WAR CLOUDS AGAIN OVER EUROPE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23014, 17 October 1936, Page 2

WAR CLOUDS AGAIN OVER EUROPE

By H. E. Hyde

Europe is back again once more to the early days of 1914. The nations have completed a full circle and have arrived practically where they stood in the months immediately preceding the Great War. During the three or four years prior to the outbreak of hostilities on August 4, 1914, the major European nations engaged in a race in armaments that resulted in an increase in yearly armament expenditure of from 30 to 45 per cent, over the armament expenditures of previous years To-day history has repeated itself and we find that armaments and armament expenditure, especially on the Continent, have been increased at a very much greater rate than was the case prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. It remains to be seen whether history is going to repeat itself still further and to the extent of another great European cataclysm in the near future. Certainly the outlook for European peace has never been blacker since 1914, and if the present race in European armaments continues, war must be regarded as being almost inevitable —if it does not come in the near future, the longer it is delayed (while the mass production of armaments continues) just so much more destructive it is likely to be when it does come History teaches us that the great wars of the past have almost invariably been preceded by comparatively short periods of intense armament inflation —similar to that which has already taken place in Europe during the past two or three years —and everything points to the belief that, if another great war is to be averted while there is yet time, the race in armaments now going on all over Europe must be stopped and the European nations persuaded to reduce their armaments progressively to safer and less explosive levels. Europe has already passed the danger line; the “ red light ’’ is everywhere visible, and if proper and adequate precautions are not taken there is every prospect that the nations may be overwhelmed by the greatest calamity of all time. The dangerous lengths to which this mad race in armaments has already taken Europe may be gathered from a brief survey of European armaments to-day Germany, according to a recent proclamation, has decided to maintain a peace-' time standing army of 1,000.000 men. She already has an Air Force reliably estimated to contain from 1000 to 5000 modern aeroplanes, a very large proportion being long ranged and extremely powerful bombing aeroplanes, and all German armament factories are working overtime manufacturing unprecedentedly huge quantities of armaments of every description. As instancing the alarming degree of rearmament that has recently taken place in Germany. Mr Winston Churchill recently challenged Mr Baldwin, in the House of Commons, to refute his statement that Germany had spent at least £800,000,000 on rearmament within the last two years, and that statement has never been refuted or even seriously challenged. Russia has recently decided to increase her standing army to 1,500,000 soldiers, from about 500,000 a few years back; she has built up what is estimated to be the largest Air Force in the world, and boasts a capacity to manufacture 5000 long-ranged bombing aeroplanes a year; Italy has more than 8.000,000 men trained in the use of arms; has now at least 3000 modern aeroplanes, many of them powerful bombers, capable of flying 1000 miles out and back and of carrying loads of bombs which a few years back would have been regarded as quite impossible, and is rapidly adding to her navy, particularly submarines and tiny, but fast and deadly torpedo boats. The rest of the European nations have rearmed at the same unprecedented rate, and altogether, within the last two years particularly, Europe has become a vast arsenal in which every national interest has been completely subordinated to the mass production of weapons of terror and destruction Britain, a late starter in the European race in armaments, has suddenly become aware of the everwidening gap between her own and Continental armaments, and is making desperate, if somewhat belated, efforts to repair her deficiencies in this respect. This year she is spending an additional £70,000,000 on her armaments (which is the equivalent of an extra one shilling and sixpence in the pound income tax) and is particularly concentrating on a rapid increase in the size of the British Air Force which, on the misguided theory that European disarmament would be encouraged by a policy of unilateral disarmament in Britain, had actually been allowed to fall to six f h in order of world strength The questions that are on an increasingly large number of people’s lips these days art. Can this suicidal race in armaments be stooped while there is vet time to avert a civilisation destroying war? and can the European nations be persuaded to trust each other sufficiently to agree to reduce progressively their inflated national armaments, under a universal system of inspection, to sane and reasonable levels?

The answer is Yes!—provided that Europe is made safe for disarmament And the only thing that can make Eurone safe for disarmament in the eyes of the European countries. is the early establishment of a Eurone-wide system of collective security in which all *' European States. including Britain. are pledged to take collective economic and if need be. military action against the criminal aggressor Hatred and suspicion between the European nations have reached such a stage that they will only disarm if disarmament is made general (and under a common system of insoec Mon) and if they are assured of the nnllective economic and military assistance of the great maioritv of the other European States in the event of aggression In this con nection Britain holds the- key of the situation as British participation in a European collective security system is everywhere regarded as being essential 'o the success of any worthwhile reduction and limitation of European armaments proposals That the British Gfvpnmon) now very fully realises the urgent necessity there is for a Eurone-wide sys tern of collective security may be gathered from an extract from a speech made by Mr Baldwin in the House of Commons, on June 23 of this year. Mr Baldwin then said-

“ There is no foundation for a single word that was said about our plans for leaving Europe to look after itself provided that we could safeguard ourselves in the West Negotiations might be futile if we cannot make provision for the same security for the countries in the centre and east of Europe as we hope to make for ourselves.’" What is now v anted is that Britain give a clear and definite lead to the rest "f the European nations by offering to participate in a Europe-wide system of collective security provided the other nations, for their parts, will agree to reduce their national armaments progres sively. under jniversal inspection, to a reasonable common parity level Britain can save European civilisation. and in so doing safeguard herself and Hie British Empire from the horrors of modern war for generations to come, by giving a strong le#»d in the direction of the immediate establishment of such a svstem. and in giving that lead the British Government should be able to count on the loyal support and co-operation of every section of the British Empire. The next article will be on the subject of the advantages of a European collective security and mutual disarmament system to Britain and the British Empire