Evening star., 1935-11-17

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chances are that Great Brit
4 ain will come out on top. For
Britain has come back with a venge-
ance. From being, on the Conti-
nent. a semi-absentee who OCCASION
ally intrigued in Berlin and Rome
against the very treaties which it had
signed and helped impose on Ger
many, the British have again become
a major factor in the European
picture-the central figure, in fact.
Today Great Britain is becoming
the new sun in the European system
and already various lesser bodies are
beginning to detach from old afilia-
tions and are ready to play satellite
to this returning SUM-
Every one is astonished, some are
displeased, but facts are facts. Con-
slider the development since the World
War.
The British people. irrationally
isolationist, were disposed to criticize
the final settlement and grumble about
their useless sacrifices. Britain, it
was said, would pull away from the
dangerous and corrupt continent and
hand in hand with the United States
manage its own affairs The CONT
mental powers could more or less go
hang.
U. S. More Isolationist.
But alas, the United States was
even more isolationist than Great
Britain. 1t simply could not see the
outstretched English hand, or, if it
did. it suspected the British hand
clasp and wishes to keep its distance.
The British were patient, they
curbed their resentment, they in
structed their journalists to try to
understand" the American position.
The Americans made one or two
grudging concessions, such as naval
equality. But beyond that, and de-
spite the State Department and
American pro-Leaguers, they were un-
willing to 60.
The British meanwhile had let war
disgust drive them into comparative
disarmament. The greatest European
democratic power seemed on the de-
cline. Leon Trotsky, Russian arch
revolutionary, wrote big book prov
ing it.
Gradually the aspiring champions
of the strong arm school decided that
the old lion was really decrepit and
that the British Empire was rotting to
pieces. British power and prestige
were challenged.
First the Japanese began eliminat-
ing British influence and interests
from China. The British offered the
United States an alliance against
Japan, and when the Americans re-
fused. did nothing.
Compromised With Reich.
Then the Germans, whom the
British had encouraged some anyway,
ran amuck and began an enormous re-
armament In defiance of a treaty
signed by Great Britain. The British
hemmed and hawed, disapproved, but
compromised.
Then the Italians decided that re-.
gardless of British disapproval, they
would swallow Ethiopia.
Suddenly something happened and
the old lion awoke with roar. The
British fleet was dispatched to the
Mediterranean. A much bigger feet
was promised, the army and air serv-
ices were revamped and the entire
League of Nations machinery was put
in motion against this last peace
breaker.
Poland, Japan, Bolivia and Para
quay had performed acts OF aggres-
sion. Germany had spat on the YER
sailles treaty-and nothing had hap
pened. Now things began to happen.
British policy became adroit.
Realizing that they coulo not longer
dominate the world alone. that the
Americans-preferred as allies-would
not help, the British might have had
to come to terms with France or Ger
many individually.
League Cemented Empire.
But a new situation had developed
within the British Empire-the League
of Nations, instead OF dividing the
mother country and her grown domin-
ions, had come to be the chief cement
between them. Therefore the British
revamped the League and BY . last
minute blood transfusion ssv9 its LIE.