Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1934, Page 41

Editorial Page Part 2—10 Pages DANUBE IS NEW FRONTIER OF FRANCE AND GERMANY Reich’s Plan to Unite With Austria Fraught With Peril to Peace of Europe. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. ENERAL relief at the outcome of the Saar discussions has served as the occasion on this side of the Atlantic for the expression of the hope, and even of the belief, that the Franco- German agreement in this respect might be carried to greater lengths. If the Saar could be settled, why is it not possible to dispose of the other disputes between the two countries? This question has been asked fre- quently, and as frequently answered by an optimistic affirmative. The difficulty, however, lies in the fact that while there was no real difference of principle between the French and Ggrmans in the matter of the Saar, thPre is as yet no basis of accord between them in such mat- ters as armaments and treaty revision. Had the French cherished any design upon the Saar, then the recent ac- cord could not have been made. But from the moment he took office as Foreign Minister M. Laval has been asserting that the Saar was not a Franco-German question, but an in- ternational issue. In other words, the French minister affirmed that the sole interest the Frenth had in the matter was to see that the treaty was fulfilled, first by @ fair election and second by a proper financial settlement of the mines. ‘Thus, if Germany were prepared to refrain from any attempt to steal the election by violence and also ready to pay France for the mines which were French property, a German victory at the polls would be accepted by France without protest. German Content With Pact. Once the Germans were satisfied that Laval meant what he said. They, in turn, became convinced that they would win the election, and that vio- lence was unnecessary. As to the payment for the mines, there was a resource in the shape of the money which had been issued in the Saar. At Rome the price of $60,000,000, supplemented by 11,000,000 tons of coal, was agreed upon, and in Geneva, a little later, it was further agreed that the policing of the election should be left to troops other than German and French, and to this force Britain and Italy stood ready to contribute. The removal of the Saar from, the list of possible causes of Franco- German disputes eliminates the last territorial issue between the two coun- tries. Hitler -has again and again repeated the assurances of Stresemann which constituted a pledge that Ger- many would never attempt to recon- -Lorraine. The statement Baldwin in Parliament last Summer, that the Rhine has become the frontier of Britain, also constitutes & clear renewal of Eng- land’s Locarno pledge to defend the status quo in the west. Thus with Saar settled, the status quo in the Rhine area satisfies bath the French and the Germans and is guaranteed by the British. In the east the 10-year non-ag- gression pact which the Germans and Poles have made has removed the question of the Polish Corridor from present actuality. And by doing this it has stripped the Franco-Polish alliance of its menace to the Germans. Germany has made her own terms vith Poland and Poland has ceased %ok to Paris in shaping her policy. Nominally the alliance survives, but In reality it has lapsed and with s disappearance another source ,of Franco-German differences has been eliminated. Two Points at Issue. There remain, however, two points of friction—armaments and Austria. The treaty of Versailles placed all sorts of restrictions upon Germany's military, naval and air forces. At the Disarmament Conference France refused to consent to the removal of these restrictions until there had been some far-reaching agreement which would assure the League the necessary force to coerce Germany, if she sought to use her new military resources to bring about a revision of the territorial status quo. No such agreement proving possible, France refused permission and Germany quit the League. Today Germany is arming rapidly and extensively. This course is illegal, but the French have no intention of resorting to force to prevent it. On the other hand, they remain un- ready to sanction it until the ques- tioh of security for all European states is settled. And, of course, the heart of this issue is the matter of the independence of Austria and of Czechoslovakia. On the latter phase of the issue, too, Italy and France stand solidly together. Thus, at the time of the July putsch in Vienna, Italy mobilized and prepared to move troops into the Tyrol. While at that moment Italy, France and Great Britain united in a note of warning to Berlin, they do not agree on the armament question. Italy has always viewed this detail realistically— recognizing that Germany would re- arm and that