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Show THE CITIZEN SMALL NA TIONS DEFY THE LEAGUE OF EMPIRES The world of the future forseen and planned for by the British aBtatesmen who secured the establishment of the League of Nations turning out to be a myth. The recall of Constantine to the Greek throne and the refusal f Argentina to accept the slavish position assigned to small nations y the league covenant, are significant of a new movement which iut be antagonistic to the league. The voters of the United States, as the result of a campaign of iducation lasting nearly two years, discovered the real implications f the covenant and voted to keep hands off until another world rrangement could be effected. Other nations rushed into the league nly to be disillusioned and disappointed. Hardly had our great dispute about the league climaxed than le league began to function actively and to reveal its true purpose. ;y The league is an alliance controlled by five great powers to lord over creation. It is one of the ultimate developments of imperial-which connotes the use of force. The league is an attempt to (reserve our modern empires by keeping the small nations in it-- m if- - sub-i-ctio- n. a iri If we accept this premise we shall form a very definite idea of ihat the statesmen of Europe, principally of Britain, France and taly, had in mind when they formulated the covenant. The empires ould not survive if their power were to be contested by the small ations in alliance with rebellious Asia and Africa. The nations had come to the parting of the ways at Versailles he empires, magnificiently expanded by the war, saw that they must bandon or retain the almost 'unlimited power that had been thrust pon them. It was typical of European statesmanship that it should ly on the old methods, that it should base its new world structure n force. By force Britain had wrested her empire from conquered eoples and. now, behold, she had newly conquered peoples to control, ranee and Italy were in much the same position. The consequence was that the empires decided to adopt the Ger-la- n method. It had been the plan of Germany to smash all other When the allies settled down after mpires and rule the world. lk: lie war and took stock of themselves they had to decide upon some orld arrangement. Idealism had suggested a league for peace, based Ilk n courts of concilation and arbitration and upon a highly developed lift rstem of international law. But the empires were afraid to launch VP ut into the unknown. Such an arrangement for the regulation of k lie world was of the unsubstantial stuff of dreams. It was like rying to hitch the cars of empire to rainbows. d The practical, statesmen of Europe cynically re- the proposal and agreed among themselves that the whole teted must be dominated by the force of the few. They were not lid ecessarily Machiavellis because they came to the conclusion that tlv. liey could prevent the wreck of empires only if the empires took ntrol of the world. On the contrary they figured that the highest nr in citri(itism dictated an arrangement whereby the major powers should rcc the Small hi powers to keep the peace. The major powers, of iar: "urso. could go to war with one another after certain formalities nn international dueling code. u Meantime the great powers bound themselves by the terms of dr alliance to support one another, to fight as allies to maintain :inj anothers empires, s il briefly, this is a statement of what the great powers planned the most acceptable world arrangement that could be devised the circumstances. Simultaneously .with the Versailles debate the new world move-'uwas developing. The smaller powers and the revolutionary Russia, Poland, Ireland, India. Turkey dir eoplcs had their own plans. Greece had in view aims quite different from those cherished nal Ahc dominant empires. Tle empires, as did Germany, plumed themselves on the domin-nceforce in world affairs and they believed that they had sufficient cc on their side to rule-thworld; but many events have con- 1C -- hard-heade- 1C?1 :1C 7.C 1 nt oi e joined in the last two years to shake their confidence in the controlling influence of the alliance of empires. It was a frightful shock to the allies when Greece coolly took her affairs into her own hands and defied the league. Here was a small nation snapping its fingers in the face of the most powerful alliance that ever had existed among nations. At once the great powers began to threaten Greece. She could no longer expand. Her dream of obtaining Constantinople was at an end. Her vision of empire had vanished because the allies willed it so. To Italy would go the disputed Dodecanesus isles. Turkey would be permitted to return to Symrna. In a word Greece was to be crushed by the power of the league. But Greece was not scared. The Greeks may be displaying a lack of good sense; on the other hand they majr have forseen the future with an intelligence beyond the comprehension of their critics. When Great Britain' must build, barricades in Downing street to preserve the head of the empire from being cut off even the mightiest of alliances is not secure. May it not be that it is the league, and not Greece, that has played the wrong card. At all events the Greeks figure that small powers are not as helpless as the empires planned that they should be. It will be recalled that one of the articles of the covenant seeks to prevent the private manufacture of arms and ammunition, but with a benevolent flourish the covenant adds this: The Council shall advise how the evil effects attendant on such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the necessities of those members of the league which are not able to manufacture the .munitions and implements of war necessary for. all-coiiquer- ing their safety. Here again the league was arranging to control the small nations by shutting off their supplies of war implements and munitions. The benevolent flourish was simply camouflage to make the plan seem something other than it was. It is manifest that if the empires could ration the small nations with firearms while providing unlimited armaments for themselves they would not have much difficulty in controlling the world. The whole structure is apt to collapse because of the if. It would seem easily possible for Great Britain to hold Ireland in subjection by making rifles as scarce as snakes in the Emerald Isle. But the fact is that Ireland is making head against England with one of the strangest of wars. It is a development of guerilla on the one hand and physical warfare which includes is illustrated by force on the other. The power of the refusal of the Irish people to have anything to do with the British courts. The power of hidden warfare is emphasized hv the fact that Great Britain is shooting innocent people because it cannot lay its hands on the extremists who are killing British army non-resistan- ce non-resistan- ce and police officers. If Great Britain, the mightiest empire of history, cannot control a people a few miles from the scat of imperial government, how can it. acting with its allies, dominate Greece or Turkey or Russia or the Balkan states? Suppose that Greece should begin building submarines and should infest the waters of the Mediterranean and the Aegean with them. If Germany, instead of but 32 submarines, had had 70 at the beginning of the European war, she would have destroyed the British empire and conquered Europe. If the league powers, relying on force, should try to prevent Greece from building a submarine navy, what would happen? All the small nations in the world would take alarm and probably would begin deserting the league. If the empires can disarm Greece they can disarm all the other small nations. And if they cannot disarm Greece they cannot disarm any small nation. And if small nations may provide themselves and they can do |