The War to End War.—When the United States, after long hesitation, decided to throw its strength on the side of the Allies, one of the chief actuating motives was the desire to see the struggle settled in such a way that there would never be another great war. |Idealism in this war.| As the spokesman of the American people, President Wilson repeatedly declared that out of the war some general agreement and league for the permanent preservation of world peace must come. In this he undoubtedly reflected the sentiment not only of his own country but of the great masses of the people in the other warring states as well. Everywhere there had been going on, practically throughout the world, a popular agitation for the establishment of some general covenant which would make future wars impossible. It was now felt that the balance of power was gone, that individual treaties among nations were not sufficient protection, and that something more effective must be found. There was no great difference of opinion as to the ideal. It was welcomed everywhere. The problem was how to translate the ideal into a reality. This task President Wilson believed to be the most important and yet the most difficult among all the problems of peace-making. To help with its solution he took the highly-unusual course of himself attending the conference which was held at Paris to determine the conditions of peace.
How the League was brought into existence.
The Framing of the Covenant.—When the members of this conference assembled it was agreed, after some deliberation, that a commission should be appointed to prepare a plan for a League of Nations and that this plan, when accepted by the conference, should become an integral part of the peace treaty. This latter point was particularly insisted upon by President Wilson and was agreed to as the result of his insistence. The commission was appointed; it prepared a plan; the plan was laid before the peace conference, and before being adopted was published to the world. In the United States it met with strong support in some quarters and vigorous opposition in others. The Senate, by which the whole peace treaty would have to be approved before it could be binding upon the United States, discussed the details of the plan and thirty-one senators signed a declaration that some of the provisions were unacceptable. In the end, however, the original covenant, with some modifications, was adopted by the peace conference and incorporated as a part of the treaty of peace.[[302]] As such it was subsequently accepted by all the leading powers to whom it was submitted, except the United States. In its scope the League of Nations is designed to include, ultimately, all the countries of the world. Provision is made in the covenant for the immediate admission of most countries by their simple acceptance of the covenant; others may be admitted to membership by a two-thirds vote of the league assembly. Fifty-one states are now members.[[303]]
An analogy and contrast.
The League as a Scheme of Government.—What are the important features in this scheme of super-government? This question may best be answered, perhaps, by taking as our background the federal system with which we are most familiar in the United States, noting the outstanding points of resemblance and contrast. At the time of its formation, indeed, the American federal government was looked upon by the several states as a super-government and they were very jealous of it. It was not until many years had passed that this jealousy died down. This same designation was given to the scheme of organization established by the League Covenant. The government of the United States has its deliberative, executive, and judicial departments; so has the League of Nations. But there the resemblance ends. The methods of constituting the organs are different; so are their powers, and so are their relations to one another.
The Assembly and the Council.
The League’s Deliberative Organs.—The League of Nations has two deliberative bodies,—an Assembly to which each member-nation may send not more than three delegates, and a Council, made up of one member from each of the five great powers,—the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan (these five nations being always represented), and one member from each of four lesser powers to be designated from time to time by the Assembly. Since the United States has not joined the League, the Council now consists of only eight members, the four nations constituting the second group being at present Belgium, Brazil, Spain, and China. Unless otherwise stated in the covenant, any decision either of the Council or the Assembly requires a unanimous vote. The Council must meet at least once a year; the Assembly meets at stated intervals determined by itself. The Assembly has decided to meet annually on the first Monday in September and the Council is now holding quarterly sessions. Geneva has been selected as the League capital.
The Secretariat.
The Administrative Organization.—By the terms of the covenant certain functions of an executive nature are given to the Council, but the administrative work devolves upon the Secretariat of the League. This body comprises a permanent secretary and numerous officials appointed by him. The Secretariat performs the clerical work, registers all treaties, carries on the correspondence with the member-nations, and prepares business to be laid before the Council and the Assembly.
The League’s judiciary.