Evening star., 1939-12-04
War; Whole Future
Seen Ringing on
Events This Week
Britoin's Position Due
ToBe Revealed in
Council Speech
By HELEN KIRKPATRICK.

BY HELEN hlhAfAxhlCh.
Chicago Daily News Foreisn Correspondent.
LONDON, Dec. 4.-While the
British answer to the invitation to
the League Of Nations Council and
Assembly, convened by Finland Is
a result of the Russian invasion, is
expected this afternoon, the actual
position Britain will take at the
meeting this coming week end
probably will not be clarified until
the speech of the British delegate
to the Council.
There is intense diplomatic ac-
tivity between the allies and the
neutral members Of the League
over the trickiest session in the
history of the League. This week Is
obviously the period on which the
whole future of the war may de-
pend, as decisions will have to be
taken as to whether the allies can
agree to go further than speeches
denouncing the action of the So
viets.
There are all sorts OF possibilities.
If the italian government adopts q
policy congenial to the apparently
overwhelmingly strong anti-Russian
feelings of the italian people and
consonant with its own fear of Rus
sian expansion, Italy can attend the
Council on Saturday, but unless spe-
cial action is taken she will be ex-
cluded from the Assembly, as Italy;s
resignation from the League be-,
comes operative on Monday. Should
the British decide to go further
than a wishy-washy denunciation
without action, the government
could publish pertinent passages
from the Anglo-French negotiations
with Moscow when the allies sought
Russian assistance to prevent q
European war.
Paris Is Hesitant.
Whether the Russians actually
specified the territory which is now
demanded from Finland, they Ger
tainly sought allied help in OBJ
tanning virtually the same conces-
sions from the Baltic states which
have now been secured by black
mail and force. The impression
here is that while the British are
willing to publish these facts, there
may be hesitation in Paris.
The nervous, Jump state of every
European neutral is demonstrated
by Yugoslavia's refusal to accept the
presidency of the League Council
AS result of the Yugoslav with
drawal and the rotation system.
it falls to Belgium to preside and
the assembly will meet under Eamon
de Valera, Irish president Of the
last assembly, until a new presi-
dent is elected.
There Is no confirmation here
of the report that Russia is resign
ing from the league, and it is point
ed out that it would make no diff
ference, owing to the two-year Pc
riod before designations become
effective. i. y 49, a
The council members are Bel
GUM, Bolivia, China, the Domini-
can Republic, France, Great Britain,
Greece, Iran, Italy, Latvia, New
Zealand, Peru, Sweden, Russia and
Yugoslavia, of which only three
could certainly be counted on to
apply sanctions If the allies should
decide to take on another belliger-
ent-the three allies. The compli-
Gated state of the world can be no
better illustrated than by the coun-
Gil makeup and the probable at
Htude: of each country towards Rus
Han aggression. 4se-< -
China in Doubtful Column.
China must remain doubtful until
clariflcation of the Japanese Russian
position. Iran, Greece and Sweden
are not likely to stick out their
necks unless decisions have been
reached to allow the war to spread
over the entire Eurasian continents,
Which is regarded here as inevitable
later If not now. Latvia, lately a
victim of Russian iblackmail, is un-
likely to speak very loudly against
its "benefactor," and the South
American countries are probably
anxious to remain uncontrolled.
Should the allies decide to apply
sanctions against Russia-which for
them today means war-other neu-
trails would probably be scared oil,
as the logical next step would be
League condemnation of Germany
as the primary instigator of all Eu-
ropean troubles. 1t seems here that
the moment has arrived when the
allies must decide whether the time
has not come when European neu-
trality must disappear. The Ger
mans have told the neutrals 50, but
are aiming to secure their allegiance
to Germany.
Copyright, 1899. by Chicago Daily News,
1nc.)