UNIFICATION OF EUROPE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20863, 4 May 1931, Page 6

UNIFICATION OF EUROPE.

DEEP-ROOTED ANIMOSITIES. PROGRESS TOWARD THE IDEAL [TASK FOR A GENERATION. BY AVINSTON CHURCHILL. Bather morje'than a year has passed since (Monsieur Brinnrl gave the impulsion cf his name and authority to the conception / of "The United States of Europe." It cannot be said that 'lie interval has been encouraging for ardent supporters of the scheme. Once tlio regions of aspiration and peroration had been exchanged for thoso of practical business, all hinds of resistances developed. These resistances, (although obstinate, have been oblique. Politeness is tho keynote at Geneva. ilJndi?r the forms of a great international assembly the world is reviving tho tictortrn, suavity and circumlocution —and much cf tho futility—of tho "old piacy."Facte and Moral Standards. [As everything has to be expressed in terms of highest morality ancl even propriety, and as in practice the facts of the modern ago still unhappily fall far below such standards, a strong clement of unreality necessarily colours the pronouncements of representatives of the states and nations. If they damn, it is with faint praise; if they praise, it is with faint damns. Assent is recorded under reserves which seem to make it often almost valueless. Disagreement must always be veiled. Still the outstanding fact, tho real meaning and tho puri poso are fairly clear. Confronted by the vast project for FanEurcpean unity, or even the partial organisation of unity, tho states ancl races of the Old World in their present mood and condition do not want to have it. The old states, with their vested interests, novo cautiously, dwelling upon numberless The new states hug their dearly-bought and recently-acquired nationalisms. The idea of having one

coimige, even with varying inscriptions; ono postage stamp, though with different I heads upon it; one overriding zollverein (trade league), even though it be comprised of local tariffs, ; s as repugnant to then: as having to learn a common language, such as Volapuk or Esperanto. No Startling Change. Excellent in theory, unexceptionable in

principle, inspiring as a goal, but "not to-day, thank /you." As Finley Peter Dunne made his immortal Mr. Doolev say:—"No one ever rayforms while life and strength remain." We need not, therefore, expect any sudden, startling or sweeping change in the European system. It will remain a chaos of highly vital entities;. No one, for instance, need alter his business plans for 1931, or even his political outlook, in anticipation of some great reun on of the European family. Tilings will go on for some time just as they have. The journey from Paris to Stockholm, less than the width of many 'American States, will still require six different kinds of coins and stamps, the crossing of seven different frontiers and the use of five different languages. Guarding the Frontiers.

Whereas the .peace of the Roman •world vas maintained'in the time of Augustus by 800,000 armed men, it will take, after 2000 years of Christianity and on the morrow of "the war to end war," more than 20,000,000 soldiers or trained reserves to guard the jig-saw frontiers of the 26 Disunited States of Europe. Friction, unrest, alarms, exclusive dealings and racial antipathy are still absorbing u very large proportion of the economic life thrust of Europe. But all this ■will have to be stayed very genteelly at Geneva. Nevertheless, no one can suppose this is going to last forever. The Pan-Europearj idea will not pass from the minds of men. If we extend our view beyond the brief compass of a year or a decade and contemplate —as is the power and the privilege of the mind's eye, a generation,' we see that it will be wise, even prudent, for politicians and business men all oxer the world to reckon upon a Tery decided movement toward European unity. Some Instructive Contrasts, Af':er all, the European nations are quite intelligent. Although they are in Jove with their most particular interests, they cannot be entirely blind to the main /chance. When they look back upon the past they must observe the following facts: That under the Romans Europe was in fact all one, and that under the Catholic and feudal system she was in principle all one. If they look around them now, they must admit that Europe liince the Dark Ages was never reduced to smaller fragments with fewer large associations, nor so divided against ilsplf. If they look across (he Atlantic they Cannot fail to notice the existence of a commonwealth of moro than 120,000,000 persons, possessing almost a continent with every variety of climate and resources, within whose frontiers no mechanical or artificial obstruction is placed upon interchange of goods and services. 'Although American prosperity is undergoing: temporary repression, its massive strength and strong dynamic urge strike the European mind with irresistiblo force. The Possibilities of Union. Yet the resources of the United States, i»vcn if better distributed and disposed, are not so much greater than thoso of. Europe. The territories of the United-' States are a. little larger than those of Europe. Their population is but onethird of Europe's. If by a wave of the wand, by swift acts of general comprehension, the twenty-six jealous rival, or oven hostile, states of Europe were made to proclaim themselves a single federal unit in all the essentials of federal government, or even only of an economic and commercial organisation, an almost measureless expansion of well-being would come to the common people of every city and every village within their bounds. It is the devastating wars and animosities that have lorn Europe in pieces, squandering alike her blood and money. It is the excess of racial and national feeling which prevents, or, at least, delays. the healing of these wounds. The more she considers the problem, the more sharply the answer will be presented. Of her past misfortunes and her present arrest, she is herself the sole cause. Not only that, but the remedy lies in her own hands. We must take it as settled that the Governments and peoples concerned lie under no doubts of these facts, arid that only a multitude of difficulties and prejudices stand between them and effective action. Twin Perils to be Avoided.

Such n movement of human thought, once it has begun, surely will move forward to a conclusion. It will certainly havo many setbacks and stagnant periods. I do not think !t will have any violent interruption such as might arise from a general war or social revolution. The horrors of Armageddon aro our present guarantee of peace. The squalors of / the Bolshevik tyranny are our best safeguard against a social convulsion. No violent upheaval will occur to stop or deflect the steady movement of European thought. Indeed, the march toward I European unification will be stimulated by a resolve to escape from the opposite perils of militarism and Communism. We may be sure that the movement toward the larger grouping will go forward. The wavo may advance and recede, but the tido will keep coming in and wo must all take account of that*