Trouble

"Monsieur" Chamberlain. Out of the question of whether Poland, as well as Germany, shall be given a permanent seat on the League Council (TIME, March 1) there arose last week a notable furore which centered about the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Austen Chamberlain. It threatened indeed to tarnish for the first time the glory which he won by steering the Locarno Conference to a successful conclusion (TIME, Oct. 26).

Speaking at Birmingham, the political seat of the Chamberlain family, Sir Austen incautiously gave the impression that he expected to attend the special session of the Assembly and Council of the League of Nations, called for March 8, with complete freedom to offer British support to the candidacy of Poland and that he would very probably do so if "circumstances" seemed to warrant it.

Unfortunately, all the notable British political parties had supposed that the Cabinet had instructed Sir Austen to oppose the claims of Poland, which are admittedly being put forward by her ally France to offset the entrance of Germany into the League. British public opinion promptly crystallized against the admission of any other state than Germany to the League Council at present; and Sir Austen found himself in a completely awkward position. His position became almost untenable, late in the week, when the British press began to hint that Sir Austen had deliberately bargained with M. Briand at Locarno, the price of French support for the Locarno Pacts being (allegedly) British support for Poland's League Council candidacy.

The usually imperturable Manchester Guardian cried: "Sir Austen Chamberlain stands almost alone in this country in his willingness to open the door of the League Council to French intrigue. It is difficult to believe that he has or can obtain the support of the Cabinet. He will certainly never obtain that of the country. . . . If he persists in his present line of action, the tender shoot of Locarno will wither at birth!"

Having harkened well to this tempest about his ears, whooped up by editors who called him "Monsieur" Chamberlain, Sir Austen at length announced in the House of Commons that the Government position in this matter was as yet undetermined. An Honorable Member queried: "Is it not a fact that the extraordinary League session now assembling is being convoked to deal exclusively with the question of Germany's admission?" Testily Sir Austen snapped: "That is no fact!"

Meanwhile, at Paris, Premier Briand did his best to smooth matters over and quiet the press. Said he:

"Indulgence in polemics over the question of enlargement of the Council of the League of Nations is very inconsiderate. The negotiators at Locarno did not deal with the affair, even though it had been raised several times before Locarno."

Appeals. During the week the Government of Greece appealed to the League to settle certain minor Greco-Turkish frontier disputes, and informed the League Secretariat that the Turkish Government had previously refused a Greek request that these matters be referred to the World Court.

The Lithuanian Government likewise appealed to the League, requesting that Poland be restrained from occupying "the Lithuanian forest of Podaje" on the Lithuanian-Polish frontier. The Polish Government simultaneously filed an appeal asking that Lithuanian troops be withdrawn from the forest, "which is actually Polish."

Observers recalled that many post-War frontiers are not yet accurately mapped.