ped. Wilson, who presided over the commission, lacked the
skill and courage displayed by Clemenceau in his conduct of the plenary
sessions, and proved unable to prevent fruitless discussion; possibly he
feared lest he be regarded as autocratic in pushing his pet plan. At all
events precious moments were dissipated in long speeches, and general
principles threatened to be lost in a maze of details. With but two days
left before the plenary session of the Conference and the date set for
Wilson's sailing, the commission had approved only six of the
twenty-seven articles of the Covenant. Fortune intervened. The presence
of Wilson was demanded at the Council of Ten and his place as chairman
was taken by Lord Robert Cecil. The latter showed himself effective. Ably
seconded by Colonel House, he passed over all details and pushed the
final stages of the report through at top speed; on the 14th of February
the Covenant of the League was completed. It was sanctioned by the
plenary session of the Conference that afternoon, and in the evening
Wilson left for America with the document in his pocket. Doubtless it
seemed to him that the major portion of his task had been accomplished.

The mechanism of the League thus proposed is said to have been largely
evolved by Smuts and Cecil, but it coincided roughly with the ideas that
Wilson had already conceived. Much of the language of the Covenant is
Wilson's; its form was mainly determined by the British and American
legal experts, C. J. B. Hurst and D. H. Miller. It provided for an
executive council representing nine powers, and a deliberative assembly
of all the members of the League. The Council must meet annually and
take under advisement any matters threatening to disturb international
peace. Its recommendations must be unanimous. The Assembly was entirely
without executive power. The members of the League were to agree not to
make war without first submitting the matter under dispute to arbitration
or to the consideration of the Council. Failure to abide by this
agreement would constitute an act of war against the League, which upon
recommendation of the Council, might boycott the offending state
economically or exercise military force against it. The Covenant declared
it "to be the friendly right of each Member of the League to bring to the
attention of the Assembly or of the Council any circumstance whatever
affecting international relations which threatens to disturb
international