And the same Holl complains with lyrical sorrow, that no such institution as the League of Nations prevails in the Pacific:
"The League of Nations, despite its shortcomings, is a body that tries to be of service in international questions (!). Yet it is impossible to turn to the League of Nations in any more important conflict because the United States is not a member."
It is, of course, an entirely debatable question as to how far the League of Nations can be an instrument "for settlement of international conflicts". Yet it is extraordinarily symptomatic of the entire international situation that it is just the Pacific Ocean which is not subject to the influence of even so powerless an institution like the European League of Nations.
The notorious Washington Conference (1921) gave rise to certain pacifist illusions, because it put a check on the growth of naval armaments. Yet it eliminated neither the cause nor the chances of the conflict, it merely deferred them. Prior to this conference, American imperialism worked tirelessly and persistently on the strengthening of its military-strategical positions in the fight for the Pacific, for the markets of the Far East. In 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American war, the Americans took Cuba from the Spaniards, an Island near the shores of Central America and the key to the Atlantic side of the future Panama Canal. At the same time, the United States annexed also another Island, Porto Rico, which is of great importance in guarding the entrance of the Panama Canal.
An additional result of the Spanish-American war was the annexation of the Philippines at the entrance of the South China Sea, on the Asiatic shores of the Pacific Ocean. The Philippines can be compared to a revolver, the muzzle of which is pointed at Japan. The revolver is dangerous, because at the very opening of
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