Evening star., 1939-05-06
Peace Door Still Open

President RooSevelt'S only reported
comment on Hitler's ReichStag
speech was that it left the door to
peace "just about an inch open"
Polish Foreign Minister Beck's anx-
iously anticipated reply to Hitler's
demand for Danzig and strip OF
German territory across the Corri-
dor, distinctly leaves the door still
ajar.
Poland is ready for peaceful con-
versations" with the Reich, provided
these are marked by peaceful inten-
tions and peaceful methods. There
is clear warning in these firm but
unprovocative words of Colonel Beck
that the Poles will brook no Munich
no attempt to bully and browbeat
them as Czecho-S -Slovakia was treated.
Specifically, the Warsaw Foreign
Minister told his Parliament, any
solution of the controversy with Ger
many must have due regard for Po-
lands commercial interests and mar
itime needs. She will not be pushed
out of the Baltic.
Though immediate Nazi reaction
Is that Beck's speech offers no con-
crete basis for further negotiations,
there is evidence that Berlin Is ready
to negotiate. Two late developments
are designed to make Hitler negotia-
ton minded, no matter how loudly,
for local consumption, the Nazi no.
concession drums may be beaten.
Today at Milan Foreign Minister
Won Ribbentrop is conferring with
his opposite number in Italy, Count
Ciano. Rome is informed that Mus
solini's -in-law will counsel his
German colleague to conciliate Po-
land, or at least to avoid any atti-
tude that forecloses an adjustment
of the Danzig and Corridor questions.
Being vastly more vulnerable than
the Reich, at the hands OF Britain
and France, Italy has no desire to
be required to do her axis duty IN
case Germany's reluctance to COM
promise with the Poles should pre-
cipitate war.
The other factor that makes for
peace is Britain's reported acceptance
in principle of Russia's proposal to
form an Anglo -French-Russian mill
tary alliance. Britain has offered
supplementary plan for supporting
Poland and Rumania, OF nature
that presumably meets their objec-
tions to provisions which would per-
NIT Soviet forces access to Polish and
Rumanian soil.
Reported details Of the projected
pact are that the high contracting
parties undertake to aid one an
other If any of them is attacked by
a European power. The mutual de-
fensive alliance would not apply to
the Far East, if the u s. S. R. were
attacked by Japan. The Kremlin,
If this version is verified, would seem
to have given important ground, for
insistence on Anglo-French aid in
Asia, as well as in Europe, was un-
derstood to be Moscow's irreducible
minimum as the price of Soviet ad-
herence to the grand alliance"
against German aggression.
So another week of war alarms
and anxieties passes into the hectic
history of 1899 without an explosion.
The only guns of any consequence
which have gone off are the twenty
one which doomed a salute to Mica
raguan President Somoza in Wash
ington yesterday. Meantime, the po-
litical poker game in Europe con-
tinues. While there is talk, even
while there is bluff1ng, there is hope.
Hitler must do the next talking. Die
tators are unpredictable, but the
Polish issue seems less likely to un-
leash the dogs of war than 1t did