Evening star., 1939-05-28
Brit0ns Want Soviet Pact
Lloyd George Says Poll Would Show Ninety Cent Favor


LONDON.-After months of inexplica-
BILE and inexcusable delay, 1t looks as If
the triple alliance against aggression
among Britain, France and Russia Is
going through at last. But the prime
minister informs lis that there are still
some minor questions to settle. There Is
no hurry. Bonnet proclaims his firm
conviction" that the talks at Geneva
would rapidly succeed"
The use of the words firm" and rap
idly" seem incongruous and ridiculous
when one recalls the delays, the hesita-
tions and sntbbings of Russia which
have characterized British and French
diplomacy. Had there been such an al
lance in existence in September last,
the Czecho- -Slovakian republic, the Span
ish republic and Albanian monarchy
would have been alive today and aggres-
sion would have received a check from
which it could not recover.
If one were to regard these diplomatic
hagglings merely from the point of view
Of the exigencies of the international sit
uation, it would be impossible to find a
rational explanation Of the valuable time
wasted in coming to any conclusion. 1t
Is only when one explores the position
from the viewpoint of the internal poll
tics of France and of Britain that we can
understand the motive that prompts the
reluctance to come into direct and close
association with the Soviet republic
In both Britain and France the extreme
conservative elements are virtually in
command of the government today. The
French newspapers are in control of the
great manufacturers and the church, and
although the voters return democratic
majority with a liberal program, the
constant pressure from day to day of
the conservative press has worn down
one government after another and
finally destroyed the solidarity of the new
democratic front which had triumphed
at the election. 1t is remarkable that
while by-elections in France demonstrate
that the majority of the electors still re-
tain their faith in democratic alliance,
that of the ministers and deputies, who
breathe the mephitic atmosphere created
in Paris by the aggregation of powerful
newspapers which are rootedly hostile to
lberalizing ideas, has become less robust.
French Democracy Lacks Leader.
I was very much struck by this ex-
planation of the French political situa-
tion during a recent stay in France for
two or three months. In a country where
the votes went one way, practically all
the newspapers went the other, and
their influence upon democratic readers
who were forced to resort to them for the
news of the day was depressing in the
extreme.
French democracy so far has thrown
up no leader who has the skill and the
strength to stand up to that powerful
and pervasive combination of finance,
accumulated wealth, the church, and So
ciety. which among them control most
OF the popular newspapers in France.
The circulation Of the purely democratic
papers constitute negligible percentage
of the whole
To certain extent that is also true of
England. The Liberal and Socialist press
has much larger circulation than their
French colleagues. doubt whether the
corresponding papers in France would
have combined circulation in France
OF million and half. On the other
hand the British democratic organs
could claim that they have between them