covenant in Operation through the Council Ratification of the Treaty 7 The Covenant Operative . . . • . 7 Council Meetings 8 Variety of Business 9 Council Agenda .... • . .10 A Session Program 11 Disputes before the Council . . . • .14 Committee Reports 14 International Financial Commission . . .15 Committee on Court of Justice . . . .15 Committee Work in General . . . .16 Council Work in General 17 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER m PAQB The Covenant in Operation through the Assembly Provisions for the First Assembly . . . .18 First Meeting of the Assembly . . . .18 Opening Words of the President . . . .19 Speech of M. Motta .20 Choice of Seat 21 Looking to the United States . . . .22 Prospects of Permanency . . . .24 Nature of League and its Work . . .25 The League as Seen by M. Hymans . . .27 Not a Panacea 27 Not a Super-State 28 An Organization for Cooperation . . .28 Election of President of Assembly . . .29 Parties Voting 30 Order of the Day 81 Organizing the Assembly 32 Committees 33 Full Publicity 33 The Assembly at Work . . . . . .34 Assembly v. Council 35 Council for 1921 36 Amendments to Covenant 37 Article X 38 Interpretation 38 Armaments , .39 World Health, etc 39 International Army ..••.. 39 Registration of Treaties 40 X TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Mandates 40 International Court of Justice . . . .41 Plan for Court Adopted 42 Delegated Work 43 States Members 43 Non-Member States 43 Extent of Member Jurisdiction . . . .44 Cost of League 45 President Hymans' Views at Close of Assembly . 46 Five Weeks of Work 47 Court of International Justice . . .49 Obligatory Competence Optional . . .50 Spirit of the Assembly 50 The Great Work Begun 51 Appeal for Advance 52 Views of President Motta at Close of Assembly . 53 The First Session of the Assembly Closes . . 55 APPENDIX Covenant op the League op Nations . . .57 Index • . . 83 XI THE FIRST YEAR OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS INTRODUCTION THE WAR The declaration of war by Austria against Serbia, July 28, 1914, was followed by declarations involving a large part ^^^ ^^ of the world. Hostilities con- 1914-1918 tinned till November 11, 1918, when an armistice with Germany was concluded by Marshal Foch representing the Allied and Associated Powers. Armis- Armistice tices had previously been agreed 1918 upon with Bulgaria, September 29; with Turkey, October 30; and with Austria, November 3, 1918. THE FIRST YEAR OF THE CHAPTER I MAKING THE COVENANT The Peace Conference convened at Paris on January 18, 1919. Premier Clemen- ceau was chosen President of the Making the Conference. In closing his open- ovenan .^^ address he said, ''It only re- mains for me to say, gentlemen, that the order of the day for our next sitting will begin with the question of the Society of Nations." At the second session of the Peace Conference on January 25, 1919, speeches were made upon the general subject of a League of Nations and the Conference adopted the following reso- lution : (a) It is essential to the maintenance of the world settlement, which the Associated Nations are now met to establish, thO't a 2 LEAGUE OF NATIONS League of Nations be created to promote international cooperation to ensure the fulfilment of accepted international obliga- tions, and to provide safeguards against war. (b) This League should be treated as an integral part of the general treaty of peace, and should be open to every civilized nation which can be relied on to promote its objects. (c) The members of the League should periodically meet in international conference, and should have a permanent organization and secretariat to carry on the business of the League in the intervals between the Conferences. A Commission of fifteen members was appointed to present a plan for carrying out this resolution. On this Commission were two members from each of the Prin- cipal Allied and Associated Powers (United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan) and one member each from Belgium, Brazil, China, Portugal and Serbia. Delegates 3 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE from other States were subsequently added to the Commission. The report of the Commission presented at the Third Plenary Session of the Peace . . Conference on February 14, 1919, the was embodied in a draft "Consti- ovenan ^^^^^qj^ Qf 1}^^ League of Nations." This draft was thereupon placed before the world for examination and comment. The Commission later took into consider- ation the suggestions which its presenta- tion called forth. Changes were made , , . and the ''Covenant of the League Adoption - T.T • • • of the of Nations, consistmg of twenty- ovenan ^.^ Articles, was adopted by the Conference at the Plenary Session of April 28, 1919. (For the Covenant see p. 57.) The Covenant of the League of Nations was the basis upon which further peace negotiations rested. A committee fore the entered upon preparation of pro- reaty visional plans for organization of the work which the League, if established, might be called upon to perform. 4 LEAGUE OF NATIONS The Treaty of Versailles, signed June 28, 1919, contained the Covenant of the League of Nations and named its p^^,.^.^ Secretary-General. Almost imme- ^^ry Or- T 1 /->i • fl r\ • ganization diately a Committee of Organiza- under the tion, representing the nine Powers ^°^®^^* provided for in the personnel of the Council of the League, was appointed by the Peace Conference. The Secretary-General was authorized to make preliminary plans for carrying out the work of the Secretariat. The personnel of the Secretariat was to be international and positions to be "open equally to men and women." Temporary offices were opened in London pending the decision of Switzerland upon entering the League. The principal divisions of labor in the Secretariat show the range of con- templated activities : 1. Administrative Commissions and Minorities Questions 2. Economic and Financial 3. Information 5 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE 4. International Bureaux 5. Legal 6. Mandates 7. Political 8. Registration of Treaties 9. Social Questions 10. Transit and Communications The office organization was also planned and provisional appointments were made. As ratification of the Treaty of Peace was deferred longer than was anticipated the plans for the initial work of the League of Nations were more fully formulated than would have been possible otherwise. 6 LEAGUE OF NATIONS CHAPTER II THE COVENANT IN OPERATION THROUGH THE COUNCIL The Treaty of Peace was ratified on January 10, 1920. Four of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers — British Empire, France, Italy and tion of Japan — as well as nine other ^^^^ Powers ratified the Treaty with Germany. The Covenant of the League of Nations immediately became binding. The call for the first meeting of the Council ^^ of the League was issued for Janu- Covenant ary 16, 1920. The Council, ac- ^^^'""^^^ cording to Article IV of the Covenant, was to consist of nine members represent- ing the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, Bel- gium, Brazil, Greece and Spain.^ The 1 The Council of the League of Nations should not be con- fused with other Councils such as the Supreme War Council or 7 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE United States had not ratified the Treaty and therefore was unrepresented. The Council of the League of Nations met for the first time at Paris on January CouncU 1^' 1920, and, after transaction Meetings ^f preHminary business and ap- pointing the Saar Frontier Commission, fixed upon London as the place for its second meeting. Ten Council meetings were held before the meeting of the As- sembly of the League of Nations. These meetings were held at Paris, London, Rome, San Sebastian and Brussels. The sessions varied in length from otie to ten days. The total sessions occupied more than thirty days. Sittings were usually held both morning and afternoon. At these sessions the delegate from the State in which the meeting was held presided. The States were usually represented by the same person at all or at most of the meetings. These representatives therefore Councils of the Allied Powers which have met to determine the amount of reparations to be required from Gennany, etc. 8 LEAGUE OF NATIONS became very familiar with the business of the League. According to Article IV of the Covenant, "The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere variety of of action of the League or affect- Business ing the peace of the world." A wide range of matters came before the Council at the meetings prior to the first gathering of the Assembly. As such an organization as the Council was new, even rules of procedure had to be devised without the usual ad- vantage of precedent. Many matters had been referred by the Treaty of Peace to the League of Nations. The League of Nations is specifically mentioned in forty- eight of the 414 Articles of the Treaty following the twenty-six Articles of the Covenant. In Article 49, ''Germany re- nounces in favor of the League of Nations, in capacity of trustee, the government of the territory defined above." (The Saar Basin.) In Article 80 Austrian indepen- dence is recognized as inalienable except 9 THE FIRST YEAR OP THE with consent of the Council of the League of Nations. Article 102 places Danzig under the protection of the League of Na- tions. Many unsettled questions in the territory ceded by Germany are left to the League for adjustment. Regulation of use of rivers, canals, and means of transportation is under League supervision. The whole organization of the Interna- tional Labor OflSce for which detailed pro- vision is made in the Treaty is closely bound up with the League. It is planned that all international bureaux established by general treaties shall be placed under the direction of the League. While the order of the day of the first meeting of the Council contained only a CouncU single item, the order of the day Agenda Qf i]^q tenth meeting contained twenty-two items. The list of questions considered at this meeting is an evidence of the range of matters before the Council of the League of Nations. 10 LEAGUE OP NATIONS Tenth Session Brussels. October 20 to October 28 Questions considered: 1. The Finances of the League : (a) The third budget of the League. (6) Payment of the staff of a session the permanent Secretariat. Pro- (c) The distribution of the ex- penses of the League between the Members. (d) The cost of the Commissions ap- pointed by the League. (e) Expenses of the Saar Basin Fron- tier Dehmitation Commission. 2. Appointments to the Secretariat. 3. The First Report of the Council to the Assembly. 4. The report of the Committee of International Jurists on the Constitution of a Permanent Court of International Justice. 5. Recommendations appended to the Report of the Committee of International Jurists. 