Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1938-08-21

remain passive should Hitler invade Czecho-
slovaha. The French situation Is worse
than 1t was In 1914. The French army, it
Is true. is better than ever in its modern
history. The men are full Of enthusiasm
and perfectly trained: its mechanical
forces are at least as good as those Of its
neighbors. 1t has on hand or easily access
s1ble all the raw materials and fodstuffs
needed 1t has credit within and outside
the country. The air force has been lag
ging, but In the last IL months has made
enormous strides What could not be
manufactured in France because labor will
not work overtime has been completed by
purchases abroad. Large orders have been
placed in this country and in the smaller
European countries, such as Holland and
Sweden, where there Is an airplane industry.
The personnel Is as good as the German
and the Italian
But strategically France Is hemmed In.
The German Notifications on the Rhine
are serious obstacle which can be over
come only by tremendous sacrifices. The
French army can no longer walk into
Germany.
On the Alps borders towards Italy, France
must reckon with a powerful Italian al!
force. capable of interrupting her lines O.
communication and destroying her naya.
bases at Toulon and Ajacio (Corsica).
Threatened in Mediterranean
In the Mediterranean she is threatenc
by the complete occupation Of Majorca b
Italy. On that island alone there are a.
ready some $50 Italian planes and approx
imately 40 submarines whose role is to GU
communications between Algiers and Mar
seilles
And, what is more important, the Ger
mans are firmly entrenched in Northern
Spain along the Pyrenees. The BASQUE
provinces, strongly conservative and Cath
olic, were among the first to be invaded
and subdued by Gen. Frances forces. This
territory was not vital to frances plans
although the Basque country is industrially
the most developed province of the Iberian
Peninsula. But at the time of the con-
quest Franco had other things to worry
about. He was compelled by his italian
and German allies to take the BASQUE
country and hand 1t over to Germany.
Today 1t Is the first German colony in
Europe The Reich acquired thus not
only the riches of that country, but also
strategic platform whence she can seri-
ously threaten France
In record-breaking time the Germans
have built 10 airdromes At Vitoria they
have established underground hangers
capable OF accommodating $50 airplanes
At Lasarte, Bilbao and San Sebastian ~air-
ports are being built out of all proportion to
the straitened finances of the country. The
port Of Pasajes has been developed into an
important naval base. There are only $50
nautical miles from Pasajes to Brest and
342 miles to Portsmouth. The entire sec
ton from Fuentarrabia to San Sebastian
bristles with guns behind concrete trenches
Thus, logically, the French general staff
should be more opposed to an adventure"
than the government itself But the French
soldiers are at present willing to partici-
pate in a showdown. They maintain that
neutral attitude in the face of a German
show of force in Czechoslovakia would mean
nothing less than Frances signing her own
death warrant. They are not seeking war.
But they are determined to influence their
political leaders to jump into the affray
although the cards appear from this end to
be stacked against the republic.
Intervention Means War.
The French military realize that inter-
vention in the Czechoslovak affair-if in
tervention is made necessary by Hitler's
observation-disclosures world war with all
its consequences. They know that while
Britain may hesitate and press for a con-
ciliatory attitude, the Moscow government
Is ready for action. The Daladier-Bonnet
government is seeking elegant" diplomatic
solutions in concert with the Chamberlain
ministry, but the military are pressing for
fortnight stand if the Germans translate
their August military maneuvers into
club against Czechoslovakia
The question, as the Paris general staff
poses 1t, is not one of defending Czecho-
slovakia or honoring a treaty. 1t Is a
question of Frances survival as a first-class
power-or even as power
Europe is today in what the Germans
on August 2, 1914 termed Kriegsgefahrs-
zustand "a condition approaching war;.
There was crisis less dangerous, yet SINH
lar to the present one, on the 22d of May
this year. Paris thought at that time that
Germany would invade Czechoslovakia
within "a hours. She did not because the
legalistic right of the Sudeten Germans to
complete autonomy had not been officially
demonstrated to the world. The May and
June elections proved Hitlers and Henleins
contentious. Will the present formidable
concentration of troops in Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Italy and France prove a
deterrent or stimulant for war? This is
the question which will be answered shortly.
(Copyright, 1888. Mcclure Newspaper syndicate)