Evening star., 1937-09-19
NYON AGREEMENT
DEFEAT FOR DUCE
Mussolini Seeks to Repair
Da mage of ParIey Bid
Rejection.
BY JACK BEALL

the Nyon conference in terms oi
piracy actually controlled, but it is
not too early to speak of one of the
few diplomatic defeats that Benitc
Mussolini has ever suffered.
There is no doubt about it. II DUO,
blundered when he refused to accept
the Anglo-French invitation to at
tend the conference and is now en-
gagged in an effort to repair that de-
feat by diplomatic means. II Duce
still hopes by diplomatic action to
have a large slice of the Mediter-
ranean handed to him for patrol pur-
poses. Almost has he come to the
point Of begging to be allowed to
come in on the conference which he
proudly snubbed on the ground that
he had been insulted by two Soviet
notes which openly accused the Ital-
ian navy Of being the phantom pi-
rate of the Mediterranean.
II this isn't eating humble pie for
dictator, what is? 1t hurts his
prestige at home and abroad. and
the only thing which could conceiv-
ably drive him to it is the threat
OF loss Of still greater prestige II
he didn't take his humble pie now.
All But Military Alliance.
So what is the situation which now
confronts Italy? In the first place
England and France are now brought
closer together than they have been
any time since the World War. Their
patrol OF the Mediterranean amounts
to joint naval and air maneuvers. and
they are brought almost to that point
which has been dearly wished by the
French but refused by the English
straight-out military alliance.
On the other hand, Italy find.
herself isolated in what she claims to
be mare nostrum." Not only are
England and France policing the
Italian lake, but they are doing II
with the consent OF seven other Med
lterranean and Black Sea powers. who
will permit the French and English
navies to follow a pirate submarine
within their own emile limit, and
Will lend all port and refueling facil-
tiles as we'll as undertake their own
patrol OF territorial waters.
Italy has not even the comfort of
having much support from Germany
IN this hour of trial. The Germans
nave always been less enthused than
the Italians over the Spanish adven-
ture, and certainly they have no trump
With submarine piracy in the Mediter-
ranean. This last statement is with
the authority Of the best-posted source
IN the world on the subject-the
British admiralty.
Britain, France Control Sea.
Ihen again, there is a most cogent
reason for Mussolini to feel that he
had dug hole for some one else and
Then had fallen into it himself. for the
British and the French now control
the Mediterranean. On that unassail-
able mission, the two nayies with
their air forces have an unassailable
position strategically. The gradual
reinforcement from the British home
neet has permitted an unbalancing Of
the naval situation SO that Italy is
now out-gunned and out-numbered in
her own home waters. In ordinary
circumstances, these endorsements
would have been against an agree
ment with the French and would
doubtless have been protested by the
Italians. But there it is. A fait ac-
compli has been handed to one of the
fait accompli boys, an expert in the
game, who has only himself to blame.
A subsidiary cause Of pain in the
region OF the Piazza Venezia, is the
thought that perhaps this naval
entente is going to cost the Italians
their dream Of keeping one or more
OF the Balearics after the Spanish
civil war is over This is likely to
happen whether or not they are per-
mitted back into the control scheme.
Lesson for II Duce.
Perhaps the greatest setback psy-
chologically has been the sudden
realization by II Duce that democ-
racies can be pushed only so far and
that when they really mean business,
they can move with great swiftness
and determination. The new found
firmness OF the British and French
has no doubt greatly chagrined and
shocked Rome. Particularly when the
refusal to accept the Franco-British
invitation had been grounded on the
assumption that without Italy they
could or would do nothing. II Duce
is perhaps a little spoiled on that
point. He has so long been able to
gum up the works by refusing to CO.
operate that he is not to be too harshly
blamed by his own countrymen for
thinking that this was another simple
little case of sabot in the machin-
cry. Things are getting tougher for
dictators maybe.
The chances are about even that
Italy will be able to get into the pa
troll scheme, but hardly that she will
be given parity in France and Eng
land. If she will take over q specific
area somewhat larger than the offered
Sea and not ask for a
rowing commission there is no likeli-
hood Of her meeting refusal. II she
asks for rowing commission and then
demands to know why it is refused,
she might be embarrassed by the re-
plies she would get from those powers
that have not accused her OF knowing
too much about the pirates.
(Copyright, 1887, by New York Tribune,
Inc.)