DISCUSSIONS RESUMED

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 73, 23 September 1938, Page 9

DISCUSSIONS RESUMED

PREMIER & FUHRER

MEETING AT GODESBERG

CONTINUING TODAY

ANNOUNCEMENT UNLIKELY

TILL THE END

(United Press Association —By Electric

Telegraph—'Copyright.) (Received September 23, 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, September 22. A strangely silent crowd of about 150 persons mustered in Downing Street to see Mr. Chamberlain depart for Godesberg to confer with Herr Hitler. One man booed as the Prime Minister paused smilingly on the steps; others clapped. The German Charge d'Affaires was the first to shake Mr. Chamberlain by the hand at Heston Aerodrome.' The French Ambassador conversed with him earnestly. Mr. Chamberlain was farcwclled by a burst of cheering from the crowd of journalists and cameramen. Mr. Neville Chamberlain took off at 10.48 p.m. In a farewell speech, he said: "A peaceful solution of the Czech problem is an essential preliminary to a better understanding, between, the British and German peoples. That in turn is an indispensable foundation of European peace, which is what is being aimed at. I hope my journey may open the way to it." Mr. Chamberlain was accompanied by Mr. William Strang, Counsellor in the Foreign Office, Sir William Malkm, legal adviser at the Foreign Office, and one of his private secretaries, Mr. G. P. Humphrey Davies. Messages; from Godesberg state that crowds gathered at the station at sunrise for Herr Hitler's arrival. A thousand Black Guards cordoned the streets. Organised groups of singing girls prepared to welcome Mr. Chamberlain. PARTIES ARRIVE. Herr'Hitler arrived at Godesberg at 10.4 a.m., accompanied by the Foreign Minister, Herr Ribbentrop, the Minister of Propaganda, Dr. Goebbels, the Chief of Police, Herr Himmler, and the Reich Press leader, Dr. Dietrich. The streets were lined with Storm Troopers, behind whom school children clustered waving small flags. The British Ambassador, Sir Nevile Henderson, arrived at the Hotel Peterberger an hour earlier. Herr yon Doernberg received him, and both drove off to meet Mr. Chamberlain at Cologne. Mr. Chamberlain arrived at Cologne at 12.27 p.m. and at Godesberg at 1.50 p.m. About 5000 people assembled at the aerodrome at Cologne and cheered Mr. Chamberlain as he emerged from the I plane. He was welcomed by Herr Ribbentrop, Sir Nevile Henderson, and the Secretary of State, Herr Ernst yon Weizsaecker... The band of the Black Guards played "God Save the King," and the commander of the guard, stepping smartly forward, announced the presence of a guard of honour. Mr. Chamberlain thanked him. The flight to Cologne was one of the fastest on record. The 300-mile journey took 1 hour 49 minutes, compared with the normal passenger schedule time of 2 hours 50 minutes. While Mr. Chamberlain was motorling from Cologne Black Guards drew a cordon of silence around Herr Hitler's hotel to enable him to sleep. Mr. Chamberlain went straight to a hotel, where a guard of honour was lined up. A decorated ferry-boat carried Mr. Chamberlain across the river. Thousands of people lined the banks and a hundred canoes clustered around the ferry. Mr. Chamberlain drove to the Hotel Dresden and found Herr Hitler waiting for him. The negotiations began at 4 p.m., Herr Hitler and Mr. Chamberlain conferring alone except for the presence of an interpreter. MR. CHAMBERLAIN ISSUES APPEAL.* Mr. Horace Wilson issued a statement from the Prime Minister as follows: "The Prime Minister had a conversation with Herr Hitler which began at 4 p.m. and continued until shortly after 7 p.m. It is intended to resume the conversations in the morning. In the meantime the first essential, in the opinion of the Prime Minister, is that there should be a determination on the part of all parties concerned to ensure that local conditions in Czechoslovakia are such as will not interfere with the progress of the conversations. The Prime Minister appeals most earnestly to everybody to assist in maintaining a state of orderliness and to refrain from action likely to lead to incidents." Reuters representative at Berlin states that it is understood no official communique is expected to be issued until the end of the conversations. The Berlin correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph" learns that the Godesberg meeting is to be divided into two parts. September 22 will be devoted to the German claim to recover the Sudeten Germans and September 23 to the question of satisfying the Polish and Hungarian demands and the disposal of what is left of Czechoslovakia. MR. CHAMBERLAIN'S PROPOSALS. "The Times" says it is understood that Mr. Chamberlain took the following proposals to Godesberg:—(l) An international commission to be set up for demarcation of the new frontiers of Czechoslovakia and for the exchange and transfer of populations. (2) Immediate demobilisation to start. (3) A joint appeal to be made by Herr Hitler and all parties concerned for peace and order in the interval necessary to give effect to any agreement reached. (4) The giving of certain guarantees, including economic ones, for the maintenance of the integrity of the new Czechoslovak State. A message from Paris states that the "Petit Parisien" declares that the Anglo-French proposals conform to Herr Hitler's desires, as expressed at Berchtesgaden. "If Herr Hitler wants peace," says the paper, "then the negotiations should be favourable. If he makes new demands, then everything is lost and he should be stopped. It is a game of blackmail." POLISH AND HUNGARIAN CLAIMS. The Australian Associated Press says that although Mr. Chamberlain has decided not to discuss the Polish and Hungarian claims against the Czechs with Herr Hitler, official circles in London have requested the Polish Ambassador and the Hungarian Minister