RADIO BROADCASTING

CONVENTION CONCERNING THE USE OF BROADCASTING IN THE CAUSE OF PEACE 12

Burma

According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated October 25, 1937, the British Government notified the Secretary General on October 13, 1937, of its desire that the convention concerning the use of broadcasting in the cause of peace, signed at Geneva on September 23, 1936, shall apply to Burma.

Denmark

According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated October 22, 1937, the instrument of ratification by Denmark of the convention concerning the use of broadcasting in the cause of peace, signed at Geneva on September 23, 1936, was deposited with the Secretariat on October 11, 1937.

RESTRICTION OF WAR

CONVENTION FOR THE AMELIORATION OF THE CONDITION OF THE WOUNDED AND THE SICK OF ARMIES IN THE FIELD (TREATY SERIES, No. 847)-CONVENTION RELATING TO THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR (TREATY SERIES, No. 846) 13

Bulgaria-Czechoslovakia

By two notes dated October 27, 1937, the Swiss Minister at Washington informed the Secretary of State that the instruments of ratification by Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia of the convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and the sick of armies in the field and the convention relating to the treatment of prisoners of war, both signed at Geneva July 27, 1929, were deposited with the Swiss Confederation on October 13 and October 12, 1937.

The conventions will enter into force for Bulgaria on April 13, 1938, and for Czechoslovakia on April 12, 1938.

PROCÈS-VERBAL RELATING TO THE RULES OF SUBMARINE WARFARE SET FORTH IN PART IV OF THE LONDON NAVAL TREATY OF 1930 14

Guatemala

The American Minister to Guatemala transmitted to the Secretary of State with a despatch dated November 8, 1937, a translation of a

"See Bulletin No. 96, September 1937, p. 1.

13

See Bulletin No. 95, August 1937, p. 7; text of conventions, 47 Stat. (pt. 2) 2074, 2021, respectively.

14

See Bulletin No. 97, October 1937, p. 2.

32646-37-2

notice published on November 5, 1937, in Diario de Centro America, Guatemala, relative to the possible adherence of Guatemala to the rules relating to submarine warfare set forth in part IV of the London naval treaty of 1930. The notice is printed below:

"The Adherence to the Regulation Relative to the Action of Submarines

"In a decision issued today by the organ of the Department of Foreign Relations, the President of the Republic ordered:

"1. To accept the invitation of the Government of Great Britain to adhere definitely and without limitation of time, by means of a declaration directed to the Government of His Majesty in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the ProcesVerbale relative to the action of submarines in times of war, contained in Part IV of the Treaty of London of 1930 for the limitation and reduction of naval armaments in conformity with the act signed November 6, 1936, by the representatives of the United States of America, the Commonwealth of Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, India, the Free State of Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.

""2. To submit in due course this adhesion to the Legislative Assembly for consideration'."

The Netherlands

By a note dated November 3, 1937, the British Ambassador at Washington informed the Secretary of State that the Netherlands. Government had notified to the Government of Great Britain on October 29, 1937, its adherence to the rules relating to the use of submarines against merchant vessels in time of war set out in part IV of the London naval treaty of 1930.

POLITICAL

EXTRATERRITORIALITY

CONVENTION REGARDING THE ABOLITION OF THE CAPITULATIONS IN EGYPT 1

Denmark-Great Britain

By two notes dated November 9 and 10, 1937, the Chargé d'Affaires of Egypt at Washington informed the Secretary of State that the instruments of ratification by Denmark and Great Britain of the convention regarding the abolition of the capitulations in Egypt, signed at Montreux on May 8, 1937, were deposited with the Egyptian Government on October 12 and 13, 1937.

INDEPENDENCE

TREATY REGARDING PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES TO BE FOLLOWED IN MATTERS CONCERNING CHINA (TREATY SERIES, No. 723) (NINE POWER TREATY)

NINE POWER CONFERENCE 2

There is printed below the text of the address by Mr. Norman H. Davis, American delegate to the Nine Power Conference at Brussels, delivered at the opening of the Conference on November 3, 1937:

"We have come to this Conference to collaborate in efforts toward an objective for which all peoples and all governments should strive. That objective is peace.

"Sixteen years ago there assembled at Washington the delegates to a conference which had been called for the limitation of armaments and to find a solution of Pacific and Far Eastern problems of international concern, and thereby to safeguard peace in the Far East. After a few months of careful consideration of the problems involved, those delegates signed a number of interrelated agreements and resolutions which, it was believed, would assure the legitimate rights and interests of all the countries represented, which provided for various common and reciprocal concessions, and which committed the signatories to pursue policies of peace.

