VALUE OF LEAGUE OF NATIONS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21866, 20 August 1936, Page 16

VALUE OF LEAGUE OF NATIONS

HINDRANCES TO FULL . EFFECTIVENESS MR G. LAWN’S ANALYSIS The contention that a real League of Nations was not possible till the nations of which it was formed were each constituted as a co-operative commonwealth, and that not until the world was a federation .of socialist states could conflicting interests be eliminated and the nations brought together was made by Mr G. Lawn, lecturer in economics at Canterbury University College, in an address to the League of Nations Union in Christchurch. Collective security weis impossible under the present conditions, he maintained. The league at present was only an alliance between Great Bntam, France, and Russia (with Italy in a very precarious position) and some smaller countries, and the aim was Isirgely to maintain the status quo. After referring to the conditions imposed by the treaty of Versailles, m the widespread belief that Germany was the guilty party, Mr Lawn said ’ that the principle of collective security was to prevent any aggressor attempting to overthrow the notorious status quo by violence. There had been modifications of the treaty conditions since 1919, but they did not make for peace. Co-operation implied a fairly high degree of equality of opportunity and rights. During the depression there was much talk of working together for the common good, but it was based on the assumption of equality of rights and opportunity not consistent with the actual conditions. It was likely to be ineffective, and was found so. The explanation of the revolution and bloodshed in Spain was_ in the terrible inequalities within... the nation, the luxury of a few and the extreme poverty of the masses. As within the nations, so it was in the international field. The conditions which placed Germany in a position of inferiority made it unlikely that the league could go on without elements of disruption. How far fascism in Germany was the direct outcome of the peace treaty was hard to say; but he would go so far as to say that it bore some relation to the injustice of the treaty, and so did the fear of fascism, and the reference to it as Prussianism had been referred to before the war. Need For Expansion The principle members of the league were not pressed for - expansion of territories and markets, and access to raw .materials, and to them the status quo was reasonably satisfactory. On the other hand, Germany, Italy, and Japan needed expansion. When Japan needed expanrionittfid not necessarily imply hostility if the raw materials of the world were made accessible to everyone. Blit obstructions such as were being placed today made for imperialist aggression. Moreover, vigorous, enterprising businesses had the backing of the people because their interests were identified with nationalismcollective security could not prevent aggression; it was necessary to go further back and find' the causes, and secure co-operation of the nations in, their common interests. The. belief that sanctions could have been imposed was founded 'on & false basis nrir| the disappointment-in-the-failure of the league to do so was illogical. It was of no use expecting the league to do what was impossible under present conditions. ■ . . Mr Lawn, however, maintained that the league was doing useful work in the economic sphere, and embodied the germ of an ideal that might be carried out in the future. In New Zealand there were two or three lines of action that might be taken to assist. It was useless to imagine that New Zealand could influence the major decisions of the league, but supporters could influence public opinion and the policy of their own Government. They could do everything to promote the best possible relationships with other countries, especially potential enemies, and they could endeavour to clear away Injustices Eind establish a cooperative commonwealth in the Dominion. .. ' . Mr B. M. Lamg, who presided, said that the league should be given some political power, and the idea of a union of sovereign states abandoned. There was no reason why "the nations should not be bound to the league -as New Zealand was bound to the British Empire.