Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-06-30

France and, unlike the Germans and
the French, the British know 1t. But
they are equally afraid lest Germany.
recognizing this fact, becomes des-
perate and France reckless. The trou-
BILE Is. however, that failure to pro-
claim an obvious truth may make
the Germans reckless and the French
desperate. And I am sure that not
a few Englishmen would regard the
latest French alliance with the So
Wet Union as an evidence o. despera-
ton.
New GESTURES Likely.
As long as British policy is inter-
preted as being either pro-French or
pro-German, the kind Of policy i'm
posed by pro-British considerations
must be overlooked. That policy Is
based upon the recognition Of the
fact that If Germany conquers France.
Great Britain will thenceforth be in
defensible. Meantime, unless all signs
fail, the Anglo-German naval agree
ment, like the proposal of the Prince
of Wales for the determination OF
British and German wal veterans, Is
likely to be followed by further and
similar gestures. To make conces-
sions upon unessentials and thus to
avoid a collision over essentials-that
is the essence of British policy today.
But while it is Anglo-German veter-
ans who are fraternizing, it is the
Anglo-French general stats which are
cooperating.
1t is safe to gamble that the new
British cabinet will continue the way
it has begun. BY following that course,
too, it will render its domestic posi-
ton impregnable if, one day in the
future, Hitler resorts to an act of real
aggression which precipitates another
general war on the Continent. Neither
labor nor the liberal remnant can
charge that the Tories failed to make
the effort and, as long as such a
charge could be made, the situation
of the government in a new crisis
would be uncomfortable If not danger
Gus. Moreover, the British know per-
fectIy we'll that the Germans do not
want to fight them, that Hitler HIM
self has pronounced another Anglo
German war as an ultimate stupidity.
They know also that Hitler is striving
desperately to make every sort of con-
cesSion to remove the necessity OF such
a war.
If the ultimate objective Of Hitler
l. do RrifiSh stand
aside and let Germany crush France,
he will fail, but meantime is there
any reason for not taking advantage
of the present mood of Der Reichs-
fuehrer? II there be. London cannot
discover it. All that has happened Is
that Germany is arming on sea by
agreement and within fixed limits.
On land. however, she is arming with
out limit and without agreement and.
from the British standpoint, what
is worse, is that she Is doing the
same thing in the air. But some
agreement as to the air program
may be reached. That is the next
step and it will be undertaken, no
matter how much Rome howls and
Paris protests.
British Stick TO Reality.
At its best, in a word, British
craftsmanship is still the best in the
world. because it is the only states
manship which in foreign affairs does
not divorce itself completely from
reality and start by dismissing COM
mon sense Until war is declared the
British insist upon acting as If 1t
we're not going to be declared on the
theory that there is just a chance
that it won't be declared after all.
The French say that since Germany
exists. war exists and policy must be
based upon this fact. They may be
right or the British may be right in
asserting that such q course makes
certain q war that was not other
wise inevitable. But. whether they
are right or wrong. the British are
likely to continue as they have been
going, because that Is the way they
think.
Accordingly, none of Hitler's letters
to Downing street in the next few
months Is likely to- be returned I'M
opened. In fact. he may find him
self offering more than he expected
or getting a too ready acceptance
for offers he never meant to have
accepted. If, moreover, he misunder-
stands the import of British action.
then that is his very, very hard
luck-as Bethmann-H ollweg might
remind him If the former chancellor
we're still alive.
Copyright. 1889