1938: World Peace

The year 1938 saw the continuation of two great wars of which one, the war in Spain, had started in 1936; the other, the war in China, in 1937. Although in both wars the balance shifted more and more in favor of the aggressors — that is, of the rebel government in Spain, which was supported by the Italians and the Germans; and of the Japanese in the Far East — no definite end of these wars was yet discernible. In the center of Europe it seemed as if, in the month of September, a war between Germany and Czechoslovakia, which might have involved other nations, had been averted by the efforts of the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain; but, so far as war has been averted, it has been not only at the sacrifice of the democratic powers of Europe, but at the expense of the rule of international law and of the League of Nations. The system of international law represented by the League of Nations had already been undermined by the events of the year 1936. Now it may be said that it has definitely crumbled under the policy of yielding to the threats of the aggressors. This attitude has created in Europe an atmosphere of international tension even more threatening than in 1914.

European Alliances.

Two systems of European alliances were effected during 1938: the Rome-Berlin Axis of the two great Fascist Powers, which is strengthened by an anti-Communist alliance with Japan; and the Entente between the two Western democracies, Great Britain and France, which is supported, though only in a loose and indefinite way, by public opinion in the great American democracy. There have been several efforts to bridge the gulf between the two alliances, such as the Anglo-Italian Pact of April 1938, which went into effect in November of this year; the Anglo-German Declaration of Amity of Sept. 30, 1938; and finally the Franco-German Pact of Dec. 2, 1938. But these efforts did not relax the strained relations which prevailed. On the contrary, toward the end of the year it became clear that the policy of appeasement was very far from producing peace. New demands were being put forward by Italy and by Germany, and, as a consequence, the armament race went on at faster pace. All Europe seemed urged on by the fear of impending aggression, even the small nations, even the traditionally neutral nations — Switzerland, Scandinavia, Holland. In Great Britain, the introduction of conscription was debated.

The solidarity of the Rome-Berlin Axis was publicly demonstrated on the occasion of Chancellor Hitler's triumphal visit to Italy during the month of May. Since then, the close diplomatic and military cooperation of those two Powers has been established beyond doubt. On the other hand, the British King and Queen visited Paris in July, and frequent conversations between responsible British and French statesmen followed, both in London and in Paris. But until now the solidarity between the two western European democracies, who wish to maintain peace at almost any price, has not been sufficient to block the policy of surprise, accomplished facts, and threats, which is that of the dynamic powers of the Axis. This policy led, during 1938, to the disappearance of Austria as an independent state, to the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia, to vociferous demands by Italy for spoliation of France, and generally to an atmosphere of unrest and fear.

League of Nations.

The League of Nations was powerless to save Austria or to protect Czechoslovakia; in fact, it was not consulted in either of these cases. It proved as ineffective in the case of Spain and of China, although the Loyalist and the Chinese Governments appealed to the League and, through it, to world public opinion; the League did not go beyond an expression of sympathy. Whereas, in 1935, the League still formed the center of international politics, and questions of world peace were largely determined at meetings of the League, at present no important decision is being made at Geneva. The question of non-intervention in Spain was taken entirely out of the hands of the League. It may be safely said that, at least for the time being, the League has ceased to count in efforts for world peace. In a certain sense the League, which was always the object of violent attacks by the Fascist Powers, who deny the desirability or the possibility of world peace, has been sacrificed to the policy of appeasing those Powers. Seeing the League impotent, the small countries of Europe, who had always been its staunch defenders, turned away from the League and looked for safety to a policy of complete isolation or, as it is called, neutrality.

This collapse of the League of Nations was emphasized at the meeting of the Assembly of the League in September 1938. The British delegate, Earl De La Warr, asked, on behalf of Britain, that henceforth sanctions against aggressors, as agreed upon in the Covenant of the League, should be made optional and discretionary. The acceptance of this proposal would increase the chances of aggression, as most Powers could make use of their discretionary right not to come to the help of the victim. Spokesmen for the Spanish and Chinese Governments asked the League for support in terminating the wars raging in their countries. Dr. Wellington Koo, the Chinese delegate, asked the League explicitly to apply Article XVII of the Covenant against Japan, and to embargo the supply of arms and munitions to the aggressor. He asked in addition for measures to halt Japanese air bombings; a similar demand was made by the Spanish Loyalist Government in view of the frequent air raids of the Spanish Insurgents, which involved civilian populations. The Council of the League of Nations invited Japan to envisage measures under Article XVII for the settlement of her 'dispute' with China. The Japanese Government declined the invitation. The Council of the League of Nations subsequently decided that sanctions under Article XVI were now applicable to Japan at the discretion of each individual League member. Up to the end of the year no member of the League had applied sanctions against Japan, and Japanese aggression progressed rapidly and unchecked in China.

