Henderson daily dispatch., 1939-10-05
This New War Is Puzzle
For Folks and Nations
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CONTINUED From Page One)
died to beat blazes To be sure neu-
trails take everything they say with
about a barrel Of salt. Still, they tell
Germans, just as the Allies, in 1914
told stories Of German atrocities in
Belgium. And in the present instance
the Anglo-French censorships have
ruthlessly clamped down on dis
patches from London and Paris, so
that they haven't any overseas pub
LEFTY worth speaking Of.
We're fairly sure Of a few spot
events-that Hitler virtually has
cleaned up Poland; that the premier
Of Roumania was assassinated
We're not dead certain Of much
else
For instance, we haven't a definite
idea Of conditions along the line be-
tween Germany and the Anglo
French forces
Our military men are as puzzled
over that situation as the veriest
amateur is. It's described by pro-
fessionals as, apparently, having been
largely "shadoW boxing" But even
experts can't tell positively, due to
censors and propagandists
State Department Worried.
Our State Department is worse
worried than our War and Navy De-
partments are. War Secretary Harry
Woodring and Acting Navy Secre-
tary Charles Edison are in a position
to sit tight and let nature take its
course. State Secretary COrdell Hull
has varying foreign ministries to
reckon with. We even have in WASH
lngton a couple Of diplomatic repre-
sentatlVes Of extinct governments
still accredited to us and still recOg-
nlzed. It's difficult for the State De-
partment to tell which is which in
such international negotiations.
The State Departments notion is
that, thus far, the war has been
mainly diplomatic rather than phy-
steal. True, it's been plenty physi-
cal enough in Poland, but elsewhere
1T appears to have been principally
4 contest OF wits between and among
rival foreign offices.
Sorting the nations into any two
groups Cor three, counting the neu-
trails as a third group virtually is
IN impossibilIty.
Generally speaking their respec-
i've governments themselves cont
yet know who's side they're on.
They're still dickering around after
whatever partnership promises best
10 advance their various individual
lntehests
What HOdge-POdge!
The AnglO-French tieup seems
pretty solid Yet Herr Hitler is rep
resented as being as gentle as he
can with the French, in the hope of
detaching them from the British.
Signor MussOlini, hitherto sup
posedly the Fuehrer's bosom buddy.
is on the sidelines because he can't
see how Italy will get anything out
of the pending mixup. It's hinteu that
London and Paris are trying to buy
him up completely, with territorial
concessions.
Stain, after double-crossing the
British and French by his pact with
dltler, now VIGOROUSLY doesn't trust
the latter bit farther than he can
see him. Just as VIGOROUSLY, Hitler
equally doesn't trust Stain.
General Franco, having been aided
by Germany and Italy during the
Spanish civil war, was expected at
east to threaten France from his side
of the Pyrenees. Instead, he's strict
ly neutral, partly because he's pre-
occupied with SPANS reconstruction
and partly because he hopes to sell
the French SO much Of his own coun-
try's iron ore-With which to fight
hitler
The British and French thought
they had Turkey seWed up tight to
control the eastern end of the Medi-
erranean Today the Turks are con-
abulating with Russia.
The little Balkan kingdoms will