Evening star., 1939-09-02
On the SideIines

"uooolAIll ucCiolUIl W Slt tiilS OIlc
OUT so far as lending active military
support to Hitler's attempted con-
quest of Poland is concerned comes
as no great surprise. For some weeks
the Rome-Berlin axis has been creak-
ing ominously under the strain of
the German Chancellor's warlike
maneuvers. II Duce's almost frantic
efforts to dissuade his axis ally from
plunging Europe into war over the
Polish issue-a conflict in which Italy
stands to lose much and gain moth
ing-have clearly indicated that the
Italian Premier still believes that
there is nothing in the European
situation to justify war; and that he
does not intend to place Italy in
jeopardy for the aggrandizement Of
Germany.
There are some who believe that
Hitler would prefer to keep Italy out
Of a general European war. Italy
could furnish little direct assistance
to the Reich, and because OF her own
relative vulnerability to attack it
might even become necessary for the
Fuehrer to weaken his forces to pro-
tect his ally. Some support for this
belief is found in the cordial manner
in which Hitler thanked II Duce for
past assistance while disclaiming any
intention OF calling for Italian armed
support at this time.
The probabilities are, however,
that Hitler was merely making the
best of an embarrassing detection,
and that he believes his n-aggres-
sion pact and rumored military alli-
ance with Russia-an influential
factor in cooling Mussolini's ardor
for undertaking military adventures
with the Reichschancellor-will more
than offset the loss of Fascist support.
1t is worth remembering that the
Italians had an alliance with the
Central Powers in 1914, only to cast
in her lot with the Allies after the
World War was a year old. That
alliance, it is true, was defensive in
character and expressly released
Italy from hostile action against
Great Britain. But it is also true
that Italy at that time had terri
torial ambitions which could be sat-
isfied only at the expense of Austria
Hungary, the third member of the
Triple Alliance. In other words, italy
then stood to gain more by fighting
with the French and British than by
opposing them, and it Is at least de-
batable whether that is not the case
again today.
After the World War the French
and British refused to give Italy all
that she had been promised in the
way of territorial concessions. That
episode still rankles, and from time
to time II Duce has made extreme
demands on the French. Last March,
however, he said he would be salts
fed with Tunisia and Djibouti, plus
voice in control of the Suez Canal.
1t Is by no means certain that II
Duce could attain any of these OBJ
jectives by supporting Hitler's assault
on Poland. If the war should end in
a stalemate he would get nothing
and if the axis powers should be de-
feated he might we'll lose some of
his present African holdings. If, on
the other hand, he should elect to
remain on the sidelines and take no
part in the struggle, the French
might be willing to satisfy some of
his demands.
There is no tangible evidence avail
able now to support the belief that
the French and Italians have come
to an understanding, but that posi-
bility cannot be ruled out 80 long as
France and II Duce, too, stand to
profit by the latter's neutrality.
Ar<r l. -