Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1936-11-12
World
Conditions


w orLd have been able to
Conditions piece together the
many loose ends OF
the distressing conditions extant
throughout the world. 1t is to be
recognized, of course, that when a
man like Dictator Stain of Russia
makes statement that war in Eu-
rope is just ahead, it awakens the
peoples of the world with a sudden
start. That is the spectacular SIDE
But there is much more about Eu-
ropean political conditions than is
disclosed in the Stain declaration.
The thing that students and OBJ
servers of European affairs can see
in conditions abroad, as they view
them in the light of our own State
Departments information, is that
a gigantic battle is on between two
schoolssof thought. On the: one hand
is communism. On the other hand,
and just as firmly entrenched and
as deeply determined, is fascism.
Followers of these two lines of
thought are both literally and figu-
ratively at each others throat, and
the picture when pieced together,
can lead to no other conclusion than
that which Stain foresees, namely,
war. 49, .s- +
I have lately heard some observ-
ers make the. statement that the
Spanish rebellion is the crux of the
problem. cannot agree with that.
Spain. and her revolution may prove
to be the spark that ignites the Eu-
ropean powder key, but Spain and
her revolution are just incidents in
the developments that came origin
ally from the overthrow of the
Cars government in Russia nd
the establishment for the first time
of a commune of the proletariat in
the WORLD. ~. = II =; $50
It. was. unfortunate for the world
and for those people who wanted to
promote peace at all times that the
Versailles treaty had to take shape
as it did. The Versailles treaty sub
jugated Germany beyond all reason.
I think that will be accepted by all
save the; most violent partisans of
the late President Wilson. 1t seems
to me, however, that the Versailles
treaty has proved to be- the second
stage in the chain of circumstances
that led to Mussolini in Italy, Hitler
in Germany, overthrow of the royal
lists in Spain, and lately the election
of a peoples front" in France.
Any analysis of that chain of cir
l. ~ foi1 t0 Ia
the effect. the Versailles treaty had
upon European conditions. In. some.
ways, the effect was direct; in
others, it was indirect, and the full
import of the treaty provisions were
not evident until eight or ten or
even twelve years after the four
| great powers had made that treaty
effective and, they believed, effectu-
ally disarmed and bottled up Ger
many.
After many conversations with
diplomats, foreign students and
Washington government officials, I
believe too much Importance cannot
be attached to the attempt made
by the Versailles treaty to break up
political jurisdictions. The treaty, it
will be remembered, created a vast
number of insignificant and rather
helpless states in Europe. They were
supposed to serve as buffer be-
tween the larger nations and pre-
vent snarling and making faces
among those world powers that had
engaged in the last war. The effect,
it has now been proved, is exactly
the opposite. +
Throughout Europe, according
to the official and unofficial word
that I get, there
Hafred" is new kind of
Exists hatred among ma
tions. It is not the
hatred that obtained between
France and Germany under Kaiser
Wilhelm. 1t is hatred not between
the statesmen of the various coun-
tries, but among the rank and file
of the people. That is to say, it is a
yengeful feeling and when. that is
understood, it is not difficult to re-
alize how vicious the undercurrent
| VI 1CldC1OllS ID 1IOlIl IIuoold Oll IIlS
north to the Straits of Gibraltar, or
even into Africa on the south.
To bring this condition into today's
light, one hardly need look further
than the various cabled dispatches
from European capitals, each tell
ing a story how the respective gov
ernments are watching the Spanish
revolution. Again, the Russian Stain
puts the thing into spectacular
relief. If reports can be accredited,
and official information indicates
that they can be regarded as having
a basis of fact, Stain is ready to
Elend assistance to the so-called loyal
list armies in Spain.
Now the loyalist armies, represent
ing the government, that is barely
holding on. by the skin of its. teeth,
are wholly communistic. Hence,
Stalin's interest.
. But the Russian dictator might be
regarded as horning into mess
|: that does not. concern his nation,
except, for another and most inn
portant piece Of information. That
information, not officially confirmed
but generally believed, is to the
l