Evening star., 1934-08-19

circumstances far more menacing
than those of a year ago. The first
fine rapture" Of his revolution has
passed and the discontents that were
ridden down with so high hand, but
never suppressed, are reviving with
the experience Of failure. That failure
is apparent In every field. Financially
and economically the condition of the
country has deteriorated and the out
look for the coming Winter creates
the deepest apprehension.
r ***
The dramatic exit of Germany from
the Disarmament Conference and the
League of Nations was the high-water
mark of those expectations, but since
then there has been reaction in all
directions. The idea of a vast expan-
sion of German influence In Eastern
Europe has been diSsipated and the
absorption Of Austria is more remote
today than it was when Hitler seized
power. Whatever part Germany may
or may not have had in the DollfuSs
tragedy, the net effect Of that event
has been disastrous to German prestige.
It has left Germany more isolated
in Europe than she has been at any
time In living memory and has shat
tered the billings and cooings between
Hitler and Mussolini at Venice, which
were supposed to presage q marriage
of convenience, If not q union Of
hearts. The supposition never had
-, 4 &Hn
ture Of the facts. For while the
"Anschluss" represents the most dear
objective Of German policy, there Is
nothing against which Mussolini has
so resolutely set his heart as the pres
ence Of Nazi Germany on the Brenner
Pass, in close proximity to the Ger
man-Speaking population which the
peace treaty transferred from Aus
tria to Italian rule. Italy knows from
her own experience what the spirit of
irridentism Is, and she needs an inde-
pendent Austria as a buffer state to
keep that spirit at bay in her new
territory.
The total effect of the Dollfuss
tragedy has been not only to place
Germany and Italy in violent op-
position, but to throw Italy into the
arms of France. Those two countries
do not see eye to eye as to the solu-
ton of the Austrian puzzle, but they
are emphatically agreed in the policy
Of hands of" to Germany. And this
agreement may well lead to a closer
and more permanent understanding
between the two great Latin members
OF the European family. Italy must
have friends, and, since Austria blocks
the path to an accommodation with
Germany, her thoughts naturally turn
to France.
The question is whether France will
be willing to pay the price for an
Italian accord. That price does not
relate to Europe, but to North Africa,
where French influence during the
last half century has elbowed Italy
very much into the background. Mus
solini looks in that direction for room
in which Italy can stretch her limbs
and utilize her surplus population.
She wants the rights of Italian. citi-
ZenSh1p In Tunisia, q revision of
frontiers and access to Lake Tchad
and the markets of tropical Africa,
which are at present the exclusive
monopoly Of France. This is a great
deal to ask for and 1t is doubtful
whether France will give 1t all; but
she will give much to secure her Rhine
front and Italy will take a good deal
less than her maximum to keep Ger
many at arms length from her
troubled Alpine frontier.
In the face Of these tendencies to-
ward stereotyping this isolation of
Germany, Hitler's task Is extraordi-
narily difficult. To withdraw from the
campaign against Austrian independ-
ence would be a palpable surrender on
an issue passionately dear to the Ger
man people and on which he has
more or less staked his reputation.
Indeed, 1t is doubtful whether he can
now call Of the dogs he has unleashed.
Hitler. in fact, Is between the devil
and the deep sea-between the humi-
hation Of hosting the white nag on
the Austrian front and the fear of
mobilizing France and Italy against
him on that issue.
His dilemma is aggravated by the
fact that the Nazi ladder by which
he rose to power is crumbling under
him and that he Is visibly falling into
the arms of the Reichswehr and the
military party. This means that the
whole raison d'etre of his movement
is disappearing and that he is doomed
to be the tool Of the junkers, big
business and the militarists. The
next phase of the German earthquake
may wen make him as much mere
memory as his predecessor in the role
Of the all highest.
(Copyright. 1e34.l