11 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE 6. The report of the Permanent Ar- maments Commission. 7. The report of the International Fi- nancial Conference. 8. The report of the Committee on International Statistics. 9. The Permanent Health Organization : Appointment of a temporary representa- tive of the League to advise as to the execu- tion of the resolutions regarding venereal disease passed by the Labor Conference at Genoa. 10. Communications and transits : Pass- ports and customs, regulations for travellers, and Passports for Officials of the League. 11. Mandates : Obligations of the League under Article XXII of the Covenant. 12. The Constitution of the Free City of Danzig. 13. Protests of the German Government against the decision of the Council making definitive the transfer to Belgium of the sovereignty over the districts of Eupen and Malmedy. 12 LEAGUE OF NATIONS 1 4 . Protection of Minorities : (a) Obligations of the League under the Minorities clauses of the Austrian and Bul- garian Peace Treaties. (6) The Appointment of the Commis- sion to supervise the reciprocal immigration of Greek and Bulgarian Minorities. (c) The general duties of the Council respecting Minorities. 15. Protection of Armenia. 16. Measures taken to appoint the Com- mission of rapporteurs to advise the Council on the question of the Aaland Islands. 17. The dispute between Lithuania and Poland. 18. The campaign against typhus in Poland. 19. The repatriation of war prisoners : case of the Rumanian prisoners. 20. Amendments to the Covenant pro- posed by the Scandinavian States. 21. Resolution presented by M. Tittoni concerning monopolies. 22. Resolution of the British Association 13 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE of Moral and Social Hygiene demanding the suppression of all regulations of prosti- tution in mandated countries. Many important matters had already been settled by the Council of the League j^. before the meeting of the Assembly before in November, 1920. Other mat- ters had been settled by the parties involved on consultation with the Coun- cil or its oflScials. The disputes over the Aaland Islands and between Poland and Lithuania had been considered by the Council and threatening conflicts had, at least for the time, been averted. Commis- sions had been appointed and the reports prepared had been discussed and were ready for the meeting of the Assembly. Among the most important of these reports were those of the International Committee Financial Commission and the Reports Committee on a Permanent Court of International Justice, though the Re- ports of the Committees on Health Or- 14 LEAGUE OF NATIONS ganization. Armaments, Mandates, Com- munications and Transit and others were of great importance. At the International Financial Confer- ence, thirty-nine countries were repre- sented, the United States having j^^^^_ been invited to participate, though national not a member of the League. The commis- Conference sat from September ^^^^ 24 to October 8, 1920, at Brussels, and demonstrated clearly the extreme com- plexity and difficulty of the financial re- habilitation of the world, while showing the necessity of cooperation lest greater burdens be placed upon all. Recommendations were made with a view to making provision for building a financial system based upon broad knowledge of actual condkions. The Committee of Jurists presented a plan for a Permanent Court of Interna- tional Justice, which met with ^ Committee general approval. The existence on Court of the League of Nations made possible the solution of the difficulty 15 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE which had formerly been insoluble by providing in Article IV for the election of judges by the Assembly and Council from a list of persons nominated by the na- tional groups in the Court of Arbitration, generally known as the Hague Arbitration Court. The existence of an International Court of Justice for which the Covenant provides is the secure foundation upon which the League of Nations may most safely rest. A review of the reports of the Com- mittees appointed by the Council shows an evident desire to face the facts Committee , Work in and to draw sane conclusions. The Commission on Armaments reports among other conclusions, that "the use of gas was a fundamentally cruel method of carrying on war, but that it would be useless to seek to restrict the use of gas in war by prohibiting or limiting its manufacture in peace time, or to prohibit laboratory experiments.** The reports in general were considered, 16 LEAGUE OF NATIONS and revised if thought wise, by the Coun- cil and then submitted to the Assembly, The work of the Council before the meeting of the Assembly may be broadly grouped as (1) organization, (2) political under the League, Work in .11 • 1 • • , General through special provisions as to the Saar Basin, Danzig, Eupen and Mal- medy; through general duties as to Ar- menia, Turkey, Austria, Poland, Persia, Aaland Islands, etc. ; through special under- takings as in the work of commissions; (3) humanitarian, as in the campaign against typhus, repatriation of prisoners, and relief; (4) international cooperation, as with the Red Cross. 17 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE CHAPTER HI THE COVENANT IN OPERATION THROUGH THE ASSEMBLY Article VII of the Covenant of the League of Nations provides that "The seat of the League is estabUshed The First at Geneva." Article IV pro- of the vides that "The first meeting nSs''^ of the Assembly and the first meeting of the Council shall be summoned by the President of the United States of America.'' The Journal of the First Assembly of the League of Nations, Geneva, 1920, No. 1 — 15th November, 1920 — has the following upon its first page : FIRST MEETING OF THE ASSEMBLY (15th November, at 11 o'clock) In accordance with the telegram of Convocation sent by President Wilson, the 18 LEAGUE OF NATIONS Assembly will meet to-day, 15tli November, at 11 o'clock. The Council have decided that the pro- ceedings shall be opened under the pro- visional Chairmanship of the Member of the Council who is President of the Council for the time being, in this case Monsieur Hymans. Monsieur Hymans will, therefore, take the Chair, declare the Meeting to be open. The first page of the Provisional Ver- batim Record of this Meeting contains the following report : Opening Words of the President Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the United States on 17th July sent to the Secretary-General the following telegram: "In answer to the request of the Council of the League of Nations asking me to summon the First Meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations, and under the terms of Article V of the Covenant of the League of Nations, I have the honor to summon the First Meeting of the League in the town of Geneva, the Seat of the League, for the 15th 19 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE November, at 11 o'clock." In response to this summons we are now met in this hall. I therefore have the honor to declare the first session of the Assembly of the League of Nations to be now open, and it will meet the wishes of all if I call upon M. Motta to take the Chair and address the Assembly. Speech of M. Mottay President of the Stoiss Confederation Ladies and Gentlemen, As President of the Swiss Confederation, and on behalf of the Swiss people and Government, I most heartily welcome this distinguished Assem- bly which has been summoned for the first time and is meeting at the oflScial seat of the League of Nations. If I make no attempt to conceal the great emotion which I feel, it is because I am trying to visualise the incom- AS S66X1 by the parable greatness and possibilities of Switzer- ^^ ^^^ event now taking place upon land at the my native soil. A great honor is egrnnmg ^^^jj^g done to Switzerland, and I feel overwhelmed by the privilege which 20 LEAGUE OF NATIONS my official position confers upon me, of being the first to address you in the name of my country. In the first place, I hasten to take this unique opportunity of expressing our un- dying gratitude to the Peace Conference for having done us the honor of selecting the city of Geneva as the seat of the great international body which it created. We knew that the Conference, in making its choice, hesitated between Brussels and Geneva. If this choice had de- choice pended only upon newly won glory o^ Seat and noble sacrifice, Belgium's claim would have been absolutely unrivalled. Belgium's name is surrounded by a halo of glory which will never fade ; Albert the First, the heroic Kjng, stands before us as one of the most noble and disinterested figures in history; the Belgian people will live in the minds of posterity as a martyr nation. I am fulfilling a duty which I prize very highly and one to which this solemn meeting gives an added importance when, as chief citizen of a country which remained neutral 21 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE throughout the Great War, I state here and now that the example of fidelity to inter- national obligations and the laws of honor which Belgium has sealed with her blood will be remembered by men as long as the Principles of Justice and Right hold sway. President Motta then thanked the Coun- cil of the League for its attitude on the admission of Switzerland to the League and expressed a hope, or rather a keenly felt desire — that the United States of North America should before long take its rightful place in the League. The country which is a world in itself and is blessed with all the riches of the earth — the glorious democracy which to the ^^s absorbed all races and given United them a common language and ^**''' government -the people which is influenced by the highest ideals and is affected by every advance made in material progress — the State which hurled the deci- sive weight of its resources and armies into the scales, and thus decided the future of continents, and of Europe in particular — 22 LEAGUE OF NATIONS^ the native land of George Washington, father of liberty, and of Abraham Lin- coln, champion and martyr in the cause of brotherhood; this country, I say, cannot, and surely does not intend forever to turn its face against the appeal made to it by nations who, while retaining their inde- pendence and their sovereign rights, in- tend to cooperate for the peace and pros- perity of humanity. What a task this is for humanity on the morrow of the upheaval which has ravaged its very vitals with fire and sword ! We can find no tragedy in history which can be compared with the great struggle in which we have been actors or spectators. The tremendous but gradual collapse of the Roman Empire is a small matter in com- parison, and pales before the recent cata- clysm. After speaking of the nature of the struggle and of the appeal which it had brought for some means to make its repeti- tion unnecessary, President Motta con- tinued : 33 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE The day which witnessed the birth of the League of Nations witnessed an event Prospects whose consequences will have a of Perma- permanent influence on the evolu- nency ^.