Evening star., 1939-05-14
Stain Proclaims Russia's Price
For Aiding Stop>Hitler Cause
Kremlin Demands Definite Guarantee of Sunnort
in the Far East Including Anglo.French
Fleet Based at Singapore.
By Constantine Brown.

hair; it depends on Mussolini's ability
to induce his Berchtesgaden colleague to
accept a conciliatory solution of the
Danzig and Corridor questions. This, at
least. is the last hope of the diplomats
in Paris and London, who regard II Duce
as the only shock absorber between them
and the Reichschancellor's desire for
German unity at any price. AS is the
custom in these quarters, the pre- Munich
situation is the basis for their hopes.
But the present circumstances are
different from those of last September.
Then CZecho- o-Slovakia was in a state of
confusion and was willing to obey blindly
every suggestion coming from Paris and
London-even If such suggestions meant
the dismemberment of the little re-
public. Poland is in a different mood
and has means of defense which the
Czecho-Slovaks did not have. Czecho-
Slovakia was an assemblage of several
races and peoples not speaking the same
language and with divergent aspirations;
less than 100000 of Poland's inhabitants
are OF different nationalities; the bulk
VI uilC lldllOll-Lf,UUO,UUU SOulS-0Te
chauvinistic and patriotic Poles
Mussolini was able to become the peace
angel on September 30, 1898, partly be-
cause his intervention" gave Hitler all
he wanted and because at that time he
was more independent of the Reich than
he Is today. Last September there were
not $4,000 German troops in Italy and
Libya, nor did he have in his country
1000 specially selected Gestapos.
With his ambitions regarding the es-
tabllshment of an italian Empire in
North Africa unfulhlled dependent ex-
clusively on Hitler's good will and with
these alien troops-allies though they
may be today-within his territory, there
Is little likelihood that II Duce will be
able to do more than endeavor to exer-
else his influence on the Polish govern
ment to accept Hitler's verdict in regard
to DanZig.
Ciano Convinced.
Furthermore, the German diplomats
have taken good care to prove to Musso-
lini that boiling the axis now would
mean 1talys doom.
1t is known in high quarters that Hit
lers shreWd Foreign Minister Baron
Won Ribbentrop has been able to con-
vince Clano that history does not change
That the great powers will always gravi-
tate toward the strongest nation and
that should Mussolini listen to the sirens
from London and Paris, it would be easy
for the Reich to come to terms with the
Western states at Italy's expense Rib
bentrop is reported to have pointed out
to II Duces son-in-law and principal
adviser on foreign affairs that the quar-
rel between Britain and France and
Germany is principally due to Italy's
ambitions for expansion in Africa If
the Fuehrer were not so painstakingly
loyal to his Italian ally he could long ago
Paris at the expense of Central and East
European countries. including Italy her
self. The formal military alliance con-
cluded between Germany and Italy by
the pact of Milan on May 7 crowns with
success Herr Ribbentrops argument.
AS was pointed out in last weeks
articles. the Polish general staff is pre-
pared for any emergency. Their hope
is not to defeat the Germans in the
event Of an armed conflict, but to resist
long enough for world war to break
out in which the axis, so the Polish gen.
erals believe, will inevitably be defeated.
Direct assistance from Britain and
France is not expected In the early
stages of war. The maximum the
British can do is to blockade the Ger
man coast in the Baltic and Italy in
the Mediterranean. cutting both coun-
tries off from other world markets But
the Poles realize that blockade of the
totalitarian states is not likely to affect
Germany's fighting capacity to the same
degree as it did during the last war.
Raw Materials Assured.
The totalitarian states are assured of
regular flow of food supplies and i'm
portant raw materials from Hungary,
Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. There is a
strong possibility of adding to these sup
plies from Turkey and even Russia.
Rumania, which is strongly inclined to