Evening star., 1938-09-15
BY WILLIAM H. sTONEMAN,


Chicaso Daily News Foreign Correspondent
: LONDON, Sept. 15.-As Prime MIN.
lister Neville Chamberlain winged hi.
way to Munich this morning on tn.
first airplane trip he had ever taker
in his life and what may be the mos
important trip ever taken by anybody
observers in London were still dazec
and mystified by his dramatic de.
csion to meet Reichsfuehrer Adolf
Hitler face to face.
The reasons for going were cleal
enough. BY Monday night the situa.
ton had become even more desperate
In the eyes Of the cabinet than thu
public itself understood. At the same
time the cabinet-with its limitles.
capacity for believing in Hitler'l
stupidity--still wondered whether the
British position had been made cleal
to him. They did not know how
much the British Ambassador himself
had told Hitlers representatives, mol
did it know how much Of that infor.
nation Reich Foreign Minister
Joachim Won Ribbentrop and Propa-
ganda Minister DR.. Joseph Goebbel.
had been willing to pass on to Hitler
Finally, Mr.. Chamberlain-despite
Hitlers TRADE Monday evening anc
despite the half-baked rebellion sub
sequently staged by Henleinists ir
CZechoslovakia - still believed that
Hitler did not quite understand the
situation.
Purpose Equally Clear.
The purpose Of the trip is equally
clear. Mr.. Chamberlain will attempt
to decide, by talking to Hitler. whether
the latter can be satisfied with pure
ly diplomatic victory or whether he
is determined to have a military vic
tory as we'll II it is diplomatic sue
cess Nhat Hitler wants, Mr.. Chamber
lain will be tempted to give 1t to him
by anything short OF an outright gift
Of Czech territory. II Hitler, on the
other hand, proves to be crazy-which
one may assume he is not-and insists
on invading Czech territory, Mr.. Cham.
berlain will return to London and turn
out the troops.
What mystifies every one is why the
British government did not demand
that Hitler receive the British AM
bassador and listen to the truth before
finally humiliating itself and debating
its own long g-sustained threat of action
by asking Hitler whether he would be
good enough to receive the British
prime minister himself. What, further.
more, can the British prime minister
offer to Hitler as bribe to peace
beyond what has already been Offered
to the Sudeten Germans by the Czechs
under pressure from the British gov.
ernment?
The obvious answer is that another
Hoare-Laval plan is in the air. The
only difference seems to be that th<
offer which is now about to be made
to Hitler as the price Of peace will bt
somewhat subtler than the offer which
was made to Premier Benito Mussolin
at the time Of the Ethiopian War YET
the basic idea is the same, NAMELY tc
avoid calling the bluff OF a dictator
by handing him his victim on q silve,
platter. ..
Favor Autonomy Plebiscite.
Britain and France, and CONSEQUENT.
ly Mr.. Chamberlain. apparently art
not prepared to sanction a plebiscit<
which would allow the outright sep.
aration Of Sudeten land from Szecho.
slovakia. But they. do seem ready t.
agree to another species Of plebiscitt
which would result in virtual au
tonomy for the Sudeten population
and, consequently, in their complete