Evening star., 1939-09-02
without Hesitation"

without Hesitation"
Addressing the House of Commons
last night at the end of Hitler's first
day of undeclared war on Poland,
Prime Minister Chamberlain an
nounced the submission Of the joint
Anglo-French demand for "suspen-
sion of Germany's aggressive action"
If the Reich government "is not pre-
pared promptly to withdraw its
forces from Poland" Great Britain
will, without hesitation, fulfill It's
obligations to Poland" Then the
Prime Minister voiced the fear that
Germany's reply to this last warn
ing" will be unfavorable. If it is, the
British Ambassador at Berlin will ask
for his passport. TN that case, we
are ready" said a grim Neville
Chamberlain in terms destined to
become historic in the annals of
what he previously described as "this
terrible catastrophe - responsibility
for which rests on the shoulders of
one man, the German Chancellor"
The Prime Minister, palpably
stung by Hitlers charge that the
real aggressor" in the European
crisis has been Great Britain, did
not shrink from the challenge. He
accused der Fuehrer outright of
'plunging the world into misery to
serve his own senseless ambitions"
There was ample evidence out of the
Nazi dictator's own mouth yesterday
that it is his own personal war that
has been launched. His assault on
the perpendicular pronoun "I' and
It's possessive form, in his Reichstag
harangue, was comprehensive and
continuous-"I" have done this, "I'
will that, Il" have arranged for this.
Il" propose to do that.
Another striking feature of the
Chancellor's personal war manifesto
was its imperious order to his Reich
stag puppeteers to see to it. each in
his own particular bailiwick-house
by house-that "stimmung" (morale)
is maintained throughout Germany
While his war RACES. There is more
than meets the eye in that COM
mand. 1t denotes, what all the world
knows, that beneath the surface of
military controlled national unity"
and iron censorship of what once
was public opinion in the Reich.
there is deep popular resentment of
the Nazi regime. That the wanton
gamble to which the regime has Just
committed the helpless German
people carries within it not only the
grave risk of ultimate military de-
1eat, but, just as happened to
Hohenzollernism in 1918. the COIN
cldental doom of the Nazi tyranny,
no man knows better than Adolf
Hitler. That Is why his Reichstag
henchmen are enjoined to constitute
themselves gestapo agents for
maintenance of morale" Der
Fuehrer as much as comedies that it
is definitely fragile and unreliable
factor.
The nature of Hitler's response to
the Anglo-French demand for aban-
donment OF his war on and in
Poland-where Berlin claims that
German armies are already deep in
Polish territory and in complete
control of "the Polish air''-should
be disclosed today. Corroborative of
Mr.. Chamberlain's conviction that
Germany's reply will be negative is
the bluster of the Nazi official press
bureau that the Reich will pursue
the course she has chosen even if it
means "a ten-year war" If Hitler.
in Sir Edward Grey's winged words
on the night of August 4, 1914, thus
indicates that again "the lights of
reason have gone out all over
Europe" the next twenty-four hours
Will almost inevitably see general
conflict "over there" with the full
power of the British and French
empires flung into action in a
formally declared war. Into it the
madman OF the Wilhelmstrasse is
apparently ready to rush single
handed and alone.
What Britain and France propose
to do or can do immediately to i'm
plement their readiness" to help
Poland is, OF course, the secret of
the respective British and French
war STATS. That plans have long
been formulated may be taken for
granted. That Turkey and the Bal