The Assembly of the League of Nations also passed a resolution to sever the Covenant of the League from the Treaty of Versailles and from the other Peace Treaties, in all of which the Covenant had formed the first chapter. The Assembly invited also investigations of Chinese charges that the Japanese use poison gases, and asked Great Britain to inform the League of British investigation of civilian bombings in Spain. It is noteworthy that no mention was made at the Assembly of the fact that one of its members (Ethiopia) had since the last meeting ceased to exist. The whole world was then speaking of the impending conflict between Germany and Czechoslovakia, a member who had always played a great and honorable part in the proceedings of the League. The imminent threat of war was in no way dealt with or mentioned at the meeting of the Assembly or of the Council of the League. Soon afterwards the staff of the League of Nations was reduced, partly for reasons of economy, partly to adapt it to the new policy which had not been foreseen at the time when the League of Nations was still a vigorous and living instrument for world peace.

Gran-Chaco Settlement; Pan-American Conference.

Although world peace is not yet achieved, the actual and threatening wars in Europe as well as in the Far East have not affected the Americas. These wars have, however, strengthened there the determination for peace. As a good augur, settlement of the old Chaco Dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay was effected. Extremely difficult and protracted peace negotiations terminated on Oct. 10 in an arbitral award made in Buenos Aires by the Presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the United States, Peru, and Uruguay. This award added about 69,000 square miles to the territory of Paraguay.

On Dec. 9, delegates of all the American states met in Lima, Peru, for the Eighth International Conference of American States to perfect and coordinate inter-American peace instruments, to solve problems of economic and intellectual cooperation, and to foster moral disarmament. The Conference decided to create a permanent commission of jurists to study the unification of civil and commercial law, but it postponed action on the proposed formation of an American League of Nations and on the coordination of the existing inter-American peace treaties and conventions until the next meeting five years hence. All Latin-American Governments were in agreement with the United States, however, as to the conclusion of a pact of continental solidarity and cooperative defense of the Western Hemisphere — the Pact of Lima, signed December 24, 1938.

The United States.

The awareness of the American public to the precarious situation of world peace, and to the threats therein implied to the United States itself, manifested itself frequently during 1938. Even the American Federation of Labor, which has consistently shunned any entanglement in the conflict of Europe, decided in the session of its executive council in August to propose close cooperation with similar labor organizations abroad for the purpose of ending the world armament race, promoting peace, and safeguarding democracy. The American delegation to the Second World Youth Congress, which met during the same month at Vassar College, agreed upon a program 'to reverse the present ominous drift toward international anarchy and armed conflict.' At the Congress itself a 'peace pact' was signed by delegates from all the nations represented, although a small minority of the United States delegation disagreed. This peace pact, signed on the tenth anniversary of the Kellogg Peace Pact, pledged itself to develop a spirit of fraternity and collaboration among the youth of all nations without distinction of race, creed, or opinion. It condemned wars of aggression and demanded concerted action to prevent aggression and to give effective assistance to the victims of treaty violations and aggression. The signatories undertook 'in a peaceful manner to set right injustices against peoples, regardless of race, creed, or opinion; to establish political and social justice within our own country and advocate that international machinery be immediately instituted to solve differences between nations in a peaceful way.'

Undoubtedly the year 1938 accelerated the process of disintegration and deterioration in international relations which had set in during the last years. The question asked by Secretary of State Cordell Hull in his radio address on world peace, on Aug. 16, seemed well founded: 'Is the future of the world to be determined by universal reliance upon armed force and frequent resort to aggression, with resultant autarchy, impoverishment, loss of individual independence, and international anarchy? In a smaller world it will soon no longer be possible for some nations to choose and follow the way of force and for other nations at the same time to choose and follow the way of reason. All will have to go in one direction and by one way.' There is no doubt that the overwhelming majority of the American people agreed with Secretary Hull in his program based on principles of world law and international order, a program which calls for constant reaffirmation, revitalization, and the stressing of fundamental principles. The policy of mutual trade treaties followed by Secretary of State Hull is an important contribution by the United States toward economic world cooperation. But the world trend of events has been in no way helpful to the establishment of a sound peace basis. The end of the year 1938 saw all the nations animated by increased mutual distrust, driven by fear, and arming to the teeth with greater sacrifices than ever before of their individual well-being. (See also CHINA; CZECHOSLOVAKIA; GERMANY; JAPAN; SPAIN; WORLD ECONOMICS.)