"One Way to Avoid War"

"One Way to Avoid War"

After taking in hot haste the most extraordinary step which any of British George V's Governments have taken since the War, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's Cabinet suffered last week slight pricks of conscience.

What they had done was to peril the sanctity of multilateral treaties by signing with Germany an exchange of notes professing to acknowledge Realmleader Hitler's "right" to violate the naval clauses of the Treaty of Versailles in return for his promise "forever" binding Germany not to build a navy more than 35% as potent as Great Britain's (TIME, June 24).

That two parties to a general treaty should proclaim their right to violate the mutual pledge of all, jiggled profoundly last week the underpinnings of international law and comity. Smug Japanese were made to feel that their violations of the Nine-Power Treaty can be made "right" if Japan can persuade any one of the other eight signatories to exchange favorable notes with her. In Paris the new Cabinet of Premier Pierre Laval were inclined to answer oui when asked by the French Admiralty whether, in the opinion of the French Foreign Office, the Washington Treaty limiting French naval strength had not been largely invalidated last week by the general instability of world treaties created by His Majesty's Government.

In Rome the dander of Benito Mussolini rose. For weeks he has been morally reproached by British newsorgans for his designs on Ethiopia. "On,the one hand Britain has attempted to invoke the League of Nations to restrain Italy, and on the other hand, Britain sanctions with Germany treaty violations presumably repugnant to all good league members!" exclaimed Il Duce's family newsorgan Il Popolo d'Italia. It added sarcastically: "Maybe, some day, the British-German accord will be pompously registered with the League, presumably, too, with the assent of the Delegate of Ethiopia!"

"We are with Italy!" cried the moderate Paris newsorgan L'Intransigeant. "It would be a strange thing if Britain, which concludes special agreements without asking anyone's advice, should wish to limit freedom of action by others in the name of agreements of which she herself takes no account. ... A country where slavery still exists [Abyssinia] has every interest in being civilized by a great Latin nation."

Judicial Jules Sauerwein of Paris-Soir, dean of French foreign affairs editors, observed: "There is only one way to avoid war and that is for the Ethiopian Emperor to give Italy adequate satisfaction. Any other method will end in a breach between Italy and the League and in profound disturbance of France's entire policy in Central Europe. If Britain should invoke international principles, we shall be able to reply that she herself sells them cheaply when it is a question of modifying, by her sole decision, the entire naval status of the Reich."

Meanwhile Prime Minister Baldwin could scarcely have relished the comment of the British newsorgan traditionally read by rich John Bulls like himself. Said the London Morning Post: "On March 18 the British Government addressed to Berlin a strong protest against the unilateral breaches by Germany of her treaty obligations in respect to her land and air forces. Yet here we are. three months later, openly aiding and abetting her in a flagrant breach of the naval disarmament clauses. . . . Germany is transparently actuated by the motive of driving a wedge between ourselves and France."

From Edward of Wales down,--millions of Britons and their newsorgans appeared to relish the German wedge last week. The popular press view jibed for once with that of His Majesty's Government and was voiced in the House of Commons by First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell.

"It has been suggested that His Majesty's Government should have refrained from entering this agreement," began the First Sea Lord, his conscience obviously prickling, "but we have to face the facts. . . . Germany is already constructing a fleet which is outside the limits laid down in the Versailles Treaty. . . . What we have done is to circumscribe the effects that might flow from this unilateral decision by Germany." In other words His Majesty's Government feel safer in hoping that Germany will observe a new agreement, notwithstanding her violation of old ones, than they would feel if left with nothing on which to base fresh hopes.

The perturbation of the Baldwin Cabinet, its bumbling fear lest it should lose a trick when suddenly presented with Realmleader Hitler's abrupt take-it-or-leave-it offer of "35% forever," was revealed with sealordly candor by Sir Bolton: "We are satisfied that a serious error would have been committed by us if the Government either had refused to accept the German offer or even hesitated unduly to do so."

In Europe proper most commentators could see only that Britons, sincerely scared lest Realmleader Hitler trump their naval ace by secret German building, had thrown over their entente with France in a scramble to grasp any straw likely to appease Der Reichsfuehrer.

Since the diplomatic game is always to play both ends against the middle, smooth new British Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare last week promptly dispatched across the Channel smoother Captain Anthony Eden, British Minister Without Portfolio for League of Nations Affairs. In Paris next day Mr. Eden was received by the inevitably courteous French Cabinet, only French Naval Minister Francois Pietri staying away from the State luncheon to register the French Navy's formal indignation. In long talks, which Premier Pierre Laval carefully kept on a personal and therefore friendly basis, he put strongly to Mr. Eden the views France could not but feel. The Englishman said that his country regards its agreement with Germany as a prelude to fresh efforts for naval limitation. To newshawks he plaintively observed: "We have got to find some way to work things out."

Next job for Minister Eden was to soft-soap Premier Mussolini, clarify his country's position. To that end smooth Mr. Eden trickled down to Rome, turned on his charm. Il Duce likewise turned on his charm, with the result that their conversation was marked by a cordiality quite removed from the slight frigidity which attended Mr. Eden's explanations to France. Reserving most of his diplomatic honey for a second conversation to be held next day, Mr. Eden nevertheless found time in two hours to assure Signor Mussolini that Britain would make no further bilateral agreements with Germany affecting armaments. Il Duce seemed satisfied.

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