Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1938-06-02
LATE DEVELOPMENTS In
POLITICAL WORLD

Leaving out of consideration the
war in China, which seems to have
been checked by recent japanese
| reverses, and the bloody civil war
| in Spain, the world outlook for
| peace, at least during the remainder
| of the year, has become brighter, in
spite of the recent developments in
Germany's attitude toward Czecho-
slovakia.
The BritiSh-Italian agreement to
| maintain the status quo in the Med
iterranean and the near east, is a
victory for British diplomacy, which
| may result in a weakening of the
Berlin-Rome axis, thereby lessening
! the danger of general European u
conflict brought on by the joint ac-
tion of Hitler and Mussolini.
This late development, in situa--
ton whose continuance could only
have led to the reduction of Eng
land to second class power, def
nitely marks the end of the post
war idealistic diplomacy and con-
stitutes period Of "realism' dur
ing which the diplomats will put
aside former evasions and face the
cold facts that Italy and Germany
have assumed a position Of world
leadership and that France and
England, no longer able to rely up
on their former source of strength,
are now in the position where they
must seek to negotiate where they
were before able to command
For the sake of expediency,
Great Britain has formally recog-
nized the conquest of Ethiopia in
violation of international law and
treaty obligations, thereby openly
repudiating the doctrine of collec-,
tive security and justice to which
she SO tenaciously held during the
past two years.
1t dissipates all hope of the re-
tions and definitely abandons the
principle under which the United
States, during the past decade, has
refused to recognize any territorial
acquisition obtained by force
1t recognizes the rights of Italy,
and by implication, Germany, to
participate in the Spanish conflict
which, in plain English, means the
right of foreign power to invade
the territory of friendly nation,
by providing that Italy need not
withdraw from Spain until after the
end of the war.
If Mussolini can be trusted to
abide by the terms of the agree
ment, which seems doubtful, Great
Britain has been relieved of anxiety
concerning the possible disruption
Of her life line through the Mediter-
ranean and Red Seas An addition
al guarantee was added by the sig
nature of the Egyptian minister in
defining the relations of Italy to
Egypt.
If France succeeds in extending
the agreement into tri-part pact,
Germany may be forced into a new
"Locarno" pact which would i'm
pose a formidable barrier to pos
sible further Notification of Europe.
In Austria
With the virtual unanimous vote
cast in both Germany and Austria
in the recent election to ratify the
annexation of Austria to Germany,
the amalgamation of the two coun-
tries is an accomplished fact 1t
blasts any hopes of restoration of
the Hapsburg dynasty in Austria.
Contrary to the opinion generally
held in this country, the result does
not necessarily indicate the attitude
of the German and Austrian peo
pie toward all other NaZi policies;
on the other hand the election it
self was not merely an empty ges-
ture, in which they had no choice
but to cast an affirmative ballot
Making allowance for the meth
ods used and the disfranchisement
Of all Jews, the fact remains that
the people regarded Anschluss as
both inevitable and desirable. 1t
seems a significant fact that Hitler
thought it necessary to submit an
accomplished fact to plebiscite.
While it enabled Germany to
show the world united front, it
does not mean that Germany is
very deeply concerned about world
opinion.
The German people look upon
Nazism and it's attendant hardships
as an evil to be endured in order to
escape the burdensome consequences
of their defeat in the World war.
When Germany has released herself
from the fetters of the Treaty of
Versailles, the people will be more
interested in their personal for
tunes and welfare and in making
private profit out of industry and
commerce than in the glorification
of the Fatherland. Germany's real
threat to the United States is not in
her military and naval force, but in