Evening star., 1937-10-19
Peace-At ANY Cost.

Peace-At ANY cost.
Europe's frantic efforts to prevent the
Spanish war-or rather the Italo-
German n-Franco-R Russian war in Spain
from flaming into a general confagra-
ton enter upon fresh stage in London
today. 1t would be severe draft upon
the world credulity to suggest that it is
the final stage, for the patience and
devices of craftsmanship in London,
Paris and Rome seem to know no end.
The cloud of futility which has
blanketed their latter-day Vaccinations
has at least a silver lining-peace has
not been broken.
Compromise and coWardice bluff and
bluster-all the arts and articles of
diplomatic resourcefulness, including
military and naval mobilizations-hav
reared their heads during the past two
months of menace and maneuver, yet
the clash for supremacy on the Spanish
peninsula has so far failed to engulf the
rest of Europe in blood. If Americans,
an Atlantics protective width from the
chicanery and turmoil "over there" will
pause to consider that cleaning fact,
our judgment of Europe's shifting strug-
gle may be less harsh.
Deeply determined as Britain and
France are to get Mussolini's "volun-
teers" out of Spain-the bone of con-
tention in the revived discussions of the
Intervention Committee - London
and Paris are actually far more con-
cerned in preventing their demands on
Italy from provoking European conflict.
That is why they have again swallowed
humble pie at Romes hands. They are
confronted even now by more of II Duce's
turbulence his proposal of equal
withdrawal of alien troops from Spain,
man for man, from both sides, which
would leave the loyalists without a
single foreign soldier, while the Italians
alone would still have formidable
army in Frances ranks. The maximum
strength of foreign combatants in the
governments service is estimated at
$4,000. Italian personnel with the in
surgents is variously fixed at between
$4,000 and 100000, with 10000 as prob
ably nearest the exact figure. Yet even
the possibility of compromise on the
withdrawal issue, which Mussolini could
interpret as another victory over the
democratic powers, cannot be excluded,
for it would unquestionably strike Anglo
French statesmen in their present mood,
prestige-shattering anew as it might be,
as preferable to war. That borne in
mind, the key to much of recent pusil-
lanimity in Downing Street and the
Quai d'Orsay will be apparent.
Britain is invincibly determined that
the Spanish republics fate shall not
plunge her into war The Chamberlain
government appears no less constrained
not to let even the preservation OF
Chinas independence breach British
peace. Present-hour London statesman
ship is girding its military, economic
and financial power sleepleSsly, exclu-
sively against the day when the Fascist
relationships will directly challenge it.
No intermediate sideshow like Spain or
China is likely to defect John Bull
from that overshadowing purpose.
France, minus assurance of Britain's
readiness to oppose Hitler and Mussolini
now, will hardly venture to do so on her
own account, even with Russia in sup
port 1t is a situation made to order
for Berlin and Rome. While it persists
Europe's tragi-comic quest for peace,
despite the humiliations and ridicule it
heaps upon distracted democratic gov
ernments, seems destined to continue.
AS long as it keeps the guns from going
OF and the bombs from falling, who
shall say, after all, that the game is not
worth the candle?