Evening star., 1939-09-21
Britain Sits Tight

tides of the battle were running
against the allies as relentlessly as
they are today, in the opening weeks
of Hitler's war, Prime Minister As
quith, speaking at the Guildhall in
London, used these words:
"Practicing the equanimity of our
forefathers, the fluctuating fortunes
of a great war will drive us neither
into exultation nor despondency."
1t is in that indomitable spirit that
the present Prime Minister of Great
Britain, Neville Chamberlain, has
hastened to reply to Chancellor Hit
lers clustering victory" address at
Danzig, which subtly invited the
western powers to acknowledge the
military fait accompli in Poland and
make peace-on Germany's terms.
Any one but statesman with the
Nazi dictator's myopic conception of
British character and fathomleSs
ignorance of British history would
have known in advance what Cham
berlain's answer would be. It was
delivered in the House of Commons
yesterday in the course of the gov
ernment'S weekly report on the war
situation. The answer, of course, is a
ringing, unqualified rejection of any
peace with the Reich short of the
restoration of Poland's independence
and "the redemption of Europe from
the perpetual fear of German aggres-
SION" To the battle cry of "Hitlerism
must go" Britain and France remain
1rrevocably committed. The Prime
Minister is not prepared to hazard
guess as to how long it will take the
allies to achieve their aims, but he
reminded Parliament afresh that
they are basing all their preparations
on the possibility of at least three
years of war.
Rivaling in Importance this reaf-
flrmation of the determination of
John Bull and Marianne to see things
through and sit tight in the process
is Chamberlain's disclosure of the
ventures that offer little prospect of
success" He is referring to opposi-
ton and press taunts in Britain that
the allies are pursuing a strategy
OF mastery inactivity" on the west
ern front and had essayed no Of
fenslve effort to rescue Poland. The
Prime Minister points out that while
there is no sacrifice from which we
will shrink" no operation will be un-
dertaken by the British unless the
governments responsible advisers,
our allies and we ourselves are con-
vinced that it will make an appro-
pirate contribution to victory"
This is Downing Streets commend
able rejoinder to amateur strategists'
suggestions that the British and
French armies and air forces ought
to fling themselves without delay
against the Siegfried Line-that, In
deed, had such an offensive been
launched in time, the Nazis might
nave been compelled to divert to
their West Wall' enough of the sew
enty divisions sent into Poland to
save that unhappy country. Gamelin
and Gort obviously will hear of no
such move. Their objections seem
sound enough in presence of expert
opinion that to break through the
Slegfried Line would cost minimum
of one million British and French
lives. German authority is quoted
as placing the cost of forcing the
Maginot Line at approximately the
same figure
Chamberlain and Churchill shed
reassuring light on the U-boat situ-
alton. In April, 1917, peak of subma-
rlne warfare in the World War.
average weekly sinkings of British
shipping amounted to $4,000 tons.
or thlrty-nine ships. Last week losses
were $4,000 tons and seventeen ships.
For the week ended September 19
they were only 45,848 tons and thir-
teen ships. This marked decrease is
attributed by the admiralty to the
convoy system, now increasingly eff
fective. 1T is already clear" said
the Prime Minister in a statement
pre-eminently British in its senten-
tiousness, that the navy and the
merchant marine will be able to
maintain essential supplies of raw
materials and food for this country"
So fresh evidence is now in Hitler's
hands that more than his buster and
spurious peace offers are required to
cause Britain and France to sheathe
the sword he forced them to draw.
IL IL