For Discussion: FROM WEEK TO WEEK

Grey River Argus, 14 March 1940, Page 9

For Discussion: FROM WEEK TO WEEK

Sy

H. WINSTON RHODES.

Moves For Peace in Fh.L.nu, If it is true that we are on the eve of important changes in the European Situation, comment may seem superfluous by the tim e this appears in print, but if prophecy is unwise -t is at icast useful to keep in mind certain points that are in danger oi being obscured. Up io the present the foreign policy of the Soviet Union has passed through three stages, develop.ng naturally and I bel eve consLtm.ly according to new sets of circumstances. The first stage was one of prolonged and repeated attempts to preserve European peace and to create a p-a-c front in Europe which bocaus of J'J united power would be strong enough io piewiit new acts ui n. Time after time these attempts fadeii and the abortive British-Rushan ta 1; at Moscow proved, at least to tiie satisfaction of the Sov.ct Un on, that further attempts were useless.

The second stage opened when th°| Soviet Union understood that it wasimpossible to preserve European pe.-c.-'l without danger of ueing left to pud the chestnuts out of the lire far - u " capitalist powers. its efforts v/erc then directed rewards preserving rue neutrality of the Soviet Union n the coming conflict. The Berlm-Momow pact not only achieved this but si'.atered the plans of the anti-Sav.e:. forces throughout the world. The third stage opened with the eiforts to strengthen the defences of the Soviet Union in order to guard against any attacks by any combinat on of powers which might arise during the European conflict. Moscow took the jniative. kept Germany at more than arm’s length in Poland, destroyed German inrluence in the Baltic areas and took steps to defend the life-line through Finland. The peace negotiations which are now taking place suggest that the Soviet Union may once again forestall any attempt to embroil her m a general conflict. Finnish resistance seems to be on the point of coilapse, the fiction of Soviet inefficiency has been exploded, the atrocity stories and reports on the conduct of the war have' been so confused and contradictory that they have failed in their purpose, large-scale intervention has been difficult to achieve. It is likely that the Soviet Union will, repeat the terms it offered to Finland before the outbreak of the war, and it is also likely that those term!;, if agreed to, will ensure cnat F.nland will not be used by any imperialism power as a base against the Soviet Union and that a Finnish Government will be elected by the Finns to pursue a policy of friendship with the Soviet Union. Such a government would have an internal policy of social reform which would not be unacceptable to the Finnish people.

Germafiy’s Attitude.

I The attitude of Germany towards i the Finnish problem as part of a general European settlement is not difficult to define. Neither Hitler nor German capitalism can look with any ' high degree of satisfaction at the increasing power of the Soviet Union in the Baltic. The exchange of goods between the Soviet Union and Germany has continued in accordance with the trade agreement in spite of the Finnish war and it is evident that Hitler is unwilling to be used as tne spearhead of aggression against tne Soviet Union. The Scandinavian countries whose “inglorious” policy in the matter of Finland has been denounced in the British and French press are not necessarily under the thumb of Germany, as it is suggested, but are much more likely to be thinking ) terms of neutrality and are ing to see the spread of war «o the smaller countries. In this their policy happens to coin cide with Germany’s policy just as tne i policy of the Soviet Union happens to 'coincide with that of Germany, in I other words the enemy nations and (the neutral powers are equally, though for different reasons, opposed to the extension of the war. Getmany is likely to play a waiting game on the Western Front mthe belmf that if her strength is not sufficient to win a war of attack it is sufficient to force a stalemate. A General Settlement. Meanwhile there is great diplomatic activity in Stockholm and Rome as well as in Moscow. A Finnish ser.noment may be used as a prelude to increased efforts towards a general European settlement and the statement by Mr Welles on the economic and foreign policy of the States of America is an indication that such a settlement may be more along economic lines than along tne lines of vague announcements of war aims concerned with the re-estab> foment of the Polish and St Tn S an y attempt to win a decisive victory the Allies are faced T }^ r g number of knott problems. • little prospect of revolution inside Germany, the neutral powers are resisting any attempts to spread the war and so provide a backdoor to Germany, stalemate on tne WeMer Front seems possible. On the O- Jhand peace in th e immediate futur would involve either of two proposals. It might be secured by what would . tantamount to capitulation— by dropping the vague war aims about Poland and Czecho-Slovakia. Only Cz.treme reactionaries would be prepared ito do this at a price, that is mexchange for an alliance with c :™ny and her re-establishment as a bun • • against the spread of communism. It might be secured through a w It-] ingness to negotiate in conjunct km i with other European powers on equal terms about the future of Europe J That would mean that the A-li, .b would have to be prepared to talk about colonies, access to raw materia s and other important matters as well as Poland and Czechoslovakia. H would mean a partition of the world in such a way that the interests ox German, British, French and Italian capitalism as well as American capitalism should ail be protected.

Whatever a socialist might think of such a proposal it, may be that. Mr Welles is working along these lines. His three point programme concerns itself with economic settlement and what amounts to a Federal Union of capatalist nations. There are, no doubt, many more diplomatic moves to come. The only thing that seems

certain is that the war is still being conducted, in Stockholm, Rome and other neutral capitals.