Evening star., 1941-03-05

Leland Sto,Oe begins today to
nnsWer questions asked By read
ers concerning the series OF ar
ticleS he tDrote tollo,Ding his re-
turn from the European battle
fronts.
Some readers asked questions
on topics far removed from the
subjects OF Mr.. StotDe'S articles
and these tUere not dnsUered, as
they tDere considered outside the
scope OF the series.
@. What part, if any, did the
Albanians play in this Greek-Italian
war? How are the Albanians
treated by the Greeks? Has Albania
any chance to regain freedom and
independence?
M. G.. VRIONO,
Wierton, w. Va.
A. have been in such Albanian
towns as Koritsa, Argirocastro and
Santi Quaranta. In that part of
Albania where I have been I have
not observed any active participa-
ton in the war by Albanians either
on one side or the other. There have
been reports of anti-Italian demon
strations in some places. 1t is my
impression that the Albanians have
remained aloof for the most part.
Greek Army and police officers
have had friendly relations with
the Albanians wherever have been
and I have seen no signs of oppres-
sion of any kind. I do not think
the Greeks want to obtain possess
sion of most of Albania (but AL
bantam independence will depend
upon the amount of unity and ma
tional feeling that Albanian people
are capable of showing.
@. Why don't the British bomb
the Rumanian oil fields? What are
they waiting for?
JOHN ]. ROVNAK,
Campbell, Ohio.
A. Until German troops occupied
Rumania at the end of October, the
British had refrained from bombing
Rumanian oil fields because Ru-
mania had the status of a neutral
country and the British did not want
to be in the position of being accused
of aggression in the Nazi fashion.
A good many people think they
should have bombed Rumania re-
fineries despite that fact. BY refrain
ing from doing so all through last
summer and autumn the British
sacrificed possibly an important
military advantageD But won the
support of an overwhelming majority
of the Rumanian people, who now
are most anxious that Britain and
her allies should win the war. With
Bulgaria also occupied by German
troops, British bombers may be pay
ing regular visits to Rumanian oil
fields before long.
@. Have German technicians and
military experts been invited to
Russia to assist in her industrial
expansion?
A. There have been occasional re-
ports to this effect, but always vague
and completely unconfiremd. I doubt
very much that there are Nazi
technicians and military experts in
Russia at the present time.
O. Why did Hitler not strike at
Russia before becoming involved in a
war with the Allies? J.G
A. If Hitler were to succeed in his
ambition to rule all Europe his first
and most important job was to de-
stroy the power of France and Great
Britain. He has known for years
that he could deal with the Soviets
whenever he chose. After all, Ger
many's military might was much
stronger by virtue of making Russia
a temporary partner and source of
supplies. Events have shown that
from a military standpoint Hitler
was right when he decided to strike
in the west first.
@. Why doesn't British diplomacy
succeed any better than it does in
the Balkans? Do people question an
ultimate British victory?
THE REV. c. HARRISON BECKER,
Morrison, Ill.
A. Ever since the war began the
British people have been paying
heavily for the mistakes and blund-
ers of British diplomats in the Bal
kans over a period of years. One
trouble with British prewar diplo-
macy in the Balkans was that sew
eral British ministers in these coun-
tries failed to win the friendship and
confidence of Balkan leaders. A still
more serious error, in the minds of
many observers in the Balkans, was
the British tendency to save pennies
at every turn in trade and other re-
lations with Balkan governments.
Failure to spend so or 100 million
dollars in the Balkans two years
ago has cost the British very dearly.
Despite these past errors, it is new
ertheless true that most of the Bal
kan peoples still expect an ultimate
British victory and heartily hope
for it.