The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-05-27

MISUNDERSTANDING Of the
war clouds over Europe - when
viewed from any point within the
United States-is one of the most in
teresting developments for months.
incidentally it fits in with the old
tradition that wars are started only
when the harvest is in-when ma
tions have something to eat during
the war.
The real truth about the present
situation was pointed out in these
dispatches last fall as the consensus
among Washington's diplomats
perhaps as we'll informed a group
of people as exists in the world.
Nearly every nation sends her
shrewdest and longest-eared diplo-
mats to Washington, and there are
so many spheres of influence that
there is plenty of opportunity for
swapping information.
The fact is that no one of the big
European nations that come under
the spark and Undertook category
is really ready for war. All are
convinced that war is coming, but all
are anxious to avoid it until they
are all set for it. So that with no
body wanting to start war now
the sparks may fly as they like;
they fall on wet powder.
Mussolini has been sounding off
again, but the diplomats point out
that he does this at frequent inter-
walls. Just ten years ago, In the
spring of 1927, he made terrific
speech-much more sabre-rattling
in tone than his recent one. He
talked then of 1885, strangely
enough. saying that by 1895 Italy
must. have SO many airplanes that
they would hide the sun, that then
Italy's voice must be heard, and
much more along the same line.
| Almost ON that schedule he at
/ tackled Ethiopia, defied the League
| of Nations-a fairly safe practice
and pulled the long suffering British
| lions tail.
| Some Friction
Recently, however, some friction
has developed between Germany
and Italy. Which confirms another
theory set forth in these dispatches
last fall, and originating in the dip
lomatic corps here. This was that
| there was no certainty of allies for
the time being; that the crystalizing
process Of uniting groups of nations
for the inevitable conflict had not
been completed.
The fact remains that while there
Is the general idea that Japan and
Germany would fight the Soviet re-
public and possibly France. there is
grave doubt as to which of the two
camps would attract certain other
nations.
Diplomats here privately point
out that Britain seems to have re-
vamped part of her war policy,
striving for a huge air force and
navy in her new armament pro-
gram, but obviously not planning for
a great expeditionary force to be
dispatched to the continent of Eu-
rope in the event of a war, as she
did In 1914.
They point out In the same con-
nection that France is concentrating
her army, and not attempting to
build that sort Of navy she was
thinking about just a few years
back. She is planning two addi-
tional airplane carriers of consid-
cradle size. and building strong
submarine force, but she is not
going strong on battleships.
The French viewpoint is that they
are not concerned one iotaS with the
strength Of either the British or the
United States navyl There is no
possibility, as the French view it.
of their ever being in conflict with
either one within the possible useful
life OF any ship that might be con-
structed now.
I'm the Doldrums
Cessation OF White House news
during the Presidents fishing trip
in the Gulf OF Mexico brought out
sharply the doldrums into which
Washington has dropped in the last
month, after what amounted to
Pandora's box of sensations earlier
in the session.
There are very obvious reasons
for it. In the first place there has
been a series of really important
news developments In other places
the coronation, the Spanish fasco,
the irritation of Mussolini over the
worlds discovering that the troops
he sent to Spain we're not as. irwin
chile as the Italians had come to
believe, the Hindenburg disaster,
etc.
But these merely showed already
frayed or discounted subjects to the
inside pages. Let's look at them
for a moment:N>-
Supreme court enlargement: SUI
fering from too much wordage. Ev-
cry conceivable argument on either
side has been advanced not once
but ten to hundred times. More
over, its fate is still in suspense,
I,ttl. v.nuf Iara11rv~~~r+