without resorting to war no one could prevent her. The British policy has been one of expediency— they would permit Germany to re- arm gradually, striving to preserve the restrictions on air armaments as long as possible and showing less concern for artillery and effectives. France, however, has continued to say no un- compromisingly. And Germany has gone on arming rapidly. Germany Looks to Danube. ‘To get anywhere in the direction of ordered peace in Europe now it would be necessary for the French to agree to German rearmament, the Germans to renounce their Austrian plans and the British to undertake more exten- sive responsibilities for the status quo —which means the security of France and her allies—than is at present pos- sible. Least possible of all is German fenunciation of the purpose to unite the Reich and the Austrian Republic. Put in simplest fashion Germany is ready to come to any agreement with France which might reassure the French of their own security, and would even welcome British guarantees of French security. She is equally ready to give similar assurances in so far as Italian security is concerned. And she has already allayed Poland’s fears on that count. But she is resolved to pursue her own course down the Danube, which must end by the crea- tion of both a political and economic Mitteleuropa. She means to dominate Austria, control Czechoslovakia and replace both the French and Italian L systems in the Danubian Basin by a German combination. Today National Socialist Germany is not strong enough to create her Mitteleuropa by arms nor has she the financial resources to meet France in the Danubian area. She is, there- fore, forced to wait and to prepare. But she will neither renounce prepara- tion nor design. On the contrary she will seek to offer Rome, Paris and London a bargain, based upon the status quo on the Rhine and the Alps. But if France and Italy refuse to assent to German purposes in the Danubian Basin then war may be postponed, but it cannot be prevented. Italy Sees Austrian Peril. It goes without saying that the British would prefer Austro-German union to & new continental war. It is, however, not less plain that Mussolini and his Fascist followers regard the possession of Austria by Germany as a deadly threat to Italian security. As for the French, they cannot get rid of the haunting apprehension that if Germany got Austria and controlled Czechoslovakia she would one day be seized with the desire to recover Alsace-Lorraine, and by that time would be too strong for France, even with British aid, to resist. There is the real problem of peace in contemporary Europe. It is posed by the determination of the Germans to bring about & union of Austria and the Reich. That determination will endure even if Hitler should disappear. And until the Austrian people have been permitted to vote on the question of union under conditions as fair as those now fixed for the Saar plebiscite, it is difficult to deny that the right of the matter rests with the Germans. The brutalities and bestialities of the Nazi regime should not blind Ameri- cans to the essential justice of the German case in respect to Austria. Nor should any French or Italian arguments serve to conceal the fact that the German solution of the Cen- tral European problem is economically the sole answer yet discoverable. In- dustrial Germany and agrarian Hun- gary, Yugoslavia and Rumania con- stitute naturally complementary areas. Neither Italy nor France can supply considerable markets for the foodstuffs of these three states nor can they hope to compete successfully with German industry in this area. French Alliances Crumble. The French system of alliances in this region, which has so far sufficed to maintain the status quo of the Paris Peace Conference, is crumbling. Poland ing toRE Rty tan to, Paris. The L tente as a whole is taking a2 new @nd independent line, since France and Italy have been -visibly drawing together. And ip the same fashion Italian influence in Vienna is always under challenge, while the connection between Budapest and Rome could snap at any moment. For the Hungarians are aware it is their association with Italy which has led to the present attack made upon them by Yugoslavia, backed by her partners of the Little Entente. That France and Italy, even if they presently settle all their differences, which seems likely, can permanently arrest German advance to Vienna and the creation of a great economic Mitteleuropa I do not for a moment imagine. On the other hand, it seems certain that as Germany succeeds in her designs, France, Italy and Great Britain will be forced into closer and closer association in the presence of a great and powerful new Germany. Such a combination should serve to dissuade any German regime from an attack either upon France or Italy. In the very nature