Evening star., 1938-10-06
Hitler's Latest Demand.

1t looks as II Hitler had heard that
the Bank Of England is establishing .
rehabilitation credit Of E10000,00O for
Czechoslovakia and is determined to
have his cut OF it. Hardly any other
explanation OF the latest Nszi demand
seems plausible.
Not content with four-power under
writing Of plan whereby twenty-five
per cent Of Czechoslovakia territory
and fifth Of her population are to be
transferred to 1t, the Reich now seeks
Preparations for injustices inflicted by
the Czechs on the Sudetens since 1918"
The international commission supervis-
ing the cession of Sudetenland is notified
that Hitler will not consider the Czech
question solved unless reparations are
paid" They are claimed mot only on
grounds OF justice, but also in the inter-
ests of peace"
There is the truculent suggestion Of
the mailed fist in this manifesto-a hint
that II the Munich powers and Prague
fail to heed it. German troops may ad-
vance beyond the five occupation
zones to be taken over by next Monday
and plant the swastika deeper into the
bleeding heart Of czechoslovakia. Ac-
cording to Berlin Associated Press dis
patch, reparations will be demanded just
as soon as sudetenland is completely
Germanized. So a new crisis may be
only four days distant.
1t Is difficult to comment with restraint
on these belated NaN pretensions. One
would think the Czechs, whatever their
sins against their former sudeten fellow
citizens, and their record is not without
blemish, have already been sufficiently
punished. Grievous as is Czechoslo-
vakia's fate through loss of territory and
defensive capacity, the states economic
depletion is, If anything, worse. 1t retains
only forty-nine per cent Of industrial
plants. 1t loses thirty-six per cent OF
former workers. 1t is deprived Of its
coal. Thirty-nine per cent Of metal in
dustries, forty-nine per cent Of textile
plants, ninety-nine per cent Of the
leather trade, twenty-six per cent Of
stone industries and twenty-seven per
cent Of paper factories pass into Nazi
possession.
On top of all this, the German gov
ernment now asks for Preparations" At
Versailles in 1919 the Reich's plenipo-
tentiaries agreed to pay in reparations
$4,000, 900, 900, which was estimated to
be about third of the Allies war costs.
In 1881, after Germany had accounted
for less than one-sixth of this obliga-
ton, the whole reparations structure
broke down. Even the pre-Hitler gov
ernment repudiated further responsible
ity. Default by Allied debtors to the
United States Treasury, in consequence,
set in not long afterward, after they had
paid $25oo, 100000 in interest and
amortization.
Demands for Preparations" from Grip
pied Czechoslovakia come with particu-
larly bad grace from the country which.
as set forth in Andre Tardieu's 1.-THE
Truth About the Treaty" systematic
ally wrought much destruction in
France, far from the front, In order per-
manently to ruin the occupied districts
to the future advantage Of German in
dustry. Destruction was Of two kinds.
The first and less important resulted
from battle and bombardment. The sec
ond, more frequent and more serious,
resulted from organized pillage of fac
tories and from the removal into Ger
many not only OF their stocks Of manu-
factured goods and raw material, but
also of their machinery, their equipment
and. often, even essential parts of their
plants"
Is there no limit to Nazi effrontery. or,
rather, is thsrs. j. = limit beyond which