Evening star., 1939-11-24
Payment 10 Stay Out
OF War Is Seen
As |ta|y's Goal
Democrucies Have More
To Offer to Buy
Nation OFF
18th OF q SerieS.J
BY WILLIAM l.. WHITE.

By Airmail to The Star
ROME, Italy-It was a beautiful,
sunny, crisp day, cool enough for
trench coat, but still too warm for
gloves, and we were walking under
the palms down the Via Vittorio
Veneto past the American Embassy
toward the Piazza Barberini.
But tell you they weren't ready,
these people!" His gesture took in
the military attache with the mono
Gle sitting at the cafe table with two
girls in fur coats The coats were
rabbit, but the lines were smart.
Didn't they have an army last
September"
"Yes, but they have no heavy
artillery to speak of. And their anti
aircraft is the worst-still in the
pop-gun stage. 1t won't knock
down pigeons"
Have Best Submarines.
But they have fleet"
THE best submarines in the world.
They could have chased the British
out of the Mediterranean-that was
before the British bagged the Turks
with a treaty-but what good would
that have done? Because the French
could have come storming down out
of the Alps and chased them over
the Pc in a month-out of all their
big industrial townsville French
have plenty of heavy guns.
why didn't they have any?"
Never dreamed thered be
war. Were sure they could hold Hit
Ter back. But Hitler wouldn't be-
lieve it when Ciano told him if he
entered Poland England would Ger
tainly come in in spite of the Rus
sian pact"
What are they up to now?"
Making tanks and big guns like
hell up in Milan and Turin. About
potato-planting time they ought to
be ready"
To go IN the war next spring."
They'd rather not. They'd like to
build up a tremendous nuisance
value for themselves. so it would be
worth some ones while to pay them
for staying out"
Chances Not Bad.
(Which side?'
'"They don't much care. Only the
democracies have got more things to
buy them off with-a slice of the
upper Nile, chunk of Tunis-some
such pretty little bauble"
What are their chances for get
ting away with it?"
Not bad After Italy gets her
guns and tanks finished, neither side
can stage a major offensive without
paying her off. At least so she hopes
Because, while they had all their
front-line troops and reserves con-
centrated down in the Rhine VAL
ley, Italy could swing in on an un-
protected flank and slaughter them
from behind. They all know it?"
What are they doing about it?"
Holding back on letting her have
raw materials. Watching her. All
the diplomats are trying to ride
horseback with Ciano-at the sea-
shore they bribe the bath attendant
to get locker near to his. Then
the British are watching the Bren-
ner-checking every boxcar that
goes through to see just what Italy
is sending the Germans and Just
what Hitler is letting Italy have. I
suppose the Germans are doing the
same at the ports. Neither side
wants to let her have coal and steel
to make guns if the guns will be
used against them. But both are
afraid to get too tough about it now,
for fear Italy will get sore"
'eIt's Pretty Country
We had reached the Piazza Bar
berini and were just opposite the
fountain. In the middle of its low
er basin were four stone dolphins,
with their open mouths i the water.