Evening star., 1939-06-18

LONDON.-I am one of a multitude
who, after reading assiduously all the
information available about the inter-
national situation given in speeches
and newspapers of all colors, is COM
pletely confused as to where We now
stand and what we are after-any of
us, whether democrats or authori-
tarians.
Each country declares every new day,
through its mediums of platform, radio
and press, that its leaders are striving
for peace. They all believe it. 1t is
incredible that any sane and RESPONSE
BILE person should seek or desire war.
But they all alike emphasize the same
truth that peace has its conditions and
that outside certain limits war is in
evltable. And they all alike are strain
ing their resources, human and material
to the point of exhaustion to prepare
for that inevitable conflict.
Until these limits are approximately
indicated, no one can judge whether
they are at all acceptable or adjustable
Will Germany insist, as condition of
of Danzig, Pomerania, Posnania and
Silesia into the Reich? What does she
mean by restoration of her lost COL
onies'? Will she demand that they shall
all be restored? If any of them are
given back, will she accept the mandate
of trust under which they are now held?
Is she prepared as part of any bargain
to discuss restoration to independence
of the Slavonic populations of Czecho-
Slovakia, or will she persist in repeating
in Central Europe the fatal experiment
OF Alsace-Lorraine?
What Does Italy Want?
Then again, what is the irreducible
minimum of Italy's demands? Will she
be satisfied with free port and trans
port facilities in Jibuti and seat on
the Suez Canal board? Or has she set
her heart on securing some worthwhile
territory in North Africa? She shifts
at Libya. She is not grateful for our
gift of Jubaland. Will she be satisfied
only with Tunis, British Somaliland or
the Sudan? Can any one tell? Neither
Mussolini nor Hitler have yet formu-
lated their claims.
Unless we have some sort of idea what
the dictators have in their minds on
these matters, any conference would be
dangerous. There is also preliminary
obstacle in the composition of the con-
ference. Who will be in and who will
be ruled out? :
Will Russia be included? And what
about Japan and China? Is Japan ready
to disgorge her immense conquests? If
not, she must continue to keep up and
build up her great armies and her for
midable navy. That would exclude the
discussion of disarmament as an ulti-
mate and essential aim of any settle
ment. A conference which does not
terminate and reverse the armaments
race, in which the nations are painting
away their last gasps of reserve strength,
would do no good. It would at best only
achieve postponement and thus intensi-
f1cation of the final crash.
Who would care or dare to stop in
creasing and perfecting her vast arma-
ments, while Japan was waging i'm
placable war against one-fifth of the
human race?
Spanish Issue Remains.
There are many other difficult issues
which will demand settlement If we are
to look forward to permanent peace as
a result of conference An Italian
Albania will be constant threat to the
Balkans. And what about Spain? France
and ourselves have recognized the
Franco government. But that is not
= the end of it as far as we are concerned.
There still remain the obligations which
Spain was under before the last civil
war not to fortify the Straits of Gibral-
tar in such way as to jeopardize the
harbor of Gibraltar and the shipping
that passes through the narrows.
1t used to be an axiom of diplomacy
that conference which failed always
left things In worse plight than they