Evening star., 1935-06-28
CAPT. EDEN FAILS
TO STEM ITALIAN
MOVES FOR WAR
British Envoy Finds II Duce
Determined to Conquer
Ethiopia.
OTHER PEACE EFFORTS
HOLD OUT MORE HOPE
Rome Meeting Promotes Plans
for Eastern Security Pact,
to Include Germany.

tCopyright 1935, by the Associated Press)
LONDON. June 28.-On this twen-
ty-first anniversary of the assassina-
ton of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at
Sarajevo-the shot which precipitated
the World War-Great Britain suf-
fered a setback in her role as peace
maker.
Her travelling salesman Of peace,
Capt. Anthony Eden, was back from
his continental tour today. bearing a
report on the avowed intention Of
Premier Benito Mussolini of Italy to
war against Ethiopia in East Africa.
Before reporting to cabinet meet
ing, the only comment of the young
secretary for League of Nations af-
fairs concerning further security ne
gotiation was:
'It is on the knees of the gods"
Although the Ethiopian crisis
relegated other questions of European
security to the background, the Brit
ish diplomats discussed four other
prospective moves on the cheSsboard
of world peace.
These were for an Eastern Euro
pean pact, a Danubian treaty, an air
Locarno and land disarmament.
Finds II Duce Adamant.
Concerning his attempts to dis
suade II Duce from an African cam
paign, it was understood Capt. Eden
would tell his colleagues:
;o; la NJ onoincf
any other solution of the Italo-Ethio-
plan dispute than conquest of the East
African empire.
2. Any attempt at Geneva to inter-
fere with that plan would lead to a
prompt withdrawal by Italy from the
League of Nations.
Capt. Eden was understood to have
outlined Mussolini's reputed plan of
action thus:
An arraignment of Ethiopia before
the League tribunal as unfit" to be-
long at Geneva or to claim the
Leagues protection would be followed
by a demand for an Italian pro-
tectorate over the empire.
With that course of procedure fall
ing, Italy would invade Ethiopia to
effect a complete solution of the
border dispute by force.
Hope for Eastern Pact.
Despite the foreshadowed failure on
his mission to Rome on the Ethiopian
question. Eden was considered to have
achieved considerable success in his
talks, both with Mussolini and Pre-
mier Pierre Laval of France, toward
early conclusion of an Eastern pact
to include Germany.
THE French, however, were under
stood to want all four pending prob
lens settled in a block, while the
British government was eager to push
an air Locarno to an agreement first,
so that failure in any other move
would not result in an entire collapse.
Italy, on the other hand, was un-
derstood to be most interested in a
Danubian pact, wanting to see that
signed before entering any other
agreements.
While Italy, France and Great
Britain were of separate minds on
these matters, some quarters believed
the whole European collective security
system, of which they are integral
parts. might be threatened in the next
few months by II Duce's African ad-
venture"
Sir Samuel Hoare announced in the
House of Commons that the British
government will not be able to give
an official statement concerning Capt.
Eden's visit to Rome before Monday.
The foreign secretary, replying to
George Lansbury, Labor leader, who
asked for an authoritative announce
ment at the earliest possible moment,
said he had rot yet seen Eden.
Capt. Eden and Sir Samuel con-
ferred later in the day, jointly study
ing the result of the Paris and
Rome conversations, but authoritative
sources did not give out the slightest
(See BRITAIN, Page So