WORK OF THE LEAGUE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 210, 5 September 1934, Page 9

WORK OF THE LEAGUE

INTERNATIONAL TASKS ADDRESS BY MR. A. DOUGLASS. Interesting observations on world affairs ’were made by Mr. Arthur Douglass when addressing a League of Nations’ Union meeting at Knox Church, Gonville, on Monday evening. Mr. Douglass said:— IT you visit the Arapuni electric power station you will find, if you look hard, about half a dozen men in charge, but you wall know that about half a million people are reading, listening to wireless programmes and keeping warm by the energy supplied—an entirely new situation. Y’our fathers took months to make the journey to New Zealand and then seldom travelled about the country, one of our members flew to Auckland last Wednesday and was back in time for afternoon tea — quite a recent development. Some of us lost sleep in order to follow Bradman in the Tests—quite unlike the good old days. We are all talking about quotas, Ottawa agreements, exchange, reserve banks, Manchurian situation, dictatorships, Douglas Credit, Communism, N.R.A. in America. We are quite conversant with world affairs and like to know what is happening throughout £ the whole wide world. Lord Ruther- 1 ford has just accepted as a gift the mil- 1 lionth case of apples from Nelson. Jean 0 Batten has made a solo flight from 1 England to Australia—half way round 1 the globe. Gum boots from Japan are c selling at ss. t It is true to say to-day that the n world is very small—it has shrunk, i Intelligent people realise the fact and t are studying ways and means to adapt I themselves to the new conditions—one a of the most essential ways is by in- a ternational co-opcration. a Spiritual Foundation. The greatest thinkers, the men who have had a wide sphere of influence on 11 mankind have been men of vision. 1 Christ was a student of history but his 11 utterances were prophetic rather than f reminiscent. He knew, though we f sometimes forget, that the spirit counts u for more than the letter of the law, t that the principle, or motive, or ideal 1 matters more than the action. In all d our considerations we should try to re- v member that the other follow or the h other nation has an equal right to a p point of view and only by mutual trust c and sacrifice can the best results be y achieved. The first law of interna- c tional co-opcration is the Jaw of international justice. If we love our neigh- ] bours as ourselves the occasion for dis- j j«te never anises. The Sermon on the 0 Mount may be hard to live up to, but that is no reason for lack of effort, nor does it disprove the sound economic c principles enunciated. The Church leaders realise more ful'ly to-day than e ever before that “Goodwill towards 8 men" bear international co-operation. ‘ Whatever facts and figures we may use to prove our case, first of all interna- ' tional co-operation is a moral duty, and c must have a spiritual foundation, n Dawn of History c Think of the dawn of history, when <, primitive man, perhaps a cave dweller, was bound by no law except that of j “tooth and claw.” He gradually gained the mastery over his surroundings by co-operating with his fellow — c the herd instinct is strong in all of u.s now. Instead of hunting or going hungry, he learnt to grow grain and to . graze flocks and herds. Only a few f thousand years ago, and in the case ( of some races like the Maoris, up to j 150 years ago, he had not invented writing. Without co-operation and the sharing of accumulated knowledge of different races and generations, we f should still be in the Stone Age. Y'et it is true that many people advocate a ( narrow nationalism and are not prepared to consider obvious ways of international co-operation. ■ Empires Pass Away It is true to say that recorded history largely deals with conquest and colonisation- The Nordic tribes oi virile Aryan stock kept pushing southward from Central Asia into Southern Europe —wave after wave through the . centuries. The established Semitic civilisations were destroyed, the invaders learnt their arts and crafts. These barbarians, our ancestors, set up fresh civilisations—the Medes and Persians, the Greeks, the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. They learnt the coniform writing of the Assyrians, the hieroglyphic writings of the Egyptians, they adopted or modified the religions of the Semitics, including the Jews. Not content with Europe, the conquest of the far away continent of America and Australasia has been the outcome. It is true to say that many attempts at a unified world control have been attempted. When the Roman Empire was at the zenith of its power, the' Chinese Empire also flourished. It was not necessary for these empires to co-operate, as they Knew very .little of each other. Great religious movements have endeavoured to control the known world. Mohammedans (or Moslems), about 790 A.D. tried in the name of Allah, the one true God, the Roman Church is frequently styled Catholic, i.e., universal or all-embrac-ing. The covenant of the League of Nations is a continuation of a long L story, 2000 years long, ever since the Greek city stateindividuals, at any rate, have learnt to co-operate and most of us are lawabiding citizens. The Whanganui and the Waikato tribes dwell in peace and concord. There is a little trouble at present between England and Ireland, but the Scotch have found that it pays better to trade rather than raid across the border. The British Commonwealth of Nations is the finest ex- , ample of international co-operation that the world has ever seen. Of course, we can afford to be pacific when we hold about a quarter of the earth’s surface. , We must be prepared to forego some of our Imperialistic claims, if neces- , sary. Fancy the Americans living in States with tariff walls, customs duty, language barriers instead of the United States of America, just imagine the way that trade and commerce could be crippled without this co-operation. Obviously co-operation is coming and has proved itself to be an advantage whereever it has been tried. The League of Nations is ’the best instrument of international co-operation. Whatever criticisms may be made about the League of Nations at Geneva, there can be no criticism of the principle of the League—that has not failed, hut has come to stay. However imperfect the machinery of the League may be, it does get things done

