The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1937. SPANISH COMPLICATIONS.

Evening Star, Issue 22688, 30 June 1937, Page 10

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1937. SPANISH COMPLICATIONS.

The Acting Prime Minister’s statement that “ since 1914 wo never were closer to a world war than wo were last Thursday ” must bring home to all readers the seriousness of the crisis which was produced by the latest Spanish complications. Thursday last was the day on which it was reported that Germany had withdrawn from the Non-intervention Committee, at the same time that tho arrangements for her Foreign Minister’s visit to London were cancelled, as a sequel to the reported attempts by a Spanish Government submarine to torpedo the cruiser Leipzig. The crisis, in its most extreme form, was of brief duration, because on Thursday afternoon it was made clear that Germany’s resentment was not actually being carried so far. Her withdrawal was confined to the work of the patrol service. In comparison with its treatment of the Deutschland incident the German Government had acted well in not taking retaliation into its own hands, referring the matter instead to a conference of the Governments concerned. When Mr Fraser “says, however, that the few hours of sharpest tension represented the barest escape from a general war, there is no doubt that he speaks on good information. If only Germany could have given the signal for war in those anxious hours it is worth noting that Germany preferred to act more moderately. Nevertheless it is disturbing in the highest degree, as a revelation of tho explosive state of the international atmosphere, that more violent courses should for a moment have been thought possible in the circumstances that provoked Berlin. If the Leipzig was fired upon, as several ships of other nations have been, she was not hit. No actual . harm was done to anyone. It was impossible that, without any inquiry, the conference of the Powers should agree on a combined naval demonstration before Valencia, lining them up in one force against the Spanish Government, when that Government strongly, denied that a single torpedo had been fired by any of its ships. “Nobody agrees with anyone,” has been said of these jangling times. It is a worse development when hardly anybody believes anyone. One would be pleased to believe that President Roosevelt had an influence in averting the worst dangers on this recent occasion, though that influence has been denied. With America taking a full part in European affairs on the side of peace there would be small risk of the peace being broken by any impulsive State, and a difficulty which persists still over tho patrol of tho Eastern coast of Spain could he ended in the best manner. Germany and Italy object to the proposal that France and Britain should fill the gap caused by their withdrawal from the patrol service on tho ground that it would be “ tantamount to support for the Valencia Government.” Valencia’s complaint had been made earlier, to the League of Nations, that Germany’s patrol service had been tantamount to support of the rebel Government, but that allegation no doubt would be denied with the utmost indignation by Berlin. Americans might fill a gap in the patrol service and be regarded by all parties as impartial, but that is not possible, it would seem, to any European Power, and the European Powers that have navies are few in number.'