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

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12 The Lawrencian effective, the League was composed of twenty-three member nations. In July, 1935, there were fifty-nine. Despite Wilson’s efforts, the United States has never become a member. Our Congress felt that this plan would be futile and that this country would constantly be involved in European disputes. However, the League continued without us. The witty saying of the period was “Half a League Onward”. The primary function of the League is to prevent war and to up - hold the provisions of the Versailles Treaty. This includes joint military action against an aggressor nation, and the shutting off of all inter- course between other nations whether members or not. During the first ten years of its existence, some thirty disputes have been brought before the League. Some it has failed to settle, and others it has settled successfully. It failed to solve the first really great problem that came before it, the Sino-Jap- anese Dispute. An appeal came be- fore the Council on September 21, 1931, following the occupation of Mukden and other places along the South Manchuria Railway by Jap- anese troops. China asked the Coun- cil to take steps to prevent any fur- ther threats of war and to restore the “status quo ante” and to deter- mine damages, but the League was powerless. Also the League has failed notably in the Italian-Ethi- opian war. Notwithstanding its failures, the League has settled some disputes, one between Sweden and Finland concerning the Aland Islands (1920- 21), and another between Jugo- slavia and Albania concerning boundaries (1921-1923); and it undertook the preliminaries of set- tling the quarrel between Poland and Lithuania about possession of Vilna (1921). The League settled a very im- portant question in 1934, which might have resulted in another World War. King Alexander of Jugo-Slavia and Louis Barthou, minister of foreign affairs of France, were assassinated at Marseilles by an Hungarian agent. Jugo-Slavia requested the League to look into the situation and to punish who- soever was to blame. The League proclaimed that some negligent of- ficials, not Hungary, had been re- sponsible for the assassination. The officials were punished, and the matter was settled. More important than the League of Nations is the Permanent Court of International Justice. The idea cf a world court was suggested as early as 1305 by a Frenchman, Pierre Du- bois. President McKinley in his in- augural address in 1897, stated that the “leading feature of American foreign policy throughout our entire national history” had been our in- sistence on “the adjustment of dif- ficulties by judicial methods rather than by force of arms.” The Amer- ican delegation to the first Peace Conference at the Hague in 1899 was asked by President McKinley to propose the establishment of an International Court of Arbitration. It was organized in 1900, but the second Peace Conference at the Hague in 1907 revised the 1899 Con- vention and provided for the con- stant ' maintenance of the Court. At this second Conference there was a discussion of making the Permanent Court of Arbitration into a per- manent tribunal composed of Judges who were judicial officers and nothing else. Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations provides for the