A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 271, 12 August 1938, Page 9

A BACKGROUND TO THE NEWS

Rumania’s Iron Guard

A photograph in “The Dominion’’ yesterday showed Corneliu Codreanu, the Rumanian Fascist leader, who has been sentenced to the salt mines for plotting against the State. He is the leader of the Iron Guard, which the Rumanian Government is stamping out. Its main attack has centred on Madame Lupescu, the Jewish mistress of King

Carol, and its declared objective is to drive all Jews out of Rumania, who number 550,000, or 5 per cent, of the population. When Corneliu Codreanu was a. student of Jassy University, he often joined with other students in “Jew-bait-ing,” smashing windows and wrecking the houses of Jews. The prefect of Jassy arrested some of the students and held them in jail pending trial. Next day, while walking in the street, he was shot dead by a student. Codreanu was arrested, tried for the murder, acquitted, and became a hero and the leader of the anti-Semites.

In 1927 he founded an organisation known as “The League of the Archangel Michael,” later changed to “The Iron Guard.” Their slogan was “Jesus Christ our King, the Nation.” Their uniforms were green shirts, and. on a red brassard they displayed a blue swastika on a yellow ground—the Rumanian national colours.

At the elections of 1932 the Iron Guard had 72,702 votes and was represented in Parliament by live members. To lon George Duca, whom he appointed Prime Minister, King Carol entrusted the l task of stamping out the Iron Guard. Duca paid for his efforts with his life. He was murdered on a railway platform, falling into the arms of King Carol himself. That was in December, 1935. Codreanu fled the country, the murderer and two accomplices were sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for life (there is no capital punishment in Rumania). The Iron Guard emerged stronger than ever, meanwhile changing its name to “All for the Country.” There was, however, dissension in the ranks. Codreanu’s lieutenant, Michael Stelescu, founded a new Fascist movement, the Rumanian Crusaders, because Codreanu’s anti-Semitic activities were not rabid enough for him. In July, 1936, when lying ill in hospital, Stelescu was riddled with 28 bullets.

Last April concerted action was taken by the Government, and wholesale arrests were made of members of the Iron Guard who were concerned in plots to assassinate political leaders. Among those ultimately arrested was Codreanu.

Unity Of The Empire The Australian Attorney-General, Mr. R, G. Menzies, said “the modern relationship 'between Britain and the selfgoverning Dominions seems to me to require constant contact,” and he urged upon the United Kingdom, as far as possible, to get the views of the Dominions (before coming to certain decisions of foreign policy. In 1911 Mr. Asquith told the Imperial Conference that the authority of the Government of the United Kingdom “in such grave matters as the conduct of foreign policy . . . cannot be shared” (with Dominion governments and Parliaments). That, however, was before the Great War, when the assistance rendered by the Dominions altered everything. The Peace Treaty of 1919 gave the Dominions the status of nation-States. This was further defined in 1926: “They are autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Grown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.” But it was clearly stated that this status did not extend to external function. The greatest responsibility for foreign policy remained with the United Kingdom. The British Government always keeps the Dominion Governments informed.ot its activities in foreign affairs, but it must necessarily often happen, so rapidly do events move in the world of today, that the decision must be made before the views of the Dominions are known. Also, the British Government miry often have to make a decision that is known to be contrary to the advice of one or more of the Dominions.

The Blue Riband Of The Atlantic

The Cunard-White Star Company is not claiming the Blue Riband of the Atlantic for the Queen Mary’s record east to west crossing, as it does not recognise it.

The first holder of the Atlantic record was the Great Western which, in 1838, averaged 8.2 knots. The Cunard Dine soon raised this to over 11 knots, and by 1850 the speed exceeded 12.

The Americans came into the fray with Government subsidised ships, the Collins Line, and for a time the Cunard Line had to take second place to Collins’s Arctic which, in 1852, averaged 13.25 knots. The withdrawal of the Government subsidy ruined the line.

In 1856 the Cunard’s Persia averaged 13.75 knots. The Inman Line’s City of Brussels raised the record to 14.5 knots in 1869. The White Star Line came into the competition in IS7O, and the record was pushed up to about 16 knots. All three companies were spending heavily on new and faster vessels.

The honour of making the first crossing under a week belongs to the Guion Liue, with its Oregon, in 1864. Slowly, but surely, the speeds were being increased, and when the German lines joined in the race in the ’nineties the speed was already up to 22 knots. For a time the North German Line held the record, and with it the bulk of file Atlantic trade. A determined effort was made by the Cunard Company, with the assistance of the Government, to keep the British flag in a predominant position. The result was the Lusitania and the Mauretania. The latter’s record of 4 days 10 hours 41 minutes from Cork Harbour to Sandy Hook stood tor 20 years. Germany regained the Blue Riband with the Bremen and the Europa, averaging just under 2S knots. The Italians were tired of being out in Hie cold and built the Rex with Government assistance, and she averaged just under 29 knots. The French retaliated with the Normandie and she lias averaged 31.37 knots.

The Queen .Mary, which it was (bought would exceed the Normandie’s speed, underwent certain alterations which gave her additional speed. The Normandie was thereupon altered and also given additional speed.