22

ESSAYS IN PERSUASION

PART

League.” These two Articles together gosome way to destroy the conception of theLeague as an instrument of progress, and toequip it from the outset with an almost fatalbias towards the status quo. It is these Articleswhich have reconciled to the League some ofits original opponents, who now hope to makeof it another Holy Alliance for the perpetuationof the economic ruin of their enemies and theBalance of Power in their own interests whichthey believe themselves to have established bythe Peace.

But while it would be wrong and foolish toconceal from ourselves in the interests of“idealism” the real difficulties of the positionin the special matter of revising treaties, that isno reason for any of us to decry the League,which the wisdom of the world may yet trans-form into a powerful instrument of peace, andwhich in Articles XI.-XVII . 1 has already ac-complished a great and beneficent achievement.I agree, therefore, that our first efforts for theRevision of the Treaty must be made throughthe League rather than in any other way, in thehope that the force of general opinion, and ifnecessary, the use of financial pressure andfinancial inducements, may be enough toprevent a recalcitrant minority from exercising

1 These Articles, which provide safeguards against the outbreakof war between members of the League and also between membersand non-members, are the solid achievement of the Covenant.These Articles make substantially less probable a war betweenorganised Great Powers such as that of 1914. This alone shouldcommend the League to all jnen,