Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1936-03-12
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
Continued from Page u

by the populace because their pres
ence signified to the world at large
that one more-the final-military
clause of the Versailles peace treaty
had been nullified
The clause reserving a part of the
Rhineland as a demilitarized zone
was inserted at, so to say, the point
of the bayonet; for that reason Ger
many did not feel she could keep on
respecting it. But-the trouble was
that this same stipulation had been
transferred to the Locarno treaties
into which Germany entered vOlun-
tarily. Well, a reason for ignoring
this was at hand: France, Hitler said,
had violated the LOcarno pact by
signing a treaty of alliance with Rus
STA. Consequently, there was no rea-
son why the German government
should feel itself bound by the agree
ment.
Reaction.
To the declarations of Hitler and
to his march into the Rhineland there
was instant reaction in all the great
power capitals.
Paris waXed desperately indignant;
strengthened her Notifications along
the German border; formulated a
complaint to the League of Nations
council; asked the representatives of
the signers of the Locarno treaty to
come to the Seine city for an i'm
mediate conference, and prepared to
demand that Germany withdraw her
troops from the Rhineland. AS re-
suit of this action the League of Ma
tions council meets tomorrow to dis
cuss the French request for financial,
economic and possibly military sane
tions against Germany.
In London calmer judgment pre-
vailed, but it was made clear that
in the case of some little Franco
German incident-some little border
clash, for instance-Great Britain
would unhesitatingly line up with
France. Rome at first explained lack
of interest in the whole business,
then come to other conclusions: If
Italy declared herself willing to en-
dorse the French position, perhaps
France would not take part in the
oil sanctions still-vaguely-c ontem-
plated as a punitive measure against
the Italian government for aggres-
sion against Ethiopia; so, soon the
world learned that Italy, provided the
occasion arose, would side with
France. Brussels was frightened, and
the Belgians Immediately started to
follow the French example of
strengthening the border fortifica-
tions. Moscow issued a statement to
the effect that lit was just another
speech; another treaty broken
Vienna was plainly nervous and pes
simistic about the whole thing. The
capitals of Czecho-Slovakia, ROu-
mania and Jugo-Slavia let it be known
that their sympathies were with the
French. In Washington it was de-
clared by all those who have some
thing to do with American foreign
policies that the United States defin-
itely must remain outside all future
European squabbles, the present one
especially lncluueu.
War Prospects.
AS soon as the first flutter of ex-
element had petered out. it was gen.
orally believed that the Hitler action
would not necessarily lead to any war;
the difficulties would be allayed in
some manner. That is likely to be
true. But there still remains the
fateful possibility of one of those
seemingly small Incidents which so
often have been the preludes of armed
conflicts. Of what may happen these
days, no one can have any safe ad-
vance opinion, for events move and
change on schedule of hours. One
thing is certain, and that is that since
the world war no greater tension than
the present has existed in Europe.
Peace Overtures.
Turning from what may be-and is
not hoped to be--a most sinister pic
ture of possibilities, one finds in Afri-
ca faint reason for qualification,
for Ethiopia has accepted the League
of Nations proposition to enter into
peace negotiations with Italy. Soon
thereafter, Italy made it known that
she, too, might talk peace, on certain
conditions. Ethiopia stipulated none.
At the present moment it is not
expected that peace will become a
fact at once, for Italy is supposed
to demand so much territory that
Ethiopia will object. But it may be
that after some bargaining basis for
actual negotiations may be agreed to.
New japanese Premier.
The military Tokyo revolt has been
succeeded by relative calm, and the
emperor of Japan has charged his
former foreign minister, Koki Hirota,
with the task of forming a new gov
eminent. Hirota, although accept
able to the strongly militaristic ele-