Evening star., 1934-10-07
BY FRANK II. SIMONDS.

tIlS huSIIldH pIOplcIll. octWccll rIdIlCc,
Italy, Russia and the Little Entente
there was agreement in principle that
trian independence. provided no de-
Tended Great Britain, also, was
ready to subscribe to any formal af-
firmation of the inviolability of Aus
trian independence, provided on de-
mand was made upon British resources
to enforce it. But no one was ready
to join with anybody else to make
Austrian independence tolerable for
the AuStrians.
The simple truth is that Austria
cannot live alone. Economically and
politically, independence will not
work. Either she must be the ward
of combination of great and small
powers which will guarantee her ter
ritory and assure her prosperity, or
eventual union with Germany Is ines
capable. That means in simple terms
that France must put up money, Italy
must provide military forces and the
nations of the Little Entente must
make tariff arrangements opening their
markets to Austrian production.
But it is not possible to find basis
of agreement for any such program.
On the contrary, the Italians demand,
as the military protectors of Austria,
what amounts to mandate. Austria
is to be reduced to a status not dis
similar to that which Rome has at
tempted to impose upon Albania
without much success, it must be
noted. Still another alliance with
Hungary on more appealing terms has
been made, with the idea of establish
ing an area Of political control, as
well as of economic supremacy for
Italy in the Danubian basin.
Italy Is Hindered.
Italy, however, has neither the
money nor the economic resources to
make go of such a scheme. She can
buy little of Austria. or Hungary. and
can sell even less to them. And she
lacks the capital to finance Vienna
on the scale required. To keep her
program in operation she would have
to get the money from France and
Great Britain and persuade Czecho-
Sloyakia, Roumania and Yugoslavia to
provide the markets. But neither plan
Is feasible
They are not feasible because France
and Great Britain have already sunk
about all the money they care to lose
in Austria and the nations of the little
entente are not ready to sacrifice their
material interests to assure Italian
hegemony in all Of the Danubian
basin. On the contrary, Yugoslavia
prefers German to Italian domina-
tion at Vienna, and Czechoslovakia is
at least as much opposed to Fascist
as to National Socialist supremacy in
Austria. Italy seems destined, there
fore, to have to undertake the danger
GUS role of protector.
But it cannot be overlooked that at
bottom the hatred of the Austrian
people for the Italian is at once gen.
eral and pronounced. 1t began far
back in history and has been renewed
by recent events as well. Left to them
selves, in any other situation than
that which grows out Of the Hitler
episode, Austrian desire for union with
Germany would be well nigh unan-
imous. Even as it is, if Hitler had
refrained from his quarrel with the
Vatican, it is probable that Austrian
opinion would have been overwhelm-
ingly for the AnschluSs.
Union Is Inevitable.
AS it is, the single question that
exists is whether Austria can be kept
out Of the Reich while Hitler continues
to control Germany. Ultimate union
is inevitable. The Austrians are Ger
mans, their sAetimental and material
interests lie with the Reich They
have no desire for independence, no
national spirit and hostility for the
Italians which has not been diminished
by MuSSolinis autocratic movements
during recent events.
Nothing is likely to happen in the
next few months because all German
attention will be directed at the Saar
For until the election of mid-January
every ounce of 'Nazi' energy and every
pfennig of German fortune will be
flung into the great battle to regain
a region which is foredoomed to eco
nomic ruin and social disaster If it
goes back to the Reich under present
conditions. Once that battle is over.
however, if Hitler wins it, or having
lost it, still survives, he is bound to
turn to the east again and resume the
offensive IN austria.
When that moment comes, then
there is bound to be new Austrian
arisis, perhaps as acute as the crisis
which accompanied the murder Of
Dollfuss and was resolved by Italian
mobilization. All depends then upon
whether Italy shall have succeeded in
making terms with France, on the one
hand, and the Little Entente on the
other. If she has not, then one may
look to see YugoSlavia and perhaps
even Czechoslovakia drift away from
Paris and make terms with Berlin.
That will present to Italy combina-
ton which must appear formidable.
Frances Action.
Much also depends upon the domes-
tic situation in France. The nations
of the Little neutrality-suspicious.
ugoslavia-believe that France is
headed for domestic difficulties. The
same conviction in part explains the
course of Poland which has steadily
drawn away from the French ally and
come to terms-favorable for itself
with Germany. The truth, too little
appreciated in the United States as
yet. is that when France refused to
launch a war of prevention against
Germany two years ago, at the mo-
ment when Hitler came to power, her
whole system of hegemony in Europe
began to crumble.
It has been crumbling ever since.
Today Germany and Italy are the
great rivals in the Danubian area and
the allies of France, feeling themselves
isolated, are beginning to be uncom-
Portable and to conclude that they
must look either to Rome or to Ber-
lin to protect their interests for the
future and abandon their associations
with Paris. Naturally the French are
making desperate efforts to save their
position. That explains their asso-
citation with, the Soviet Union and
their endeavor to establish non-ag-
gressive pacts. But neither resort Can
much affect the situation.
What is taking place is the collapse
"a kag