Evening star., 1930-11-30
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.

BY FRANK H. SIMONDS.
TINE obvious failure of the imperial
conference is clearly an event
of world Importance. Already
Il 1t Is manifest that Europe sees
in 1t the proof that the post
war effort of Britain to escape from
European entanglements and substitute
imperial for Continental interests has
broken down. And as consequence
there is the feeling that the prospects
Of Brands Pan-European scheme are
looking up again after recent fright
ful decline. This impression is likely
to spread even more generally II the
Indian round table goes the way Of the
imperial conference.
Economic Rejection Causes Break.
What is odd about the imperial con-
ference Is that the issue which proved
fatal was not raised by any demand Of
| q dominion for a recognition Of its
matte staff or to get rid of a mass Of
surviving laws which belong to the
Stone Age, when dominions were still
colonies. All the political questions
raised proved quite lacking in dynamite.
The real break came through British
rejection of q dominion proposal In the
economic sphere.
At the basis Of the new British con-
ception Of commonwealth made up
Of all the doninionS and the mother
country has been the idea of some form
of tariff wall inclosing the common
wealth. This has ranged from the ex-
treme idea of imperial free trade, which
Is the Beaverbrook Rothemere slogan,
to imperial preference, which to a de-
! gree exists at the present moment, but
only on the dominion side; that Is, the
| dominions give but do not receive pref
erential favors.
Concerns Are Different.
But the dominions are not in the least
prepared to agree to any imperial free
trade system, permitting British manu-
factures to compete on equal terms with
their own, which would spell ruin for
the dominion industries. And the pres
ent British Government-and Labor in
this is backed by the Liberals-is not
ready to put duty on foreign food
stuffs, amounting to tax on British
food, which would fatally handicap
British exports in competition with
German, French or Italian.
| Subjected to the acid test of an i'm
perial conference, the whole empire
conception has broken down on the
economic side. And this Is a fact OF
very far-reaching significance. For If
the political interests Of the several
dominions and the mother country are
divergent-as has been made clear in
such episodes as the Turkish crisis
and the economic concerns are different,
| then what remains Is obviously only
the sentimental circumstance.
British Influence Has Suffered.
Today it is simple to underestimate
this sentimental factor. 1t Is very real.
It might avail to bring dominion sup
port to Britain in a new hour Of peril.
like that of 1914. But, nevertheless,
nothing is more probable than that 1t
will steadily diminish in Importance as
the several dominions inevitably be-
come more and more completely abb
sorbed in their American, Australasian
and African domestic problems.
Moreover, increasingly the British
will be condemned to act for them
selves. For 10 years their foreign policy
has been hampered by the dominion
consideration. Their action at Geneva
has been circumscribed by foreknowl-
edge of dominion antipathy to Euro
pean commitments, an antipathy tdent1-
cal with that of the United States. AS
q consequence British influence and
prestige In Europe have suffered. And
at the present moment not only Is this
influence at its lowest point since 1914.
but the European situation itself Is
more menacing than at any moment, at
least since the occupation Of the Ruhr.
Britain Must Consider Europe.
Clearly, if 1t were possible to con-
struct some imperial edifice including
all the British dominions, bound to-
gether by both economic and political
ties and economically self-contained,
this would be for Great Britain far
more attractive and safer association
than any to be found in Europe. And
the empire thus fused would be the
most powerful unit on the planet.
But If such a commonwealth Is not
to come OF, If politically and econom-
ically it Is out of the question, then one
day Britain must make up her mind to
return to Europe and play her part in
the continent nearest to her. And II
she postpones such return too long. she
may be caught in the common disaster
which a new war would bring to all.
Until Britain does return 1t Is exces-
sively difacult to see any hope CT q con-
solidation of peace in Europe. The
deadlock between France and Italy over
naval strength and the ever-increasing
bitterness between the two countries can
only be halted when Britain Is ready to
declare her position in any prospective
conflict. And the same Is true as far
as Germany Is concerned.
While British influence in the world
has been reduced as a consequence