of things, too, the Soviet Union would stand with the western powers. When the Hapsburg monarchy dis- solved in 1918 Germany became the natural heir to the bulk of the Aus- trian half. Geography and economics both dictated this solution. By politics it has been arrested for half a gen- eration, and it is by no means impos- sible that this arrest may be prolonged for some time yet. Unquestionably the arrival of Hitler has postponed that solution because it has raised opposition among the Austrian Ger- | mans both for religious and political reasons. Nevertheless no alternative has been found. To have prevented the eventual union of Austria and Germany, France and Italy must have united in a com- mon policy which would have estab- ; lished an economic association be- tween the Czech, Austrian and Hun- garian factions of the old dual mon- grchy. And to do that they would have had to bestow a territorially just and fair settlement upon the Hungari- ans, Instead, France and Italy launched rival policies which—far from ending—perpetuated the eco- nomic chaos and political confusion in the Danublan area. Now the time has passed when either can undo what both have achieved. Peace between France and Ger- many and between Italy and Ger- many—that is, organized peace, as contrasted with a truce of expediency such as exists today-—can only be reached as France and Italy resign themselves to the union of Austria with the Reich, and all the political and economic consequences of such a union. That would mean that France must abandon her Central European allies, which comprise the Little Entente, and that Italy must drop her present protectorate over Austria and partnership with Hun- gary. The alternative is a war of balance of power, fought to prevent Germany from acquiring & danger- ously disproportionate strength. As long as France undertakes in the name of the status quo to forbid German advance down the Danube and to strengthen her opposition by alliances with the nations of the Lit- tle Entente, genuine Franco-German peace is out of the question. But a Franco-German klash has no direct cause growing out of immediate Franco-German interests. Sometime the French will have to make up their minds to fight or get out of Central Europe. And they only went into Central Europe because after the peace conference the United States and Great Britain failed to make good on the treaty of guarantee that Wilson aud Lloyd George had bestowed upon Clemenceau in return for his waiv- ing French claims to permanent oc- cupation of the left bank of the Rhine. Briand, in his day, was resigned to the eventual union of Austria and the Reich, provided only Germany fol- L} Yugoslavia is look- | buck: l EDITORIAL SECTION he Swnday Star WASHINGTON, D. C, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 16, 1934, New Deal in Legislature Nebraska Plan Designed to End Buck-Passing and Political Horseplay. BY ORLAND KAY ARMSTRONG, Member of the State Legislature of Missourl. HEN Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska, 12 years ago, began advocat- ing a State Legislature of one house instead of the traditional Senate and House of Rep- resentatives, legislators and political economists said it was just another rash reform idea that could never up- set the constitutional way of doing things in every ‘State of the Union. But when that vigorous 75-year- old gray-maned lion of Nebraska got out in a crusading campaign before the last November election and awak- ened his amazing personal following to enthusiastic support of a constitu- tional amendment establishing a “uni- cameral,” or one-house, Legislature in that State and put it over by a big majority, that was something else again, The incoming Legislature in Ne- braska will be the last two-house As- sembly to convene. The Legislature elected in 1936 will comprise one house, small in number, elected on a non-partisan basis, with an adequate salary and a responsibility that can- not be avoided by the usual legislative -] from to House and How #t work? Wil it make good, as Norris earnestly predicts it will? Will it pass a lot of hasty and ill-advised legislation, with none of the “checks and balances” which the two-house system provides, as its op- ponents loudly proclaim? Watched By Other States. ‘The “Nebraska experiment” will be watched by the eyes of the entire Nation. The Legislatures of 44 States are to assemble in 1935, and 40 of these will convene next month. There can be no denying that the action of the people of Nebraska has caused some serious thinking—and consider- able anxiety—among the legislators of the country. A poll taken recently by the American Legislators’ Associa- tion shows about 75 per cent of the present members of State Legislatures opposed to the one-house plan. Most States will be content to await the outcome in