^^ ^£ nations. This fact cannot be affected by the obvious lacunae and inevitable imperfections of the first Cove- nant. Once the seed is sown, the earth can never be completely barren. Even if this first edifice, which so many States have helped to build, were destined to collapse — an impossible hypothesis which I must apologize for advancing — the foundations would still remain and the very ruins would cry aloud, and would summon new work- men to the task of rebuilding. . . . The League of Nations will live. Already it is impossible to think of the world with- out it. But it would be childish to expect miracles from it. Individuals are impatient because their spell of life is short, but collective bodies develop slowly because their life has no limits. The Treaties of Peace would, in part, be impossible of execution if the League of Nations did not U LEAGUE OF NATIONS exist. Its material sanctions are perhaps at present and may for a long time yet be of doubtful power, but it already possesses the penetrating moral force which we call international consciousness. Coercion will be within its sphere of action, but it will rule above all by moral force. If the first Assembly sets up the Permanent Court of International Justice, it will have opened wide the door to the solution of disputes between States. . . . The League is not an alliance of Govern- ments; it is an association of nations. Hence it has included within the , - ., . .• •. Nature of sphere of its mam activity ques- League tions of disarmaments, of com- audits munications, of transit and of commerce, of hygiene, of financial recon- struction, and, above all, the labor question. States cannot possibly continue to be weighed down by the crushing burden of military expenditure; if it were so, then the sorrows of the war have taught us nothing. No longer will States erect against each other insurmountable barriers. All 25 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE countries will have free access to the sea. No longer will those countries which produce raw materials — and especially metals and coal — exploit their wealth as a monopoly. The Financial Conference at Brussels has shown us the remedies by which the ills of public finance may be healed ; but the gulf between theory and practice will not, alas, be bridged so soon. Conditions of labor will continue to be ruled by the needs of production, but the dignity of the worker will be respected, as will his sacred right to happiness both for himself and in his home. After remarks upon democracy and greetings from democratic Switzerland and wishes for the highest success of the first meeting of the Assembly, President Motta closed his address of welcome to the As- sembly, receiving the warm applause of the gathering. M. Hymans, the provisional President of the Assembly, then replied, thanking President Motta in the name of the League for the welcome which had been extended S6 LEAGUE OF NATIONS to the Assembly, also for the tribute which he had paid to Belgium. Continuing, he said : The meeting of this great Assembly, at which the representatives of forty-one States are foregathering, is an event which will have no inconsiderable place in history. It is a proof of men's yearning for an equitable, lasting and peaceful organization of international relations, and the ^s Seen manifestation of this universal ^y ^• . T Hymans sentiment is an impressive mdi- at the cation of a new spirit in the Beginning world. . . . We are far from supposing that the in- stitution set up by the Covenant of Ver- sailles is a perfect one, or that the lessons of time and experience cannot help us to improve both its general working and its eflPectiveness. Nor can we, without running the risk of raising delusive hopes, announce that, by some magic wand, we are going ^ot a to transform the world, or — that Panacea which of all things in the world is the hard- est to change — the character of men. 27 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Furthermore, it is well that we should state once again that the League is not „ . and must not be, a super-State Super- which aims at absorbing national ^ ® sovereignties, or at reducing them to bondage. Our aim is in the first place to establish fre- quent and friendly intercourse between inde- pendent States, and to form ties which will lead to mutual understanding and sympathy. By the good oflSces of the Council and the Assembly, by arbitration and conciliation, and by the establishment of a zation^for" regular and permanent inter- CoSpera- national jurisdiction, by a series of organizations within which, as it were in laboratories, financial, economic and commercial problems, the conditions of labor and questions of health will be subjected to an impartial and objective investigation, the League of Nations will be able to play a powerful part in prevent- ing dangerous crises in the settlement of disputes which, if prolonged, run the risk of becoming more bitter and more acute, 28 LEAGUE OF NATIONS and in improving the moral and material lot of the peoples by wise cooperation. In closing his address M. Hymans urged all to work together and to '"seek to pre- pare and step by step to achieve the reign, so long awaited, of international morality and human right." Thus the purposes of the Assembly were set before its members. Both Monsieur Motta and Monsieur Hymans had had close contact with the work and plans of the League of Nations. After the above addresses the first prob- lem of the Assembly was the election of its president. While it was proposed that Monsieur Hymans be elected by acclama- tion objection was raised to the effect that this did not conform with the pro- cedure which should be followed, of Presi- Accordingly, following the provi- a^°*°!j sional rules which had been pre- pared by the Council, the roll of delegations to the Assembly was called in the order of 29 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE the names of their countries in the French language, and each delegation deposited one ballot with the candidate's name thereon in a box at the desk of the presiding officer. The result was forty-one votes cast, of which thirty-five were for Monsieur Hymans, four for Monsieur Motta, and one each for Mon- sieur Bourgeois and Monsieur Ador. Parties Votcs Were cast in this first Voting at formal act of the Assembly by the Meeting following : South Africa Great Britain Argentina Spain Australia France Belgium Greece Bolivia Guatemala Brazil Haiti Canada India Chili Italy China Japan Colombia Liberia Cuba Nicaragua Denmark Norway 80 LEAGUE OF NATIONS Panama Serb-Croat-Slovene Paraguay ^iam Netherlands Sweden Peru Switzerland Persia Czeeho-Slovakia Poland Uruguay- Portugal Venezuela Rumania New Zealand Salvador There was immediately before the As- sembly a provisional order of the day. This included twenty-nine items, order of The first seven items related to the *^® ^^y organization and procedure of the As- sembly. Then there followed items re- ferring to such matters as proposed amend- ments to the Covenant, the respective competence of the Council and the As- sembly, method of appointment of the four non-permanent Members of the Council, relations between technical organizations and the Council and Assembly, health questions, supervision over various forms 31 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE of traflSc, claims of various States, the establishment of a Court of International Justice, budgets and estimates, mandates, admission of new States, etc. At the same time a long list of docu- ments referring to matters coming before the League was submitted. Many of these related particularly to the subjects on the provisional order of the day. In the afternoon of the first day the Assembly settled down to business under provisional rules of procedure Organizing ^ , ^ , the pending the report of a committee Assembly . j i c<* upon suggested rules. Six com- mittees were constituted, each Delegation in the Assembly was entitled to a place on each committee and each committee was to elect its own president who thereby became a vice-president of the Assembly. In addition to these, six vice-presidents were elected by ballot. These, with the President of the Assembly, formed the general committee. Monsieur Motta was made Honorary President. 32 LEAGUE OF NATIONS The general work of the committees is indicated by their names : (1) Consti- tutional Questions; (2) Tech- q^^^^ nical Organizations; (3) Per- n^ittees manent Court of International Justice; (4) Secretariat and Finances; (5) Ad- mission to the League; (6) Mandates, Armaments and the Economic Weapon. These committees were organized on the third day of the Assembly. The prob- lems before the committees were many and often very difficult. It did not surprise the Assembly when on November 27 the Committee on Mandates, Armaments and the Economic Weapon said that it would "hardly be in a position to report on arma- ments until after the end of next week.'' Publicity was the rule. Verbatim re- ports were issued after each session of the Assembly, even extended reports p^ii of the committee sessions were P^^i^city published. The Journal of the Assembly gave a general daily review of matters of importance, sometimes being issued both 33 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE in morning and evening editions. Docu- ments upon special subjects, several hun- dred in number, were circulated. An in- stance of the confidence of the Assembly in publicity was shown when there was placed for open inspection in the Library all the documents relating to the bitter controversy between Poland and Lithuania. The Journals touch upon many subjects; e.g. the issue of December 2 contains a re- port on the admission of Austria to the League of Nations, a report on typhus, an invitation to the United States to participate in the Permanent Advisory Military, Naval and Air Commission, and mention of the failure of certain delega- tions to have "their photographs taken for the official records." There were thirty-one plenary sessions of the Assembly during the five weeks be- ^ tween November 15 and December The Assembly 18. Meetings were sometimes held both forenoon and afternoon. The preparatory work of the Council and 34 LEAGUE OF NATIONS the Secretariat greatly expedited the work of the Assembly. Committee and sub- committee meetings were many and at all times. The work of the committees was subjected to discussion in the Assembly and in some instances the committee