Evening star., 1941-08-22

air, could resist almost any kind
of an invasion. -
If Hitler could have foreseen the
course of the war and the i'm
portance of the North Atlantic in
the defense of Great Britain prob
ably one of his first moves would
have been to seize Iceland. That
he failed to do so may well have
been a fatal mistake. So British
sailors now tramp by the thousands
past the wondering eyes of Lief the
Lucky.
No Armed Forces.
Perhaps it is the kind of scene the
war-hungry old Viking would have
liked. In the Valhalla of Morse
heroes he must have wondered at
times over the peace loving ways Of
his descendants who like to get to-
gether and recite poetry, have not
put a boy in a soldiers uniform for
century, whose trim, world rowing
ships do not even carry guns and
who have even foresworn family
feuds, murder and even red -blooded
flst-fghting.
Iceland has peither army nor
navy. What good would they have
done? the Icelanders ask. Even if
all the revenues of 10000 people
had been devoted to national de-
fense the result would have been a
pitiably impotent thing. Instead,
the revenues of the little kingdom
it has been regency since the King,
Christian of Denmark, fell into Ger
man hands and could not function
as a ruler-have been spent for
schools, extension of telephone and
electric light and power services to
the scattered farmhouses, govern
ment-owned hospitals, child well
fare, etc.
No Poor There.
1t is, paradoxically, poor country
in which there is no poor. Its reve-
nue. depends almost entirely on the
fish with which its waters abound.
This is fairly we'll distributed. No
body is very rich, but the standard
OF living is probably higher, when
the whole population is considered,
than that of any European country
or any American State.
Long ago it learned its lesson
about war Fierce family feuds al
most depopulated it and any heredi-
tary love of fighting was lost when
the most adventurous blood of the
island was killed off in these useless
quarrelS. 1t was weakened to the
point where it was an easy conquest
Tor Norway and later for Denmark.
1t has enough of war on it's hands
with the elements-with the VOL
canoes which are in constant danger
OF eruption and the floods from the
glaciers melted by the volcanoes
which wipe out the coast villages
and farmsteads.
1t has gotten a bad taste of this
present war. Afraid alarms are
fairly common. German flyers are
constantly reconnoitering the island
Once a plane opened fire on a
marching column of British soldiers
dIlu hlllcu IHIee OIL Cnem.
War Cut Its Trada
1t has had to abandon it's trade
with England-and, what is worse.
with Portugal - because German
raiders have sunk its ships. Not
only has no effort been made to
rescue the sailors, the Icelanders
say, but there is strong evidence
that they have been shot down in
life boats.
Iceland's ships now ply only to
New York. 1t began to feel the
impact of world affairs when its
Goldfish market in Spain was cut
of by the Spanish civil war.
So today British anti-aircraft
guns-surrounded by the cylindrical
Neissen huts of British soldiers,
which look like enormous red clay
sewer pipes-line the long shortlines
of its fjords and American Marines
tramp its streets
CTo be continued)