Evening star., 1937-11-14

intervention into Spanish affairs can
be continued indefinitely with i'm
punity? Do they feel that the French
and British cabinets will never make
up their minds to say: $50 far and
no farther!"? Do they think that
they will have to face only a trial of
Will, and never trial of strength?
We may ignore the question of whether
formal pledges have or have not been
exchanged between Hitler, Mussolini
and Goering-but it is only safe to
suppose that both dictatorial regimes
are now united by military bond.
We must always be prepared for the
worst.
To Continue War Exploitation.
1t Is plain that Italy and Germany
are determined to continue to exploit
the Spanish civil war. BY this means
they can menace the mobilization of
the French Army across the Mediter-
ranean. They can interfere with the
vital communications of France with
Northern Africa and Of Great Britain
with the Levant, with Egypt and with
her Asiatic possessions. They can
place the two great Western powers
on the defensive and compel them to
abandon their policy of collective Sc
curity policy, which, so far, has
checked the expansion of pan-Ger-
manism in Central and Eastern Eu-
rope.
Paris and London are now faced
by this prospect. They have lived
hitherto in the belief that they could
dodge the issue and take shelter In the
opportunism of the policy of so-called
non-intervention. Now they cannot
any longer shut their eyes to the harsh
reality: Italy and presumably Ger
many seemingly would risk war rather
than retrace their steps.
The steady massing Of Italian troops
in Libya tells the whole tale. Mus
solini has never forgotten that in the
autumn of 1885 he was at the mercy
Of France and England, that enforce
ment Of the oil sanction would have
been enough to break him, his regime
and his country. He believes that in
the present circumstances he could,
to say the least, inflict enormous DAM
age upon his enemies.
What can We do, we French and
British? We must put ourselves in a
position to make the Duce and Der
Fuehrer take a more accurate view of
what European conflict would mean
to them. If possible, we must put into
action those rational forces which, in
Berlin especially, have sometimes sue
ceeded in making themselves heard
The French government cannot do
otherwise in the long run than unlock
the Fyrenean frontier and allow volun-
teers and war material to rush to the
rescue Of the Valencia government.
However, it is likely that they will not
rush in such masses or quantities as to
counterbalance the new, freer influx
of italian military assistance to Gen.
Franco.
OF the truly drastic countermeas-
ures that France and England could
we'll carry out, the most important is
the occupation of Minorca, in the
Balearic Islands, and of Spanish Mo-
rocco. At once Italy and Germany
would understand that the two mari
time nations have been reused from
their lethargy and that serious busi-
ness is meant. Through these two
operations good deal might be done
to re-establish strategic equilibrium"
in the Mediterranean. All the subma-
rine bases, aerodromes, electric plants,
oil depots and radio stations erected
by the intruders would be swept off
at one single stroke.
Could Afford to Temporize.
Then we could afford to temporize
until next year-until British rearm-
ament has made headway-and quiet
ly watch developments, especially II
cooperation with Soviet Russia and
the Danubian states became something
more than pious aspiration. Instead
of working against us, time would help
us, because, while our material
otkClAStA1 WOu1u bllC 4lCiCdoC,
another winter would further exhaust,
in the economic sense, the German
Reich and the Fascist regime.
But to wait indefinitely on the leaky
dam of nonintervention Ito use Mr.
Eden's words in Geneva) would lead
us straight to disaster, since Italy
could be trusted to make use of the
delay in order to strengthen her posi-
ton in the Western Mediterranean,
reshape Spain under dictatorial insti-
tutions and bring Spanish army
into alignment slong the Pyrenees.
Such moves would go far toward
offsetting any additional military
power that, meanwhile, the British
and the French might have brought
into being.
Will not Minorca fall. into Italian
hands before France has taken the
initiative? Such stroke by II Duce
would have q telling effect on events
in Europe. It would be q hard lesson
but it might also be the final alarm
that would bring John Bull out Of his
lethargy. At any rate. the days OF
short-sighted British empiricism are
numbered.
eoess1ishs, lee7J