recom- mendations were not followed. This was the case in the admission of Albania. Ex^ cept as to matters of procedure a unanimous vote was required. By the Covenant of the League of Na- tions the Council and the Assembly each have functions, but no body of con- Assembly stitutional law had been drawn ^- CouncU up fixing the limits within which each should act. Further there seems to be no exact analogy to the Council and Assembly in governmental organizations elsewhere. The Council is not subordinated to the As- sembly nor the Assembly to the Council. When the Assembly is not in session the Council functions for the League, and by the Covenant certain matters are specifi- cally left to the Council. The States 35 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Members of the Council are also Mem- bers of the Assembly. The degree of friction between the Assembly and the Council seems not to have been greater than that between constituted authorities in other organizations. The choosing of four non-permanent members of the Council by the Assembly Counca *^ succeed the four named in the for 1921 Treaty of Peace gave rise to much discussion. Those named in the Treaty to serve with the representatives of the five Principal Allied and Associated Powers were Belgium, Brazil, Greece and Spain. There were attempts made to devise rules for appointment on geographical bases. Finally, however, a ballot was taken on December 15th for one State at a time, Spain received 35 out of 39 ballots cast on the first vote ; Brazil 33 of the 39 on the second vote; China 19, Belgium 16 and 4 scattering on the third vote; Belgium 24 of the 39 on the fourth vote ; and China 21 of the 39 on the fifth vote. Accord- 36 LEAGUE OF NATIONS ingly the Council for 1921 consists of repre- sentatives from (the United States of Amer- ica, if a Member of the League of Nations) Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Bel- gium, Brazil, China and Spain. Propositions for amendment of the Covenant of the League of Nations under which the Assembly was gath- ^ Amend- ered were brought forward at the mentsto 1 . . tj. j 'j j Covenant very begmnmg. It was decided, however, that the Covenant should be tried in its present form and all amend- ments should be referred to a committee which would receive suggested amend- ments till March 31, 1921, after which the committee would consider these amend- ments and prepare a report for the next meeting of the Assembly. Article X of the League of Nations Covenant provides : The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and exist- ing political independence of all Members 37 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE of the League. In case of any such aggres- sion or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled. Proposed amendments to this Article received attention from the Assembly at various times. The Canadian Article X . -rx i r. representative on December 10 moved that Article X be stricken from the Covenant. The Fifth Committee having to do with the admission of new States to the League in its report on the admission of Austria, and elsewhere, declared : It cannot be too emphatically stated that Article X does not guarantee the Interpre- territorial integrity of any Mem- tation ber of the League. All it does is to condemn external aggression on the territorial integrity and political indepen- dence of any Member of the League, and call upon the Council to consider what can be done to resist such aggression. LEAGUE OF NATIONS Previous international conferences have expressed ''pious wishes" for reduction of armaments. The Assembly Anna- constituted a committee whose °^®^*^ duty it was to prepare practical plans with a view to securing such reductions based upon careful investigation. Technical organizations to aid in the care of world health, finances, worid transit, and other general matters Health, etc. were instituted. The first call for an international mili- tary force to assure a fair plebiscite to determine the disputed frontier be- , , Inter- tween Poland and Lithuania was national issued. This call did not take the ^^^^ form of an order but of an invitation : "the Council . . . would be extremely happy if the Government of should find it possible to furnish a contribution to the formation of the expeditionary detach- ment." Some States accepted and other States found themselves unable to accept the invitation. 39 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Article XVIII of the League of Nations Covenant, with a view to doing away with . secret treaties, provided for regis- tionof tration and early publication of treaties, and that such interna- tional agreements should not be binding until registered. Sixty-nine treaties had already been registered at the close of the first Assembly meeting, and three num- bers of the " Treaties Series Journal '' had been published, while others were on the press. States Members of the League of Nations must register international agree- ments even though these be with non- Members. Already certain treaties of Members with the United States have been so registered. By Article XXII of the Covenant of the League of Nations it was provided that certain areas previously Mandates under the sovereignty of the Cen- tral Powers should be placed under man- datories on behaW of the League as "a sacred trust of civilization.'' Owing to 40 LEAGUE OF NATIONS the fact that the four Prime Ministers of the AUied Powers had been themselves unable to reach an agreement on these territories, it was not until the very end of the session of the Assembly that progress was made. In a general way the adminis- tration of the mandates is now under the control of the Council. Fundamental to the structure of the League of Nations is a court of justice. To establish this, a plan had been drawn up and submitted to the national Council which the Council had Court of recommended with a few changes to the Assembly. The Assembly committee carefully considered the Council report and suggested a few further changes, some of which were very important. After full discussion a plan for the Court was adopted without opposition. The President of the Assembly then said: ''The statute of the International Court of Justice is now set up. I think we have accomplished a great work/' 41 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE By Article XIV of the Covenant the plan for the establishment of the Inter- ^, , national Court of Justice was to Planfor Court be submitted to Members of the Adopted T ft i'z» •• T> i? League tor ratification. J3eiore leaving Geneva the representatives of twenty-two States, the number necessary, signed the Protocol to bring the Court into being as soon as their States approved. Among these were the four great powers. Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan. Four States were also willing to go further than required in the Court plan and signed a Protocol agreeing upon com- pulsory jurisdiction. It is expected that the judges will be chosen at the September meeting of the Assembly. The Court will be open to States not members of the League, as its object is to promote justice in the world. It was the general opinion of the Assembly that no more important step had been taken during the five weeks of varied and earnest work than the adop- tion of this plan. 42 LEAGUE OF NATIONS Much work was left by the Assembly to the Council, which would be sitting in the period intervening before the Delegated next meeting of the Assembly in ^^^^ September, 1921. The Assembly had in its five weeks' session, however, fully oc- cupied the time and attention of some of the ablest representatives of a large num- ber of the States of the world. At the first meeting of the Assembly forty-one States were represented. At its closing meeting forty-eight States states were Members of the League, in- Members eluding Austria and Bulgaria. Four others were also given opportunity to participate in the work of some of the committees. Seventeen States remained unrepre- sented. Some of these as well as cer- tain political unities which had applied for admission were not Member • J J i • , , states considered as havmg as yet at- tained assured statehood. The seventeen States mentioned as not yet admitted are: 43 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Abyssinia Hungary United States of America Iceland Andorra Lichtenstein Armenia Mexico Azerbaidjan Monaco Dominican Republic Russia Ecuador San Marino Germany Turkey Hedjaz Estimated in round numbers the States Members of the League of Nations have jurisdiction over about thirty- M^n^er ^^^ million square miles or jurisdic- about sixty-fivc per cent of the tion earth's surface, and jurisdiction over about one and a quarter billion of the world's population or over about seventy- five per cent of this population, thus leav- ing only about thirty-five per cent of the world's area and twenty-five per cent of the world's population outside the juris- diction of States Members of the League. The cost of running the League of Na- 44 LEAGUE OF NATIONS tions was also one of the important ques- tions to receive consideration. The bud- get for 1921 is about four miUion dollars. The War Department Statistical Summary- showed the average expenses of the q^^^ ^f United States from April, 1917, i^^^gue through April, 1919, as more than one mil- lion dollars per hour. For the ten months from July 1, 1918, on the average expenses were forty-four million dollars per day, ap- proaching two million dollars per hour. During this period, however, the United States was expending only about one eighth of the total amount expended upon the war. The annual expenditure of four million dol- lars for the League of Nations budget is to be distributed among forty-eight States. The views of the President of the As- sembly and of the Honorary President as to what the Assembly hoped to accom- plish were given at the opening meeting. At the closing meeting, the 31st Plenary Meeting, after five weeks of labor together on the part of representatives of all these 45 THE FffiST YEAR OF THE States, these oflScials looked back and re- viewed the work of the First Assembly of the League of Nations. After this meet- ing, which gathered at four o'clock in the afternoon of December 18 in the Salle de la Reformation, had heard reports of some of the committees and completed certain unfinished business. Monsieur Hymans, the President of the Assembly, in the presence of a thousand or more persons, said : The Assembly has now completed its Agenda; but before declaring this Session at an end, I will ask your leave to say a few words. He expressed the Assembly's appreciation of the courtesy of Switzerland and of the City of Geneva, of the work of the Secre- tariat of the Assembly, and continued: It was said five weeks ago, at the opening of