LEAGUE AT WORK

Hokitika Guardian, 23 November 1928, Page 7

LEAGUE AT WORK

A NEW ZEALANDER AT GENEVA

(By A. WALKER in an Auckland paper.)

The first impression of Geneva ii that it is too bright and beautiful to he of the earth earthy. Even wliei the first bedazzlement clears from the vision, closer acquaintance reveal) little that is sordid. It is as though tlie city, fortified by its unique place in history as the cradle of ideals foi the betterment of humanity, had striven to ho worthy of its high calling.

The wide streets of the modern city are swept and garnished to an extrava gant cleanliness. The palatial build digs gleam white in the dazzling sun shine. Lake Leman lies like a turquoise pavement in the centre. Th crystal waters of the Rhone, as unsullied as the snows that gave them birth How swiftly between green-shaded hanks. Ear beyond the encircling hi'b •Mont Blanc thrusts its shining crown high into the azure heavens. At sun set when the lake becomes a glas) mingled with fire, it recalls the city olf the Prophet’s vision in Revelation.

THE LFAG IIITS ACCOMMODATION

The meetings of the League of Nations are handicapped by inadequate accommodation. The authorities are like tile guardians of a child that has grown so rapidly and beyond all expectation that they are unable to supply it with proper clothing. The secreta riat, comprising the whole working machinery of the League, is housed in the Palais des Nations at the northward end of Geneva. The meetings of the Assembly are held in the Salle do la Reformation on the other side of the Rhone in the business quarter. The two places are over a mile apart. Plans for a new home for the League have’ been under way for some time and the architects of all nations have lieoii invited to .submit competitive designs for a fitting place for the world's parliament to cost something like C 1.000,000, but with the rapid growt' of the League, first one suggested site and then another lias been found feoffor insufficient scope for any future expansion, so that nothing final has vet taken shape. The secretariat houses some 500 employees chosen from among the participating nations of the League. New Zealand lias a distinguished representative in Professor Duncan Hall, who is ••ssigned to the section dealing with the traffic in opium and dangerous drugs. The work of the League lias made available a certain number of responsible posts to women, particularly in the sections devoted to hygiene and child welfare. In addition to those there is a pool of 150 stenographers who are drawn on as the necessity arises in the different sections, instead of a hard and fast number being allotted to each office.

THE LEAGUE MEETINGS

The Salle do la Reformation, where the Assembly sits, is a plain, shabby building on the lines ot a badly-de-signed theatre. The whole of the ground floor is occupied by the delegates, who are allotted chairs and desks in the centre, more or less in alphabetical order, with the result that the front row is occupied by Soutli Africa, Germany, Australia, and Belgium. New Zealand has literally a back seat, behind Persia and in (front of Venezuela, with Panama at her side, behind the delegates are several rows of chairs for their staffs and advisers. New Zealand said nothing. Canada (Mr MacKenzie King), Australia (Mr A. J. Mohachlan), and South Africa (Mr J. S. Smit) all took part in the debate on disarmament. The first gallery has all its side seats (about 350 i reserved for Press representatives, those in the two back rows having to stand up if they wish to see, and hav ing a poor chance of bearing whatevoi they do. The centre of this gallery is assigned to distinguished visitors, of whom Geneva has many outside of the official delegations. Mr Bernard Shaw, with his usual flair for the limelight, attracts the most attention from Press and public. The top gallery, accommodating about 500, is all that is leift for the general public, of whom a few thousand each day strive to gain entrance. Tickets of admission have to be obtained beforehand 'from the Secretariat. some reason for special interest having to be advanced in order to obtain a ticket l?or more than one session. Most of the seats in this gallery have afraody been allotted to permanent holders, so that the scones which take place are like the rush for front seats at a popular play. AH people with ordinary tickets are ordered to the back rows (where one can neither hear nor see) until five minutes before the opening of the session, when a bell is sounded as a signal that any unoccupied seats nearer the front may be seized hv the swif t and stiong.

making of history

AH types of humanity and all nations are represented in the public galleiv but earnest youth predominates. The thrill of being present at the making of history and the fascination of seeing all the prominent statesmen of the day spread out for inspection on the floor below, where they may he identified from the printed plan, alone keep the proceedings from being extremely boiing. Most of the speeches are made m French or English ; these are the official languages of the Assembly, and whichever of them is used for the delivery of a speech must immediately afterwards he translated into the other. When the original speech is made in German or other unofficial tongue

then translations follow in both French ami English, in which case a speech which took half an hour in its first delivery will occupy another hour lor the two translations. Of the four official interpreters employed in this work one is a woman. As far as the general public is concerned, the languages used is immaterial, the echoing noises of the building, the rustling of humanity, and the blaring of the amplifiers, reducing all tongues to a common denominator.

A JARRING NOTE

N In the case of such an orator as M. Briaml, the tenor of the speech is easily gathered from inflexion, facial expression and gesture. Only too easily when the gestures include emphatic shakings of his finger at the German delegation such as punctuated the speech on disarmament, with which he effectually shattered the harmonious atmosphere of the Assembly. It was noticeable that in the applause follow ing his speech’, which was inspired by his remarkable oratory rather than by general sympathy with his views, not only the German representatives maintained a stony silence, as was natural hut the British ranks also refrained from applause.