Evening star., 1939-08-29

chancellor has at last been check
mated by a determination to match
force with force.
While peace negotiation Is
fully expected to materialize either
through Rome or Paris, the first re-
ouirement of such a conference is
expected to be a willingness on the
part of Germany to order demobili-
zation on a reciprocal basis with
Britain and France before terms can
be concluded.
Herr Hitler will find it necessary
to accept mediation, it is felt here.
1t begins to look also as if Italy will
stay neutral and as If all is not
well with the morale behind the
German lines. Thus the distribu-
ton of food ration cards at the
very outset was perhaps the quick
est way to communicate to the
German people the fact that an
other war of starvation may be in
prospect. 1t is calculated here that
the order to send out food cards may
have been a routine piece of war
preparation decided upon by mill
tary executives without thought Of
the psychological effects.
If war comes. will Czecho-Slo-
vakia and Austria remain loyal or
will there be rebellions just as soon
as arms and supplies can be snug
gled across borders?
If war were to be planned by
Hitler as an immediate step, would
Germany take the chance of los
ing so much of her shipping now
on the high seas? A delay for
peace negotiations or any other
reason would be helpful to Herr
Hitler, who knows how costly it is
to build ships and how long it re-
quires to get a fleet of merchant
vessels into commission. In one
week or possibly 10 days, many big
German ships could be gotten back
to their home ports.
For reasons military and diplo-
matte, war is not expected to ma
terialize for several davs-possibly
another week. Herr Hitler himself
indicated he was in no great hurry
when he started letter writing to
the British and French govern
ments. More letters and more re-
plies will go back and forth these
next few days. Most of our officials
still refuse to believe Hitler will risk
war. Up to now he has been able
to use his magic to gain victories
without bloodshed. Now that he
is face to face with war, are the
German people ready, have they
been prepared for the sacrifice?
Have fathers and mothers in Ger
many no voice even under a die
tatorship? German morale broke
down behind the lines once before
and may do so again.
One significant thing emphasized
here is that Chancellor Hitler's
communication to Premier Daladier
was couched in restrained language
neither provocative nor fiery. If
the will to peace exists, and the
evidence accumulates that it is as
important for Germany to avoid
bloodshed as it is for the British
and French, there will be a COM
promise solution.
1t is interesting to note how the
British government functions in the
present crisis. The message from
Hitler was considered by a meeting
of the entire cabinet of % persons.
The opposition leaders were invited
in for participation. The decision
was not that of one man-Prime
Minister Chamberlain-but of the
whole government.
This circumstance contrasts
sharply with the procedure in Berlin
and with the power which even
President of the United States may
WELD in foreign policy, though Mr..
Wilson did summon leaders in Con-
gress for consultation before he
recommended that the German at
tacks on American lives at sea be
accepted as war declaration.
Parliamentary government, with it's
manifest responsibility, means COL
laboration of many minds, instead of
oneman government. Delegation
of so-called dictatorial powers to the
executive does not mean granting
one man unlimited powers, for at
any time the cabinet can be over
thrown and a new personnel chosen
Since the outcome of the present
European crisis is expected to be
peaceful. there is no sign of a plan
to call Congress here into session,
though, If war does break out, this
move may be expected, along with
q conference Of ambassadors and
ministers of all Latin American
states to decide, in accordance with
the Declaration of Lima, what steps
Pan-American states shall take in
unison to protect their rights and
their neutrality.