Session, that we were making a great experiment. To-day I think I Hymans' can say that the experiment has C^eot siicceeded. The League of Na- Assembly tions has found itself; it works; 46 LEAGUE OP NATIONS it acts; it lives, and it has the will to live. For five weeks now we have been engaged in work and discussion. The Assembly has been divided into pjve Weeks numerous Committees, and into ^^ Work even more numerous Sub-Committees. In these Committees, in which all the States were represented, and in the Sub-Com- mittees, care was taken to secure the presence of all the most expert and com- petent men. The work undertaken by these bodies has been painstaking, thorough, conscientious ; and all questions considered have been submitted to the most searching investigation. Let me quote only one in- stance, that of the Committee intrusted with the scheme for an International Court of Justice. This Committee held twenty- two meetings. It is well to recall these facts, when we reflect, gentlemen, that when we met we were to some extent in an inorganic state. No doubt we had a constitution, the Covenant. No doubt the Council of the League of Nations had for several months 47 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE been deliberating and taking action, but the Council represented only eight Powers, and had not behind it the support of the Nations. As for the Covenant, it remained to be seen how this would be interpreted and applied. Our methods of discussion, our means of action, were all uncertain. With a promptitude which does it credit, and which has certainly surprised many Parliamentarians, and perhaps many Parlia- ments, the Assembly determined its Rules of Procedure in two sittings, it determined clearly its relations with the Council, it fixed its budget. It was wise enough — if I may express an opinion now that my Presidency is terminating — it was wise enough to decide not to revise the Covenant. It wished to put it to the test, to set it in motion ; it wished to let time pass, so that it might allow the schemes to mature, re- jecting nothing, being ready to examine all, to discuss all, and submitting to a Com- mission to be nominated by the Council, the carefully studied schemes dictated by experience, so that in the fulness of time, 48 LEAGUE OF NATIONS after a year, the Assembly may at length give its decisions and modify, if it think fit, the original plan. President Hymans then reviewed the mat- ters which have been before the Assembly and indicated the purpose that seemed to have actuated its deliberations : The greatest task of this Assembly and its principal achievement for peace was the constitution of the International Court of Justice. This idea has i^ter- been germinating for so many national years ! To-day we see its fruition. Jurists who. are among the most eminent of the world prepared the draft scheme at The Hague; the Council investigated and considered it thoroughly and at length. After the Council came Committee No. 3, then a Sub-Committee of specialists, and finally we have been privileged to witness that after a long day of important deliber- ations, in which the most eminent members of the Assembly took part, the proposed resolutions were unanimously adopted. We have built for you, gentlemen, what 49 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE I may call the Temple of Right, the Palace of Peace. In this draft, now submitted to the Governments, is a clause to which I wish Oblieatorv *^ draw the attention of public Competence opinion. It is this new clause of Optional ^j.^j^j^ XXXVI, permitting the States by a simple unilateral declaration, with whatever methods of reservation they prefer, to admit its obligatory competence for all disputes of a juridical nature. . . . Now may I speak a word concerning the spirit which has united us here. I think I g . . . may say that a spirit of fraternity the and sincerity has dominated our ssem y personal relations. One of the characteristics of this great Assembly, where so many men hitherto unknown to each other have met together, has been the cor- diality of their relations, and this is to be explained not only by their character and their sociability, but also by profound uni- formity of thought. No doubt — we have had an opportunity of observing it in the course of these debates 50 LEAGUE OF NATIONS — there have been differences of opinion, but we have always felt agreed upon our aim, and in truth, we have been divided merely by shades of opinion and not by principles. How could it have been otherwise ? How could we avoid divergences between men assembled from all corners of the world; men from the North whose outlook is colder, men from the South of more ardent and spontaneous temper, men from Africa, Asia, America, representatives of young States, and representatives of old civilizations. But, I repeat, on our aims, on the ideal which led us, on the desire for justice and peace, on these points there was no dis- agreement; we felt ourselves united all the time. ... Without doubt, gentlemen, we are only at the beginning of our work, and we realize that we have before us immense xhe Great tasks to accomplish ; that after all. Work compared with the work which ^^° we have yet to accomplish in the future we have up till now achieved relatively little. . . • 51 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE In the history of humanity all great works in their beginning have met with scepticism, the jeers and disparagement of the feebler spirits. Let us leave such things on one side and march forward. Let us appeal to the opinions of the peoples. We have given them great hope. They will never renounce it. Let us appeal also to youth. I will not say that we are all old, but many of us are Appeal for ^^^ ^^ yesterday; some of us can Advance gtiU claim to be the men of to-day ; but- 1 appeal to the men of to-morrow. It is upon them that the great burden is laid, on youth, on the youth of all countries in the world, and especially on the youth which has fought and shed its blood, which has garnered the glories of the war and witnessed its horrors; it is to youth that I appeal to construct the new moral world which is indispensable to the full growth of the League of Nations. We must persevere in our tasks, proceed upon our way, proud in our hope and in the consciousness of our lofty duty, we 5S LEAGUE OF NATIONS must persevere in our path to our glorious destiny. With these words President Hymans closed his address to the Assembly. The applause which had frequently interrupted his remarks was renewed and prolonged and the entire Assembly rose to acclaim their indorsement of his sentiments. Monsieur Motta, President of the Swiss Republic and Honorary President views of of the Assembly, then, in behalf President Motta at of the Assembly, expressed their Close of gratitude to the President for ^'"^""^^^ the manner in which he had performed his arduous duties. He then said : Ladies and Gentlemen, In a few moments we are going to part. Not only is our con- fidence in the future unshaken, but it has been increased and strengthened. ... To all of you, Switzerland says, "Au Revoir till September." This time Geneva has appeared to you in the grey robes of her winter fog, but then she will be proud to show herself to 53 THE FIRST YEAR OP THE you in her loveliest garments, tinted with summer green and autumn gold. Between now and next September we shall doubtless see further important events take place before our eyes. The world is still, alas, in a state of crisis ; it cannot yet awhile attain its true equilibrium. One of the tasks of the League of Nations — its primordial task, which is of far more im- portance than all the others — is to work towards the appeasement of men's spirits, the reconciliation of men's hearts, and toward the coming together of the peoples, who, whatever may be the errors and the misdeeds of their political and intellectual leaders, are never themselves the real cul- prits. The First Assembly of the Nations has already displayed its spirit and its inten- tions. In welcoming into its midst Austria and Bulgaria, it has not appealed in vain to the generosity of the victors and to the loyalty of the vanquished. Christmas is at hand; that feast which above all others expresses to the highest 54 LEAGUE OF NATIONS poetic grandeur and the most infinite tenderness the genius of the Christian faith. Whatever our beliefs may be, we all raise high our voices in this supreme appeal to the opinion of the world that it may heed us and help our endeavors and aid us to fulfil that promise which is both human and divine : Peace on earth to men of good will. When the applause had subsided, Presi- dent Hymans asked if any one else P® f^^^, •^ " Session of desired to speak, and no one re- the T 1 ii 'J Assembly spondmg, he then said : Closes Gentlemen, the First Session of the Assembly of the League of Nations is now closed. The records of this last meeting bear the further entry : The Assembly rose at 6 : 35 p.m. 55 APPENDIX COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS The High Contracting Parties In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to re- sort to war, by the prescription of open, just and honor- able relations between nations, by the firm establishment of the understand- ings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupu- lous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one another. Agree to this Covenant of the League of Na- tions. Article I. The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those of the Signa- tories which are named in the Annex to this 57 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Covenant, and also such of those other States named in the Annex as shall accede without reservation to this Covenant. Such accession shall be eflFected by a declaration deposited with the Secretariat within two months of the coming into force of the Covenant. Notice thereof shall be sent to all other Members of the League. Any fully self-governing State, Dominion or Colony not named in the Annex may become a Member of the League if its admission is agreed to by two thirds of the Assembly, provided that it shall give effective guaranties of its sincere intention to observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, naval and air forces and armaments. Any Member of the League may, after two years' notice of its intention so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that all its inter- national obligations and all its obligations under this Covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal. Article II. The action of the League imder this Covenant shall be effected through the 58 LEAGUE OF NATIONS instrumentality of an Assembly and of a Coun- cil, with a permanent Secretariat. Article III. The Assembly shall consist of Representatives of the Members of the