Nebraska, weigh the results and avoid any mistakes that might be apparent. But already a flumber of legislative leaders in vari- ous States have announced that they will follow Nebraska’s example, at least to the extent of allowing their people to vote on the unicameral plan. Already strong movements have swung under way among political science teachers, leagues of woman votes and other public-spirited groups to bring their States next into line with Ne- braska in this startling innovation of legislative procedure. Norris Rolls in Votes. One thing is certain. Out in Ne- braska they give full credit for pass- age of the amendment to its author and sponsor, Senator Norris. No mis- take about who did it. He left Wash- ington five weeks before the election and took the stump at almost every crossroad in the State with a vigor and zest that astonished his closest friends and rolled in the votes. Re- peatedly to crowds of thoughtful lis- teners his voice boomed out these words: “This is in accord with the honest opinion of students of government everywhere. It cannot be assailed successfully from any honest view- point. Why should s State have a legislature composed of two ‘bodies with the same qualifications and ex- actly the same jurisdiction? The principle of two branches of a legis- ——————————————— lowed the pathway of peace Strese- mann had adopted. To imagine that 75,000,000 of Ger- mans in’the heart of Europe can be prevented from achieving ethnic unity and economic prosperity by any other means than force constantly exerted is sheer nonsense. But to believe that the French and Italians, con- fronted by the fact that Germany is now in the hands of a dictator whose program, published in his own book, threatens eventual aggression in all directions, will assent to German ex- pansion today, is equally preposterous. toward a solution which seems inevitable must therefore be conditioned upon tke transformation of the policies, if not of the personali- ties, controlling the Reich. Thus, while the settlement of the Saar removes an incidental cause of conflict between Germany and France, a greater issue remains. It is in Aus- tria that this issue lies, and it is upon French decision to continue to mount guard on the Danube or to retire be- hind the Rhine that the question of peace or war will ultimately turn. It is, moreover, to bring about such a withdrawal that British policy will be busy during the next few months, while it also labors to bring Germany back to Geneva. No Winter since the Paris Conference promises to be so full of diplomatic’ vering as the present. Upon the direction events take in these months, too, the solution of the problem of peace must turn. (Copyright, 1934.) SENATOR NORRIS—HE FATHERED NEBRASKA'S REFORM. lature is not applied to any other Government or economic activity.” ‘There was genuine opposition, of course. Practically the entire mem- bership of the Legislature was solidly and outspokenly against the plan. the Democratic World-Herald of Omaha and the Republican State Journal of Lincoln led an almost united newspaper fight on the amend- ment. Not a candidate for State or | national office openly advocated the passage of the plan. Democratic Representative Edward R. Burke, making his successful race for the United States Senate, remained neu- tral publicly, but will tell you he op- poses the plan privately. “Its non-partisan feature will tend to break down party responsibility,” he asserts. “Two houses are needed to act as checks upon hasty legisla- tion any law-making body.” Both the Republican and the Dem- ocratic conventions before the elec- tion planned to pass planks con- SPY NET PROTECTS U. S. - IN ALL PARTS OF WORLD Globe Trotters, Society Folks, Workers Who Talk Many Languages and Brave Any Perils Keep Nation Informed. BY HERBERT F. L. ALLEN. HE revelation that the United I States has an intelligence net or spy system, with more than a thousand efficient webs in this country and as many far- flung foreign lines as any other na- tion, may surprise some of our citi- zens and prove a shock to enemies abroad. Intelligence nets are divided in two groups, foreign and domestic. The former operates abroad to discover what other nations are planning and doing, the other is a home™counter espionage force spying upon enemy spies within our borders, circumventing their designs and exposing them when- ever possible. The intelligence service is a world- wide international game in which society ladies and gentlemen in eve- ning dress participate no less than workers in shipyards, commercial agents, missionaries, educators and pleasure-seeking globe trotters. Pro- fessional spies trained in schools of intrigye with a command of six or seven languages, a bland mobile coun- tenance that betrays no fear, no emo- tion, a resourcefulness in moments of danger, are