Evening star., 1937-11-14

2Ss sSsa1 ~
BY PERTINAX.
T TAVE We seen the last Of the
IL shilly-shallying OF Great
Britain and France In their
4 L dealings with the totalitarian
states-and particularly with Italy,
which is leading the attack against
"Bolshevism" in the Spanish penin-
sula? There have been a number OF
recent indications that the attitude
of the French and British was hard
ening. But We must always remem-
ber that Premier Neville Chamber
lain and his cabinet colleagues have
always in mind the idea of postpon-
ing to next year, if they can, the SET
tlement OF the Mediterranean issue,
Next year." the British say, I'VE
shall be stronger both in a military
and political sense Our naval and
air armaments, although not yet COM
plete. nevertheless will have been
brought to high degree Of efficiency
You French criticize our delaying
methods, our policy Of 'non-inter-
vention,' as highly dangerous. AS
you explain, they give both dictators
ample time to strengthen and extend
their positions in the Mediterranean,
menacing lines of communication
which are truly essential to the Brit
ish and French oversee empires.
"But our procrastination will, at
any rate, have had a favorable result
it will have proved to the mass of
our population that there is no choice
left for us but to resort to the most
drastic mode of action. Therefore it
will be possible, when we can no
longer delay, for the British govern
ment to secure that national unanim-
ity which we always consider an es-
sential requirement of our defense
whenever we are forced to resort to
arms.
Meanwhile. the economic structure
Of both totalitarian states will be
steadily disintegrating. Then, per-
haps, they will be brought to book
without our being compelled to use
forcible means-that is, will be led
to strike some compromise whereby
our essential interests will be safe
guarded"
Postpone Day Of Reckoning.
Such is the line Of reasoning that
crops up whenever a French states
man talks to one of the ministers of
Downing Street. The Frenchman may
have inferred from some British min
isterial pronouncement or from some
practical stroke of British diplomacy,
that the hour has struck for definite
action, that all temporizing has final
ly been given up by the foreign Of
flee; but then is forced to realize
anew that British policy does not
proceed along straight line-that it
remains fundamentally empirical and
that, on the whole, it strives to post
pone the day of reckoning.
Nevertheless, since last August, a
great change has come to pass. What
has been called Mediterranean "pi-
racy" accounts for it. Mediterranean
piracy: this was the term applied to
the indiscriminate sinking of cargo
boats of various nationalties by sub
marines and airplanes. At once the
British government-which for nearly
a century and half has welded un-
broken power on the seven sea@had
to consider what it would mean for the
empire to have its trade routes ex-
posed to the attacks of ruthless rivals.
But whence came the torpedoes that
sent so many ships to the bottom in
the Mediterranean? Officially, no
charge whatever was laid at the door
Of any government. No government
was named and held responsible ex-
cept by Soviet Russia, which ordered
her Ambassador in Rome to deliver a
note of protest.
However, no doubt was entertained,
in either London or Paris, about the
identity of the attackers. The French
government had in its possession def
mite information that of the four SUBJ
marines which played such havoc at
least two had been constructed in
Italian naval yards not long before, to
the order Of foreign government, and
that on completion had been sud-
denly transferred to the navy Of Gen
Franco, most probably with Italian
crews on board. The figures and let
ters painted on their hulls are known
Similar details have reached the ad-
miralty in Whitehall.
Thus the British and French have
been treated to most impressive DEM
onstration of what control of the Med
iterranean by an enemy nation would
mean in war time. And our British
friends sadly needed some such stimu-
lation of their imaginative powers
Having learned their lesson, they have
begun to ponder the various steps
taken by the Italian and German gov
ernments since last June, when both
struck fatal blow at the system oi
international control that at the time
was being enforced off the Spanish
shores.
After all, was it excessive to assume
that the rulers in Rome and Berlin
had followed . definite purpose-at
first, to get rid Of the watch kept by
British and French in cooperation
with German and Italian units on the
maritime avenues Of Spain, and then
to substitute Tor It . blockade Of theiI