Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1938-11-10
International !
News Review
BY GEORG sTRANDvOLD

Tomorrow it will be twenty years
since an armistice agreement ended
the World war. That was said to
be a war fought "to make the world
safe for democracy"-and today there
is far less democracy in the world
than twenty years ago while die
tatorship is gaining new territory,
almost from week to week.
In a desperate effort to reconcile
the ideals of democracy with those
of dictatorial totalitarianism Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain of
Great Britain sacrificed about one
fifth of CZechoslovakia to Germany,
Poland and Hungary; he condoned
the Italian conquest of Ethiopia by
recognizing that fallen African en-
pire as lawfully acquired Roman
colony; he concluded a friendship
treaty with Mussolini, while he
yielded to Hitler in Germany prac-
tically all that he demanded, and
he pleased the Italian and the Ger
man dictators by paving the way for
recognition of the Spanish rebels as
legitimately belligerent force. All
this-and much more-has been done
in the hope that some sort of CO.
operation might be brought about
between democracy and relationships
two political extremes as far apart
as are the North and the South Pole
On November %, Mr.. Chamberlain
and his foreign minister, Lord Hall
fax, are scheduled to visit Paris to
discuss with French statesmen the
pet idea of the British government
that is, four-power agreement de-
signed to maintain European peace.
These four powers are, as formerly
mentioned, Great Britain, France,
Germany and Italy, and while they
lose themselves in golden words and
shimmering dreams about peace, they
make vast preparations for war
that ultimately is destined to break
that very peace.
Changes.
With a solid vote of confidence in
lilC IllC
British parliament has ratified the
Anglo-Italian treaty of friendship,
thus moving still closer to Rome and
Berlin. But at the same time that
this further approach takes place,
Great Britain exhibits signs of doubt,
for Chamberlain has found it neces-
sary to appoint new minister of
home defense, the iron-handed Sir
John Anderson, known for his ruth
less methods applied while he was
governor-general of Bengal. Friend
ship with the dictators must be main
tanned at almost all costs, but the
war engine of the British must be
kept in readiness more than ever
before. That seems to furnish evil
dence of the depth of friendship
professed in London for the powers
reigning in Germany and Italy.
In Germany, Ludwig Beck, chief
of the general staff, has resigned, ap-
parently by request; at least, it was
known that he did not share Hitler's
views about the 100 percent perfec-
ton of the army, for time and again
he had warned the chief executive
against going to war as long as the
army was not better equipped than
he, as an expert, knew it to be. Beck
has been succeeded by a general
whose conformity with Hitler's views
is more complete.
And in France, Paul Reynaud, for
mer minister of justice, has been
transferred to the post of minister
of finance-the most important post
in the cabinet next to that of Premier
Edouard Daladier.
DistruSt.
A little more than nineteen years
ago the German parliament meeting
at the city of Weimar adopted a re-
publican constitution to replace that
of the empire which collapsed twenty
years ago. The Weimar constitution
was thorn in Hitler's flesh to the
extent that he set out to demolish
it. He succeeded. And last Sunday
he was at Weimar delivering a speech
on the glories of the new system of
government which he has built up.
Here, too, he found occasion to say
that no sensible person could place
any faith in democracy, but he did
grant democratic nations the right