the most adept. Military plans, advance copies of proposed international treaties, copies of a country’s secret code, inventions of new arms or armament, designs of new naval ships are all objects much sought after by workers. in the spy game. The reward in many instances is the knowledge of having served one’s country, Orientals are more fanat- ically patriotic than are people of the Occident, and they hesitate at no dangerous ent if they know it is in the interest of their nation. For them to die in the cause is glorifica- tion. When caught, death by drug prevents unintentioned revelations as the result of third degree torture. There is a very recent instance of this in the suicide of one of a group of Japanese seized by the British under suspicion of spying upon the new for- tifications being erected at Singapore. He evaporated from the scene through the secret drug route and thus baffled his captors. Sometimes the opportunity is not given the spy to resort to the drug method, as in the case of the recent arrest of a Japanese in California, suspected of having confidentisl docu- ments containing maps and descrip- L] tions of important Army and Navy and Marine bases, including the naval training station, Fort Rosecrans, Har- bor Channel and part of North Island. Here the bland Oriental inscrutable countenance is relied upon to baffle police investigators. Information does not always come through the channels of paid spies. When a group of German manufac- turers constructed a munitions fac- tory in Japan a few years ago, financed by Reichsbank credit, com- plete information as to the powder works’ capacity was passed on to the German government. Later German engineers imparted the same informa- tion to an American teacher of Eng- lish, who promptly gave a report to the nearest American military attache. In another country an American learned that the Soviet government was storing huge quantities of arms and munitions of Vladivostok in preparation for war against Japan. He, too, communicated his informa- tion to an American embassy. In both instances the Americans had acted as a part of our foreign in- telligence net. In this country webs forming the intelligence net are plentifully dis- tributed along the Atlantic seaboard, the coast of Florida, the States bor- dering the Gulf of Mexico and the boundaries of the Great Lakes, but up to the present the Pacific Coast has only a thinly dotted line running from San Diego, Calif., northward into Alaska. These webs comprise Coast Guard stations, light house dis- stricts and commercial airlines carry- ing the mail. California Coast Stations. California has but seven Coast Guard stations, located #s follows: Golden Gate, San Francisco; Presidio, San Francisco; Fort Barry, Bolinas, Point Reyes, Point Arena and Eureka. In the thirteenth district, with head- quarters at Seattle, there are but 15 stations covering the coasts of Oregon and Washington, and Nome, Alaska. And for the entire Pacific Coast the intelligence net has only 11 airline Diego, land, Tacomsa and Seattle. Uncle Sam is well intrenched in the (Continued “on Seventh Page.), 4 NEBRASKA’S NEW CAPITOL—IT HAS TWO LEGISLATIVE CHAM- BERS, BUT SOON ONLY ONE WILL BE NECESSARY.' demning the amendment, but both withdrew them when leaders decided it would not be wise to antagonize Norris' following. Lawyers Were Opposed. “And don't forget the lawyers. They were almost unanimously opposed.” Senator Norris reminds you. “Of course they would be,” he says with a grin on his almost boyish face and a twinkle in his eye. “I'm a lawyer, and our profession is traditionally opposed to change. Fact is, I learned in my long term as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee just how stubborn lawyers can be.” But volunteer groups of interested citizens sprang up everywhere Norris spoke to aid the cause. It developed into a great non-partisan organiza- tion, with the watch cry of “Better Government for Nebraska!” “I was really surprised at the way people turned to our support during those weeks of the campaign,” the veteran Senator says. Citizens of Nebraska who know and respect the personal power of George W. Norris. weren't surprised at all. They know that he possesses a quiet obstinacy that usually finishes what he starts. “Who else could have put through the change in the Federal Con- stitution abolishing the ‘lame duck’ session of Congress?” asks one. “And who else could change the system of electing the President and Vice Pres- ident, as Norris soon Will?” another echoes. According to Norris, it was simply a matter of informing the people of the merits of a one-house system. The provisions of the amendments he drew up originally provided for a single house of 21 members. He had to compromise on that point, and as passed by the last Legislature for submission to vote of the people the amendment provided for a minimum of 30 members and a maximum of 50. They are to be elected by districts on a non-partisan ballot for a term of two years, and their pay will be allo- cated from $37,500 total per annum. Cites Three Reasons, What are the good points of such s system? Senator Norris at you with that quiet, rugged conviction that has carried him through 46 years of independent political leadership and outlines his three principal reasons for a one-house legislature: 1. It will definitely locate legislative responsibility and eliminate buck- passing. 