Evening star., 1940-03-28
Frunco-Soviet Rupture

T1unCO-SOVIet kuPture
From that hour when Stain and
Hitler sealed their "non-aggression"
pact behind the backs of Great Brit
ain and France, at the very moment
the western powers were negotiating
with the Soviet Union at Moscow for
tripartite military understanding,
friendly relations among those three
countries became anomalous. That
even the facade of honorable inter-
course was maintained after the
Germans and the Russians, as the
first fruit of their devious deal, pro-
ceeded to partition Poland between
them was more than anomalous.
Until now it has suited the diplo-
matte book of the democratic allies
neither to declare war on Russia nor
to look upon her officially as Ger
many's partner in war, though for
all practical purposes the Soviet
Union is as fully identified with the
Reich's fortunes as If formal treaty
of offensive and defensive alliance
existed between them.
France-the new France of Pre-
mier Paul Reynaud's war-to-the-
limit regime-seems to have taken
the first step to end an incongruous
situation. She has asked for, and
brought about, the recall of Stalin's
Ambassador to the Quai d'Orsay,
Jakob Suritz, for attempting to use
his diplomatic communication priv
ileges for Communist propaganda.
The French envoy to Russia has been
absent from his post for some time
on sick leave. For the moment, there
fore, France and Russia are repre-
sented at each others capitals by
charges d'affaires, exactly as the
United States and Germany have
been since President Roosevelt with
drew Ambassador Wilson from Berlin
in November, 1888. This state of
affairs does not denote a complete
break in diplomatic relations, but in
the Franco Russian case such is
strongly foreshadowed by the back
ground of events, including authen-
ticated Communist intrigues in war
time France.
Ambassador Suritzs recall was de-
manded by Premier Reynaud follow
ing the French censors' interception
Of a dispatch in which the envoy
sought to congratulate Stain on the
peace treaty with Finland and called
it a stroke against anglo French
warmongers." It hardly seems likely
that so heinous an offense as this was
in French eyes-Paris officially calls
it an "insult"-the government will
look upon the incident as acasus
belli.. Should Stain in collusion with
Hitler make an aggressive move in
the Balkans, that would be another
matter, and the great allied force in
the Near East commanded by Cen
eral Weygand would probably not
long continue to stand at ease.
Sooner or later it would appear
inevitable that the British and
French must devise some steps to
disrupt or checkmate the Com
munist-Nazi war partnership. It's
potential menace to the allied cause
is inestimable. Opinion differs as to
the Soviets' value as an ally, after
the Red Armys poor showing against
Finland; but Russian energies and
resources, once efficiently harnessed
ana organized, are indisputably
capable of sustaining Germany, mill
tarily and economically, many
authorities think, indefinitely. Hitler
and Goering gloat that with Russia
wide open to the Reich as source of
man power, food, mineral and oil
supplies, the Reich can snap it's
fingers in the face of the British
blockade.
So far, as indicated by the Nails
frantic efforts to dragon Rumania
into furnishing them with more oil
and grain, the "illimitable resources"
of Russia for Germany's purposes
appear to be more illusory than
dependable. Besides notorious Red
incompetence in industry and trans
portation, measured by Nazi stand
ards, there need to be considered two