4. Coercion.
Fourth, if any member-nation resorts to war in violation of the preceding provisions, the other members of the League agree to boycott it and to withdraw from relations with it; in extreme cases, the Council is authorized to consider and recommend means of compulsion by armed force.
5. Registration of treaties.
Fifth, a very important provision is that by which all treaties hereafter entered into by members of the League shall be registered with the Secretariat and published. Until this has been done, no treaty is to be considered binding. This, of itself, embodies no small step in the direction of eliminating a prolific source of friction and strife. Secret treaties have been the mainspring of many wars.
Duties of the mandatories.
The System of Mandates.—In previous wars it has been the habit of victorious nations to divide all the conquered territory among themselves, each taking a portion in full ownership. The Peace Conference of 1919, however, agreed to try a new plan, namely, that of placing the League of Nations in charge of some former German and Turkish territories. It was provided that by means of mandates each of these territories should be directly governed, on behalf of the League, by one of its member-countries, with the understanding that eventually complete self-government should be given in certain cases. The mandatory, or country holding the mandate, is required to present an annual report to the League and a permanent commission is provided to examine these reports. In accordance with these arrangements, several mandates have been granted. Great Britain, for example, has been made the mandatory for Palestine, France for Syria, and New Zealand for certain former German colonies in the South Pacific.
A territorial trust.
The possession of a mandate does not give the mandatory any exclusive commercial privileges in the territory concerned, but merely creates a trust which is to be exercised for the benefit of the people who inhabit it. Whether this new experiment in the government of dependent territories will work out successfully no one yet can tell. Much will depend upon whether the League acquires prestige and power. If it should collapse, there is little doubt that these various territories would merely pass into the full ownership of the countries which now hold the mandates.
The League and Labor.—The widely-differing policies hitherto pursued by various countries in relation to labor have long been a cause of international distrust and friction. When any one country endeavors to accord greater privileges to its workers—such as the adoption of a shorter working day or the guarantee of a minimum wage—this action places it at a disadvantage in trade competition with other countries not so progressive. It is, therefore, provided that a permanent International Labor Office shall be established and that members of the League shall send representatives to a labor conference at least once a year. Such measures for the protection of labor as may be recommended by this conference are to be presented to the government of each member-country for adoption. Each government may adopt or refuse to adopt the recommendations as it sees fit; but where a recommendation is adopted, a country must live up to it and provisions are made for ensuring this. |The first labor conference.| The first meeting of the labor conference took place at Washington in 1919. Since that time two further conferences have been held. Recommendations have been made in favor of the eight-hour day, the prohibition of child labor, and an effective system of factory inspection. In most of the discussions concerning the League these great opportunities which it presents for the improvement of labor conditions were entirely overlooked.
The League and the Protection of Health.—Great improvements in the science of health protection have been made during the past generation by all civilized countries, as a previous chapter has indicated. But no matter how watchful a country may be in guarding the health of its own people, it can never feel safe so long as epidemics are allowed to rage unchecked in other lands. The ravages of disease stop at no national boundaries. Trade and travel carry infection across even the best-protected borders. In recognition of this the League covenant pledges the member-countries to take steps for the international prevention and control of disease. |The international health office.| This is to be accomplished by the establishment of a permanent International Health Office. The function of this office is to gather data relating to public health questions, to promote the acceptance of the best health regulations by the different countries, and to secure common action in the case of dangerous epidemics.[[304]] The League is also authorized to wage a war upon the use of opium and other harmful drugs, likewise to take measures against the traffic in women and children.