"In that group of agreements was a treaty relating to principles and policies to be followed in matters concerning China. That treaty

1 See Bulletin No. 97, October 1937, p. 6.

2 See ibid., p. 8.

dealt with questions which are fundamental; it reaffirmed principles to which most of the signatories had already-some repeatedlycommitted themselves; it specified not only what should be the obligations of the other powers but what should be the obligations of China; it was ratified by all of the nine powers present at the conference and it has since been adhered to by five other powers. In that treaty there was a provision that whenever a situation should arise which, in the opinion of any of the parties, involved the application of the stipulations of the treaty and rendered desirable discussion of such application, there should be full and frank communication between the contracting powers concerned.

"It is in accordance with that express provision that we meet here today. Our present interest, however, would be real even if there were no such treaty and no such provision. The hostilities which are now being waged in the Far East are of serious concern not only to Japan and China but to the entire world.

"For several decades the nations of the world have been seeking to evolve methods to achieve the twofold objective of preventing resort to armed force and, if unhappily it has been resorted to, finding means to bring the conflict to an end. Various methods have been proposed. Various instruments have been signed. In all of these there has appeared one common feature, namely, that where controversies develop, solution must be sought by pacific means. To this process 63 nations committed themselves by the Pact of Paris of 1928.

"Peace, once envisaged only by idealists, has become a practical matter of vital self-interest to every nation. The day has long since gone by when the effects of an armed conflict are confined to the participants. It is all too apparent that under modern conditions the human and material sacrifices and the moral and spiritual costs exacted by the use of armed force not only fall as a heavy and oftentimes crushing burden upon the nations directly involved in the conflict but have grave repercussions upon all nations of the world. "Armed conflict, wherever it may occur, impairs everywhere the immeasurable value of freely negotiated treaties and agreements as effective and reliable safeguards of national security and international peace. The resulting loss of confidence in such instruments leads nations to seek safety in competitive armaments and to devote a disproportionate share of their resources thereto, thus impoverishing some nations and inexorably lowering the standards of life of all.

"Not only does resort to armed force result in needless loss of human life and shock every humane instinct of mankind, but its disorganizing effects fall upon all phases of constructive human activity, national as well as international.

"As a result of the amazing developments in science and industry there has come about an interdependence among nations, as a result of which the effects of any major disturbance are felt everywhere. As our modern civilization has evolved, as it has developed new methods and processes, as it has raised the standard of living of hundreds of millions of human beings all over the world, it has become increasingly sensitive to shock. A dislocation in any part of its interrelated mechanism throws other parts out of gear. It creates need for prompt and skillful attention at the point of dislo

cation in order to prevent further disturbance and possible breakdown of the whole machinery.

"International trade and financial relations, which are indispensable to human welfare, immediately suffer from the disorganizing effects of resort to armed force. It is through these channels that some of the most direct and most painful repercussions of any major armed conflict spread to the uttermost corners of the earth. Once mutually beneficial international economic relations are impaired or break down, nations are forced into varying degrees of reliance upon their own resources and, consequently, into a further lowering of their living standards.

"Unfortunately the break-down of the processes of international trade and financial relations may occur as a result of other causes than armed conflict. For reasons which I need not enumerate here, nations may elect to embark upon policies directed toward economic self-sufficiency or toward securing immediate though narrow advantages, thus foregoing the broad and cumulative benefits which trade released from excessive restraint will yield. Such policies in themselves create conditions conducive to a threat to peace. The world has witnessed during the past few years the emergence of such conditions and the unfolding of the vicious spiral of economic warfare, political tension, competitive armaments, and actual armed conflict.

"In the particular circumstances with which we are confronted at the present Conference, our objective is the restoration of peace and stability in an extraordinarily important region of the world. But as we seek earnestly the means of attaining these objectives, let us keep in our minds also the pressing need for constructive effort directed toward the creation of conditions which will make unthinkable the use of armed force. There should be no place for resort to arms in an orderly and prosperous world.

"In the Far East probably to a greater extent than in any other part of the world there are taking place great changes in the thought and the activities of vast groups of human beings. Within a few generations, Japan has undergone a great transformation, and both Occident and Orient have witnessed and been impressed by admirable achievements effected by the Japanese people. At the Washington Conference, the governments there represented, after careful consideration of the situation in the Far East, adopted the view that the Chinese people possessed the capacity to establish a new order. The Nine Power Treaty was based on that concept. In agreeing to its provisions, the governments which became parties to that treaty affirmed their belief in the capacity of the Chinese to evolve and carry out a program of political and economic reconstruction. The signatories to the treaty undertook to regulate their relations with China and with one another in a manner which would not interfere with this hoped-for development but would indeed encourage and support it. During the years which have since elapsed, especially the more recent years, the Chinese have made rapid progress along a course which tends to confirm the faith on which the Nine Power Treaty was founded.

"Unfortunately, Japan and China have come into conflict and have resorted to hostilities. These hostilities have steadily increased in scope and intensity. Not only have they destroyed many Chinese