Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-20
BY FRANK H. sIMoNDs.

T would be difficult to imagine any
move at once more daring more
dangerous and in itself more in
congruous than that disclosed in
Il Mussolini's recent interview in a
French newspaper, the Petit Parisien
This paper, by the bye, has the largest
circulation, not merely of any French
Journal, but of any daily in the world
In this interview the Duce squarely
aligned himself and his country on the
side of a revision of the peace treaties
OF Paris.
This declaration instantly calls into
question the whole framework of ex-
listing European order and peace. AS
move in the great italian game of
undermining and destroying the pres
ent French supremacy on the CONT
nent it must be conceded to be both
an adroit and, from the French point
OF view. dangerous if not a deadly
thrust.
What Mussolini is up to is obvious
The peace treaties resulted in the forci-
BILE separation from the defeated states
OF large areas and many millions of
people. The victims of this far-reach-
ing change were Germany, Austria,
Hungary and Bulgaria. After the Rus
sian revolution and the later Russo
Polish conflict, Russia also lost vast
territories extending from the Arctic to
the Black Sea. Thus from 1920 on
ward Europe has been divided between
the nations which were satisfied with
the decisions of Paris-France, Ru-
mania, C2echoslovakia, JugoSlaviS.
Poland and Belgium-and those which
demanded revision.
Italy Gained by War.
The incongruous detail in the Fascist
dlctator's present maneuvers lies pre-
cisely in the fact that, along with the
other victor states, Italy benefited at
the expense of the defeated nations,
and today holds in the Upper Adige
considerable Teutonic population. Be-
hind Trieste she has taken other Aus
trian lands which are inhabited by q
Slav majority unreconciled to the an
nexation. while at Fiume she possesses
Che town which was once the unique
seaport Of Hungary and is now the
object OF Southern Slav aspirations.
Italy, then, most certainly does not
desire revision of the peace treaties in
the sense that Germany, Hungary or
Bulgaria asks for it. Any revision based
upon the principle of self-determina-
ton would mean for the Italians not a
gain but q loss of area and popula-
ton. On the other hand, the italian
claim Is that Italy came out of the
allies. The revision of the peace which
Italy asks is not a restoration of terri
tories unjustly taken, of which she pos
sesseS fair share, but a redivision of
Spoils.
Nevertheless, the Italian proposal
must awaken endless repercussions In
recent months, as, in fact, ever since
the Fascist revolution, MusSolini has
been making strenuous efforts to bring
about German-Italian combination.
All Germans agree that the Polish Cor
ridor must be suppressed and Poland
forced to restore to Prussia the present
district of Pomerelia, former German
West Prussia. and to assent to the re-
turn Of Danzig to German sovereignty.
Means New Partition.
Poland, strongly backed by France,
naturally refuses all such surrender,
which would mean for the new republic
still another partition. Up to the pres
ent time in Germany the policy of
Sresemann, which envisaged peace and
rejected all dangerous adventures, has
prevailed. But Stresemann is dead, the
German Nationalist are growing
stronger and never ceasing to demand
a revision of the peace treaties. Musso-
lini is thus making an open and DELHI
crate bid for the support OF the mon
archical as contrasted with the republic
can elements in Germany.
In the same way he is bidding for
Hungarian cooperation, for Hungary
Is resolved to recover the lands taken
from her by the treaty of Trianon and
bestowed upon Rumania, Jugoslavia
Czechoslovakia, all three the allies of
France. Finally in the Balkins Italy
is angling for the favors of Bulgaria,
which stin purposes to recover Mace
donia. That country is now in the
main in the hands of Jugoslavia. TIA
lys chief opponent and Frances first
friend in the Near East.
BY contrast all French policy rests
upon the resolve to maintain the status
quo created by the peace treaties, be-
cause any modification must in the end
result in enormous accession OF German
power and in the immediate diminu-
ton of the actual territory Of the al
lies of France and eventually in the
grave loss of French influence and pres
tige What France fears above all is
that the suppression of the Polish Cor
ridor and the union of Austria with
Germany would lead directly to the
restoration of that German Mitteleu-
ropa which was momemntarily in ex-
istence during the World War and was
at the back of the dreams of many
Germans even before 1914.
Risky Policy Is Seen.
OF course, it must be clear how risky
Is the italian play. If one assume that
the Anschluss will be realized and Aus
tria Joined to the Reich, nothing is
more inevitable than that Hungary will
not joyfully but necessarily fall into
n A