The Washington times., 1938-02-11
Iron Ring Around Russia?

m HERE was as much truth humor in what Bruce
l. Bliven editor of the New Republic said to Chair
man Carl Vinson Dem. GAY of the House Naval At
fairs Committee at Wednesdays hearing of pacst ar
guments against the bignavy bill.
Cracking back at of Blivens cracks Vinson said:
"Tn other words there is subject matter on which
you hesitate to express expert opinion to which
Bliven replied: Il editorial writer"
And there load of truth and good-humored
satire in the Presidents remark at his Wednesday press
conference that every male the age of 10 is naval
strategst To which it might be added that every male
and female Of high school age is expert
adays international affairs and whether there will
be and how and who will fight.
Admitting all this human fablity and love of pom
tificating we'll proceed to state that there may be
pattern of coming events in Europe to be discovered
prcrvo. from several events of the last few days.
There is the item from Prague by way of
HOFtHy Geneva, 70 the effect that the Czechosovak
Government is worried because Gen. Walther Won
Brauchtsch out top as Commander-in-Chief of
the German Army in Hter's recent Army purge. Gen.
Won Brauchiisch is military expert on eastern and
southeastern Europe. Czechoslovakia has long feared
that when and Hitler attacks Russia he will use Czech
osovaka the corridor through which to get at Russia
Admiral Nicholas Horthy, Regent of Hungary Che
got the job by kicking Bella Kun and his Reds out of
power in Hungary after the war), has just completed
tlve-day non-potcal" visit to Poland. Horthy went
unCis near warsaw and Killed eight boarS and lynx,
and this felt by the Poles to be such an achievement
that they had to put big citywide celebration in
Horthys honor. poland is another neighbor of Russia
Horthy headed the parade but sitting in the carriage
with him was President Ignaz Moscick of Poland. If
Horthy hadn't called it nonpotcal the ceremony would
have looked like Hungarian-Poland gettogether SINH
lar to the MussoniHiter getogether of some months
ago. 1t still looks like Hungarian-Poish get-together
to us.
Incidents on the Estona-Russia border are increas
ing The latest incident occurring day before yesterday
wound up with the killing of four Estonan border guards
EstOnia; Rumania; oy Soviet border guards ap-
parently in revenge for re-
guards by Estonian guards.
We have also several facts which loom larger in the
news columns-the Itaan-Japanese and GermanJapa-
nese anti Communist agreements aimed at Russia Hit
lers known hatred of Communism and Communist Rus
sia Rumanias vibrations between Fascism and more
moderate form of conservatism Japans wel-known yen
for Russia's Maritime Provinces and VIadivostok
Putting all these items together what do they spell?
Maybe they spell nothing; but again, maybe they spell
something. Anybody is entitled to guess.
To,Id Ruoe;o To US, they seem to indicate the
forging of iron ring around
]De'e"0 HSe"' Russia, and hope on the part of
various nations to cut themselves various pieces of Rus
sia They seem to indicate, too widespread feeling
in Europe, probably based on secret information from
inside Russia that Russia is too wabby and divided be-
of Stains blood purge to be able to beat off
concerted attack.
Our eyesight may be bad but to see the vuI-
lures circlng closer and closer to the Russian Bear
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