League. The Assembly shall meet at stated intervals and from time to time, as occasion may require, at the Seat of the League, or at such other place as may be decided upon. The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. At meetings of the Assembly each Member of the League shall have one vote, and may have not more than three Representatives. Article IV. The Council shall consist of Representatives of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, [United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan], together with Representatives of four other Members of the League. These four Members of the League shall be selected by the Assembly from time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the Representatives of the four Members of the League first selected by the Assembly, Representatives of Belgium, 59 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Brazil, Greece and Spain shall be Members of the Council. With the approval of the majority of the Assembly, the Council may name additional Members of the League, whose Representatives shall always be Members of the Council; the Council with like approval may increase the number of Members of the League to be selected by the Assembly for representation on the Council. The Council shall meet from time to time as occasion may require, and at least once a year, at the Seat of the League, or at such other place as may be decided upon. The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. Any Member of the League not represented on the Council shall be invited to send a Repre- sentative to sit as a Member at any meeting of the Council during the consideration of matters specially affecting the interests of that Member of the League. At meetings of the Council, each Member of the League represented on the Council shall 60 LEAGUE OF NATIONS have one vote, and may have not more than one Representative. Article V. Except where otherwise ex- pressly provided in this Covenant, or by the terms of the present Treaty, decisions at any meeting of the Assembly or of the Council shall require the agreement of all the Members of the League represented at the meeting. All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of the Council, including the ap- pointment of Committees to investigate par- ticular matters, shall be regulated by the Assembly or by the Council and may be de- cided by a majority of the Members of the League represented at the meeting. The first meeting of the Assembly and the first meeting of the Council shall be summoned by the President of the United States of America. Article VI. The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the Seat of the League. The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary- General and such secretaries and staff as may be required. The first Secretary-General shall be the per- 61 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE son named in the Annex; thereafter the Sec- retary-General shall be appointed by the Council with the approval of the majority of the Assembly. The secretaries and the staff of the Secre- tariat shall be appointed by the Secretary- General with the approval of the Council. The Secretary-General shall act in that ca- pacity at all meetings of the Assembly and of the Council. The expenses of the Secretariat shall be borne by the Members of the League in ac- cordance with the apportionment of the ex- penses of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union. Article VII. The Seat of the League is established at Geneva. The Council may at any time decide that the Seat of the League shall be established else- where. All positions under or in connection with the League, including the Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. Representatives of the Members of the League and officials of the League when en- 62 LEAGUE OF NATIONS gaged on the business of the League shall en- joy diplomatic privileges and immunities. The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its oflScials or by Repre- sentatives attending its meetings shall be inviolable. Article VIII. The Members of the League recognize that the maintenance of peace re- quires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations. The Counfcil, taking account of the geograpf ical situation and circumstances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Govern- ments. Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every ten years. After these plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments, the limits of arma- ments therein fixed shall not be exceeded with- out the concurrence of the Council. . The Members of the League agree that the\ manufacture by private enterprise of muni- | 63 / THE FIRST YEAR OF THE tions and implements of war is open to grave objections. The Council shall advise how the evil effects attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the necessities of those Members of the League which are not able to manufacture the muni- V tions and implements of war necessary for their safety. r The Members of the League undertake to / interchange full and frank information as to- / the scale of their armaments, their military, / naval and air programs, and the condition of 1 such of their industries as are adaptable to V. warlike purposes. Article IX. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the Council on the execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval and air questions gen- erally. / Article X. The Members of the League I undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integ rity and existing political independence of all Mem- bers of theXeagTier' In case of any such ag- gression or in case of any threat or danger of LEAGUE OF NATIONS such aggression, the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled. Article XI. Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of the League or not, is hereby de- clared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise, the Secretary-General shall, on the request of any Member of the League, forthwith summon a meeting of the Council. It is also declared to be the friendly right of each Member of the League to bring to the at- tention of the Assembly or of the Council any circumstance whatever affecting international relations which threatens to disturb inter- national peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends. Article XII. The Members of the League agree that, if there should arise between them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, they will submit the matter either to arbitration or to inquiry by the Council, and they agree in no 65 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE case to resort to war until three months after the award by the arbitrators or the report by the Council. In any case under this Article the award of the arbitrators shall be made within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council shall be made within six months after the submission of the dispute. Article XIII. The Members of the League agree that, whenever any dispute shall arise between them which they recognize to be suitable for submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, they will submit the whole subject-matter to arbitration. Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any question of international law, as to the existence of any fact which if established would constitute a breach of any international obligation, or as to the extent and nature of the reparation to be made for any such breach, are declared to be among those which are generally suitable for submission to arbitration. For the consideration of any such dispute the court of arbitration to which the case is referred LEAGUE OF NATIONS shall be the court agreed on by the parties to the dispute or stipulated in any convention existing between them. The Members of the League agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award that may be rendered and that they will not resort to war against a Member of the League which complies therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an award, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto. Article XIV. The Council shall formulate and submit to the Members of the League for adoption plans for the establishment of a Per- manent Court of International Justice. The Court shall be competent to hear and deter- mine any dispute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court may also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly. Article XV. If there should arise between Members of the League any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, which is not submitted to arbitration in accordance with Article 13, the 67 THE FIRST YEAR OP THE members of the League agree that they will submit the matter to the Council. Any party to the dispute may eflFect such submission by giving notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary-General, who will make all necessary arrangements for a full investigation and consideration thereof. For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate to the Secretary-General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case, with all the relevant facts and papers, and the Council may forthwith direct the publication thereof. The Council shall endeavor to effect a settle- ment of the dispute, and if such efforts are suc- cessful, a statement shall be made public giving such facts and explanations regarding the dis- pute and the terms of settlement thereof as the Council may deem appropriate. If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council either unanimously or by a majority vote shall make and publish a report containing a state- ment of the facts of the dispute and the recom- mendations which are deemed just and proper in regard thereto. 