Evening star., 1937-08-15
i. s. PEACE MOVE AWAITS
LULLIN RIVALRIES, ABROAD
England Turns Cold Shoulder to Roose.
welt Suggestions, Preferring Arma-
ment Safety to Conference Risks.

daisy petals and chanting He lovd
me, be loves me not has created al
uneasy feeling in Paris. What ar
the British up to?" ask the Frenc1
diplomats. They know that it is no;
fear on Mussolini's part that has
caused this exchange Of letters which
may lead to visit to Rome from Sir
Robert Vansittart, the British UNDER
secretary of state There is no doubt
in the minds of French diplomats that
the olive branch offer was prompted
by uneasiness in British naval and
political circles regarding the situation
in the Far East
The japanese are aiming not only
at the occupation of the five prov
inces, but also at the control of the
important Yangtze River trade. Lon
don knows as we'll as Washington that
as soon as Japan is permanently
established in Northern China. she
will open factories there; the raw
materials and the cheap labor which
can be obtained in China by the
Mitsui and Mitsubishi barons will
eliminate completely Western COM
mercial competition from the Asiatlc
mainland.
Great Britain cannot afford 10 have
enemies at the gate of her communi-
cations with the Indian Ocean and in
the Far East at the same time.
Following her traditional policy OF
becoming the devils brother until
Lr,el l. -
decided to extend a friendly hand to
Mussolini then wait and see what will
happen. In this policy she has over
looked altogether the interests and
the policies of her continental ally,
France
While European diplomatic seas are
temporarily calm, the Spanish civil
war privately concerns all continental
foreign Offices, A compromise or
paper has been reached regarding the
non-intervention policy in Spain. All
have agreed that Franco should be
given belligerent's rights and that
the volunteers" should be recalled
In actual fact that agreement, for
the time at least, Is not worth the
paper on which the diplomats have
placed their signatures.
The great fight between democracy
and autocracy-the fight between Rus
sla and France on the one hand and
Italy and Germany on the other
continues. France and Russia main.
tain that the belligerent's rights shall
not be granted to Franco until the
l,Jr
Germans and the Italians, who have
no intention of withdrawing their
troops from Spain until Franco has
occupied Madrid and Barcelona, main
tain that recognition shall come first.
France Back of 1t All.
The British, who are realists and
would like to reach a practical COM
promise which might allay the fears
OF all concerned, are getting tired of
this academic discussion. They know
that the reason behind these in
terninable theoretical discussions is
the concern of France for her Sc
curity and her position In Europe
Hence, they have revived the idea
Of four-power non-aggression pact.
Chamberlain's letter to Mussolini and
the latters reply have not been given
to the public. But it is known that
they dealt with the organization of
peace in Europe.
The Germans have not objected to
this new love feast because they have
been urging a Western non-aggression
agreement since last Summer. But
both the Germans and the Italians
have taken definite stand that
Russia is an Asiatic power which
should not be included in any West
ern agreements, and that C1echoslo-
vakia jeopardized her right to be in
cluded in such an agreement from the
moment she signed a military con-
vention with the U. S. S. r.
| The exchange Of letters between
Mussolini and Chamberlain was fol-
lowed almost Immediately by a much
publici7ed visit to the Quai dOrsay
by the Soviet Ambassador. The con-
ference between the French foreign
secretary, Yvon Delbos. and the Rus.
sian diplomat lasted more than tive
| hours.
Seek Soviet Inclusion.
! The next day the inspired Frencl
press, which takes its cues from I'd
foreign Office, published lengtl1
diplomatic articles regarding tn q
visit. 1t said that the result of tft
conversation between the two diplo-
mats was reteration of the French
stand that there can be no conceive
able organization for peace in Europe
without the inclusion of the Soviet
government
Thus, soon after the Italo- British
irritation became public knowledge
the French government decided to
make one Of those diplomatic demon
strations which are characteristic of
the French foreign Office officials In
the office OF Foreign Secretary Yvon
Delbos foreign Ambassadors were told
that the French people were weary OF
waiting on Berlin and Rome hat in
hand: that the more yielding the
French government appeared to be to
all requests Of Hitler and Mussolini,
the more exacting the dictators be-
came. The policy of concessions, said
Delbos, has proved failure Hitler
and Mussolini will not recant: the only
policy to be followed henceforth, say
the French leaders, is one where the
strong method is used ruthlesaly. The
system adopted by Germany Italy and
Japan has proved fruitful during the
last six years. Let the democracies
answer the doctrine of force on the
part of the dictators with the same
doctrine. If for the preservation OF
peace we must risk fighting another
war, let's take that risk"
1t is for these reasons that Mr..
Roosevelt cannot lind peg for his hat.
He has followed policy Of strict neu.
trality in international affairs since
the failure of the London Economic
Conference in 1888. Such a policy ap-
peared imperative at that time, to him
and to his advisers, because the ad-
ministration was confronted with the