Evening star., 1935-12-29
WAR BECOMES BATTLE
OF PEACE AND LEAGUE
Ii Geneva Accepts Dishono=, Realistic
Theory Of hoare Or Similar Sub
terfuge Could Prevail.

. 4ASo44 ~44OS4AOlNC Aldo bCC1 1QI A1o1iGA ~
Japan to push its operations in North
China and Outer Mongolia. For Ger
many. too, opportunity continues to
broaden. If and when, moreover, Eng
land is fighting Italy, with but scant
support from France, then Hitler can
embark upon his Austrian or Lithli-
anian adventure without further con-
Germ.
What has happened in recent weeks,
what the Hoare-Laval compromise il
| Illustrated. has been a collision between
old-fashloned diplomacy and new
League methods. Old-faShioned di-
plomacy. confronted by the plain pros
| pect that a prolongation of the Ethio-
plan war would spread conflict over
Europe and encourage violence in Asia,
undertook to hquidate the African war
on the only terms upon which liquida-
| tion was possible. In a word, it set
out to prevent European war at the
expense of a small African state. And
its methods were frankly and brutally
realistic. But its objective was to pre-
serve peace.
The League has now intervened to
prevent making peace on such terms
because these did not square with the
principles of Geneva. As a result the
war in Africa must now continue until
Ethiopia Is crushed or Italy defeated.
In the meantime, If the League en-
deavors to impose fresh sanctions it is
practically certain that war will spread
to Europe. For the champions of the
League in the United States such an
extension Of the area of conflict will
seem a price worth paying to estab-
lish the prestige of Geneva and to
demonstrate the efficacy of the sane
tions system. For Europeans, by con-
trast, particularly for those who may
have to fight, the price may presently
appear excessive.
Either Italy or League.
AS it stands, the situation comes
down to this: The League has defeated
a plan which insured peace at the
price of its own dishonor. It is now
to proceed with its war upon Italy to
the point where Italian collapse will
make possible the imposition upon
Italy of victor's peace consistent with
League principles. For Mussolini, for
his Fascist party, for his country,
therefore, the war is henceforth a war
for existence. If the League succeeds
in imposing its terms upon Italy, then
there will be revolution in the penin-
sula, with consequences for the rest Of
the world wholly incalculable.
Assuming that the League presently
reduces Italy to anarchy, and thus to
submission, without precipitating a
European war, then it will at once
have to turn to the Japanese case and
embark upon similar campaign
against a similar aggressor. And,
whether II Duce indulges in his mad
dog" war upon England or not, it is
perfectly safe to assume that Japan
will fight back from the start. q,
Meantime the quetsion of Ethiopia
has become an issue Of domestic poll
tics both in England and France. Labor
IN England and the Left in France
have seized upon the League as club
to use against their opponents and
they are both equally eager to destroy
Fascist italy. The diff1culty In the
French case is, however, that it is ex-
cessively doubtful whether either the
army or the navy will permit itself to
be employed to reduce Italy to COM
munism at the dictation of Geneva
and in company with the British. And
without the French naval bases Of
Toulon and Bizerta at their service the
situation Of the British feet in the
Mediterranean would be difficult.
Realities Como to Fore.
Anyhow, as Stanley Baldwin said.
Europe has now passed from platitudes
to stark realities. Three possibilities
remain: Oil sanctions may be dropped
and decision left to Italy and Ethiopia
on the battlefield. The League pow
ers, under the leadership OF Great
Britain, may press for oil sanctions
and prove that Mussolini was blufing. |
Or, with the attempt to impose such |
sanctions, II Duce may demonstrate |
that Laval and Hoare were right by
resorting to a war of desperation.
As far as the League Is concerned, If |
1t fails to impose the oil sanctions its |
impotence viii be disclosed. As for
Mussolini, If he takes oil sanctions
lying down, then he win not only be |
but finished In q fashion
even more ignominous than was VIII
liam II. Baldwin, Hoare, vansittart,
the responsible officials Of both the
British foreign ofiice and the Quai |
d'Orsay, all believe II Duce win fight. |
II the deliberate Judgment Of those
who should know is correct it must be |
plain how close to war Europe now
Is, as result Of the League rejection
Of the Hoare-Laval proposal.
II