and it helps to keep order. There is a great mass of world opinion in favoui of a world State. There are 31 peace organisations in Great Britain alone, the League of Nations Union in U.S.A, is the second largest in the world. At one time all roads led to Rome, now they all lead to Geneva. There are 54 nations in membership, a World State j in embryo. There is not a country in 1 the world which has nut co-operated in League work. “Splendid isolation” as j a slogan has gone for ever. Countries j are learning tu make mutual concession j at regular meetings. An international conscience is rapidly developing, even' ( among die-hard Conservatives. The League of Nations has only been j in existence for fourteen years, a frac- t tion of a second compared with the . history of the world. The opening of ~ the Preamble of the Covenant sets ( forth the purpose of the League as be- ; ing founded —“In order to promote in- . ternational co-operation.” The most bitter opponent of the League cannot ( deny that this purpose has been upheld with marked success. Failures there • have been, we have yet to learn of any A perfect system, but this humanitarian ( experiment marks an advance on any . previous attempt to uplift the whole ■ cf mankind. i Through the 1-L.O. new countries , like Yugo-Slavia, in framing their leg- J islation, can benefit by the experience ( of Jingland along these lines. There is ( a common pool of information from which all can draw. It was pointed r out that our own New Zealand Gov ernment has failed to take full advantage of its opportunities by representation on the 1.L.0. Perhaps now that. Mr. Roosevelt has found it wise for U.S.A, to join up with the 1.L.0-, our own Government will sit up and take notice. The 1.L.0. at Geneva will eventually } enable the workers of the world to co- 1 operate so that the getting of our • "daily bread” will cause no anxiety. Technical co-operation between the ( League and China started under very gloomy auspices in 1931. The Yangtse Valley was flooded, the Japanese were - occupying Mukden and there was a world depression. A National Flood 1 Relief Commission with a League nom- 1 inee in command (Sir John Hope Simpson) built 7,000 kilometres of dykes. ! employing at one time no less than 1,000,000 men. China has requested and received from the National Economic Council technical help and advice with regard to cultivation of cotton and silk, from the lyeague’s transit organisation for roads. Central guiding technical institutions were set up by the League’s health organisation- Reports have been made on the educational system in China with recommendations. Health There is no objection the world over to international co-operation in the matter of health. The first big international service carried out by the League Council was the successful fight against typhus and cholera, which was spreading from Russia with returning war refugees. Special commissions have been set up to deal with leprosy, malaria, syphilis, tuberculosis and cancer. The Health Intelligence Service is organised in Geneva and Singapore, 70 per cent of the population of the world is under observation for epidemics. The Bureau at Singapore is m regular wireless communication with 163 points. Court of International Justice The Court of International Justice has made sovereignity of States less assertive. It is a court without a ( soldier behind it. which has given decisions against all the great nations of the world- There are fifteen judges permanently employed and they must reside at The Hague. Fifty-one cases have been dealt with during twelve years. It is inevitable that international laws will gradually be codified We can readily see that in the best regulated international system an umpire will be necessary to interpret the ( regulations. The formation of this International Law Court indicates an- ; other big forward move that the na- : t.ions of the world are making to establish international co-operation. Agreements Between the Nations. It has been found necessary to make many agreements already. The Universal Postal Union is the most essential. For 24d we can send a letter almost anywhere, railway and shipping companies of different countries agree to arrange transport in conjunction with one another. Clocks and time-tables are kept according to certain rules. The “rule of the road” and signals must be universally accepted by ships of all nations. The credit system, involving paper money is internationally recognised. 1 Intellectual co-operation went on be- ’ tween the enemy countries even while ' the war proceeded. The discoveries of - science, the study of medicine, the joy 5 of beautiful literature take no thought ■ of petty national jealousies Can we ’ think of music without thinking of the great composer? Conclusion. The women of the world have no e false patriotism; they know that “one ’ touch of nature makes the whole world J kin.” There is a higher loyalty than t being true to one’s country; it is for - the health, wealth and happiness of e the whole human race that we must e strive. We are all members, one of