Evening star., 1938-12-04

Meaning of Measures Presented by Pages of Current History With
Congress in Strong Roe-Nuse the Picket Lne-Wrtexs
Continue to Struggle With Actions of Warmakers

refer to the League as the League
Of Christian Nations contrasting It
with the World of ISLAM and the
Moslems have turned even against
the Christian Arabs ."
The two writers agree that Eng
lands efforts to suppress the revolt
by ruthless military action have
been unsuccessful and Mr.. Viton Of
fers the suggestion that the British
want to maintain the Jewish colony
IN case OF war. The Zionist settle
ments, he says, contain valuable
strategic positions and the Jews
have shown themselves to be excel
lent soldiers.
The conclusion that one draws
concerning England's position is not
q happy one. She brought the Jews
into Palestine and so provoked the
Arab revolt. She has forfeited Arab
confidence by her conduct. Now,
having enraged her former allies,
she Is obliged to call upon the Jews,
whose presence there, brought about
by herself, Is the cause of her trou-
BILE, to help her. Both Mr.. Viton and
Mr.. Wells see nothing Immediately
ahead but more local violence, with
the likelihood Of a general Muslin
rebellion. What will come of It
eventually, they say, almost In
chorus, only time can tell. It is
a muddle, certainly, and Palestine
apparently will succeed Central
Europe as the worlds most promis-
ing sore spot.
Meanwhile, Czechoslovakia is not
entirely out of the news. Ken keeps
up a loud wall over the bitter fate
of the little republic at the hands
OF the Nazi power and in its last
issue is particularly moving through
the pen of Mr.. Raymond Gram
Swing. On the other hand, the
American Mercury gives an editorial
to comment on the manner in which
sentimentality upsurped truth and
common sense in the dispatches OF
the American journalists who
handled the late crisis. This edi-
torial is called Give Them What
They Want" and suggests impolitely
that the American correspondents
knew that their countrymen would
see none but the emotional aspects
Of the affair and, therefore, forbore
to put anything so likely to be I'M
popular as plain facts into their
cables.
"The facts are EASILY stated" says
the piece. :. First, then, Germany's
army is not one-flfth so good as it
is cracked up to be, and the French
and British know it. 1t is good
enough to take bit Of beating, do
a lot of damage and make lot Of
trouble, but that is all. On the
other hand, France and England
have excellent military establish
ments, but don't dare use them be-
cause neither country could stand
the strain, and the Germans know
it. They would emerge from a dust
up in Central Europe, however sue
cessful, ruined beyond redemption.
$50 Nobody can have any doubt that
the French and British forces could
make hay of the German forces
whenever they like. They could
walk through Germany clear to the
Baltic Sea, but then they would
| have to walk back again, because
no one at home would have stuff
enough left to send them carfare."
Thus the Mercury.
The piece goes on to make merry
over the high-flown anguish sent
TO this country by our gentlemen
correspondents. The New York
Times. it notes, made references to
the 'thousand-year-o -old boundaries
of Czechoslovakia" and devoted
pages to ''fustian about Brother
Benes' noble patriotism, and the
lovely democracy that he so care
fully cultivates" After which the
Murcury remarks feelingly, How it
of the Times and Herald d-Tribune
given life sentence to practice their
profession under Benes' tough little
military despotism" 1t pokes
particular fun at Vincent Shean's
dispatches, which, certainly, were
melodramatic enough.
The point which the editorial
makes is that Americans know no
middle ground once their emotions
are aroused. We are, as a nation,
solidly opposed to relationships and
we greatly dislike Hitler. But while
these are perfectly reasonable feel
ings. says the Mercury, we are COM
pletely unreasonable in dealing
with them. Because we abhor all
that Nazi-ism stands for, we have to
see the Nazi victims as pure perfec-
tion-as lambs cast to the wolves, as
more little Belgiums" or little
Serbias" or even as reincarnations
out of our own past when we heroi-
cally def1ed great power and sowed
the seed of democratic government
IN the modern world. That Hitler