2. Better men will be selected for our State assemblies. 3. It will be more efficient and will cost less than present systems. “The traditional two-house legisla- ture permits a shameful lot of trading, political horseplay and shift- ing of responsibility from one house to the other,” says Norris. “Every opportunity is afforded a legislator to cover up his tracks. He can bargain and trade on legislation, escaping the effects of his-actions by maneuvers in the other house. In a word, an un- scrupulous legislator can fool the peo- ple to his heart's content. “He can't in a one-house legislature. He'll have to make good. He'll have to assume the responsibility any rep- resentative of the people should as- sume when he speaks their wishes in making laws.” The evils of the legislative “Confer- ence Committee” would be eliminated, the Senator points out. Conference Committees, composed of a few mem- bers of both houses, have it within their power, in secret and without a record vote, absolutely to kill off or modify bills and to prevent legislation. There would be no such thing as a conference committee in a one-house legislature. As to securing better men for the State Assemblies, Senator Norris is positive a higher type gen- erally will apply for office. . ‘Will Attract Honest Men. “Honest men—and that's the only kind that ought to be in public life anyhow—will be attracted to our Lég- islature under the new plan. What they say and do will count as it never has before. Why, I know of four or five former members of the Nebraska Legislature, truly outstanding men, who dropped out of public life because they got disgusted with the horseplay and buck-passing of the Legislature, who plan to offer themselves again under the new system. “Furthermore, the ones elected will make better servants of the people bécause of the very responsibility they must assume. That's what re- sponsibility always does to a man if he is honest. It makes him better. I recall examples of that in my early career as a circuit judge. It was in- teresting to study how jury service made any honest man attentive, sober and earnest in performing his duty.” legislator makes under Sf)ecial Articles YUGOSLAVIA IS TRIGGER OE EUROPE’S WAR.GUN With Mussolini Looking Daggers Across the Adriatic, Continent Wonders if Peace Can Last. BY PERTINAX. HE relations between Italy and Yugoslavia today comprise ene of the major political problems of Europe. They are, by them- selves, a potent cause for con- flict in the future. But in addition the Italo-Jugoslav conflict has separated Prance from Italy for the last 15 years. In order to hold the govern- ment of Belgrade in check Mussolini has been more and more inclined to join hands with Hungary, supporting Budapest’s demands for revision of the territorial clauses of the peace treaty, and as a consequence, seeking for a suc- cession of compromises with Germany. It can be said that if Germany at the present moment is not confronted with a combination of states strong enough to make her abandon her violent pol- icy, the true explanation of that state of affairs is to be found in the Adriatic. Just before he and King Alexander were assassinated at Marseille, M. Bar- thou, the French minister of foreign affairs, was about to make a serious effort to solve this tangle. Would he have succeeded? Personally I doubt it, notwithstanding all the optimistic re- ports and forecasts that had appeared in the Italian and French press. I can bear witness to the fact that during the last week of his life M. Bar- thou had given up a good deal of his former optimism. He even regretted that he had agreed to go to Rome and visit Mussolini at a more or less defi- nite date, although diplomatic nego- tiations had not gone beyond prelim- inary stages and could not be taken as making sure, or even probable, that a final agreement could be reached. “This is the time to catch a bad chill or fall down and break your leg!” Alas, such were the last words I ad- dressed to the foreign minister before the day of his death. Why Such Trouble? But how is it that the controversy between Italy and Yugoslavia proves 50 obdurate? Why should it so con- tinuously baffle the diplomats who try to handle it? The whole story is that Italy is apprehensive