Show Playing an Old Game WHAT happens to a weak nation when it has y something that a n strong nation wants is pretty clearly shown in the case of Ethiopia With th a n great show of or righteousness France and Ital Italy seize the Ule killings of their colonials on the Abyssinian border last January as the pretext fo for dC dealing lin the cards for br the time old game ame of imperialism Any other ther pretext would have haye been as ns good Both have been waiting wailing for for- fora a along along lon long time for one to come conic along rho Though gh the picturesque Emperor Selassie Se Se- J lassie stands willing and eager cager to pay exemplary exem plary piary damages for the killings even while disavowing disavowing disavowing dis dis- avowing responsibility for them and is p prosecuting prose ose- ose euting vigorous efforts to further the Italo- Italo Ethiopian peace pence compact French and Italian forces concentrate in French and Sand Italian troops in Eritrea and Italian Somali- Somali land Neither nation means to forfeit an any advantage advantage ad ad- vantage presented to strengthen itself in neighboring territory and each cach prepares to take by force when the thc time comes what it has been unable to lo obtain b by negotiation The league of nations comes into this picture picture pic pie ture much as it did when it tried and lamentably lamen tably failed to stop Japan in its seizures on the time Asian mainland It shows the same weaknesses weaknesses weak calc nesses now flOW as it did lid then Impotently it watches France Prance and Italy strike bargains as asto asto asto to how what is not theirs is to be disposed of Italy is behaving toward Abyssinia with Abyssinia with Europe's general consent consent in in much the same way that Japan behaved toward China That Thatis is the wa way strong nations almost invariably behave behave be be- have toward weak ones As to the thc league the thing to bear in mind is that a stream can rise no higher than its source An international organization organization or or- cannot impose on any nation a rule of conduct which its all member nations arc are not ready to ac accept ept for themselves The league could not keep Japan from taking what it wanted in the time Orient because the leading members members mem mern- bers of the league have done the same sort of thing themselves and are prepared to do it again if they ther sec see fit The plain fact is that no international league can keep the time peace until until un un- til hi the nations which compose it arc are ready to turn over oYer a new leaf in their dealings with other nations |