King Country Chronicle. Saturday, August 10, 1935. SITUATION IN EUROPE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 4731, 10 August 1935, Page 4

King Country Chronicle. Saturday, August 10, 1935. SITUATION IN EUROPE.

The situation in Europe is going from bad to worse. There appears to be no sense of international honour, and all the agreements made in the past to provide some measure of security are merely "scraps of paper." Italy has ignored all her obligations under the League of Nations Covenant, and the dictator has practically decided to continue his mad adventure in Abyssinia. Germa'ny is defiant and has flouted .the terms of the Versailles Treaty. France is experiencing internal unrest owing to the economy measures introduced by the Government, and it would not be at all surprising if the country were very soon plunged into revolution. With the temper of the people and the chaotic economic conditions of the country, there seems to be little hope of France settling down to normal conditions without a period of bloodshed. There are also rumblings of dissatisfaction at the Nazi rule in Germany, while the Italian people are beginning to realise that the Fascisti rule has not brought the benefits and privileges that were promised. In the East the outlook does not give any cause for optimism. Taking advantage of the conditions in Europe, Japan is slowly but surely penetrating China, a'nd Russian interests being endangered by Japan's aggressive attitude, a clash between these two .countries is more than probable. In every part of the world the situation is becoming more complicated month by month, but how to avert what seems to be an inevitable world catastrophe seems to be an impossible task. It is now quite evident that international agreements are worthless. There are several that have been signed by nearly all the countries in Europe, some of which would have dissolved the clouds of war if they had been honoured, while others would have provided some stability in finance, a very important factor for ensuring world peace. Even the United States, with her policy of isolation, has not escaped the effects of the world unrest. This country has attempted ma'ny experiments for stability, but j none has proved successful, and industrial unrest continues to grow. So far as Europe is concerned it can be said that if it is left to the masses of the people there will be no war, but the rulers may plu'nge their countries into conflict so as to try and divert the attention of the people from their domestic troubles. This may do so for a time, but in the end it means further troubles for both victor and vanquished. The Great War proved this, for it can be said that this war left every country in a worse position than prior to 1914. The United States gained enormous wealth by supplying the Allies with munitions, but this only brought about financial indigestion, from which the country has never recovered. Since the signing of the Armistice in 1918 Britain has been the prime mover in trying to arrange an international agreement on armaments. She led the way by making drastic reductions in her naval and military expenditure and it seemed at one time there would be a satisfactory agreement on this world problem. Then Germany and Japan drew out and the race'for armaments became more acute than ever. Britain was also responsible for calling a conference for stabilising - the currency of the world so that it would assist in stimulating worid trade, a most essential thing for all countries. The

United States dropped a bombshell without warning by refusing to participate in the negotiations a'nd the economic position became worse for all. Britain has done her utmost in trying to prevent war between Italy and Abyssinia, and was even prepared to make concessions to Italy in Somaliland, but all she is receiving 'is abuse and the spreading of false propaganda. Yet with all her disappointments in trying to preserve peace, Great Britain cannot stand aloof should hostilities take place. With the Empire spread over the whole globe Great Britain is interested in any war that may take place. Nor would she be prepared to adopt the isolation policy of the United States, which would mean disaster for herself and many other countries.