The Times MONDAY, JULY 3, 1939. The Crisis

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 154, 3 July 1939, Page 6

The Times MONDAY, JULY 3, 1939. The Crisis

Alter a lew months of comparative calm Europe has suddenly been plunged once again into a crisis which threatens the very foundations of civilisation. As a French commentator vividly puts it: “Only a spark is needed to ignite the powder keg which Hitler has planted in Danzig.” The events leading up to the menacing situation which now confronts the -world follow almost exactly the course which led to the invasion of Austria, the annexation of Sudetcnland, and, finally, in March last, the complete subjugation of Czechoslovakia.

For weeks past troop movements, first on the southerly frontiers of Poland, and then thinly-disguised infiltrations into the Free City of Danzig, have been reported by British and foreign press correspondents, but the general public, inured by succession of alarms, has failed to realise their import, until with almost dramatic suddenness they have assumed portentious significance. How close we are to a catastrophic plunge into the abyss is indicated by one terse cable from London in this morning’s news. “No news from Danzig overnight indicates that all is quiet at present,” it says. “At present” has an ominous ring.

The question everyone L asking is: “Is Danzig worth a European war?” In ordinaiy circumstances the answer would emphatically be in the negative. But Danzig itself is not the vital issue in the present crisis. The vital issue is the preservation of the principles pinned on to the dispute over the Free City. AVhat Herr Hitler might.gain by negotiation he cannot gain by force. To surrender Danzig and the Corridor under a threat of armed might would be to surrender everything Britain and the freedom-loving democracies of the world stand for. And every warning of British statesmanship during the past week or more has been strong and solemn in its emphasis that gain by aggression has had its day, and force in future will be met by force.

While Danzig—which is almost wholly a German city—is resounding with the tramp of armed men, the situation appears black indeed. But there is at least a ray of hope in the unhappy predicament in which Italy finds herself. It would appear almost inconceivable that Mussolini would commit the insane folly of plunging his so very vulnerable country into the catastrophe of a war from which lie stands to gain so little. Dragged at the chariot wheels of Germany, Italy, whatever the issue, would meet the full blast of Franco-British naval power and suffer an appalling toll of life and treasure. And, if beaten, as she must be sooner or later, she would sink back to the status of a third-rate Power.

The greatest danger to peace in Europe during the past few years has been the conviction in the minds of the dictators that in no circumstances will the democracies light to maintain the rule of law or to resist lawless aggression. If the solemn warnings of Mr. Chamberlain, Lord Halifax and M. Daladier have not shattered that conviction, then tlie immediate future is black indeed. What every lover of peace and hater of the cruel barbarity of war will devoutly hope is that the warnings have not come too late. The men who have spoken for Britain and France have offered collaboration while refusing to submit to domination. If Hitler’s choice is force, there will be no alternative 1o wav.