Lawrence High School - Lawrencian Yearbook (Falmouth, MA)

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Lawrence High School 11 single, strong dictator; they would lead themselves to peace. There is another method that would prepare for the disarming of individual nations: a cooperative world court backed by an inter- national police force. This court would correspond to our present World Court and League of Nations in purpose, but it would be much more powerful in that it would have the means of enforcing its purpose. A police force, made up of armed units from the world’s nations, would be behind the court to carry out its decisions. A regular standing army could be mobilized in very short order when necessary. The international navy would be at hand for any emergency calls. A nation would not back out while its own countrymen would be serving on this international force. No one country would be given special advantages or privileges by this cooperative body of authority. Revolutions or disturbances in any part of the world represented in this body would be quelled instantly by this efficient force. All tendencies toward war would be wiped out at the begin- ning. The plan would eliminate any competition and yet w’ould give each country an equal share of the world’s glories — peacefully. The world needs peace, but the only way to attain it is by disarming the nations! The two suggested ways for preparing for this disarmament are: (1) by educating the people to a system of independent self-govern- ment for each nation of the world, and (2) by a cooperative world court having absolute authority to enforce its decisions. We, as citizens of the world, must back international friendship by supporting this pro- gram for world-wide disarmament. Let us start today, going forward with the challenge, “Down with war! Onward to peace!” Florence Marjorie Huxley INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION What has been done to establish world peace? Although many at- tempts have been made to devise an efficient method of settling inter- national disputes and thus putting an end to war, no promising plan has yet been brought to light. When speaking about war and peace, probably the first organiza- tion that comes to mind is the League of Nations. For a long period of years before the World War, the idea of such a society of nations had been steadily gaining momen- tum; and upon the entry of this country into the War, it became the principal objective of President Wil- son. The prestige of the United States had a strong influence on the allied powers, and for a long time prior to the Armistice men in this and other countries had been at w r ork preparing constitutional foun- dations for the League. Three drafts were ready at the close of the War — one by Wilson, another by Smuts of South Africa, and a third by Lords Fillmore and Cecil of England. After many con- ferences between the American dele- gation headed by Wilson and those of England, France, and Italy, the final draft was completed by the Commission on the League of Na- tions, which consisted of nineteen members, ten of which represented the five great powers; and it was voted to have the League Covenant become Article 1 of the Treaty of Versailles. On April 28, 1919, this was accepted by the Peace Conference. When the Covenant first became