A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 261, 31 July 1937, Page 9

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Unrest in Belgrade Belgrade is, at present, in a state of deep unrest on religious grounds. ••Belgrade,” said Sir Percival Phillips, "is a’ pleasant little city, chiefly remarkable for the astonishing energy it has shown in throwing off the oldfashioned garb of a Balkan town and living up to its new dignity as the capital of Yugoslavia. .. . Few capitals on joy such a dominant site. It stands upon a narrow ridge which juts out boldly at the confluence of the Danube and the river Save and commands the wide plain on either side. Until longrange artillery revolutionised the science of war, this high shoulder of ground was a natural stronghold.” The town consists of two parts, an upper and a lower —the former in which is the citadel on a hill 150 feet high, and the lower town on the river bank. It is an important centre of trade between Vienna and Constantinople. In its history it has undergone numerous sieges. Flammenwerfer Captain Garbriel Szakatas, inventor of the flammenwerfer, has died povertystricken. The term "flammenwerfer” (flamethrower) was used whether the instrument was employed by Germans or British. First introduced in 1915 by the Germans, the flame is more precisely described as liquid fire. The hose was held in the left hand, pointing forward, and pressure was maintained by a hand-pump on the right side. Beside this manual instrument there were also cylinders, which were perhaps more successful. Captain Szakatas, at the time of bis invention, was a Nuremberg fireman. He transformed into an incendiary device an air-pumping machine for spraying extinguishing chemicals on a fire. Imperial Airways It is understood that five more experimental double crossings of the North Atlantic Ocean in connection with the air-mail scheme are scheduled for completion. The flights will prob ably be shared by the Caledonia and Cambria. The Caledonia and Cambria are part of the Imperial Airways “C” class fleet, all the names of which commence with the letter “C.” They are Cairngorm. Caledonia, Calpe, Calpurnia, Calypso, Cambria, Camilla, Canopus, Capella. Cassopeia, Castor, Cavalier, Centaurus, Centurion, Ceres, Challenger, Cheviot, Circe, Clio, Coolin, Cordelia, Corinna, Coriolanus, Corsair, Cotswold, Courtier, Cygnus. These flying boats have a wing span of 114 feet and an overall length of BSj feet. They stand 294 feet on a “beaching” chassis, their height from the water-line being 24 feet. They have four “Pegasus” engines, developing about 4000 horse-power, providing a maximum-speed of 200 miles an hour, and a cruising speed of 165 miles an hour. The rate of climb is 950 feet a minute. The wireless operator has charge of two sets—a receiving set and a transmitting set. The unladen weight of these flying boats is 24,000 pounds, and when laden 40,500 pounds. “Morning Post” The “Morning Post” has been bought by Lord Camrose at a price rumoured to be £150,000. • Started in 1772, the “Morning Post” is the oldest of the London daily papers. It is, at the present day, Conservative in its politics, and notable for court news, and social gossip. In its early days Charles Lamb, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth and Sir James Mackintosh were noted contributors. During the Boer War it gained a considerable vogue through the dispatches of its military correspondent, Mr. Winston Churchill, who filled many columns with the account of his escape, after being taken prisoner by the . Boer forces. The editor since 1911 is Mr. Stephen Gwynne. Dean Inge has been a frequent contributor of provocative articles. After the death of Lord Glenesk in 1908, the “Morning Post” passed into the hands of his only surviving daughter, Lady Bathurst. The Glenesk familv came into control of the paper in 1847. , Says a writer, referring to the “Morning Post”: “We find a brilliant style and a keen wit strangely allied with a thorough-going spirit of reaction, and appealing to readers who might be suspected of a greater appreciation of shooting and hunting than of style. The case for the narrowest nationalism, the most ruthless imperialism, for monarchy and the privileges of the upper classes as against socialism, internationalism and liberalism, could not be better stated than in the ‘Morning Post’ leaders. And, conversely, no progressive idea can be uttered without the ‘Morning Post’ capping it with a mark of interrogation.” League and the Future Mr. Anthony Eden said in the House of Commons that nothing could be more against the restoration of the League’s authority than the situation in which the world was divided into two groups of power—one inside and one outside the League. The principal Powers inside the League are Great Britain, France and Russia; those outside are the United States Japan and Germany. Italy may be said to be inside the League but not of it. Great Britain is striving to avert a hardening of the two Continental groups—the “ins” and the “outs." For this purpose she has been playing an exceedingly complicated game. She has guaranteed the French and Belgian l frontiers against a German attack; she has helped Germany to remove the fet- | ters of the Versailles Treaty; she has tried hard and patiently to retain the friendship of Italy; and she has attempted to transform the imperfect League of the post-war years into an effective instrument of conciliation and adjustment. Threatened by Italy in the Mediterranean and in Africa, she must secure friendly relations with Germany. In order to gain the co-operation of France in her efforts at European conciliation, she must maintain her promise to protect the Franco-German frontier against a German attack. In order to forestall a German-Italian entente sb" must reconcile Italy. “The British people,” said Mr. An thony Eden, "are single-minded in their desire to live in peace with the world They believe that to found their foreign policy upon their membership of the League of Nations is the best method <>i doing so. It is not that we ignore the fact that there are to-day great differ cnees between nations, but that we believe that these differences can be ad justed without resort to war.” But it is obvious that the League cun serve the purpose only if Germany is brought back into the fold. That is the immediate task of Britain.