Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-04-26

Gays. ne ECONOMIC anu IlIlduCldl
hardships which have resulted from
the application of sanctions are easily
borne by the population. which sees
ultimate victory in Ethiopia within
reach. And the Geneva powers must
count with that spirit. which exists
throughout the peninsula. when they
discuss the question of applying
further sanctions.
There is only one method left to
deprive Italy of the fruits of her mill
tary victory-the interruption Of her
lines of communications with East
Africa by the closing of the Suez
Canal. The matter has not been Of
ficially discussed at Geneva. but dur
ing the past fortnight it has been the
principal object of secret conversations
between London, Paris, Belgrade,
Athens and Ankra.
League Could Close Canal.
There is no question that the Suez
Canal, despite the 1889 convention,
which provides that it must be kept
open to all vessels in time of peace
or war, could be closed by decision
of the League of Nations. That body
is considered by its members as
superstate, which can. for the sake
of collective security, set aside any
existing treaty.
The main responsibility for the en-
forcement of such decision would fall
upon Great Britain. Military and
norfc lo,rhf fl,ot tho
British Empire can today undertake
such a risky action. Britain is Begin
ming to rearm only now, while Italy
has been preparing for war since 1926,
and has during the last seven months
intensified its war preparations for a
struggle with the British.
An army of 1,250,O0O highly trained
soldiers is modified at present on the
Austrian, French and Yugoslav from
tiers 1t is a force prepared for mod
ern warfare.
The Italian air force. $500 planes
strong. is concentrated mainly in
Southern Italy, in Sicily, at Leros and
Rhodes, the two principal air bases in
the Dodecanese Islands. within strik-
ing distance of Alexandria and Haifa,
where the bulk of the British Medi-
terranean feet is stationed.
Navy Yards Speeded Up.
The Italian airplane factories, work.
ing in three shifts "a hours day. are
producing an average of $50 airplanes
a month. The same speed-up of pro-
duction has Teen applied to the navy
yards. The Italian Navy, especially
the submarines and the two-man tor
pedo motor launches, is ready for &C
ton. It is young and untried navy,
anxious to show what it can do and
eager to come to grips with the unde-
feated British Navy.
How many of these diminutive war
ships the Italians possess is secret
which not even the British naval in
telligence has been able to discover.
Against this untried force there are
in the Mediterranean some 1876 British
warships of all types. A British air
fleet of $50 airplanes is stationed in
Egypt. This force could be increased
to LOO, to which might be added the
Turkish aviation of some $50 planes,
and the Yugoslav aviation of about
900 modern planes. Because of the
existing tension with Germany. the
French Navy and aviation are omitted
in the computation of the forces which
might clash in the Mediterranean.
Strategically, the Italians are in
good position.
The British line of communications
between the western and eastern erds
of the Mediterranean are seriously
threatened by the organization of the
small island of Pantellaria as a sub
marine and air base. The island. Sit
uated midway between Southern Sicily
and the African coast, can obstruct
the British fleet moving from Gibral-
tar toward the Suez Canal.
Aviation Efficiency Questioned.
The efficiency of the aviation against
battleships and cruisers is, according
to naval experts, questionable in naval
operations conducted on the high seas
such as the Pacific or the Atlantic.
The airplanes must take large supplies
of gasoline and the bombs carried in
the racks must necessarily be small.
But the Italian aviation authorities
claim that the new Caprone bombers
can carry bombs Weighing tons each.
The trump card of the Italians is
the fact that any eventual action must
take place in the limited space between
Sicily and Asia Minor; the naval air
operation must develop on an area
$50 miles long and 425 miles wide. In
such a restricted area, large and eff
cient fleets of smaller units in air and
sea have definite advantage over
large ships.
1t is because of these patent advan-
tages of the Italians that the British
admiralty is reluctant to engage the
italian naval and air forces at the
present moment. But whether their
counsel will prevail at Geneva is an
other question.
Italy's conquest of Ethiopia can be
frustrated by the closing of the Suez
Canal. This is the only form of
sanctions which can be effective. And
this is why Mussolini warned the
British diplomats in Rome and in Lon