Evening star., 1938-02-14
Hitler Trims His Sails.

On its face Chancellor Hitler's pledge
to Chancellor Schnuschnigg Of German
reconciliation" with Austria savors of
Nazi magnanimity and is already being
touted as such. But just as the blood
less purge of the Reichswehr and the
Foreign Once is far, from being the SIM
ple, routine military and diplomatic
Reorganization" it purports to be, SO
the peaceful understanding" with
Vienna is remote from the purely al
truistic event which Nazi spokesmen
would have the world consider it. The
purge and the Hitler -Schnuschnigg deal,
indeed, clearly are closely related affairs.
Their coincidence permits of no other
conclusion. The Berchtesgaden love-
feast dovetails onto other DEVELOPMENTS
which in the inseparable aggregate dis
close that the totalitarian pot is boiling
to degree long suspected but not fully
realized outside of Germany.
Mere recital of late news speaks VOL
umes 1t shows that plenty is happen
ing to give Hitler, Goering, Goebbels
l. Co. "furiously to think" Last week,
a bare seventy-two hours after the purge
of the generals and the foreign service,
Mussolini began treating with Great
Britain for an Italian loan in London,
for withdrawal OF II Duce's troops from
Spain. and for general liquidation of
the Anglo-1talian tension. Ambassador
Grandi and Foreign Secretary Eden are
obviously at work on plans which spell
trouble for the Fascist axis and
rapprochement between London, Paris
and Rome. While the Grand. Eden con-
versations were in progress, the pro-Na1
Goga government in Rumania was ig-
ANONYMOUSLY toppled from power About
the same time, too, international opinion
was Tightening against the anti-religious
oppression typified by the tar-chamber
proceedings against Protestant Pastor
Nlemoeller at Berlin. Saturday wit
messed significant indications that the
Nazls scent danger in neo-paganism
Der Fuehrer assigned Baron Won Neu-
rath, chief of his new foreign policy ad-
visory council, to act as his personal
representative at Berlin mass cele-
bratlng the sixteenth anniversary of
Pope Plus coronation-an obvious olive
branch in Catholicism's direction. ST.
multaneously, ministry of justice officials
opened negotiations with DR.. Niemoeller
for reinstatement of the three defense
attorneys he deaantly dismissed in pro-
test against his secret trial.
These are acts and trends which de-
pict Hitler in the unfamiliar but unmis-
taxable role of trimming his sails. To
just what effects, respecting Austria, they
will lead is momentarily problematical
Already there are reports that Schnu-
schnigg bought" at high price Na1
pledges no longer to undermine Austrian
independence-to end the campaign of
sabotage which has irritated or terror
lied the country uninterruptedly since
1888 The suggestion is that Hitler
yielded" on these points in return for
an agreement that the Vienna cabinet
will be reconstructed to permit Nazi par
ticipation. This is the nose which the
German camel has long been trying to
poke under the, Austrian tent. If that is
all Schnuschnigg achieved at Berchtes-
gaden, he won victory" that may cost
his country dearly. But the preponder-
ance of current evidence is that the
Hitleran crew is tacking. That is de-
cidedly something.