MUCH SPECULATION CAUSED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 25 October 1940, Page 5

MUCH SPECULATION CAUSED

r British Official Wireless] (Received 25th October, 9.55 a.m.) RUGBY, 27 th October. Yesterday's meeting between Herr Hitler and Genera! Franco, following so closely that of Herr Hitler and M. Laval, has naturally caused almost world-wide speculation. The feature which has attracted interest here is that Herr Hitler on this occasion has apparently found it necessary himself to make the long journey to the Pyrenees in the hope that through personal contact he may be able, by blandishments, promises and even threats to impel or tempt Spain along the Axis path. It remains to be seen whether the Fuhrer’s meeting with General Franco will yield results different from Senor Suner's visit to Berlin, when he declined to enter into any political commitment on behalf of the Spanish Government. The hard facts of the situation in Spain have hitherto, no doubt, influenced General Franco in the wise and cautious policy he has adopted, a policy dictated by the real interests of Spain after her long and exhausting civil war. A Berlin news agency reports from somewhere in France that the talks between Hitler and General Franco ended last night. The Fuhrer gave General Franco a dinner in a restaurant car in the presence of German and Spanish notables and later conducted him to his special train where a cordial farewell was accompanied by the Spanish national anthem.

The Germans are about to embark on a scheme of falsification of news compared with which their past efforts will be almost respectable. It is assumed here that this will include the presentation of an England unable to resist the enormous might of Germany and that this theme will be presented in innumerable aspects. In a carefully balanced examination of the prospects of this latest German overture British commentators are by no means convinced that the Axis proposals will be adopted as readily as Berlin hopes. The Spaniards have had some experience of the Germans, and despite the propaganda with which Spain is flooded there is less conviction in Spain that an Axis victory is as certain as the propagandists would wish. There are signs of disinclination to readily barter away the solid economic gains which the existing policy promises.. Those most familiar with Spain and the Spanish character emphasise that the traditional Spanish sense of honour might well lead them to treat the German and Italian pro-| posals with some measure of contempt.!