Evening star., 1939-01-04
By CONSTANTINE BROWN.

tering Europe these days Is like
penetrating storm zone. There
are heavy clouds everywhere-from
the channel ports to the Black
Sea and from the Baltic to the
north coast of Africa.
Now and then a little break ap-
pears in the clouds and a dim ray
of sunshine seems to make its way
through the heavily laden skies.
Politicians shout victory, peace,
appeasement." But those faint rays
do not last more than a few days.
They are soon replaced by heavy
rumblings of war thunder. This
is Europe after the Munich pact.
The Berlin Rome Toxic axis,
which was only vaguely limited when
this writer visited Europe in the
summer of 1896, is now a powerful
instrument for expansion and ag-
grandizement. The three totali-
tartan states are using the weak
ness of the western democracies and
are exploiting the fears and the
lack of self-reliance of the demo-
cratic governments.
When one of the dictators has
had his fill. the other begins to
roar, fully confident that if he
shouts loud enough: If he rattles
the saber with sufficient energy,
the leaders of the democratic ,coun-
tries will yield without much ado.
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The Munich pact was signed
three months ago. 1t was expected
to bring harmony, appeasement and
disarmament. 1t has produced SO
far an increase of ornaments and
two new trouble-making problems.
Mussolini's demand for Tunisia and
Djibuti and Hilter's decision to
form an autonomous Ukraine
composed of Ruthenia. the Polish
Ukraine and the Russian Ukraine.
The other problems which are con-
fronting Europe such as Memel,
the question of Italy's participation
in the administration of the Suez
Canal, etc, can be considered of
minor Importance. But the first
two might produce the war which
the Munich peace-makers had
hoped to avoid by surrendering
Czecho- -Slovakia.
Munich has become by-word
in France describing deceit, surren-
der. bullying and cowardice. No
body now expects peace from that
pact, not even its principal god
father. Foreign Secretary George
Bonnet. The few partisans of that
treaty have only one argument in
its favor: 1t has postponed the
final day of reckoning and has al
lowed France and Great Britain to
take stock of their weakness and
mend as quickly as possible certain
holes III their national defense.
Furthermore they add. sit has
given American public opinion a
chance to realize what the totali-
tartan states are aiming at and con-
slider what Americas duty towards
the world is
Only Postponement.
But the average Frenchman feels
that he has been deceived. He feels
that the Munich agreement has only
postponed the tragic hour and that
before long he will be called once
more to his regiment in more un-
favorable conditions than in Sep
tember. 1888 The general staff.
these days an important branch of
the French government, does not
express openly its views. The army
in France must remain inarticulate.
But in private conversations respon-
slble high officers are saying that
the only practical result of the
Munich pact has been to destroy 80
Czech divisions which would have
fought desperately on Frances side
and hand over to Germany line of
Notifications in the Sudetenland
which would have engaged at least
600 900 of Germany's Reichswehr.
Frances loudest pacifsts, the
Communists and the extreme Left
Socialists under Leon Blum, are now
the first to denounce the surrender
OF September. 1t is these paciflsts
who are shouting more than the
nationalists that France must fight.
1t is they who clamor that Munich
is not the result of the desire of
the French people to avoid trouble,
but the fear of the wealthy class
the important bankers and the big
lndustrialists-of losing more than
the masses in another European
conflict. The following authentic
although on the surface unimpor-
tant-story is being told in support
OF this Socialist theory:
Nothing to Lose.
The editor of the Times, the lead
ing afternoon paper in Paris, which
belongs to a group of important
lndustrialists, sent a reporter to
the Care de rEst to watch the
passing of troops toward the border,
The reporter spent several hours at
the station and returned with his
story. He handed it over to the
editor and gave him a dramatic
verbal account of what he had seen,
This account was apparently more
dramatic than the written story,
The newspaperman, an old re-
porter, told his chief of the grim
determination of the men who were
being sent to the front. He was
telling him that unlike 1914, there
were no shouts of ITO Berlin" or
Long live France" or any outward
manifestation of enthusiasm. Only
a strong will to see the thing
through and sell their skin as dearly
as possible. Did the men seem in
any way worried or downhearted,
especially the older ones?" he was
asked. mot at ALL" was the answer.
"On volt bien qu'ils non nen a
perdre eux' Git is obvious that they
are risking nothing) was the i'm
patient retort of the editor. This
authenticity of the story is being
vouched for by number of respon-
sible politicians and newspaper
editors in Paris.
This incident has been repeated
in many quarters and is now being