Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-28
EUROPEAN LEADERS TURN
FROM POLITICS TO TRADE
Statesmen Hope for Improvement in
International Affairs Through Bet
tering of Economic Factors.


can hardly end other than IN eventual
conflict.
The question in Europe today is noe
between war or peace this year or next.
The problem is not averting some new
conflict just around the corner. T.he
real problem Is to organize peace, to
establish a system Of international re-
lationS which shall eliminate the sense
Of insecurity on the one hand and Of
intolerable inferiority on the other.
And pessimism in and out Of Europe In
recent months has arisen, not because
any reasonable person believed France
and Italy or Germany and Poland would
explode into war soon, but because no
one could fail to perceive that the
questions dividing the two sets of coun-
tries might one day end by precipitat-
ing conflict, and in the meantime must
block the hope Of establishing normal
conditions.
Coming Year Critical.
The year which is coming win be, In
my Judgment, more critical than any
other year since 1924. To say this Is
not to imply that the crisis viii not be
met. On the contrary, II one looks be-
low the surface in Europe, 1t is mani
fest that once more, as In 1924, large
groups Of thoughtful men and women
in every country are sufficiently dis
quieted to insure activity. This Is the
case in Germany, where the Hitler VIC
tory and its immediate international
reprecussions have constituted mani
fest warning. It Is true In Britain,
where the blunders Of Macdonald in
inviting the Franco-Italian clash
through mismanagement of the London
Naval Conference, along with total fall
ure in handling domestic economic
problems, inSures an early fall Of the
Labor government. 1t is true In France,
where, so far, the nationalistic cam
paign against BRAND has failed. Eu-
rope has been for more than IL months
talking politics, because it has been
unable to do business. Interminable
conversation has inevitably served to
exacerbate international issues, which
are always difficult. But this discus
sion has ended by producing universal
alarm. Now, If only there can be even
moderate economic change; II, for
example, the German republic can only
have one or two favorable breaks
which in the nature Of things must
come on the business side-the phe-
nomenon OF Hitler may easily prove as
evaneScent as that of Boulanger, who
f1ourished following the French disas-
tiers of 1870 under circumstances quite
like those which have given Hitler his
vogue.
If Europe can only have better bust
ness and fewer conferences during the
next year, the end Of 1881 Is bound to
be more cheerful. One of the most
unfortunate of the postwar develop
mentS has been the politicians growing
inclination to try to avoid domestic
troubles by staging international con-
claves. But in the present world situa-
ton the result Is invariably to make
trouble abroad without doing good at
home. Conferences thus called are in
evitably poorly prepared, badly con-
Quoted by statesmen whose main con-
Germ at all moments must be for their
home front. Thus, while at London
Macdonald was trying to fortify his
parliamentary situation he found him
self faced with an ever-growing Franco
Italian quarrel, which ended by setting
Europe by the ears.
Weary Of Conferences.
Peace through prosperity and with
out conferenceS-that was the recipe OF
one of the wisest of the old-style Euro
pean statesmen whom encountered
during the London conference. Having
tried all manner Of conferences in the
present year, Europe Is manifeStly
weary Of the present method, and for
the moment even the politicians are
beginning 10 see .LLlaC IL QOeS nOt Solve
their domestic riddles. Wherefore 1t is
my own conviction that Europe will In
1881 talk great deal more about bust
ness than about politics, that even
hereditary enemies like France and Ger
many will resume the exploration of
pathways opened at Locarno and
Thoiry. and, above all, that Tory gov
eminent coming to power in Britain
will impose q solution of the Franco
Italian naval rivalry in the Mediterra-
mean, q course impossible for Labor,
because of its dislike Of France and its
hatred Of FaScism.
In sum, believe that next year viii
see real improvement in political con-
ditions and international relations in
Europe, subject only to the condition
that there be even a moderate business
revival. No one can exaggerate the
change In temper, spirit, purpose, In
Germany between 1923, which was the
year of imitation and the occupation of
the Ruhr, and 1925, which saw stabili-
cation achieved and Locarno ratified.
Then and now the European situation
centered in Germany, and then the
change in German feeling transformed
the whole Continental situation. Why
should 1t not happen again?
(Copyright. 1s30)