Evening star., 1936-12-25
Peace Awaits
Hitler Move
in Spain
Nazis May Feel Check
on Rebels Would
Bring Discredit.
BY PERTINAX.

PARIS, December Is (By wireless).
I'm his Berchtesgaden villa, Chan
cellor Hitler Is called upon to solve
the following problem: Will he send
fresh troops to Spain or will he re-
fuse to plunge deeper in Spanish af-
fairs and reject unlimited liabilities?
Responsible leaders of the Reichs-
wehr have explained to the Fuehrer
that German rearmament Is not yet
complete and that he ought not to
incur the risk of general war; On
the other hand, for several weeks q
German star has practically taken
charge Of military operations against
the Valencia government, and any
check suffered by the Nationalist
cause will rebound to the discredit of
Hitlerian Germany. For the first
time upon an international plane, Hit
Ter may apprehend that he has played
. losing gamble. Hence, the German
Fuehrer is in anxious deliberation.
The strategy followed by the British
and French governments for the pres
ent is to prevent the indirect inter-
ference in the Spanish civil war of
Germany and other powers from be-
ing turned into direct Intervention.
For that reason, the greatest possible
use is made of the London Control
Committee and of its recommended
tions.
Result Far From Certain.
It is problematical that the scheme
worked out by the committee in order
to control Spanish harbors. railways
and roads should yield definite re-
suits, even if it is enforced on the
first Of January, which Is far from
certain.
The true aim of the Paris govern
nlent is to win Germanys assent, at
any rate, to the principle of that
scheme and thus make it more diff
f1cult for her to intervene directly and
openly unfurl her flag through sending
new bodies of soldiers.
For that reason great Importance is
attached to the fact that wo German
cargo ships were stopped by Spanish
government cruiser and brought to
Bilbao today and that six German
afrplanes passed over Spanish Morocco.
1t is realized here that such half
concealed contributions to the Ma
tionalist cause will not be suppressed
for a long time, but it is thought a
break with Germany could be avoided
If she agreed not to go further and
showed enough restraint to enable tie
Western powers to pretend the neu-
trality pact is not merely a sham
Such is the gist of instructions wired
yesterday to British and French AM
bassadors accredited in countries rep
presented on the London committee.
Major Gap in Scheme.
Compared with this main purpose,
the details of the scheme for control
over Spanish harbors, railways and
roads are relatively unimportant. The
major gap in it arises from Germany's
and 1taly's refusal to submit their
respective airdromes to any kind Of
supervision. under the pretext that no
provision was made by the London
committee to hinder the enlisting Of
foreign volunteers the lending Of
financial assistance, and the export
Of the gold reserve of the National
Bank of Spain.
French diplomacy now strives to fill
that gap by means of new proposals
dealing with those various points, but
nobody can reasonably expect that
such complicated system will work
in the near future, and, to start with,
Hitler's decision not to increase the
number of German troops fighting in
the peninsula would be welcomed as
likely to remove the most immediate
danger to general peace.
A good deal will probably depend
upon the purpose that directs Hitler's
relation to Spain. Is he really afraid
Of the headway made by communism
in Germany under the surface, and
does he consider the fate of his re-
gime bound up with developments in
the Iberian Peninsula? Or does he
merely want to get footing in Spain
so as to threaten the mobilization Of
the French Army across the Medi-
terranean and thus bring pressure to
bear upon the western powers with a
view to being given by them a free
hand in Central and Eastern Europe?
If the first alternative is true, he may
be willing to take great risks. Other
wise, he may still retrace his steps.
(Copyrisht. 1850