Evening star., 1941-03-05
Stowe Answers Readers
Destroyer Deal Had No Effect on Chances
In case of Germany hegemony

Believes
@. In case of Germany hegemony
over Hungary, Rumania and Bull
garia is there decided interference
in internal political or governmental
affairs or does the internal economy
function much as usual?
A. In all these countries the
Nazis rarely interfere openly in in
ternal politics but follow the much
more effective tactics of bringing
pressure behind the scenes. If any
minister resists ''co-operation" he
seldom lasts very long. Key min
listers in these three governments
are either pro-Nazi by conviction or
by pressure. They have no other
choice Internal business, industry
and agriculture go on functioning
but function primarily and almost
exclusively to meet German re-
quirements and to fulfill Germany's
war needs. This is not exactly
business as usual" but it is the
only kind of business the Balkan
people can have.
3. Do you think that there would
have been negotiated peace last
summer If President Roosevelt had
not stiffened Churchill's back by
the overage destroyer deal, the
transfers of rifles and other NUM-
tions, and encouraged him with
promises of other aid?
WASHINGTON @. LOYDE,
Los Angeles.
A. think when France capitu-
lated last June that the Churchill
cabinet in London decided imme-
diately that it would fight to the
end. 1t did not wait for initiatives
from Washington. I do not think
that Hitler would have obtained a
negotiated peace with Britain last
summer, because both Britain's
leaders and her people realized
very clearly that any negotiated
peace would merely mean for them
the same fate as that which now
reduces France to impotence and
suffering.
@. If England would retire from
European affairs would Hitler come
to terms with her and then turn his
attention to Russia
A. If the British were SO naive or
foolish as to trust Hitler's word, of
course Hitler would be the most de-
lighted person on earth. That
would give him time to build UP his
war strength even further, carve of
huge slice of Soviet Russia and
then gobble up the British Isles at
his leisure. 1t isn't a question of
Britain retiring from European af-
fairs. For the British it is a ques-
ton of retiring from freedom for the
rest of their lifetime. Moreover, if
you live within Is miles of the conti-
nent of Europe, how are you going
to retire from European affairs?
The only method can see would be
to move the British Isles into the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean and
probably that wouldn't be far
enough.
O. why not stand together and
fight now with Great Britain and
with the cooperation of other
democracies, instead of being left in
the end to fight alone against a
world-victoriouS Nazi Germany?
AEON GELMAN,
Chicago, III.
A. For some reason most of the
people of Europe, from the Scandi-
navians through Holland and Bel
gium all the way to the Balkans,
have preferred to wait and fight in
their own backyard. A great many
Americans still seem to think that
this would be the best policy for
us. 1t is my conviction, arrived at
with reluctance and only after
Frances military power was de-
stroyed, that the costliest and most
dangerous choice the United States
could now make would be to let
British resistance be destroyed. If
we do that, it will be a miracle
if we escape the fate of France in
the course of time.
@. Do you find that the theology
of Nazi-ism or Fascism and Com
munism is as prominent in think
ing of the average man in Europe
as we are led to believe, or is this
another way of conducting power
politics?
A. am not certain that I get
the exact meaning of your question.
If you are asking whether the aver
age European is sympathetic to one
or another of these totalitarian
ideologies, would say that this is
very far from being the case. There
are tens of millions of Europeans
from one end of Europe to the
other, including many Germans and
italians and probably a great many
Russians, whose greatest desire is
to see these systems of dictatorship
destroyed The Nazis, Fascists and
Stalinists have most of the weapons,
including that of propaganda, in
their hands at the present time,
but have by no means succeeded in
converting the majority of the Euro
pean masses.