of the military strength of Yugoslavia and cannot give up hop- ing that the unification of the country, as carried out since 1918, will not stand the pressure of internal dis- agreement or the pressure of an eventual war, In other words, the disintegration of the country has be- come one of the objectives of Italian policy. And Italy in consequence wishes to keep clear from any com- mitment that eventually might pre- vent her, in a decisive moment, from helping to bring it about. In 1912, before the Balkan wars, Serbian territory did not exceed 18,- 650 square miles. In 1913, after the defeat of Turkey and the rout of Bul- garia, her area had grown to 33,700 square miles. But in 1920, after the treaties of St. Germain and of Trianon had been signed, the newly created nation had no less than 96,000 square miles, with a population of about 12,- 000,000—it had become 13,930,000 in 1931. On that basis a standing army of 200,000 men, which probably would expand to 1,000,000 on the day of mobilization, can easily be maintained. The nucleus of a navy has already been created, one destroyer of 1,880 tons—the boat which took King Alex- ander to France—eight torpedo boats, four submarines, six mine layers, one training ship, etc.—in all, 8,768 offi- cers and men. Italy considers that it is highly dangerous for her to have such a powerful Yugoslavia as a neighbor, all the more so since the Serbian soldier is regarded as the best fighter in all Eu- rope. She thinks that liquidation of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire of the Hapsburgs ought to have been managed in such a way as to spare her such a potent aguse of trouble. She regrets that an independent Croa- tia was not constituted out of the Austrian and Hungarian distriets in- habited by Croats and Slovenes. To- day she wishes to turn back, if pos- sible, the hands of the clock, Natives Differ. The fact that the Slovenes under the rule of Austria and the Croats, under the rule of Hungary have been brought up in a more refined civiliza- tion than that of the Serbians, and, at any rate, very different from them because of the German and Latin at- mosphere of its environment, accounts to a great extent for the resistance which the Serbs met when they un- dertcok to throw their new posses- sions into the common mold. On that account the parliamentary constitu- tion had to be scrapped, and in Jan< uary, 1929, a royal dictatorship had to be set up. Mussolini sees these developments as an indication that the whole structure may crumble un- der the stress of circumstances, and he does not want to tie his hands. Such is the crux of the matter. The Dalmation question, which has been given so much prominence, can be regarded only as a side issue. The Dalmation province, out of a total population of about 700,000, cannot show more than 4,000 Italians. In 1922, for the Sake of pacification, the Belgrade government, in compliance with advice from Paris, granted un- precedented privileges to the Italians of Dalmatia. Any one who wished to enjoy them could register as Italian gd yet mnnnue to live undisturbed Dalmatia. Only 4,000 persons came forward and gave their names. Never- theless, around the town of Zara, al- lmto:my the treaty of 1921, 8 en t propaganda is car- ried on “pro Dalmatia.” The glamour cast over the country by the ancient doniination of the Venetian Republic —a domination which was of & com- mercial character and never aimed at assamilating the people—and the relics of an artistic past are used as propa- ganda for the Roman cause. But all those wezpons are directed rather to- ward the dislocation of the Yugoslav state than toward the annexation of the coastal province. This year the belief has been en- tertained more than once, in Paris and elsewhere, that Mussolini, having taken his stand as the warder and the active protector of Austrian in- dependence against Hitlerian en- croachments and interference, would soon come round to the view that l::rmmht: mnmtde;“‘ Othln- e ought to join hands with the Little Entente and settle his differences with Yugo- slavia—in fagh, return to the policy of friendship and understanding so successfully enforced by Count Carlo Sforza in the early 20s. But noth- ing has come from the expecta- tion. Apparently Mussolini does not want to ally himself definitely with a group of powers which he calls the “French system of alliances.” He seems to think that were he to co- ordinate his diplomacy with theirs and take his share in the defense of the peace treaties he necessarily would have to play second fiddle to the government of Paris. Il Duce’s Policy Weakened. As a consequence, Il Duce does his best to set up an intermediate system between Germany on the one side and France and the Little Entente on the other, with the help of the Hungarian “revisionism.” Hence the mandate