THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: Assembly Ends

Like all things finite, the eighth Assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva came to an end.

Talk. It was during a monotonous discussion of architect’s plans for the building of a new home for the League. French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand dozed, snored, awoke, fidgeted. Suddenly he sat upright, waved to German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann to follow him outside. Both statesmen arose. M. Briand annoyed the earnest delegates by knocking over a chair and received their concentrated glare for his clumsiness.

Dr. Stresmann, grinning amiably, waited for the French statesman and the two went out arm-in-arm to the buffet. There amid the buzz & chatter of delegates, officials and newspapermen, they sat down in a vacant space in the dead centre of the room. Silence fell.

M. Briand, who speaks only French, led the conversation with the speed of an airplane beating a record. Dr. Stresemann, who understands both French and English, began listening intently, but as the Frenchman dashed on, his pallid face became a blank. Two League interpreters were sent for.

On, furiously on, spoke M. Briand. For half an hour he conversed at breakneck speed in a low tone. Dr. Stresemann, his face masked in passivity, sat grimly silent. M. Briand was alleged to have discussed with him European policy anent Soviet Russia, the question of War guilt and, according to the onlookers, Dr. Stresemann appeared to agree with everything the French foreign minister said, but held his counsel, except to agree for the time being to drop the question of who started the War. Busybodies were mystified.

World Law. A resolution calling for the first League conference on the codification of International Law was adopted. It called for the appointment before December of a preparatory commission of five jurists, whose duty will be to sift the divergencies in national law and international practice in matters concerning nationality, territorial waters and the responsibility of states for damages caused to foreigners in their countries.

Disarmament. The following resolutions were adopted concerning disarmament and security:

1) That civil aviation be directed to economic purposes to the exclusion of military interests.

2) That methods of convoking the Council in a crisis be revised to admit of greater speed.

3) That financial aid to a victim of aggression be approved in principle.

4) That arbitration treaties be extended.

5) That the Preparatory Disarmament Commission be urged to hasten the conclusion of its technical work in order that the Council may summon a general conference on limitation of armaments as soon as possible.

6) That a subordinate committee be appointed to consider the problem of security and arbitration.

7) That measures should be sought to enable League members to fulfill their ob-litigations under the Covenant by agreements “proportionate to the degree of solidarity of a geographical or other nature existing between them and other states.”

8) That the council invite members to state what action they would be prepared to take in the event of a conflict breaking out in a given region.

Valedictory. In a congratulatory speech Dr. Alberto Guani of Chili, president of the eighth Assembly, brought the session to a close. Said he: “For more than three weeks the governments have been sitting in this Assembly. They have considered international activity in all aspects and they have surveyed their policy and I am convinced have decided their future program. Not one of them will for a moment dream of evading the unwritten engagements it has contracted in this hall. Not one of them will forget the discussions that have taken place or the conclusions that have been reached. That is the true contribution of the League to the world unity. That is its strength and that is its future.”