THE NEW ORDER AND THE LEAGUE Sin,—It is, I assume,
generally admitted that in preparing a new inter- national order after the war, nothing would be more useful than an objective and clear understanding of the "great. experiment" represented by the League of Nations. But in approaching this question we have, in the first place, to avoid speaking in general terms, as .is very often done, of the failure of the League. It is only fair to remind that the League. although having failed in preventing a new World War, scored success in many fields, and its value as an " experiment " for the future will be permanent.
Moreover, it seems to me wrong and unfair to pretend that the League', " failure " was the consequence of the small nations' contribution in the making of the right decisions ; in my view, the "failure" was chiefly due, among many other causes, to the reluctance of the " great " to secure their execution by using, if necessary, their political or military force The result was that very often either the right decisions were not taken or they were not implemented.
Looking into the future and until the creation of a real and effective international force, it seems to me inevitable that the "rule of law" in the international community has to be maintained and protected, when and wherever necessary, chiefly, although not exclusively, by the Great Powers. But, in the making of decisions all peace-loving nations, great and small, should have a share ; because there is no biological law, neither for individuals nor social groups, according to which the stronger are always the wiser ; and the making of wise decisions is not a question of
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