68 LEAGUE OF NATIONS Any Member of the League represented on the Council may make public a statement of the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions regarding the same. If a report by the Council is unanimously agreed to by the Members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League agree that they will not go to war with any party to the dispute which complies with the recommendations of the report. If the Council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed to by the members thereof, other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League reserve to themselves the right to take such action as they shall consider necessary for the maintenance of right and justice. If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is found by the Council, to arise out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recommendation as to its settle- ment. 69 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE The Council may in any case under this Article refer the dispute to the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the request of either party to the dispute, provided that such request be made within fourteen days after the submission of the dispute to the Council. In any case referred to the Assembly, all the provisions of this Article and of Article 12 re- ' lating to the action and powers of the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the Assembly, provided that a report made by the Assembly, if concurred in by the Representa- tives of those Members of the League repre- sented on the Council and of a majority of the other Members of the League, exclusive in each case of the Representatives of the parties to the dispute, shall have the same force as a report by the Council concurred in by all the members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute. ^^^-^ Article XVI. Should any Member of the ^ League resort to war in disregard of its cove- ^\ nants under Articles 12, 13 or 15, it shall \/ 1\ i^pso facto be deemed to have committed an 1 \ act of war against all other Members of the LEAGUE OF NATIONS League, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations, the prohibition of all inter- course between their nationals and the nationals of the covenant-breaking State, and the pre- vention of all financial, commercial or personal intercourse between the nationals of the cove- nant-breaking State and the nationals of any other State, whether a Member of the League or not. It shall be the duty of the Council in such I case to recommend to the several Governments concerned~wHat effective military, naval or air force the Members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be used to protect the covenants of the League. The Members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually support one another in the financial and economic measures which are taken under this Article, in order to mini- mize the loss and inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will mutually support one another in resisting any special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant-breaking State, and that they will J5> XJU^pJL td. -^t^uo -/J^^'-<^ THE FIRST YEAR OP THE take the necessary steps to afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of the Members of the League which are co- operating to protect the covenants of the League. Any Member of the League which has vio- lated any covenant of the League may be de- clared to be no longer a Member of the League by a vote of the Council concurred in by the Representatives of all the other Members of the League represented thereon. Article XVII. In the event of a dispute between a Member of the League and a State which is not a Member of the League, or be- tween States not Members of the League, the State or States not Members of the League shall be invited to accept the obligations of Membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, upon such conditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation is accepted, the provisions of Articles 12 to 16, inclusive, shall be applied with such modifi- cations as may be deemed necessary by the Council. Upon such invitation being given, the Coun- 72 LEAGUE OF NATIONS cil shall immediately institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute and recom- mend such action as may seem best and most effectual in the circumstances. If a State so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and shall resort to war against a member of the League, the provisions of Article 16 shall be appli- cable as against the State taking such action. If both parties to the dispute when so in- vited refuse to accept the obligations of mem- bership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, the Council may take such measures and make such recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the settlement of the dispute. Article XVIII. Every treaty or inter- national engagement entered into hereafter by any Member of the League shall be forthwith registered with the Secretariat and shall as soon as possible be published by it. No such treaty or international engagement shall be binding until so registered. 73 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Article XIX. The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsideration by Members of the League of treaties which have become inapplicable, and the consideration of international conditions whose continuance might endanger the peace of the world. Article XX. The Members of the League severally agree that this Covenant is accepted as abrogating all obligations or understandings inter se which are inconsistent with the terms thereof, and solemnly undertake that they will not hereafter enter into any engagements in- consistent with the terms thereof. In case any Member of the League shall, before becoming a Member of the League, have undertaken any obligations inconsistent with the terms of this Covenant, it shall be the duty of such Member to take immediate steps to procure its release from such obligations. Article XXI. Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of inter- national engagements, such as treaties of arbi- tration or regional understandings like the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace. 74 LEAGUE OF NATIONS Article XXII. To those colonies and terri- tories which as a consequence of the late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilization and that securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant. The best method of giving practical effect to this principle is that the tutelage of such peoples should be intrusted to advanced nations who, by reason of their resources, their expe- rience or their geographical position can best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf of the League. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory, its economic conditions and other similar circumstances. 75 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of development where their existence as indepen- dent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative ad- vice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a prin- cipal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory. Other peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such a stage that the Mandatory must be responsible for the administration of the territory under conditions which will guarantee freedom of conscience and religion, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, the prohibition of abuses such as the slave trade, the arms traflSc and the liquor traffic, and the prevention of the establishment of fortifications or military and naval bases and of military training of the natives for other than police purposes and the defense of territory, and will also secure equal oppor- tunities for the trade and commerce of other Members of the League. 76 LEAGUE OF NATIONS There are territories, such as Southwest Africa and certain of the South Pacific islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their population, or their small size, or their remoteness from the centers of civilization, or their geographical contiguity to the territory of the Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be best adminis- tered under the laws of the Mandatory as integral portions of its territory, subject to the safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the indigenous population. In every case of mandate, the Mandatory shall render to the Council an annual report in reference to the territory committed to its charge. The degree of authority, control or adminis- tration to be exercised by the Mandatory shall, if not previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, be explicitly defined in each case by the Council. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to receive and examine the annual reports of the Mandatories and to advise the Council on all matters relating to the observance of the mandates. 77 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE Article XXIH. Subject to and in accord- ance with the provisions of international con- ventions existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the Members of the League : (a) will endeavor to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions of labor for men, women, and children, both in their own countries and in all countries to which their commercial and industrial relations extend, and for that purpose will establish and maintain the necessary international organizations ; (6) undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of territories under their control ; (c) will intrust the League with the general supervision over the execution of agreements with regard to the traflSc in women and children and the traflSc in opium and other dangerous drugs; (d) will intrust the League with the general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with the countries in which the control of this traflSc is necessary in the common interest ; 78 LEAGUE OP NATIONS {e) will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of communications and of transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members of the League. In this connection, the special necessities of the regions devastated during the war of 1914-1918 shall be borne in mind ; (/) will endeavor to take steps in matters of international concern for the prevention and control of disease. Article XXIV. There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international bureaux already established by general treaties, if the parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaux and all commissions for the regulation of matters of international in- terest hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction of the League. In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general conventions but which are not placed under the control of inter- national bureaux or commissions, the Secre- tariat of the League shall, subject to the con- sent of the Council and if desired by the parties, collect and distribute all relevant infor- 79 THE FIRST YEAR OF THE mation and shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or desirable. The Council may include as part of the ex- penses of the Secretariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed under the direction of the League. Article XXV. The Members of the League agree to encourage and promote the establish- ment and cooperation of duly authorized voluntary national Red Cross organizations having as purposes the improvement of health, the prevention of disease and the mitigation of suflFering throughout the world. Article XXVI. Amendments to this Cove- nant will take effect when ratified by the Mem- bers of the League whose Representatives compose the Council and by a majority of the Members of the League whose Representatives compose the Assembly, r^ No such amendment shall bind any Member of the League which signifies its dissent there- from, but in that case it shall cease to be a Member of the League. 