The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-09-16

to follow him. But heavy drizzling
rain, which had persisted since the
moment of his arrival yesterday,
caused him to go by special train.
He left at 9:35 q. m. (4:35 q. m. EDIT
and his British Anyways plane-an
American-made Lockheed - was
waiting for him at Munich airport.
Joachim Won Ribbentrop, German
foreign minister, accompanied
Chamberlain and his party in the
l2-car train.
Chamberlain planned on his ar
rival in London late today Cat about
noon EDIT to consult leading cabi-
net ministers and Premier Edouard
Daladier Of France-by. telephone
at once.
It was forecast that he would sum-
mon parliament in extraordinary
session, address 1t and then meet
Hitler in a second and probably final
conference next week, IN hope OF
averting war.
Peace Hangs by Thread
But for the moment-and for a
long end-the peace Of Europe
hung by a slender thread.
Hitler was understood to have
shown unyielding determination to
press the German minority problem
through to a definite-and satisfac-
tory-conclusion.
In Czechoslovakia, the govern
ment had moved to seize Konrad
Henlein, minority leader, as traitor.
In the Sudeten German minority
area 1t was evident that at any
time state Of virtual civil war
might break out. NJ
All over Europe, armies, navies
and air forces-despite the lack Of
formal mobilization orders - were
poised, tensely, awaiting the word
to rain death over land and sea.
Aside from anything Hitler might
have told him in their conference
at Haus Wachenfeld on the Obersalz
Hill yesterday evening, Chamber
lain had only to read his morning
newspapers to know that on him
and Hitler--depended the fate Of
hundreds Of millions Of people and
Of central Europe's ancient cities
which the Roman legions knew 1000
years ago.
German Papers Bitter
Newspapers under the close con-
troll of the German ministry Of
propaganda, treated the Chamber
lain Hitler conference as formality
and concentrated on the Sudeten
situation. They demanded immedi-
ate union Of the Sudeten area with
Germany, they denounced the
Czechoslovak order calling up 140,-
900 additional troops, they said that
Czech soldiers were terrorizing and
torturing Germans and that the
situation had become unbearable.
There was no doubt, unbearable
or not, that 1t was untenable, that
1t must be ended soon.
Chamberlain had appealed to Hit
Ter to make no move for the present,
II was understood that he had made
1t plain that II Germany marched
now, a war involving France, Russia
and Great Britain-and most prob
ably several other powers-against
Germany was absolutely certain.
Runciman, In announcing his de-
parture for London, appealed to
Czechs and to Sudeten Germans not
to precipitate European war by
precipitate action.
The question was whether 1t was
humanity possible In the present i'm
passioned state existing In the Sude-
ten area to prevent an explosion
during the long days necessary to
determine whether Chamberlain
and Hitler can agree.
There was the further question
whether 1t would be found that the
British and French views were So
fundamentally divergent from the
German view that agreement, In the
end, was impossible.
What May Happen
Thus there were three main pos"
sibilities;
l. That In further conference
Chamberlain and Hitler would reach
with French approval, some agree
ment which would avert war by
means of patched up compromise:
one that would give Germany
bloodless victory but that whatever
Its effect on the future of Czecho-
slovakia, would merely postpone an
eventual howdown-next year or in
years to follow.
2. That In second conference
between Chamberlain and Hitler the
basis might be laid for a British
French German-I Italian conference
designed not only to settle the fate
Of Czechoslovakia by neutralizing 1t
and depriving 1t, in fact II not In
name, Of the Sudeten German area,
but to lead to q strong four power
agreement for western Europe whose
effect would be to exclude Soviet
Russia from the west.
3. That Chamberlain and Hitler
would finally disagree or that before
they had chance to disagree there
would be an explosion In the Sude-
ten area-or on the German Czech
oslovak frontier-which would lead
to war.
Only Three Men Know
There were but three men who
knew exactly what happened during
the talk between Chamberlain and