Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1939-05-25
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW

NEWS REVIEW |
CONTINUED from Page u
foreign minister was about to sign a
treaty with the Soviets, another meet
ing was taking place-in Berlin, the
capital of Germany. Here Galeazzo
Ciano, foreign minister of Italy, met
once more Joachim Won Ribbentrop,
foreign minister of Germany, and very
tremendously the two gentlemen
signed treaty of alliance between
their two countries.
Lineups.
In itself that was nothing startling,
for the Rome-Berlin axis has been a
harsh fact for many months. But
now a treaty officially, formally
and bindingly clinched the agreement
between the two. Italy and Germany
merged, for all practical purposes,
into one solid unit, operating together
in peace as well as in war; the fate
of one is the fate of the other, and
vice versa.
Thus, we are reverting to the sit
uation which existed twenty-five
years ago, just before the World war
broke out: At that time there was
the Triple Alliance of Germany, Au-
stria and Italy; since Austria now is
a part of the German Reich, its posi-
ton is as it was in 1914; so is Italy's
But, as will be recalled, in 1915 Italy
broke the alliance and joined the
enemies of Germany and Austria.
Are the bonds, if tested, stronger this
time than the last?
On the other side, we had in 1914
the Triple Entente, that is, Great
Britain, France and (then imperial)
Russia. We have now that lineup
again. The natural question on the
lips of millions is: What does all this
mean? And-no one dares pretend
to be prophet.
Shooting in Danzig.
Idyll in Toronto; approaching un-
derstanding in Geneva; saccharine
amity in Berlin-but in Danzig a
sinister shadow, for in that much
disputed territory shooting took
place. According to both German
and Polish sides the single undoubted
fact is that German was killed by
Pole; thereafter, details differ. The
Germans insist that their fellow
countryman was shot in the back as
he was waiting at railroad crossing
to let his car pass through heavy
automobile traffic; the Poles, on the
other hand, complain to the German
government that their man was driv-
ing his car peacefully along the high
way when it was set upon by crowd
of uniformed Nazis, and that he had
to shoot in self-defense. And So,
Germany demands full damages paid
by the Poles, and Poland insists that
the Germans must pay.
Danzig being highly inflammatory
material, in diplomatic parlance, there
was a good deal of excitement, for
it might be that in this shooting could
be found exactly that much-feared
incident which would precipitate a
war.
Calmer consideration made it
doubtful that war would follow.
There was this, too-exactly one
week before, Mussolini had said in
Turin that there was not in all Europe
an issue worth going to war about,
and likewise, the rumor that as a
condition for signing the military ALI
ance with Germany, Mussolini had
exacted from Hitler a pledge that
Danzig was not to be used as an ex-
cuse for armed conflict At the mo-
ment of writing it is thought that the
shooting affray is one that will, I'LL
timately, be settled by negotiation.
Palestine Situation.
In Palestine a new and serious sit
uation has been created as the result
of the British governments decision
to prepare that country for complete
independence in the year 1944-with,
of course, the reservation that Great
Britain continues even then to exert
some control In the decision it is
declared, according to a British White
Paper, that after 1914 Palestine will
DGCOIllc independently, dllO tlidI tilC
population is to consist of 60 percent
Arabs, 40 percent Jews, but during the
intervening five years $4,000 Jews
are to be permitted immigration; after
1914 Jewish immigration will be reg
ulated by the Arabs.
Bloody clashes have taken place in
Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and other cities
since the decision became known;
the Jews feel that they do not get
enough, the Arabs that they get too
little, and the Jewish element de-
nounces the British government in
bitter words for breaking its pledge,
contained in the Balfour Declaration
of 1917, to the effect that Palestine
was to be National Home for the
Jews of all the world.
Britain which exercises mandatory
rights in Palestine, under the control
of the League of Nations, has been
singularly unfortunate with its ex-
pertinent of bringing back the Jews
to their original homeland, and every
new step taken has been marked by