Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1941-02-20
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
CONTINUED from Page u

ing improbable to obtain, Germany
would be satisfied with declaration
to the effect that Turkey would stay
out of the war altogether. Under
heavy German pressure Turkey is
likely to give in to almost any de-
mand that Hitler may make, especial
ly in view of the fact that not much
help may be expected from Great
Britain at this time. Perhaps this
explains the announcement early this
week that Turkey and Bulgaria signed
new treaty which probably will
mean that the Turks dare not risk
their army in resistance to a Ger
man invasion of Bulgaria.
Italian Defeats.
All information that comes out of
Europe indicates that the British
have been very active in supporting
the Greeks in their defensive war
against Italy. And there is not avail
able single dispatch that does not
show that the Greeks are not winning
all the time. The Italian army in
Albania, where the Greeks on for
eign soil are defending their home
land, is being consistently defeated.
The Italians have nothing better
to report from Africa where their
troops are being chased across Libya
toward Tripolis and, gradually, be-
ing driven out of Eritrea and Somali-
land.
1t begins to look as though
Mussolim may lose his African
colonial empire, and thus mini
mize still further the importance
of whatever aid he had planned
to give Hitler in connection with
the projected attack on the Brit
ish Isles.
The continued defeats of Italy (de-
feat is an honest matter) would not
look as humiliating as they do if it
had not been for the fact that Mus
solini had been Dragging SO voci-
ferously about the invincibility of his
Roman legions, as he has been doing.
More Conferences.
A few days ago Francisco Franco,
dictator ruler of Spain, had a confer
ence with Mussolini on the Italian
Riviera and Immediately thereafter
conversation with Marshal Petain,
head of the Vichy government of I'M
occupied France. The contents of
conversations, the purposes of the
conferences, have not been made pub
licly known When dictators meet
and try to determine the fate of
countries, it is not supposed to be of
any concern to the people of those
countries, so nothing is published
about such conferences except flat
statement to the effect that everything
went off beautifully and harmoni-
ously.
But there is hint that Franco
was summoned by MuSsoliM to
be told that he might pave the
way for peace negotiations be-
tween Italy and Greece, and that
he then went on to see Petain,
fortified by his talk with the
Italian dictator, to suggest that
his badly battered African troops
be permitted to retreat through
French Morocco. All that Is
guesswork, based, however, on
certain known facts.
Through it all, there has been what
may be called an ominous silence in
Russia. There was a statement from
Moscow indicating that the Soviet
republics would keep their hands
off the Balkans and not interfere
with German penetration there, but
that was all, and the conclusion
drawn by observers on the spot is
that Russia, after all, may feel her
self destined to say the final word
about the European war-when the
opportune hour strikes.