Imperial Valley press., 1935-11-30
SUICIDE, NOT DIPLOMACY
rs ITALY'S POLICY

If the oil producing nations of the
world join in an embargo on oil going to
Italy, and if Italy as a result carries out
Mussolini's announced intention to send
planes against the British fleet in the
Mediterranean, it will be suicide for It
ally. Regardless of the interests under
lying recent diplomatic maneuvers, it is
apparent that the English have been sue
cessful in obtaining support by most of
the great nations. An attack by Italy
against Britain would precipitate a war
which could have no other end than the
subjugation of Italy.
Italy has built up great war ma
chine, but the armies of other European
nations are not small. England still
rules the sea. France, desperately IN
need of British cooperation if Germany
again looks across the borders, would
throw the full force of her war engines
onto the scales in Britain's favor. Other
nations which voted in favor of the oil
embargo could not afford to lose prestige
by reversing their stand.
Germany is the question mark. If Hit
Ter were to throw in the mass of German
arms on the side of Italy, the resulting
conflagration would be more disastrous
to civilization than the World War.
There remains question: however,
whether two men of the calibre of Mus
solini and Hitler, each of whom desires
to be supreme, could join forces without
themselves clashing.
If Italy were to attack England in re-
prisal for the proposed oil embargo, eV-
cry nation but one which entered the
World War probably would be drawn in
TO conflict. That. one nation is, and
should be, the United States. America
has no interest in the selfish ambitions
and racial hatreds of continental Eur
ope. Americans would have everything
to lose but nothing to gain in such
war
Why Mussolini dares fate, plunging
his country to possible destruction to
satisfy greedy ambition, may remain
forever a mystery. Perhaps he is pay
ing heed to the saying that no ruler Is
really great in history without war.
Or it may be that his mind has become
SO warped with power that he will not
be satisfied short of new Roman en-
pire-or destruction. Destruction is the
most likely.
IL Duce. among other things, advances
as the reason for Italy's invasion OF Eth
iopia the asserted need for more land.
Italy is overcrowded, he says. Yet the
World Almanac shows that Italy has an
average density of 349 persons for each
square mile Germany, where similar
complaint has been voiced, has $50 per-
sons to the square mile. Peaceful little
Belgium, without complaining of need
for new territory, has 698 persons to the
square mile, the Netherlands 610, and
England has 742 In America, several
states exceed the figures of Italy and
Germany. Massachusetts has an aver
age of 528, New Jersey 537 and Rhode
Island 644.
Evidently the surplus population bogey
is nothing but a blind.
The only logical reason, then, why It
ally desires Ethiopia is for its natural re-
sources-which mean power. The lust
for power has brought many great men
low. retarded civilization and held back
the progress of nations. Unless Musso-
lini changes his course, such seems to
be his fate and the fate of Italy.
Coumnist describes actress as the 10