LONDON AND WAR

Evening Star, Issue 23564, 1 May 1940, Page 8

LONDON AND WAR

HITLER’S “PEACE” TERMS MEGALOMANIAC CONFIDENCE GRAF SPEE MUTINY COMBING OUT ENEMY ALIENS [From Our Correspondent] [Bv Air Maiu] April 4. The "blunt and forthright communique issued in London after the meeting of the Supreme War Council will do much to put an end to irresponsible and tiresome speculation upon British and French reactions to non-existent peace proposals. At the same time the statement of unity in the case of eventual armistice proposals merely reiterates what is already "known—namely, that the Allies are working as one in the present war against Germany. Ihe Supreme War Council meeting was, ot course, the first occasion on which iVIr Chamberlain has met M. Reynaud as French Premier, although the two have met on several occasions since war began while M. Reynaud ivas still Finance Minister. These meetings, whether in Britain or in France, are always planned and held in conditions of remarkable secrecy. Never does a word about a proposed meeting so much as leak out. LEAKAGE. Despite inspired official comment available in London, many observers in the capital persist in drawing fallacious conclusions from the Moscow speech by M. Molotov on Friday. It is not correct to assume that this speech amounted to a rebuff to Germany, even though the German Government would doubtless Jiave preferred a more positive declaration of alliance. It must be appreciated that it is in Germany s interests that Russia should continue to be a non-combatant posing as a neutral, thereby easing the situation relating to Soviet supplies and re-exports from America to Germany. Moreover, those who are pleased to find th.it Russia is still technically out of the war are forgetting that as things stand at present it is geographically impossible for Russia to take part in war. Probably the future holds developments in the direction of Rumania, but for the moment Russian declarations of neutrality are sheer deceit calculated to throw dust in the eyes of those who barely suspect the extent of RussoGerman collaboration. Though rightly avoiding war with Russia, the Allies always have to remember that Russia is one of the chief causes of the blockade leakage, OUT OF THE BAG. Has Mr Sumner Welles let the Nazi cat out of the bag at last? President Roosevelt’s peace emissary to Europe was discretion itself. He evaded all attempts to draw from him the nature of bis talks with opposing European statesmen. But it is impossible to keep the truth bottled up indefinitely, particularly in a country like the United States, and the ‘ Washington Post,’ one of the most careful journals in America, has now revealed what look extremely like the facts. According to this paper, the leading one in America’s capital and diplomatic centre, the terms outlined for European peace by Hitler, in his interview with Mr Sumner Welles, indicated that he was confident of victory, and meant to establish a German hegemony over Europe. Such, were these Nazi terms, in fact, that America’s peace emissary realised at once tiie hopelessness of his mission. Acceptance of Hitler’s “ peace ” would inevitably reduce every other nation in Europe but Germany to the level of a second-class suzerain State. The German people will back their Fuhrers ambition. And, if it fails, throw him over,' and try to persuade our emotionalists what nice people they really were all the time—and how safe! WHY? The tolerant latitude allowed in this war to enemy aliens in this country, compared with regulations enforced in 1914, is not a solitary symptom. We are giving alleged conscientious objectors a much more comfortable escape from what most people regard as an elementary duty. We are even permitting organised defeatist societies to act as 'recruiting agents for conscientious objectors and actually to coach them in the most efficient formula for ‘‘ getting away with it ” before benevolent tribunals. Public sentiment almost certainly resents these amenities, as shown by strikes among workpeople where a “ conshie ” is employed, and by such action as Liverpool Corporation is now being asked to adopt by a, motion which would compel all “ conshie ” employees to quit the municipal pay roll. Even strong supporters of the conscientious objector’s privilege are disturbed by the reactions of one gross anomaly. While the man in khaiki in the trenches is drawing Army pittance, the “ conshie ” on war work gets good wages. It is suggested mildly that the balance, above Army pay, might be paid to the Treasury. Scotland Yard is cutting the Gordian Knot of Whitehall’s red tape. Weeks have elapsed since, on strong representations . by police authorities and others, the Home Office reluctantly agreed to appoint new tribunals to comb out our 60,000 enemy aliens in this country. Weeks more may pass before those new tribunals get going. So the Yard is rounding up suspects at the rate of about 20 a week. Some startling cases have come to light. There was that of the young German sentenced by a police court taking prohibited photographs. This 'gentleman, it turned out, was actually living with an official connected with one of our well-staffed war time Ministries. Another case concerns a German of title, whose devotion to this country and its cause was said to be almost passionate, who nevertheless tried to get over to Ireland on a forged passport. But 20-a-week is going to bo rather a tedious process for combing out 60,000 enemy aliens. The curious thing _ is that, though one hears plenty of criticism by back-bench M.P.s, the House of Commons does not show any sign cf tackling this subject frontally and firmly with the Home Secretary. _ It i would have been a very different thing in 1914. RIGHT MAN IN THE RIGHT PLACE, Air Marshal C. F. A. Portal’s appointment to the command of our R.A.F. bombing squadrons may have a special significance. It will at any rate he most whole-heartedly welcomed by all our bomber crews. He as an old

