The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-05-04

sign an alliance for mutual ald against aggression in Europe: (2) That they sign a military pact de- signating the exact form of col- laboration applying to specific cases (3) That they pledge their aid to Rumania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Esthonia in case of attack on any of them
 Since Britain has not been Wll- ling to make such strong commit ments for fear of alternating Ruma- mia and Poland, who are averse to allying themselves with Russia, and for fear that such commitments would drive Japan, Spain and Italy into military alliances with Ger many, two explanations for Llcvl- nov's removal were most generally accepted
 Two Explanations
 1. He did not make enough head way toward the alliance.
 2. He went too far in offering Russia,s military strength to the western anti-aggression bloc and Soviet "isolationists" got the upper hand.
 Soviet circles here have predicted for several days that unless Britain and France accepted the Soviet plan for an alliance quickly, Mos COW would cut off the negotiations entirely.
 There also had been reports that I,ityinoy. who favored a western policy" for Russia, had been sub- iected to pressure from home be- cause of the sluggish trend of ne- gotiations for the military alliance, and that Soviet Isolationists, who include many military leaders, felt that the time had come when the Soviets should withdraw behind their frontier, prepare to defend themselves, and leave the rest of Europe go its way.
 Molotov is Unkown
 Molotov, who is almost unknown abroad, and who will not be able to leave Russia so long as he is Premier as well as Foreign Minister, tended to support the isolationist idea.
 It was believed that the British reply to Russia would be further de- layed until Litvinov's removal was explained. The cabinet discussed the Russian negotiations in three-hour session yesterday but failed to agree on anything more than a plan to send more instructions to the British Ambassador in Moscow as bisis for conversations with Soviet leaders.
 On the other hand, Prime Minis ter Neville Chamberlain told a uuestioner in the House of Commons that Britain would be willing to discuss a non-aggression agreement with Germany and from other British sources there were express sions of misgivings about any al- liance with Russia.
 Spain is Repugnant
 The Duke of Alba was reported to have told British Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax that Spain viewed with repugnance the idea of political traffic in any communist country" adding that Gibraltar would be virtually untenable unless the Bri- tista navy was given access to Port ulguese bases and that Premier Antonio SalaZar would be less will ing to give Britain such facilities if she were allied with the Soviets.
 In Paris, where enthusiasm for aligning with Russia was greater than here, Litvinov's resignation came as surprise but there was no official comment. Morning news papers saw a direct connection between the resignation and the slowness of negotiations on the al- liance but predicted that the resign ation was indicative of Josef Stalin's determination to conclude the alliance quickly
 Veteran of 10 Years
 Litvinov is 63, a veteran of 10 years in the foreign ministry, fla miliar figure at League of Nations circles in Germany, negotiator of the Russian United States recognition agreement, Bolshevik revolutionist since before the World war. He had been i'll of heart trouble and one theory was that he had resigned be- cause of his health. However, Soviet Ambassador Ivan M. Maisky, who returned here from Moscow Friday, said he had obtained the impress sion that Litvinov's health was good.
 A rumor that Litvinov's disappear ance from the foreign ministry might lead to a Soviet German un- derstanding was discounted in Soviet circles here. These rumors had been given sustenance when German