Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1941-02-27
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS REVIEW
Continued from Page II

CooeCiH Pdit VI Tie MeulteTTanedn, II
becomes more than possibility that
move may be made by Germany
to seize Gibraltar and thus become
master of the western part of the
Mediterranean.
Last week the Spanish city of San
lander was visited by a storm of
cyclonic violence, and thirty thou
sand persons were made homeless.
That fact moved the heart of Hit
ler-at least, official German state
ments say that it did-to the extent
that he found it necessary to send
an expedition of mercy" to the
north-Spanish city. But the queer
thing about it was that the detach-
ment was made up of troops of a
type usually employed for the purpose
of preparing an actual invasion. An
other fact, not escaping general at
tention, is that Gibraltar is situated
on Spanish soil, and that Hitler wants
to get it; and third, of no small i'm
portance, was the location of San
lander directly south of England
the port of Santander reputed to be
destined to serve as a most excel
lent basis of G. rm submarine
operations against the British Isles.
But, under the circumstances, the
German government could not juSti-
fly its incursion into Spain-a for
eign country-e cept by pleading
charitable purposes.
Far East.
There is, thus, the possibility that
a final attack on the British empire
will be made by an offensive against
African colonies through the Bal
kans and through Spain.
But there is the further possibility
that Japan may be manipulated to
serve German purposes in the Far
East. Just now, peace negotiations,
on the basis of prolonged armistice,
are going on between Thailand and
French Indo-China, and it is rather
clear that Japan wants to derive
benefit from whatever peace may re-
suit
No one cOnceals the danger of
Japan obtaining Thai
land and Indo- China-unhindere
access to the island of Hainan
and the Dutch East Indies, and
there is, in many dispatches, a
hint that Japan is operating
part of her fleet in waters very
close to Singapore, the strongest
British outpost in Asia.
This supposition explains the fact
that during the last few days the
British have mined the approaches
to Singapore and have stationed
heavy Australian forces in the vi
cinity of the city.
Perhaps the fear is groundless, for
Japan, still fighting terribly costly
war against China, can hardly be
expected to be in position to take
on Great Britain as well, and, as has
been fearsomely suggested in this
country, the United States. Somehow,
it doesn't make sense. But the fear
is there, and it provides good fuel
for oratorical flames now sweeping
the halls of congress in Washington.
Direct War.
Nothing nowadays can be charac-
terized as straight facts. Almost
everything is guesswork, conjecture,
vague conclusions drawn from i'm
perfectly established facts. But one
thing remains above the mists of
secrecy, and that is Hitler's unchanged
desire to crush the British empire.
He reaffirmed it in his Munich speech
last Monday. Therefore, one may
at now almost any time expect a
direct G erm n attack across the
Channel on England, unless British
defenses in the meantime have be-
come so formidable that even Hitler
will begin to doubt the feasibility
of an offensive.
The idea that such an attack in
itself would be sufficient to crush
the British has been abandoned, even
it seems-in Berlin, and that is
the principal reason back of the
operations now in progress in the
Balkans, Spain, Africa, and the Far
East.