Winchester boy, who deserted Oxford’s quiet closes in 1914 to join the Army as a despatch rider. Ultimately he gained a commission in the R.E.s, and annexed a D.S.O. and M.C. Then, in 1917, with Captain Harold Balfour, now Undersecretary for Air, he joined the Royal Flying Corps, and flew with'number 16 squadron on the Western Front. As a soldier he displayed the same realism that characterised him as an airman responsible for training fighting and bombing pilots. Before a “ picture show,” as the Artny used to call a big adventure over the top, ho made a habit of personally inspecting the front, and even ranged the guns himself. As a controller of bombers—and bombing—the air marshal may be expected to display the utmost activity without any undue tenderness either towards enemy targets or home, inefficiency. It will be specially interesting to note whether, under his regime, we shall still waste good paper—and sometimes good pilots, too—dropping persuasive literature on the Huns. GRAF SPEE DRAMA. The Admiralty has done well in revealing the truth about Germany’s scuttled pocket battleship Graf Sp.ee. After the warship had put into Montevideo for urgent repairs the crew, mainly composed of youthful Nazi enthusiasts, refused to man stations for another encounter with our light cruisers. Eight times their officers appealed, but the men behaved mutinously, and only 60 of the older ones out of a crew of nearly 1,000, less battle casualties, stepped forward. This throws a dramatic light on Captain Langsdorff’s suicide after the scuttling, the latter having been ordered by Hitler when the facts were phoned through to Berlin, This is the most effective propaganda we have so far put out to the world. It affords strong support for the view, held by many shrewd military authorities, that the existing German army, largely made up of youthful Nazi disciples, is not to be compared in fighting morale with the disciplined pickelhaube legions of 1914. Given_ a dose of the same medicine administered at Montevideo, these young Hitler idolaters will soon have their stomachful of fight. OUR INDIAN PROBLEM, The situation in India is not improving. Its deterioration began with a skirmish between the ' Congress Party and the British Government as the result of the method adopted in joining up India with the war. This skirmish developed into a renewal of the old Constitutional battle, and as the battle progressed it has involved a renewal of communal differences, a new phase represented by a Moslem demand for the partition of the country into communal kingdoms or territories, and, latest, a concealed hut' nevertheless distinct threat on the part of Mr Gandhi of a renewal of civil disobedience. He postulates that the civil disobedience must be non-violent, but he knows that never in the past has he been able to enforce this condition. Altogether a pretty kettle of Imperial fish which the Home Government would do well to take in hand before it has boiled over. ARMS AND THE AIRMAN. Surprise has been caused by the official announcement that our war planes are now being equipped with cannon. ’ Not because tliere is any novelty about aerial cannon. The Germans used some even in the last war, and U.S.A. warplanes are so equipped. But it was known that our R.A.F. experts were more than satisfied . with their broadside of eight converging machine-guns. In the earlier air encounters of this war the latter decisively proved their superiority. But there is now in process in the air a competition between projectile and armour similar to the long rivalry in naval equipment. The Germans have adopted self-sealing 'tanks and protective armour for vital parts of their warplanes, and this may have reduced the efficacy of even converged machine-gun broadsides firing at the rate of 10,000 bullets a minute. The cannon-v.-machine-gun problem is still in a state of practical test. It may be that we shall adopt cannon as a supplemenary armament for the warplane. There are points for and against both weapons. The aerial cannon has a considerably longer effective range than converged machine-gun fire, and, when it gets on the target its effect is decisive. _ But it is slower in its action, and requires far more accurate markmanship, both important considerations in the case of warplanes fighting snap-shot duels at 300 m.p.h. Moreover, if cannon is carried, the weight necessitates a considerable reduction in the _ already slender reserve of ammunition or bombs. An eight-machine-gun broadside eats up S.A.A. Actually our planes carry much less than a full minute’s all-out supply, but, of course, in aerial encounters the enemy target is seldom in front of the sights _ for more than a second or two at a time, and firing is done _by quick, short bursts. One point in favour of the cannon my be its potential use against a formation flight. All these vital problems have •to be solved in actual fighting. The R.A.F. is not likely to be at all slow in the up-take. We shall more than hold our own.