-7- \ basic policies of any of the top-level powers. It is not so much the ingenuity displayed in working out the details of a disarmament scheme that matters as the way in which it accords with the prevailing balance in the relationships of the powers, There are many reasons for treaty failure not directly connected with the subject of the treaty itself. Most of these arise out of difficulties of language and uncertainties of intention. events, Treaties deal with future contingent No matter how carefully they are drafted, there are always unforeseen situations arising in which the meaning of the treaty is in doubt, Thesurround ing circumstances are constantly changing, and every new appearance of an old situation has its degree of novelty, The language“in which treaties are drafted é yr is the language of common use, made up of words zoften heavily laden with ambiguity and possessing extensive twilight zones<e murky meaning, The Grafters of treaties spend long and dreary days and nights trying to forecast all possible contingencies, yet the ink is scarcely dry on the signatures when new and troublesome situations begin to appear. flict over classification. Each novel case raises a con- Statesman White is quite certain that it goes into this verbal category while Statesman Black just as firmly insists that it goes into that one. The fact that each one's interpretation happens to accord with the interests of his own country does not remove the fact that both honestly believe they are right. So far as the dictionaries show, they are. This fact is familiar enough in the performance of compacts between individuals, but usually there are ample procedures for arriving at a settlement of disputes in accordance with the commonly accepted values of the community. In the international society the procedures are rudimentary and normally cannot be _ invoked unless both parties, including the one which would gain more by having no decision, consent to the process, Furthermore, the body of universally | accepted notions as to what justice requires in the performance of treaties is painfully small.