Hazardous Postponement

Resolution. "The Assembly of the League of Nations regrets that the difficulties so far encountered have not permitted attainment of the result for which it convened, and expresses the hope that before the ordinary September session these difficulties will be removed so as to make possible at that session the entry of Germany to the League of Nations."

By adopting the resolution just quoted, the Assembly registered for posterity that in March, 1926, the foremost statesmen of Europe were not yet ready to take the final step designed to bring the Locarno Treaties into effect.

Those treaties contain a clause (TIME, Nov. 2) which makes them inoperative until Germany is within the League. Until a few days ago, the maddest of political alarmists did not venture to prophesy that Germany would not be admitted to the League now. Yet the postponement to September has been made. It can only be said that before that time further difficulties as unexpected and as potent as those just encountered may arise. The Locarno Treaties have unquestionably been put in serious jeopardy.

"Coconut." The official version of how this debacle came about is almost as grotesque as the comment made upon it by the Berlin Tageblatt: "From the jungles of Brazil a coconut has been hurled half around the world at the Glass House of the League."

In a word, the representative of Brazil on the Council of the League, Senhor Afranio Mello Franco, announced last week that his government had "irrevocably and finally" instructed him to vote against the admission of Germany to a permanent seat on the League Council unless Brazil is given now a similar permanent seat instead of the non- permanent seat to which she was elected for a year (TIME, Oct. 5) together with Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Uruguay.

Since the Council can act only by unanimous vote, it was rendered powerless to admit Germany without Brazil. The Spanish representative, Count Quinones de Leon, intimated that he was instructed to make a similar demand on the part of Spain. Before this obstinate blockade the Great Powers halted.

For a very special reason they halted without, violently coercing Brazil or Spain. They halted for respite from their own quarrels.

To many a harassed statesman the opportunity to blame the whole fiasco upon Brazil came as a sort of diabolic godsend.

Deadlocked Giants. The intrigues of a fortnight ago, by which France and Britain strove to force the admission of Poland, the ally of France, to a permanent League Council seat, which would counter-balance the proposed German seat (TIME, March 22), had by last week assumed most discouraging proportions due to the tenacious refusal of the Germans to endure any such "balancing" against them.

The prestige of France and Germany had become involved up to the hilt over a matter intrinsically of secondary import. Premier Briand was expected by his countrymen to insert Poland as a buttress against anti-French influence on the Council from Germany. Chancellor Luther was daily instructed from Berlin that he must withdraw the German application for League membership if the Council was going to be packed against Germany. Sir Austen Chamberlain found himself in a still more awkward position. The British press flayed him daily because he did not insist that, whatever happened, Germany must be got within the League and the Locarno Pacts nailed down. Unfortunately, Sir Austen was obliged to admit, tacitly at least, that he had secretly committed the British Government to support the claims of Poland. It was made clear that only upon this supposition did France and Poland indorse the Locarno Treaties in the first place. The vicious circle was complete. The temptation to "put things off," however great the dangers of that course, was almost irresistible.

Formula. All the diplomats present unquestionably racked their brains for a "formula"--a way around these obstacles which would salve everyone's prestige. The stand which Brazil eventually took was, as a matter of fact, announced by her (and by Spain as well) when the delegates first assembled. Both Spain and Brazil were prevailed upon to abandon their blockade for several days (TIME, March 22), but at that time the Germans and French were unable to agree. Early last week Premier Briand and Dr. Stresemann blazoned it abroad that they were agreed upon one* of the many tentative "formulas" which had been concocted. For an instant the skies cleared. . . .

Full Stop. A few hours later the storm burst at a secret session of the Council. Senhor Afranio Mello Franco announced his original stand once more and clung to it. An informal caucus of the delegates of nine Latin American nations twice met and twice repudiated the declaration of Senhor Franco that Brazil was only holding firm in the interest of all Latin America.

Briefly, the Brazilians so flagrantly defied the European powers and the Latin American nations, that the merest dullard asked: "With what power or powers is Brazil secretly in cahoots? With the Germans? With the French? With Italy, since Mussolini is notoriously anti-League?

What may be called the consensus of suspicion favored Mussolini as the villain of the piece last week.** Conservative observers were not so sure. Brazil is far from Europe. It is most convenient to all the Great Powers that a nation so far from Europe can now be loaded with the whole cargo of official blame.

Action. After the breakdown of the main proceedings the following highly important action was taken before the delegates returned home: The Germans agreed to leave their application for membership before the League instead of withdrawing it. The signatories of the Locarno Pacts signed and issued a communique: "They [the seven Locarnite powers] take note of the fact that they have reached an agreement and have overcome obstacles which had at one moment arisen between them.

"The seven powers who signed the protocol of Locarno regret not to be able at this moment to reach the goal which they had in view; but they are happy to recognize that the work of peace which they realized at Locarno, and which exists in all its value and all its force, remains intact.

"They remain attached to it today, as yesterday, and are firmly resolved to work together to maintain and develop it. They are convinced that on the occasion of the next session of the Assembly the difficulties which exist at this moment will be surmounted and that the agreement reached with regard to the conditions for the entry of Germany into the League of Nations will be realized."

The Council appointed a commission to investigate and report on the whole question of increasing the number of Council seats.

The Council set May 17 as the date of the first meeting of the Preparatory Commission for the League Disarmament Conference. (TIME, Dec. 21.)

The Council approved a motion by Sir Austen Chamberlain to invite the U. S. to send a representative to a projected assembly of the nations now adhering to the World Court, at which the reservations set forth by the U. S. Senate (TIME, Feb. 8, THE CONGRESS) as the conditions of U. S. adherence to the World Court might be amicably considered. Sir Austen called attention to the fact that this proposal is designed to speed up action by the Court nations upon the U. S. reservations, since if the whole matter should be thrashed out by diplomatic notes among the 55 nations concerned, it might drag on for years (see THE CONGRESS, p, 7).

*Set forth in TIME last week although not then agreed upon, it was that Sweden and Czechoslovakia should resign their Council seats, after which the assembly should elect Poland and "a neutral" (The Netherlands) to fill, these vacancies. That Sweden and Czechoslovakia should have been brought to offer such a sacrifice well illustrates the very real desire for compromise among the nations.

**It was quite inconclusively rumored that immigration concessions were offered to Brazil by Italy as a "bribe."