He  then  cites  the  instance,  reported  in  Le  Matin  of
April  14,  of  "two  strange  decisions,"  secretly  arrived
at  in  the  conference,  under  the  Presidency  of  Mr.  "Wil-
son. One  vote  designated  Geneva — in  preference  to
Brussels — as  the  seat  of  the  League  of  Nations.  This
vote  conformed  to  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Wilson,  who  de-
clared, "The  majority  has  passed  judgment.  Geneva
is  adopted."  Then  came  the  vote  on  the  Japanese
amendment  proclaiming  the  equality  of  nations.  This
time  the  majority  voted  for  Japan  against  the  United
States.  "A  majority  is  not  enough,"  Mr.  Wilson  then
declared.  "A  unanimous  vote  is  necessary;  therefore
the  Japanese  amendment  is  not  adopted."

Thus  Le  Matin  concludes,  "In  the  sessions  of  the
League  of  Nations  commission,  there  are  majorities
which  count  and  majorities  which  do  not  count.  They
count  when  they  are  for  us.  They  do  not  count  when
they  are  against  us ! "

M.  Cheradame  asks:  What  sort  of  peace  can  be  es-
tablished under  such  auspices?  Can  we  accept  such  a
method  of  "making  the  world  safe  for  democracy"?

The  wind  was  taken  out  of  the  sails  of  Mr.  Chera-
dame's  article,  the  next  day,  when  the  American  State
Department  issued  a  statement  denying  that  any  Rus-
sian concessions  had  been  granted.    But  even  this  did  not

488


FRANCE  AND  AMERICAN  "IDEALISM"

alter  the  opinion  of  many  Frenchmen — that  Americans
were  liberal  only  when  they  profited  thereby.
