September Preliminaries

Diplomats set out for Geneva last week from the capitals of most nations. The annual September meeting of the Assembly and Council of the League of Nations loomed, but, since several issues not directly bound up with the formal League procedure are pending, many of the diplomats chose to seek Geneva well in advance.

World Court Parley. Representatives of the World Court adherent nations met at Geneva in the International Labor Building to discuss the reservations of the U. S. Senate respecting U. S. adherence to the World Court (TIME, Feb. 8, 1925). Originally this meeting was called under League auspices (TIME, March 29) but U. S. League opponents have raised such an uproar that the delegates thought it wiser not to meet in the comfortable and vacant League of Nations Palace. No action was taken on the Senate's reservations last week.

Seat Question. There met at Geneva last week an assembly almost more important than those which will gather later: The Committee on Reorganization of the League Council.

Germany was kept out of the League (TIME, March 29) at a League session called especially for her admission, simply because the nations holding nonpermanent seats on the League Council were not unanimously in agreement that Germany should be admitted to a permanent seat. Brazil, the popular villain of this obstruction, gave notice of her resignation from the League--effective two years hence (TIME, June 21). Spain, equally bent on obtaining a permanent seat, launched a campaign of pressure against the League Powers which culminated last week in the reopening of the Tangier question. (See INTERNATIONAL.)

Unless the Reorganization Committee can find some formula of compromise on the seat question, it is not too much to say that the whole validity of the League stands menaced.