The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-07-14
CAN EUROPE STAY OUT OF WAR?
YES Saws Noted Observer; Conflict NO70 Would Destroy Hit
BY MILTON BRONNER
European ManaEer, MA sefFIee

European Nh STR NV
is Europe insured against war
i for the next ten years? Are
the prospects for European peace
better today than they have been
for some time?
It looks so to me, despite the
food Of loose war talk. France
and Germany are like two little
boys with chips on their Shout
ders, but "one is afraid, and the
other dasn't."
France is afraid that another
war might bleed her white and
spell doom even is she won. Ger
many isn't ready. and her leaders
wonder what would happen if war
came, and they had to call up
Jews, Socialists S, Communists,
trade unionists, and Catholics, and
put rifles in their hands.
Such troops might be more
dangerous to Nazi officers than to
the enemy.
The main danger is some unex-
pected and unpredictable event
such as was the murder of Arch
duke Ferdinand of Austria at
Sara jevo twenty years ago. on
form. neither France nor Ger
many want war, and there is rea-
son to believe that even apparent
~ lingo happenings-the menac-
ing speech of Germany's Rudolph
Hess. and the haSty visit of
Frances Minister Barthou to Eng
land-may be paving the way to
peace rather than war.
Hess's speech amounts to whis-
ting in the dark to keep up Ger
man courage. He assured France
of Germany's peaceful intentions,
but got the hurrah boys busy by
asserting that, if France invaded
Germany, France would have to
fight united nation.
TIE knows better. He knows
IL that only part of the Ger
mans would be united. And he
knows that even that part is ill
prepared for a fight with a nation
armed to the teeth with every
weapon of modern warfare.
It is true that both nations are
nervous. France is nervous about
a Germany of 65O00,O00 people
threatening to rearm. despite the
Versailles treaty, Germany is
equally nervous lest France start
a preventive" war.
France wants peace so she can
develop her colonial empire, but
also because another war would
just about bleed her white and be
her finish-even if she won.
Hence her sudden jump into
friendliness with Soviet Russia,
her frantic efforts to WOO Poland
since the latter signed a peace
pact with Germany, her careful
nursing of the Little Entente
CCzechoslovakia, Rumania and
YugoSlavia, and her aSsiduous
pursuit of mutual understandings
with Great Britain.
Hitler, boss of Germany, also
needs peace. Even if he desired a
war, he is today not prepared to
make it. Despite rumors to the
contrary, there is no tangible evil
dence that Germany has any ade-
quate supply of heavy artillery,
tanks or other offensive weapons
forbidden her by the Versailles
treaty.
TIER splendid civilian air fleet
i i might be converted into
bombers, but she has no visible
force of fighting planes. She has
abundance of man power, but not
enough rifles and machine guns
to make them effective. Her for
eign situation does not encour-
age a war mood.
She is even more isolated than
she was on the eve of 1914. The
only strong power even half way
friendly is Italy, and that coun-
try has traditionally been loath to
be on the opposite side from Eng
land.
But it is not only the military
and the foreign situations which
act as brakes upon Hitler. The
internal situation makes peace al
most imperative.