Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1940-01-11
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
Continued from Page ~

tCOntlnueO from rage -
eminent. The Scandinavian coun-
tries have been warned that if they
permit British and French troops to
go by way of their territories, the
consequences might be quite I'M
pleasant" Furthermore, some of the
leading newspapers of Germany have
limited that it might be wise policy
on the part of the Northern coun-
tries to resign from the League of
Nations since that organization is
nothing but plant tool in the hands
of England and France"
Resistance.
Judging from the reaction of the
newspapers of Copenhagen, Oslo and
Stockholm there is a decided ten
dency to resist German threats;
strong demand that Scandinavian
neutrality be respected. Sweden has
been irked by stories to the effect
that it was susceptible to British in
fluence, and possibly inspired -
statements have appeared in the
Stockholm papers that whether Ger
many or England attempt to violate
the laws of neutrality, armed resist
ance will be offered, if necessary.
The Copenhagen press uses similar
language, and the Oslo papers agree
that no great power can enforce any
demands on Norway without being
faced by show of force.
In Scandinavia, neutrality is not
merely word. 1t is an iron fact
not theory on paper.
Had to Go.
War news during the last few days
has been-to some eXtent-overShad-
owed by the upheavals within the
British government; Leslie Hore-
Belisha, minister of war, resigned
under pressure-in fact, from all &C
counts, he was asked to step out.
Hore-Belisha had the peculiar idea
| that soldiers were human beings and
should be treated as such; he also
believed that their immediate families
should be taken care of by the gov
eminent while the breadwinners
were away at the front fighting for
king and country, and he further
entertained the notion that young Of
ficers of proved ability should be pro-
NOTED whenever possible over the
gray heads of some of the super
animated generals whose positions
rested on the rule of seniority.
Macmillan, Too.
All this wouldn't do in a country
as devoted to the upholding of old
traditions as England, and it appears
that a coterie of high army officers
finally got the ear of Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain and the king,
with the result that Hore-Belisha was
left out in the dark
With him, by the way, went Lord
Macmillan, minister of public infor-
nation; he had, as it seems rightly,
been criticized because he considered
all war news confidential matters
which could not be handed out to
the press.
Oliver Stanley, colorless president
of the Board of Trade, succeeds Hore-
Belisha; Sir John Reith, formerly a
director of the British Broadcasting
Corporation, is the new minister of
public information.
Balkan Problems.
1t has long been known that Rus
STA has ambitions in the direction of
the Balkan countries, and some of
them were fulfilled when Soviet
armies in September occupied the
eastern part of Poland and shut off
direct contact between Germany and
Roumania There is still that veXa-
tious questions of Bessarabia, coded
to Roumania after the World war
The Bucharest government took over
that territory, and Russia has never
recognized its right; so there has been
plenty of talk about the Russians
going after the lost province.
A few days ago, King Carol of
Roumania, speaking in city within
the Bessarabian territory, made it
clear that it would be defended by
the Roumanian army against any pos
sible Russian aggression.
Conference in Rome.
At the same time Count Stefan
Csaky, foreign minister of Hungary,
was in Rome negotiating with Gale
azzo Ciano, Italian foreign minister,
and the two gentlemen agreed that
come what may-the Balkans were
to be protected against any possible
Russian attack. There was a good
deal of talk about Yugoslavia lining