Nelson Evening Mail THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 1939 THE EUROPEAN OUTLOOK: PEACE OR DOMINATION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 29 June 1939, Page 6

Nelson Evening Mail THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 1939 THE EUROPEAN OUTLOOK: PEACE OR DOMINATION

THE unsettled state of affairs in Europe is made more clear by a cablegram, printed yesterday, which reported that the hrench | Premier had expressed the ; opinion that the international j situation is the worst for twenty I years, and had gone on to say, j“I am convinced that we are I faced this summer with the choice ! between peaceful collaboration between peoples or domination by some of them. . . France would |! raise all her forces against posI sible ventures towards domina- | tion.” In Turkey the correspond- | ent of a London journal has given 1 it as his opinion that “prepara- | tions are in hand to ensure that | 2,500,000 men shall be ready for 1 any emergency,” and a leading 1 Turkish journal has declared that | ‘‘had the result of the war (of i | 1914-18) been by chance in! | favour of Germany, would not the , | Ottoman Empire, then Germany’s | ally, to-day have become a Ger- | man colony? We have no doubt | ->f that: we should now be slaves |of Germany.” Moreover, Tur--1 key’s political leaders “have | vowed to give every assistance to I Britain’s efforts to reinforce and | consolidate the Balkan block ’ — | j Turkey, Yugoslavia, Rumania, II and Greece—“and no time has | j been lost in initiating these efI j forts.” I I The British Prime Minister’s at- ! tempt at Munich to promote an I international agreement of peace | and goodwill may have failed, | but to-day are revealed his pre- | parations to meet strife, if it | should be forced upon the peace- | ful nations by the Dictators of | Germany and Italy to please the 3 militant Nazis and Fascists on | whom they so largely depend for | political support. Britain, France, II Poland, and T urkey, with the | possible support of Russia, stand | for the status quo and peace in | Europe, and apart from them are | aligned the nations which are con- | trolled by the Dictators, Hitler, | Mussolini, and perhaps Franco, | concerning whose attitude there I are conflicting reports. Europe is f divided between the totalitarians and the upholders of democracy, and the latter have the moral support of the American President and the Government of . which he is the head, though there r is a large section of political opinion at Washington which deprecates any tendency for American statesmen to exhibit active interest in European politics. Thus it will be seen that the Balkan Entente, with Britain, France and Poland in sympathy with it, forms a decided check to b the aggressiveness of the totalitarians, and with the prospective £ support of Russia should be able to uphold the status quo in Europe. If this conclusion, as reached by some commentators, is correct, the peace of Europe should be maintained for a period unless the Dictators, believing they are invincible—as they tell their followers they are—decide to proceed further with their aggressive policies of conquest. At the same time, M. Daladier’s disquieting statement of possible serious developments in the near future indicates that grave fears are entertained that the Dictators are only awaiting for what they consider the opportune moment to defy the peace-seeking nations. Mr Winston Churchill is in -entire accord with M. Daladier that “we are in a period of danger more acute than any period in living memory. He takes the most serious view of the position. As he emphasises, it is important to remember that Britain never guaranteed the security of Czechoslovakia last year, but the brute fact is that in view of Britain’s absolute guarantee to Poland, Britain and France would be forced to declare war should Poland be subjected to unprovoked attack by Germany. Mr Churchill expressed the fervent wish that he could convince Herr i Hitler that the British Empire had ; reached the limit of its patience, 3 and he asked Herr Hitler to conJ si der “whether his life’s work t may not be irretrievably cast > awav.” The speeches of German leaders and significant military , movements, however, seem to • make it only too evident that ap- • oeals to reason are futile.

In the list of members of the Nelson School Committee fifty-five years ago and published in yesterday’s issue in connection with Mr W. Lock’s record ot service on local bodies, the name E. Himy should have been E. Finney.