World News in Story and Picture

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 136, 11 June 1938, Page 3 (Supplement)

World News in Story and Picture

KING CAROL, DICTATOR OF RUMANIA. M. Cortreanu. leader of the outJawed Iron Guard, has been sentenced to ten years' imprisonment on a charge of having prepared for a revolution with the support of a foreign Power. — Cable. In the duel for poyver between Rumania's two most colourful personalities, King Carol and Cornelius Codreanii, the present advantage goes to the King. Only last month Codreanu was sentenced to eix months' imprisonment on the charge of writing a treasonable letter. These show that the King has reversed his policy of favouring Codreanu, for previously when charged with just as serious offences Le was always acquitted. They also show that King Carol has decided t<> Iwconiu dictator of his country before he himself dictated to. But there is a lot more behind it than that. Codreanu was Uic leader of what was knov. u ari the Iron Guard. The members of the Iron Guard were nearly all Army officers and the organisation was really a movement to turn Rumania into a Fascist dictatorship in alliance, naturally, with Germany and Italy.

For a long while King Carol favoured the Iron Guard and, therefore, Codreanu. but Great Britain and France were not asleep. King Carol was invited to visit London and Paris. Upon his return to his capital, Bucharest, he began to take action against the Iron Guard. Before long it was outlawed. You Rumania needed money, and Germany and Italy have no money. Britain and France have money, so once again money spoke and, for the time being at any rate. Rumania will not become a Fascist State. CZECHOSLOVAKIA'S TROUBLES. The NtHiimnli.tlPH Statute, designed to meet the problems of the minorities in Czechoslovakia, has been completed, hut lims been eoniplioMted by Hin.lMMI pi-.isiiiits. at n einiu'ress of the Slovak Party, demanding selfKoveriiment for Slovakia.—Cable. The whole problem of Czechoslovakia is complicated, even from its birth as an artificial country in 1918. Even at that it's very birth was strange. It wa*s actually formed at Philadelphia in the United States of America and, its independence

World Events Explained.

By ARPAD SZIGETVARY.

declared in France! As well, the new country which was founded by the Allies, principally Britain and France, consisted in a large measure of people who had fought in armies againet the Allies —that is Germans, Austrians and' Hungarians. Towards the end of the war, however, many Czech and Slovak prisoners and deserters from the German, Austrian and Hungarian armies fought on the side of the Allies. One of the most heroic chapters in the history of war was the march of Czech and Slovak prisoner* from Russia, after the eollapse.of that, country, right .across Siberia to Vladivostocls, the Siberian port, where the Allies were in occupation.' Tliey had to fight their way most of the dreadful journey and suffered terrible privations. Those who survived and reached Vladivostook wore taken by steamer to Europe and there entered the war again, this time fighting for the Allies. Czechoslovakia was created out of two ex-Austrian provinces, Bohemia and Moravia, where people of German race predominate, and two ex-

Hungarian provinces of Slovakia and Ruthenia. There are roughly i 5,000,000 in Czechoslovakia, 3,500,000 of German race, 2,500,000 Slovaks, 700,000 Hungarians and 80,000 Poles, which makes the situation still more complicated. Practically from the start the minorities complained, although the Slovaks gained more privileges from the Czechs than did the Germans, Hungarians and Poles. The present Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Dr. Hodza, is a Slovak. However, the Slovaks are themselves dissatisfied, an instance of which ie shown in the cable above. While Germany hereelf was weak, people of German • race in Czechoslovakia could not rake their voices very loudly, but now that Germ-av-is strong they are doing it and demanding a measure of Home Rule which almost amounts to internal independence. So are the Slovaks, 'the Hungarian* and even the Poles. So it looks almost ae if the artificial country created in 1918 may break asunder. ■ Considering the many great achievements of Czechoslovakia it seems & pity that from the birth of the country it had not been modelled on the British Commonwealth of Xations. Then the people of varied nations in it might have lived in harmony and the danger of war in Europe been less to-day.