80 LEAGUE OF NATIONS ANNEX I. Original Members of the League of Nations, Signatories of the Treaty of Peace. United States of America Haiti Belgium Hedjaz Bolivia Honduras Brazil Italy British Empire Japan Canada Liberia Australia Nicaragua South Africa Panama New Zealand Peru India Poland China Portugal Cuba Rumania Ecuador Serb-Croat-Slovene State France Siam Greece Czecho-Slovakia Guatemala Urugua States Invited to Accede TO THE Covenant. Argentine Republic Persia Chile Salvador Colombia Spain Denmark Sweden Netherlands Switzeriand Norway ~^ Venezuela Paraguay n. First Secretary-General of the League op Nations. The Honorable Sir James Eric Drummond, K. C. M. G., C.B. 81 INDEX Aaland Islands 13, 14 Abrogation of treaties inconsistent with Cove- nant 74 Accession to Covenant 58 Admission to the League 58 Adoption of the Covenant 4 Ador, G 30 Agenda, 10th session of Council .... 11-14 Amendment of the Covenant : Covenant provisions for 90 Proposed amendments 13, 31, 37, 38 Arbitration : Awards to be followed 67 Disputes suitable for arbitration .... 66 League Members to arbitrate .... 65, 66 Argentine Republic 30, 81 Armaments : Commissions on 12, 16 Information on, to be interchanged ... 64 Reduction of, under Covenant 63 Armenia 13 Armistices : Austria, 3 Nov., 1918 1 Bulgaria, 29 Sept., 1918 1 Germany, 11 Nov., 1918 1 Turkey, 30 Oct., 1918 1 INDEX Arms traffic in backward areas 76, 78 Article X : Interpretation of 38 Proposal to strike out 38 Text of 37-38, 64-65 Assembly of the League of Nations : Adoption of Permanent Court plan ... 41 Agenda for first day 31, 32 Amendments proposed in 37, 38 Armaments plan 39 Article X, discussed 37, 38 Choice of non-permanent Council Members 36, 37 Closing of 55 Committee work in . . 34, 35 Composition and general functions ... 59 Covenant provision for calling of . . . 18, 61 Election of President 29, 30 Hymans, P : Opening words of 19, 20 Views of, at beginning of Assembly . 26-29 At close of Assembly 46-53 Motta, G., President of Switzerland : Speech of welcome by 20-26 Views of, at close of Assembly . . . 53-55 Organization . 32, 33 President Wilson convenes Assembly . . 19, 20 Procedure under the Covenant .... 61 Publicity of proceedings 33, 34 Reconsideration of treaties 74 Settlement of disputes 70 84 INDEX Technical organizations under 39 V, Council 31, 35, 36 Australia 30, 81 Austria : Armistice, 3 Nov., 1918 1 Declaration of war on Serbia, 28 July, 1914 1 Independence inalienable 9, 10 Belgium : Chosen as non-permanent Council member 36, 37 Covenant Commission 3 Member of Council under Covenant . . 7, 59 Original Member of League 81 Represented at first Assembly 30 Tribute paid by M. Motta . . / . . 21, 22 Blockade of Covenant-breaking states ... 71 Bourgeois, L 30 Brazil : Chosen as non-permanent Council member 36, 37 Covenant Commission 3 Member of Council under Covenant . . 7, 60 Original Member of League 81 Represented at first Assembly 30 British Association of Moral and Social Hy- giene 14 British Empire 81 Bulgaria 1 Canada 30, 81 Chile 30,81 85 INDEX China : Chosen as non-permanent Council Member 36, 37 Covenant Commission 3 Original Member of League 81 Represented at first Assembly 30 Clemenceau, G 2 Colombia 30, 81 Commission on Covenant plan 3, 4 Commission on military, naval and air ques- tions ... 64 Committee of Jurists : Permanent Court plan 15, 16 Report of, before Council 11 Committee on International Statistics ... 12 Committee reports prepared for Assembly . 14, 15 Communications and transit 12 Competence of Permanent Court 67 Composition and competence of Council . . 60 Composition and functions of Assembly . . 59 Council of the League of Nations : Aaland Islands dispute 14 Action when aggression is threatened . . 64, 65 Action when arbitral award refused ... 67 Agenda of tenth meeting 10-14 Appoints Saar Frontier Commission ... 8 Call for first meeting 7 Classification of work of Council .... 17 Composition and functions 59, 60 Disputes involving non-members ... 72, 73 Election of non-permanent members ... 36 INDEX International Army 39 Mandates 77 Members under the Covenant 7 Method of setthng disputes 67, 70 Permanent Court plan 67 Polish-Lithuanian dispute 14 Procedure 19, 61 Reduction of Armaments . . . . . .63, 64, Reports on disputes 65, 66 Summoning of 61 Cuba 30,81 Czecho-Slovakia 31, 81 Danzig 10, 12 Denmark 30, 81 Diplomatic privileges for League officers . 62, 63 Disputes suitable for arbitration 66 Domestic questions 69 Drummond, Sir G. E., Secretary-General . . 81 Economic blockade 71 Equality in trade in mandate areas .... 76 Equitable treatment of commerce of Members 79 Eupen and Malmedy 12 Extent of jurisdiction of League Members . . 44 Fifth Committee of Assembly : Interpretation of Article X 38 Report on admissions 38 Finances of the League 11 87 INDEX Foch, Marshal P 1 France : Council Member under Covenant . . . . 7, 59 Covenant Commission 3 Original Member of League 81 Ratifies treaty with Germany ..... 7 Represented at first Assembly 31 Freedom of communications and transit . . 79 Gas in warfare, Armaments Commission on 16 Germany : Armistice, 11 Nov., 1918 1 Protests as to Eupen and Malmedy ... 12 Great Britain : Council Member under Covenant . . . . 7, 59 Covenant Commission 3 Original Member of League ...... 81 Ratifies treaty with Germany 7 Represented at first Assembly 31 Greece : Council Member under Covenant . . 7, 36, 60 Original Member of League 81 Represented at first Assembly 31 Guatemala . 31, 81 Haiti 31,81 Hedjaz 81 Honduras 81 Hymans, P : Elected President, of Assembly .... 29, 30 88 INDEX Permanent Court plan 41, 49, 50 Purpose of the League 27, 28 Eevision of Covenant 48 Views on work of Assembly 46-53 India 81 Instrumentalities of the League .... 57-62 International army * . . . 39 International Bureau of Universal Postal Union 62 International bureaux to be under League 10, 79, 80 International Financial Conference . . 12, 15, 26 International Labor Office 10 Inviolability of League property 63 Italy : Council Member under Covenant . . . . 7, 59 Covenant Commission 3 Original Member of League 81 RatijBes treaty with Germany 7 Represented at first Assembly 31 Japan : Council Member under Covenant . . . . 7, 59 Covenant Commission 3 Original Member of League 81 Ratifies treaty with Germany 7 Represented at first Assembly 31 Journal of the Assembly 33, 34 League of Nations : Adoption of League plan 4 89 INDEX Area of Member states 44 Austrian independence under 9, 10 Cost of the League 44, 45 Covenant, Text of 57, 81 Danzig under protection of 10 Early organization 4 International bureaux 10 Member states 43 Non-members 43, 44 Original Members 81 Permanency assured 24 Population of Member states 44 Questions referred to the League by the Treaty of Peace 9, 10 Saar Basin 9 Liberia 30, 81 Lithuania-Poland dispute ..... 13, 14, 39 Mandates : Central Africa 76 Former Turkish possessions 76 Obligations of the League as to mandates . 12 Permanent Commission 77 Present condition of 41 Purpose of 75 Responsibility of mandatory power ... 76 South Pacific Islands 77 South- West Africa 77 Military, naval, and air questions 64 Military training forbidden in mandate areas 76 90 INDEX Minorities, protection of Monopoly of raw materials . . . . Monroe Doctrine remains valid . . Motta, G. : Desire that America enter League . Honorary President of Assembly . Moral force great power of League Nature of the League and its work Permanency of League assured . . Views at close of Assembly \ . . Welcome to the Assembly . . . . 13 13,26 . 74 Native inhabitants of backward areas Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua , Norway 22, 23 . 32 . 25 . 25 24, 25 53-55 20-22 . 78 30, 81 31, 81 30, 81 30,81 Opium, traffic in 78 Organization of Assembly 32, 33 Original Members of the League ... 57, 58, 81 Panama Paraguay Peace Conference : Adoption of Covenant Commission to plan Covenant . . . . Resolution on League of Nations . . . Permanent Court of International Justice : Adoption of Court plan by Assembly . , Compulsory competence 91 30, 81 30,81 4 . 3,4 . 2,3 . 41 42, 50 INDEX Covenant provisions 67 Most important work of Assembly . 42, 49, 50 Open to non-members 42 Plan of Committee of Jurists . . ., . . 15, 16 Secure foundation for the League .... 16 Permanent Health Organization 12 Persia 30, 81 Peru 30, 81 Poland 30, 81 Portugal : Covenant Commission 3 Original Member of League 81 Represented at first Assembly 30 President of the United States of America : Covenant mention 18, 61 Telegram summoning Assembly ... 19, 20 Prevention and control of disease .... 79, 80 Principal Allied and Associated Powers ... 3, 7 Prisoners, repatriation of 13 Publicity of Assembly work 33, 34 Purpose of the League 57 Ratification of the Treaty of Peace . . 7 Reconsideration of treaties ....... 74 Red Cross 80 Reduction of Armaments 39, 62 Registration of treaties 40, 73 Rumania 30, 81 Saar Basin 9 Saar Frontier Commission 8 92 INDEX',,.A\i,Ji^ ' Salvador 31, 81 Seat of the League 62 Secretariat : Activities 5, 6 Appointments 11 Covenant provisions 61, 62, 79 Expenses 62, 80 Open to men and women equally .... 62 Personnel 5 Secretary-General : Appointment under Treaty 5, 80 Authorization by Peace Conference ... 5 To be appointed by Council ...... 62 To summon Council when war threatens . 65 Serb-Croat-Slovene State 3, 31, 81 Siam 31, 81 Slave trade forbidden in mandate areas ... 76 South Africa 30, 81 Spain Chosen as non-permanent Council Member 36, 37 Council Member under Covenant ... 7, 60 Invited to accede to Covenant 81 Represented at first Assembly 31 States Members of League 43 States not Members of League 43-44 Sweden 31, 81 Switzerland 31, 81 TiTTONI, T 13 Traffic, prohibited 78 93 :•:,-..,. ;...;;.- ...INDEX Treaties : Abrogated if inconsistent with Covenant . 74 Of arbitration, remain valid 74 Recoiisideration of 74 Registration of . 40,73 "Treaties Series Journal'' 40 Treaty of Versailles : Contains League Covenant 5 Ratification of 7 Turkey, armistice, 30 Oct., 1918 1 Typhus campaign in Poland 13 Unanimity required in Assembly and Council 61 United States : Coimcil Member under Covenant ... 7, 59 Covenant Commission 3 Daily expenditures April, 1917-April, 1919 45 Original Member of League 81 Treaties with, registered 40 Uruguay 31, 81 Venezuela 31, 81 Violation of Covenant, result 72 Voting, unanimity required 61 War: Concern of whole League 65 Offense against entire League .... 69-71 Non-members bound by League rules . . 73 War material, private manufacture of . . 63, 64 Withdrawal from the League 58 Women and children, trajEc in 78 94 14 DAY USE RFTURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. FEB 14 1967 6 RECEIVED LOAN DFPT LD 21A-60m-10,'65 (F7763sl0)476B General Library University of California Berkeley f k