Evening star., 1934-08-11
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C. BOwERMAN.
EUROPE BETWEEN WARS,

I
undergoing such suffering as the re
suit Of the last one. gives an impress
sion Of human futility-that mankind
Is fate-bound- Why statesmen? why
electoratesa Why dictators7 whom
God win destroy he first Of all drives
mad" or, more appropriately, "The
devil when he purports any evil
against man first perverts his mind"
Thinkers know what is happening In
the world today. yet are powerless TO
prevent II. Hamilton Fish Armstrong,
editor Of Foreign Affairs" and author
of "Hitler's Reich" with full informa-
tion at his command from his close
contact with European affairs. adds
his warning to the warnings Of many
other informed and thoughtful writers.
In his opinion Europe has never really
been out Of state of war since 1914,
IN spite Of all the formalities of the
Peace Conference. He quotes Gen
Tasker H. Bliss as saying that II the
| World War followed the analogy OF
I OtAACA NdAo ~ WOhAa RAO0o8Ay Inst Cu
| or 40 years, with armed truces.
changes in the contestants and shift
ing Of sides. Twenty years have gone
| by since the shot at Sarajevo, during
which there has never been peace.
Germany has throughout the period
been the key to the strife, first under
wilhelm II, now under Hitler, and
perhaps in q few weeks or months
there will be a new leader. Nazi pol
Icy Is that might makes right Qike the
policies of other political groups and
other nations. Incidentally, but that
policy has met checks in several quar-
ters. The 10-year treaty with Poland
was the result of the realization that
too many objectives could not receive
concentration at one time. The Nazi
fight on the churches, Catholic and
Protestant, has alienated important
sections Of the German people, and
the racial policy has antagonized peo-
pie all over the world. Economically
Germany Is dependent ON the outside
world for raw materials and must ex-
port sufficient manufactured goods to
pay for these II the outside world
viii neither buy nor give credits, Ger
many's economic situation can hardly
improve under any leader. Mr.. Arm
strong believes that Hitler Is prepar-
ing for another war for the purposes
of improving Germany's economic and
/, territorial position and to prevent rev.
olution at home.
A lucid explanation Of the present
state in the enigmatic Balkans is one
Of the most valuable parts Of the book.
Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, traditional
enemies, are making. gestures of
friendliness. Why? There are, Of
course, reasons. Mussolini supports
Austria against Hitler. The explana-
ton Is more complicated than simply
fear Of Hitler. Czechoslovakia Is
against both Hapsburg restoration in
Austria and Anschluss, but she fears
Anschul5s more, for that would mem
her in and threaten her very exist
ence. And over the whole tangle,
France scowls and plots. Her decision
viii be momentous for the course Of
the future. Germany re-arming:
England as isolationist as the narrow
Channel permits; Poland playing q
poker hand; the Little Entente restless;
Italy opportunistic. With these phe-
nomena abroad, and at home a moral
crisis reaching to the heart Of her body
polite, what win France decide to do?
Shall she be cautious or bold, concilia-
tory or combative, active or passive,
hopeful or desperate2"
Mr.. Armstrong; final chapter,
'Wotan Chases Apollo" is a plea for
the way Of persuasion as against the
way Of force, within every nation and
between nations. But pleas for reason
and tolerance seem to encounter deaf
ness as well as blindness In this stub
born postwar and perhaps pre-war
age. A word about relationships,
which are conducive to war, comes at
the end, and Mr.. Armstrong repu-
dates the idea that the Roosevelt ad-
ministration Is q dictatorship. Italy
Russia and Germany are police states;
the United States is not police state,
but has free speech, free press,
free electorate. Mr.. Armstrong has
recently returned from Europe, where
he met dictators, Socialist leaders,
army chiefs, active and exiled states
men and journalists, and through
them was able to study many different
points of view.
THE MISSISSIPPI QUESTION. 1795-
1903. A Study in Trade, Politics
and Diplomacy. BY Arthur Pres
ton Whitaker. New York: D. Ap-
pleton-Century Co.
Published for the American Histor-
ical Association. this volume by DIR.
Whitaker, professor, Of American His
tory at Cornell University, presents
for the first time single study Of
the three factors which were respon-
sible for the expansion of the United
States in the Mississippi Valley be-
tween 1795 and 1903. This expansion
constitutes the Mississippi question.
one Of the most important issues con-
fronting our Nation In its early days.
The diplomatic problem Is the cen
tral theme, but that was conditioned
by considerations of trade and politics.
The Louisiana Purchase, In Jeffer-
sons administration, Is shown to have
been not merely piece of opportun-
ism Of an accident, but the Inevitable
result Of the growth Of American
trade in the Mississippi Valley under
the treaty Of l795. The process is
traced by which Spain lost her hold in
Louisiana while the United States
grew in trade and influence.
The whole history of the period, in
Europe and America, necessarily forms
the background for the study, and is
treated in cause and effect relation
ship. The treaty Of San Lorenzo,
signed by Manuel de Godoy of Spain
and Thomas Pinckney Of the United
States in 1795, is the starting point
for the whole discussion. It gave the
Americans free navigation of the
Mississippi River and q place of de-
posit at New Orleans. Given the en-
terprise Of American pioneers, this
was enough to make probable future
acquisitions, unless the national power
already in possession remained strong
and able to keep forces Of control on
the spot. Many interesting phases of
the subject are described, as the riy-
Nxww A-.-