A LOOK AT EUROPE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 56, 4 September 1934, Page 9

A LOOK AT EUROPE

BY FRANCE AND ITALY

BRITISH POLICY IN REVIEW

ARMAMENTS AND WAS

A recent visit to France and Italy, under the auspices of their respective naval authorities, has left a number of definite impressions which it may be of interest to record. As naval affairs are interwoven with foreign politics, it was my privilege to meet in both countries a number of statesmen and executive officials, many of whom freely discussed with me tho international situation (writes Hector By water in the "Daily Telegraph").

0)1 every hand I heard tributes of admiration and respect for Great Britain, couched in terms which made it impossible to doubt their sincerity. Thore were half-envious references to the souudness of our national finances, the 1934 Budget being universally acclaimed as a triumph of practical patriotism and shrewd business.

Against this I listened to fvmik criticisms of our social legislation, certain aspects of which arc incomprehensible to the Continental, mid particularly tho Italian, mind. In Italy it is an iron rule that able-bodied people must earn such relief as the State pays them. Employment, whether profitable or otherwise, is found for them on the .principle that subsidised idleness must inevitably breed demoialisation. Nowhere is "the- dignity of labour exalted more highly than in modern Italy. PESSIMISM. Disarmament was, perhaps, the most frequent topic of discussion, and on this point all the common r. I heard was frankly pessimistic. Xeithor French nor Italians can understand tho British Government's persistence in flogging what they consider to bo a very dead horse. It is, however, fully realised that we possess both tho will and the power to re-establish our armaments on a formidable scale if our well-meant but, in Continental opinion, misguided efforts to persuade other nations to disarm should fail —as they aro already considered to have failed. The apparent weakness of our armed forces appears to bo causing even more perturbation in France and Italy than at home. We aro still regarded as holding tho casting vote in the councils of Europe, and our value as a potential ally has never, perhaps, been rated so high. On this point the French arc a little more reticent than the Italians, but in both cases there is the same desire to enlist our sympathies and, if possible, our active support. To tho sailors of both countries tho British Navy is still the supremo exemplar of sea. power. They believo its shrinkage to be more apparent^ than real, and they shrewdly point to its incomparable long-service personnel as an asset of supreme value. Incidentally, how many of our people realise the stimulating effect on British prestige produced by the periodical visits of the Mediterranean Fleet to French and Italian ports? These stately ships, with their fine officers and smart seamen, do more to uphold the fame of our country than a score of diplomatic missions. NO SABBE-KATTLING. Neither in Franco nor Italy, whether in semi-official or private conversations, did I detect the slightest note of war talk. France .has but one dread, of which the whole world is cognisant; but it, is manifest only in a quiet determination to make her northern frontiers as impregnable as is humanly possible. Her. spokesmen are at pains to disclaim any and every idea of hostility to Italy. In Paris and also at Toulon, the great naval base, I pressed inquiries as to the purpose of the great submarine fleet almost to the point of indiscretion, but always encountered the same reply. "By "and large, the submarine is tho cheapest and most effectual instrument of defence for a navy not of the first Sol left it at that, only adding that from the Minister of Marine to the most junior officer I received the almost passionate assurance that the traditions of the-Fronch Navy absolutely forbade any misuse of its weapons, whether surface, underwater, or aerial. In Italy the talk is mainly of internal development—e.g., tho gigantic task of reclaiming the Pontine marshes and extending the wheat-growing area—and peaceful penetration in Africa and Asia. That Italy is resolvon to expand ia plain enough, but her leaders emphatically repudiate the idea of new territorial conquests. Signer Mussolini has spoken vehemently to that effect. Italy hopes, apparently, to extend her oversea interests by friendly negotiation, and it is towards North Africa that her eyes most frequently turn. GEEMAN SENTIMENT. At the present time it is rather fashionable in Italy to be Germanophile, but whether this sentiment goes very deep or has a special political significance remains to be seen. Certainly the Germans are flocking to Italy in greater numbers than any other nationality. Luxury ears bearing the German triptych are to bo met with everywhere; German tourists throng the Italian cities and obviously have well-lined purses. Nevertheless, tho possibility of an Austro-Gcrman Anschluss is viewed with grave anxiety by thoughtful Italians. They do not relish tho prospect of a revitalised Teutonic Power, with an army trained and led by Prussians, established onc.o again on their northeastern frontier.

Added to this, there is natural resentment at, the "Nordic" crusade of the Hitler regime, with its direct implication of the inferiority of the Latin race. Jp.w-baiting is another feature of Nazi rule which is viewed with ill-concealed disgust by the majority of Italians. I hesitate to sot down the FrancoItalian, verdict on our own country in thfl exact terms in which it was delivered, in my hearing, l>y representative men of both nations, Tint in substance it is as follows. Gre.it Britain is still, facile princeps, the foremost Power in Eorope, and could, if she wished, by morally consolidating her Empire, remain the greatest Power in the world. Britain's attitude of detachment from Continental affairs is understood, if not. always approved, lightly or wrongly, ive aro believed to hold in custody the keys to the Temple, of Janus—so far" as Europe is concerned. The antics of our clever young men at the university who have decided not to light for King or country are discounted on the Continent as juvenile exhibitionism. Franco and Italy, at least,.do not, beliove we are decadent. They believe us to be virile and strong, and they are convinced that the maintenance of British power is one of the surest guarantees of peace.