“PROPOSALS” TO BE EXAMINED

Southland Times, Issue 23943, 9 October 1939, Page 7

“PROPOSALS” TO BE EXAMINED

LONDON OPINION OF SPEECH “SOMETHING MORE THAN WORDS REQUIRED” (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, October 6. The following statement has been issued on the authority of the British Government:— , . “Herr Hitler’s Reichstag speech in the full text was only available in London in the course of the afternoon. Therefore it has not been possible to give it more than a preliminary examination. The speech is divided into two parts. The first part is mainly a survey of past events and abounds in perversions of the truth which 'Will he readily recognized by the people ot this country and indeed by the whole world. Thus the claim that humane methods of warfare have been employed in Poland has been refuted by statements in Parliament and by the report of the United States Ambassador to Warsaw. , . “The world has already formed its own judgment about the alleged request of the Czechs to be incorporated in the Reich, and Herr Hitlers state-

ment that he has never broken a promise only shows that words have for him a meaning totally different from that commonly attached to them. “Herr Hitler says that in the year 1598 Englishmen spoke of the cruelty and moral licentiousness of the Poles and claims that recent events show that the Polish State was lacking in any national historical, cultural or moral foundation. This was not Herr Hitler’s view when he said in his Reichstag speech on May 21, 1935: ‘We recognize the Polish State as the home of a great patriotic nation with the understanding and cordial friendship of avowed nationalists.’

“In another passage Herr Hitler cpmplains that ‘for many years aims have been attributed to German foreign policy which at the best might . have been expected from the imagination oi a school boy.’ If misapprehension there has been it can be attributed only to Herr Hitler’s open aspirations for world domination as expressed in ‘Mein Kampf,’ to his utterances since he came to power, and, still more, to his acts.. “The repeated suggestions that Britain is responsible for the war have no foundation in fact. On the contrary the efforts of the British Government to preserve peace during successive crises brought about by Germany during the last two years are well known and have been recognized by the whole world. “The second part of the speech contains what Herr Hitler describes as more proposals for peace. In their present form these proposals in many respects are vague and obscure, but it is noted that they contain no suggestion of reparation for the wrongs done by Germany to other peoples. Nevertheless, they will—as has been declared by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary—be subjected to careful examination in consultation with the Governments of the Dominions and France. But it is necessary to remember two things: That no peace proposals are likely to be found acceptable which do not effectively free Europe from the menace of aggression; and that the assurances given by Germany in the past have on so many occasions proved worthless that something more than words would be required today to establish that confidence which must be an essential basis of peace.”

RESULT EXPECTED WITHIN WEEK THREE POSSIBLE “NEXT STEPS” LONDON, October 6. A Wilhelmstrasse spokesman indicated that Herr Hitler expected to know within less than a week what his adversaries thought of his peace offer. If the reactions were favourable the next steps would be:— (1) The re-establishment of contact through Italy, Belgium or Holland. (2) An armistice. (3) An international conference. The Italian reaction to Herr Hitler’s speech is that the Fuhrer said nothing concrete and that the next move lies with the generals, says a message from Rome. It is felt that the speech wrecks any chance of negotiations. JAPANESE MISSION LEAVES FOR HOME (Received October 8, 7.30 p.m.)

x ROM®, October 7. The Japanese military mission headed by General Count Terauchi, has returned home after visiting Italy and Germany.