Evening star., 1939-04-16
Roosevelt Hopeful Dictators
Will Heed Voice of Reason
Direct Peace Appeal Is Made to Stave Off
Seemnly Inevitable Conflict With
European NEGOTIATIONS Jammed
Bv Constantine Broom.

collapse of the western civilization
President Roosevelt took hand in the
European situation by appealing to Hitler
and Mussolini personally to accept the
settlement of the international situation
by peaceful means. 1t was an eleventh.
hour endeavor in the hope that the in
Rvitable might be averted and the two
dictators might be persuaded to listen to
the voice of reason instead of the dictates
of passion.
Since the occupation of Prague
by Germany there have been not
even vague attempts at conversa-
tions between the totalitarian axis
and the London-Paris coalition.
True, the British have belatedly begun
to mobilize the smaller nations in a
stop the dictators" movement. Hitler
and Mussolini have not dignified these
,efforts by counter attempt to offer to
discuss our problems" as has been Gus
tomary since Munich. Whatever dis
cussions are now taking place occur in
the Anglo-French camp. The totalitar-
ians make their guns bark and their
mechanized forces roar.
The conquest of Albania took most
people here by surprise. There was no
Albanian problem three weeks ago.
There had been one early in February
when Lord Perth suggested to II Duce,
through Count Ciano, that Mussolini
appease his hunger for practical vic
tories by taking over Albania. This was
rejected then. Circumstances-the at
tempt to encircle the totalitarian states
made the Italian dictator realize that
after all the British foreign Office might
have been right for once. And he took
over that bunch of rocks which had
lived on italian subsidies since 1920.
Zog Taken by Surprise.
The vassal King Zog was as sur
prised as anybody else. He had been
sure OF his throne since he had heard
from Rome that the Italians would not
entertain the ''treacherous" British sug.
gestions. He has managed to escape to
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the entire
gold reserve of his kingdom-$l60 600
making the bitterly correct reflection
that "Mussolini and Hitler are maniacs
and Chamberlain and Daladier are
stupid" Thus the Albanian incident
was closed and another crown was added
to the two which the Italian King En-
peror, Victor Emmanuel, wears on SOL
emn occasions.
What the next move will be nobody
here can foresee-the European crises
which used to occur every three or four
months are now occurring every week.
R,1t toll inn %ta
agreement into consideration, it is prob
Able that Italy will be permitted to pro-
ceed with the fulfllment of her strate-
gic plans.
The terms of that agreement, which
used to be highly confidential, have
now percolated through to London,
Paris and Washington. The general
tenor is that while Germany is estab-
fishing hegemony over Central and
Eastern Europe extending to the North
Sea, Italy will attempt to dominate the
0outhern and Northern Mediterranean.
Albania is incidental but important, in
asmuch as 1t permits Italy to seal the
Adriatic as an Italian lake.
Eases Move on Greece.
From Albania Italy can move on to
Greece with the same ease with which
Hitler marched into the Moravian Pla-
teau or into Austria-a military parade.
There may be British warships at Pi-
raeus or Corinthus. Their purpose will
pe-to quote an Italian diplomat: 80 To
take on board King George and the
royal family and convey them to a
IL n~;k Toll
Italians doubt that the British and
French fleets will actually oppose the
occupation of the Greek Island of Thasos
: which Mussolini intends to take in order
more easily to control the Dardanelles
It is believed that unless Hitler is
forced into action he will rest for a
week or so before he strikes at Danzig
and the Corridor and possibly Holland.
All this. however, is guesswork, because
nobody but the two dictators themselves
know where the next blow will fall.
The efforts of the British government
to line up the minor Eastern European
states into holy alliance against the
dictators are considered here as pusil-
luminous endeavors doomed to failure
unless Britain can give these nations
more substantial assurance of assistance
than the power Of the British Navy and
The French Army.
Shortsishtedness Irks U. S.
Washington is bitter about Britain's
shortsightedness and astonished that the
city's financial interests should have
prevailed over the major interests of the
empire and its allies.
1t is an open secret that Mr.. Cham
berlain's change of tune on March IS
followed unfavorable reactions from this
side of the Atlantic. He was told that
unless the policy of business as usual"
was abandoned. there was grave danger
that all non-totalitarian nations would
suffer the consequences of that nefarious
policy.
President Roosevelt and his foreign
policy collaborators saw the writing on
the wall soon after the Munich appease.
ment pact was signed. This determined