The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-04-26


tinental affairs. Anyhow, they had
promised to enter into no new agree
mentS without the consent of parlia-
ment, which cannot be consulted until
after the Easter holidays. Premier
Flandfn and Foreign Minister Laval
of France sought to persuade England
to line up with France and Russia
rather than with Germany, and they
presented as one argument new mu-
tual assistance pact they had just
signed with Russia. Premier Mus
sOlini, solemn and pessimistic, ham
died matters for Italy with the help of
Fulvio Suvich, undersecretary of for
eign affairs. He had already warned
the world that the issue of war or
peace probably could not be settled at
Stresa.
OF course, the chief question was the
attitude of other nations toward the
constantly growing Pan-Germanism of
the reich under Hitler, and the first
concrete problem taken up was
Frances appeal to the League Of Ma
tions against Germany's reputation of
the military clauses of the Versailles
treaty.
PremierS Mussolini and Mac Donald
persuaded Flandin to moderate the
tone of this protest and not to demand
any specific penalty against Germany,
and then all approved the note and in
a resolution slapped Hitler on the wrist
for hating the progress toward arms
limitation.
The three premiers also agreed that
their nations should act in concert in
promoting an Eastern Locarno, strength
ening the position of Austria, Hun
gary and Bulgaria, proceeding with the
negotiation of an air convention, OPP
posing unilateral reputation of trea-
ties, and calling a Danubian confer
ence in May.
Frances memorandum as submitted
to the League of Nations council when
it assembled in Geneva was still Wig
orously worded document, characteriz-
ing Hitler's military moves as "the
elimination of long and methodical
labors pursued in secret" The &C.
ton, it said, "has deliberately de-
stroyed one of the bases" of Ger
many's collaboration with the league.
"By so doing it has seriously COM
promised the success of international
negotiations on limitation of arma-
ments pursued under the auspices of
the League of Nations and on the
basis of article VIII of the league
novopapto tha poap,oro N DIM, continued
Foreign Minister Laval, who pre-
sented the memorandum, recommended
that Germany be condemned" for her
action, and that the league consider
economic penalties against nations
which, in the future, violate treaties.
Berlin came back at the memoran-
dunn with an official communique
which said:
"If France believes it is necessary
to recall the obligations forced on Ger
many one need only to recall Frances
solemn and voluntary obligations in
the Locarno protocol to take immedi-
ate steps toward disarmament.
"The statements of the French min
listers for years revealed that France
never seriously intended to carry out
the disarmament obligations"
Actually, the Stresa conference re-
suited in little more than a demonsrra-
tion of the continued solidarity of the
three great powers participating. This
was in a considerable measure a
triumph for Mussolini, who had ex-
pected nothing more, but had insisted
on the united front.
THE new mutual assistance agree
ment reached by France and Russia
was at first supposed to be merely an
agreement on sanctions to be taken
against an aggreSsor once the latter
has been determined by the League of
Nations. But Paris correspondents as
sert that 1t is in effect a military alli-
ance such as Russia had been urging
on France and that in certain cases the
signatories will determine for them
selves who is the aggressor without
waiting for word from Geneva. The
agreement is, of course, directed pri-
marily against Germany. 1t is believed
III dIlS ludt huSSld Will SOOU COu-
clude similar alliance with Czecho-
slovakia and the Baltic states, thus
completing steel ring around Ger
many's land frontiers. This agreement
is still subject to alteration and final
approval, and the Soviet press does
not discuss ii.
That Russia still seeks ito maintain
and strengthen the general peace" was
shown by the signing of Russo-Ger-
man trade treaty which it is believed
will greatly increase the volume of
Russia's o-3ers In the reich Under
this accord the Soviet will increase
purchases in Germany by 200O0O.O0O
marks (about SS0OO0,00O), a banking
consortium headed by the Deutsche
Bank and Discount Gesellschaft and
the Dresdner bank to grant import
credits for an average term of five
years. The credits will bear interes.
at the discount rate of the reichsbank
plus per cent The Russian trade
delegation Is thereby enabled to pay
cash for orders placed with German
firms.
The agreement provides further that