February 14, 1919. The League was to consist of a body of delegates, an executive council, and a permanent secretariat. The secretariat was the administrative branch of the League and consisted of a secretary, general, and a staff of around five hundred employees. All members of the League were represented in the assembly, each state having one vote. The council was to have consisted of 5 great powers with permanent seats that included Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States. However, the United States never did join the League of Nations. Consequently, in later years Germany and the Soviet Union were given permanent seats. There were also four non-permanent seats that later was increased to eleven seats. There was at least one session a year to discuss political disputes and the assembly elected it’s own president. The council’s decisions had to be unanimous. Organizations such as the World Court and the International Labor Organization were associated with the League of Nations. The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919 but the league was not formed until June 10, 1920 and their headquarters were in Geneva, Switzerland. As mentioned earlier the United States never did join the League of Nations this was a key factor that lead to the eventual demise of the League. President Wilson brought the Treaty of Versailles back to the Senate on July 10, 1920 but there was conflict within these senators. Many senators favored it, but approval of a treaty required thirds of two- the Senate . The were senators that opposed were Henry Cabot Lodge, Robert Lafollette, and other isolationists that helped to sway the rest of the congress it. Wilson away from had compromised too much with Clemenceau of France, George of Britain, and Orlando of Italy. The treaty was too extreme for most isolationists to accept. One reservation that Lodge was concerned with was limiting the number of armaments that a nation could have. ...
