Evening star., 1940-07-02
Chamberlain and Peace

OminouS as the surprise German
occupation of Britain's Channel
islands OF Guernsey and Jersey may
appear, its Importance should not
be exaggerated. London had already
announced the demilitarization OF
the islands, which lie much closer to
the Nazi-held French coast than to
England. They were frankly consid-
cred indefensible amid the graver
conditions with which the British
high command expects momentar-
lily to have to cope-a large-scale
German attempt at invasion of the
kingdom at probably several points
on the English and Scottish coasts
and perhaps even somewhere in Ire
land.
Guernsey is ninety miles from
Plymouth on the southern shores of
England, opposite Cherbourg. Jersey
is twenty miles southeast of Guern-
sey. The evacuation of the islands,
famed for their thoroughbred cattle,
is doubtless considered more grievous
from sentimental than from a
strategic standpoint. The Germans
are sure to claim jubilantly that the
enemy's territory has at last been
invaded and that the hoisting of the
swastika over the Channel islands is
the handwriting on the wall for
Britain. Nazis will gloat that Hitler's
time table for the battle of Britain,
calling for conquest of King Georges
insular realm by August Is, is off to
a start promising triumphant results
on scheduled time. Pinning supreme
faith on the ability of their bombing
and transport planes to seal Britain,s
doom, Germans will derive special
satisfaction from their high COM
mand's boast that the occupation of
Guernsey and Jersey resulted from
"a coup de main" of the Nazi air
force.
Within a few hours of this blood
less victory, Neville Chamberlain
broadcast a significant statement.
It's main purpose was to blast
charges that unity no longer pre-
walls in the British war cabinet and
that a defeatist-appeasement group
within it is surreptitiously toying
with the idea Of peace talks with
Germany. I'VE are solid and
united nation" the former Prime
Minister affirmed, "and would rather
60 down to ruin than admit the
domination of the Nazis." AS to
cabinet dissension, he declared that
"all members are working together
in complete harmony and agree
ment." Any one who "imagines that
any Of us would consent to enter
upon peace negotiations with the
enemy is just playing the Nazi
game"
Then followed specific reassur-
ances on the state of British pre-
paredness to resist invasion, as
typified by "our vastly superior
navy, the largest army in the whole
of our history and an air force
stronger than it has been since the
beginning of the war, while being
superior in equipment, training and
morale to that of the enemy" Brave
and reassuring as these words are
at this zero hour of Britain's peril,
many believe they constitute Mr..
Chamberlain's valedictory-that his
disappearance from the government
and public life is imminent. Despite
Mr.. Churchills generous gesture in
inviting his predecessor, the leader
Of the Conservative party, to remain
in the cabinet after the Allied fiasco
In Norway forced a reformation of
the British government, the Cham
berlain group continues to be pill
loried as "the men of Munich"-as
the factors primarily responsible for
that "bungling" alike in diplomacy
and in the field of armed prepared
ness, which brought Britain to it's
present desperate plight.
During the past fortnight there
have been concrete indications of
an "oust Chamberlain Halifax"
movement in Parliament and in the
country. The plan, If such there
was, received fresh impetus last week
when word was cabled from America
that fears were entertained here
that Mr.. Chamberlain and his fol-
lowers might follow Marshal Petain's
example and seek cessation of hos
tilities with Germany. These sug-
gestions, now branded by the former
Prime Minister as wholly ground
less, are based on the contention
that Churchill retains power only
through Chamberlain's backing of
two hundred "sure" votes in the
House of Commons, and that, with
these behind him, the statesman