over Austria that he more or less covets. The weak point of such a combination is that since Hun- gary in truth is a close adherent, and even an advance guard, of the pan-germanist policy, Italy’s efforts to keep the Danubian countries clear of Hitlerian influence are considerably weakened. Besides, the situation in Central Europe remains very uncer- tain because Hitler never gives up the hope of reaching some kind of compromise with Rome through the good offices of Budapest. Moreover, because she feels she may be hemmed in between three Italian satellites—Austria, Hungary and Albania—Yugoslavia is becoming more and more convinced that the danger for her, at least in the im- mediate future, lies in Rome rather than in Berlin, If only Adolf Hitler eould shift the dreams of pan-germanist conquest to the northeast of Europe, against Russia, no longer strive for the col- onization of the southeast, and aban- don Hungarian connections, Yugo- slavia would be ready to come to terms with him! If Italian troops had invaded Austrian territory last July after the murder of Chancellor Dollfuss the Yugoslav Army would have leaped forward, too. The Little Entente will never agree to having Austria transformed into an Italian protectorate. Such are the circumstances, already very serious in themselves, which have been aggravated to a tragic extent by the murders at Marseille. For months Yugoslav representatives in Geneva, London and Paris have unremittingly charged that there were relations be- tween the Hungarian and Italian au- thorities and Croat terrorists, who," they allege on the strength of detailed evidence, are being recruited, subsi- dized and trained with the former's approval. Most of those terrorists are criminal offenders and cannot possibly be described as political refugees; let us never forget, in addition, that the Croats, whatever their grievances against Belgrade, to a man are hostile to Italy. The terrorists are profes- sional murderers who would never have been gathered together and formed into a coherent force without outside help. It is even said that the “ORIM,” or Macedonian revolutionary organiza- tion, was asked to supply the assassin who so thoroughly performed his task in Marseille because in the Hungarian camp of Janka Puszta no really effi- cient man was available. France’s Course. Such are the charges upon which the Council of the League of Nations was asked to pass judgment. In the light of those allegations it is not easy to be optimistic. Unless Mussolini should make up his mind to steer the ship differently, unless he should frankly recognize—to use the words of a French minister—that to attempt to change a single frontier post in the Europe of today would be tantamount to plunging the continent into the abyss of war, the most deplorable de- velopments may occur. ‘Would it be possible for France to let the Little Entente and Yugoslavia go to their fate and, meanwhile, re- gain the good will and assistance of Italy? From time to time it is hinted that France might do so; but such pos- sibilities do not withstand examina- tion. Were France to follow such a course, not only the Little Entente, but the whole Slavonic world (includ- ing Russia) would throw itself into the arms of Germany, which thus would have the opportunity to rebuild on a huge scale the territorial and political structure called “Mitteleuropa.” France would have to live side by side with a Hitlerian empire of overpowering might. But would Italy then be willing to enter into some sort of alliance with the French Republic? The odds are that she would be impressed by the weakness of the French position and would be reinforced in her natural tendency to play a game of bargain- ing between the Western powers and Central Europe! Racketeers in Poland ictimize State Bank WARSAW, Poland.—A large bank, particularly a government bank, is not likely to “buy a cat in the bag,” but the Bank of Poland buys bags used by its depositors for carrying currency, and on such small transac- tions it is reported to have lost re- cently an unnamed amount of money. The bank issues canvas sacks to its patrons, for which it charges them 60 grosze each. Five grosse are worth approximately 1 cent. When the bags are returned new ones are given out or the charge is refunded. For several weeks tellers at the bank noticed that regularly every day two or three bags were returned and the refund collected. An investiga- tion revealed a petty racket without parallel in reports for shady deals. It seems that the worn or torn sacks exchanged came from the same source, which a Warsaw newspaper estimated at 400,000 pieces. The actual price of the bag is said have bought them at this price in wholesale lots and then applied a homemade wear and tear process of them until they were useless, particu- mll; for carrying coins.