Page:Confessions of an Economic Heretic.djvu/117

 “have nots,” irrespective of the consent of the inhabitants, or a pooling of all such possessions under an international government. It was not possible in 1919 to endow a League with such sovereign powers. It may still be impracticable, with only three of the seven Great Powers as reliable members. But it would be well to recognize that dependence either upon mutual goodwill or community of interests, is inadequate to get down the barriers to free economic intercourse and to meet the demands for equal access to raw materials and equal rights of migration.

It is becoming more and more evident, also, that a dominant underlying issue is that of population. For though pride of possession may count heavily, the possessive motive rests ultimately upon the vital need of finding food and the land on which to grow it for increasing national populations. If an international government with powers to regulate the supplies of foods and raw materials through free commercial intercourse could also regulate the growth of populations in the different countries, all the chief sources of conflict between nations might disappear. Since this is at present unattainable, a League competent to secure world peace must at any rate be endowed with the right to regulate the rate and direction of the migration of populations so as to promote the best development of world resources with the least disturbance of national life.

Such a League, with the requisite sovereign