Evening star., 1935-01-27
REICH MAY WIN AUSTRIA
WITH PLEBISCITE PLEA
Calm Demand by Hitler for Self-Deter.
mination May Succeed Where
Force Is Sure to Fail.

| justifies the claim Of intolerable In.
equality.
Precisely in the same fashion the
denial of the right of the Austrian
people to unite with the German, as
they clearly desired in 1918, was a
sacrifice of principle to expediency, as
was the later veto put upon the
Austro- German tariff union project.
Looking back over European history
during the century between Waterloo
and the Marne, it is plain that the de-
sire of peoples to unite has often been
postponed by force, but never definite
ly prevented. Thus every precedent
points to the eventual union Of Aus
tria with the Reich.
German Threat Feared.
On the other hand, 1t Is evident
that such union today would consti-
tute a threat to European independ-
ence, because it would create a dis
proportionately great German state at
moment when the control of that
state rests in dangerous hands. That
is the paradox of the present problem.
If the German claims to parity In
! armament and to free decision by
| the Austrian people were voiced by
StreSemann or Bruening they would
deserve the sympathetic hearing of
the world Uttered by Hitler they
plainly lose in appeal if not in logic.
! The people OF the Saar, however,
plainly demonstrated that they pre-
ferred Germany with Hitler to any
other possible alternative. Not i'm
| possibly the same decision might be
expressed by the people of AuStia. But
because the French, Italian and Czech
| peoples, not without evident reason,
fear the consequences for themselves
of the exercise by the Austrians Of the
| right of self-determination, the Aus
| trians are denied what is, after all,
| justice. They are forced to renounce
liberty that other peoples may enjoy
security.
Now, unless all signs fail. the end
of any such policy must be the revolt
Of the Austrian people themselves.
That revolt may be postponed either
| by German violence and stupidity or
| by Franco-Italian coercion. 1t may
be that Austro-G German union will not
take place until Hitler himself has
| disappeared, but the fact that other
nations, in order to serve their own
ends, are denying to the German and
Austrian peoples rights they claim for
themselves must eventually awaken a
resentment which will have far
reaching consequences.
| For the first time since he came to
| power Hitler occupies position OF
great tactical strength. What remains
! to be seen is whether he can exploit
it with intelligence. Any attempt by
force to change the status quo in re-
spect to Austria is bound to rally al
most all the armed powers Of the
continent. Politically and militartly
Germany is isolated to an extent
hardly to be exaggerated. Neverthe-
| less. his opponents can only hold to-
gether so long as common fear Of
Nazi violence dominates all other con-
| SiderationS.
French Hail Agreement
Neither the British nor the French
people have any desire to fight to i'm
pose upon the Austrian people an
independence they fairly generally sus-
pect is unwelcome. The Franco
Italian understanding is popular in
! France, not because of its Austrian
implications, but because it seems to
hold out the promise Of an end to
FTanco-Italian quarreling. Laval halls
from the Auvergne and not from Lor-
raine He has little in common with
his predecessor, Barthou, and nothing
! with Poincare. He is not senile
romantic like BRAND and he has little
of the intransigence of Tardieu.
The French are tired, diSillusioned
and in the most favorable mood for
| an understanding with the Germans
| since 1924, when on the morrow Of
the occupation of the Ruhr they dis
missed Poincare and agreed to the
Locarno pactS. The British, on their
part, are showing more interest in the
European situation than at any time
since 1929, when Labor came to power
and Ramsay MacDonald's vanity de-
stroyed the truce of Locarno. And
the British are eager to put an end
to the continental chaos. Everything
really depends now upon Hitler. II he
tries to seize Austria, he is lost. II
he puts the British and the French
in the situation of denying Austria's
right to decide its own fate, agrees to
abide by the decision Of fair election
conducted by the League and Subordi-
mates the question of armamentS to
that of Austria, he may yet succeed
in dissolving the combination he has
raised against his adopted country.
Hitler has proclaimed gospel OF
force, but force cannot help Germany
at the present moment. If he should
now undertake to turn to his own
account the events of the Saar, to ask
for the solution of the Austrian issue
the same method applied to the Saar,
and, meantime, avoid all exacerbatiop
of British and French feelings, the
consequences might prove astonishing.
For at bottom there is no gainSaying
the justice of the two German claims
the first to parity in armaments and
the second to the right Of the German
people, alike in the Reich and in the
Austrian Republic, to an equal enjoy
ment of the blessings of self-deter-
mination with all other peoples.
Actually, the Germans today, as fire.
uuently before, have an almost un-
anSwerable case, the only handicap
upon which may be the manner In
which it is presented.
(Copyright. 1889
Afghanistan's Former