Evening star., 1938-10-29
TO BRING
PACT INTO FORCE
italian Agreement Becomes
Effective November IS,
Rome Informed.
By WILLIAM H. sTONEMAN.

by WILLIAM H. STONEMAN,
CHICAGO Daily News Foreign Correspondent
LONDON, Oct 29-The British
government has now formally an
nounced to Italy. through its Ambassa-
dor in Rome Lord Perth, that the
cabinet at its Wednesday meeting de-
cided to bring the Anglo Italian treaty
Of April 16 into force November Is.
This decision is final and anything
that Parliament may say on the subject
will be Of purely rhetorical value. Only
an unfavorable vote of confidence could
prevent implementation of the pact
and that is impossible since the gov
ernment has 4l2 seats in the House
Of Commons to the opposition's 1875.
VIII Recognize Conquest.
When the pact is brought into force,
or soon afterward. the British gov
ernment will also recognize Italys
conquest of Ethiopia by giving its
Ambassador new credentials to the
King and Emperor" That. as has
been frequently pointed out. will be
the equivalent Of formal renuncia ton
OF the Kellogg anti-war pact and of
the agreement entered into by the
British government at Geneva in 1892
not to recognize the sovereignty Of
any state over territory gained by
aggression.
Recognition Of Germany's SOW
ereignty over Austria last March
amounted to the same thing. but in
that case there was not any actual
aggression-only the threat of az
gression.
In view OF this outright step by
the British government. the United
States Government may wish to re-
consider whether it will maintain the
Stimson declaration in regard to non-
recognition Of territory seized by force
and, specifically, whether it will con-
tinue to withhold recognition from
Manchukuo and the Italian Empire.
1t remains to be seen whether the
British government will follow its i'm
fermentation Of the Anglo Italian pact
by granting belligerent rights to rebel
Generalissino Francisco Franco in
Spain. II, it is pointed out, the with
drawal Of 10000 Italian troops from
Spain can be regarded as settlement
In Spain," then the government might
logically consider it justified in giving
Gen. Franco the right to establish
blockade.
Past Assurances Disregarded.
| According to paragraph 1913 of the
British plan for the evacuation of
foreign troops from Spain, belligerent
rights were to be granted to both sides
only after 10000 troops had been
withdrawn from the weaker side and
proportionate number from the
stronger side. Since Gen. Franco
patiently has had more foreign troops
than Barcelona, and Barcelona has
| already begun to evacuate all its for
eign troops, the withdrawal of 10000
troops from Gen. Franco patiently does
not satisfy the conditions.
Yet, it is pointed out, neither does
the withdrawal of 10000 Italians con-
stitute settlement in Spain" Since,
1t Is argued, the British government
decided to disregard all its past as
surances to the House of Commons in
this one respect, it might as we'll 20
the whole hog and give Gen. Franco
the right to blockade the coasts of
Spain.
1t is generally expected that recoeni-
ton of Gen. Frances belligerent rights
will not be granted Immediately but
will be arranged quietly after the
furore caused by the implementation
of the Anglo-Italian pact had died
down.
| (copyrisht. 1898. BY Chicago Daily News,
Inc)