Evening star., 1937-02-28
FOES INDIGESTION SPURS
REICH'S COLONIAL AIMS
Hitler Unwavering in Refusal to Accept
Non.Aggression Pact lnvolv-
inc Soviet.
ing Soviet.

IleeI. bdTSe utSlIOytlS dlO Su1AAo
rines-prohibited under the Versailles
treaty-were already in the process
of construction; two months after the
signature of the treaty the. German
admiralty announced that IL subma-
rines had been launched and would
begin their trials forthwith. Then 1t
was announced that the next two
pocket battleships of the Deutschland
type, put on the slips six months ear
lier, would weigh not 10000 tons as the
treaty had provided but $4,000 tons
to match the new French Dunkerque
vessels. The two other battleshipS OF
the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst class,
designed to weigh $4,000 tons, were
changed practically overnight into
35 ,0O0-ton ships Both these vessels
now are launched, and two more were
put on the slips recently.
Speed of Construction.
While in the United States, in Great
Britain and in France it is estimated
that the construction of a battleship
must take between four and five
years, the Germans are building them
in three years. They have no 40-hour
weeks nor any six-hour days.
The French naturally are worried.
Despite the endeavor Of the Socialist
and Communist workers to cooperate
with the government, trade-union
regulations are strictly enforced. Their
naval program. to match eventually
hiyod -Ytoliay, fnrra
is necessarily slow. And their risk OF
finding themselves confronted by a
superior naval force is great. France,
despite her self-sufficiency, must i'm
port every year no less than 10000
tons of products from overseas.
But if Premier Baldwin so light
heartedly prefers to give Germany
free hand in Eastern Europe-so must
his declaration of February 18 be In
terpreted-the reason Is that he and
the British general staff do not be-
lieve that Germany is prepared to
strike yet.
There is no doubt that from the
strictly general staff point Of view
the Reich has still some way to 60
before it reaches that famous 100
per cent preparedness required by
careful generals. But despite their
deficiencies, the German general staff
believes that the Reichswehr will be
able to realize its purpose in Eastern
Europe within a few months.
The 20 years of hardship ha
taught the German people to live on
mighty little. The general staff Is
young and does not believe in the
100 per cent prepare ton required in
all text books on warfare. The gen.
erals Of the Reichsw' feel that the
spirit of the =. army-an important
item in any warfare-is unconquer-
able, and that France is h.. lstrung
and Great Britain hesitating and
unprepared, despite the huge sums
she is now devoting to her national
defense.
German Leaders Opinion.
Furthermore, there is an opinion
among the German leaders-and that
opinion must be based on facts, since
the German government is extremel.'
active in RuSsia-that the internal
situation Of the Soviets is not what
it ought to be. They believe that a
determined attack would eau defec-
tions-if not in the ranks of the
army, whose morale is impregnable-
at least among several races in the
Soviet republics. Because of the vast
ness of the territory, the central gov.
ernment has incomparably greater
difficulties in controlling all its men,
ber nations than has Hitler or Musso-
lini. Old nationalistic sentiments still
inger among the populations of the
Ukraine, the Cossack territories and
the Caucasians. On these internal
dissensions, not apparent in times of
peace, the German general staff is
counting in the event of q war against
the Soviets.
Berlin is listening to the appeals
for peace which come periodically
from Paris, London and, more subtly,
from Washington. They have now
announced their terms in London: II
bloodshed is to be avoided, they must
be given colonial empire. If the
Western nations-principally Great
Britain-refuse this request, it will be
difficult to change their determine
ton to take new territories from the
nation which offers the least resist
ance. No financial assistance, nc eco
nomic advantages can shake their re-
solve, which becomes greater as they
see the leaders of the European de-
mocracy wavering and incapable of
adopting a firm and definite atti-
tude.
Copyright. 1877