THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, October 12, 1937. ITALY WILL NOT HELP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23320, 12 October 1937, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, October 12, 1937. ITALY WILL NOT HELP

The reply of Italy to the joint British and French Note 'inviting her participation in conversations concerning the Spanish situation is in large measure such as was to be Anticipated. The purpose of the proposed tripartite conference was to be the reaching of an agreement such as would make non-interven-tion effective by the withdrawal of non-Spanish nationals who are now taking part in the struggle. But Italy happens to be the Power which more than any other is interested in lending support to one of the combatants in Spain. That is the reason why her co-operation is considered by Britain and France so essential for the overcoming of obstacles which have rendered nonintervention ineffective. Nor is there need to look for any other reason for Italy’s refusal to attend a conference at which she would be asked to subscribe to a policy, the acceptance of which would mean the abandonment of her present attitude towards the Spanish war. Her reply to the Anglo-French Note signifies that she intends to maintain that attitude, and has no wish to be a party to any arrangement that would entail the withdrawal of her nationals who are fighting in Spain on General Franco’s side. If her Government was frank, it would say as much. It prefers the language of evasion. It raises the objection that Germany was not invited to the conference. This may be assumed to be a reflection of the fraternising of Signor Mussolini and Herr Hitler at Berlin, and of their proclamation of the spiritual solidarity linking Fascist Germany with Fascist Italy, especially in antagonism to Bolshevism. At Berlin Signor Mussolini spoke plainly of Italy’s fight against Bolshevism in Spain, where thousands of Italian volunteers, he declared, had fallen in defence of European civilisation. But, while her Government continues to pay lip-service to non-intervention, Italy is so openly interested in General Franco’s campaign that the objection that Germany was not invited to the conference is patently a quibble. Germany is not a Mediterranean Power, and, as has been pointed out, her inclusion in the discussions would have involved the enlargement of the conference in a way that would probably have destroyed its usefulness. Very pertinent is the comment of M. Delbos; “ If Herr Hitler had sent orders praising his troops in Spain, or had despatched battalion orders to troops, we should have approached Germany.” The irony of the Italian suggestion that matters for the consideration of which the conference was proposed should be referred to the Non-intervention Committee is manifest. It amounts to saying tha't the Spanish situation may very well be left to a committee which, as the Anglo-French Note observes, is paralysed by the very obstacles it is hoped to remove. The French and Britislr Governments cannot but take a grave view of the situation created by the unacceptable nature of the Italian Note. If breaches of non-intervention should now be intensified the policy itself may be definitely doomed. In British official circles the view has been expressed that “ if France adheres to her decision, and the British Government formally signifies approval, the whole pretence of non-intervention will be abandoned.” In the light of these developments the European situation itself is anything but reassuring. Signor Mussolini has spoken of the consecration of German and Italian friendship as a guarantee of the rebirth of Europe —a rebirth, of course, according to their way of thinking. Conjecture has been busy in the meantime with

Italy’s designs in Spain, and she is credited with a strong desire to finish the war there quickly, before another winter sets in, by lending support to a decisive extent to General Franco. The danger lest this conflict in Spain, which started as a civil war, may involve other countries against their will, may be graver at present than at any time in the past twelve months.