Visit

Red, white & green are the flags of Italy and Hungary though the Hungarian flag is of a different stripe (horizontal). Firmly grasping thousands of both kinds of flags in their damp fists, Budapest school children lined the streets last week all the way from the railroad station across the Danube to the vast pile of Franz Josef's royal palace above the city. The kingless Kingdom of Hungary was entertaining the first royalty to visit it officially since the owl-eyed King of Siam went to Budapest shortly after the War. Little old Vittorio Emanuele of Italy, his strapping Queen and Fascist Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano were the principals.

As the state procession passed through newly renamed Mussolini Square, one of the Queen's snow-white Arab horses reared dangerously. A nimble Hungarian soldier sprang to his head in time to avert damage to Her Majesty. About 30 persons were overcome by the heat but otherwise it was a successful parade. Hungarian police had carefully searched every house along the route, ordered all households that had no flags to buy them.

Excuse for the state visit of Vittorio Emanuele to Regent Nicholas Horthy of Hungary was to return a similar visit paid by the Regent to Rome six months ago, but Kings seldom make state visits out of pure politeness. What caused this visit with its special train was the knowledge spreading through all the chancelleries of the Balkans that French and British rearmament was reaching a point where minor Balkan nations might soon turn to them against the encroachments of Fascism. In Venice five weeks ago Benito

Mussolini told Austria's Chancellor Schuschnigg that he could no longer defend Austrian independence as he had before, but the gobbling of Austria by Germany might be postponed many months if Austria would follow Yugoslavia in joining a Fascist bloc of Danubian States which would isolate Czechoslovakia from her French and Russian allies.

With surprising gumption Dr. Schuschnigg said no. Subsequently he was understood to have learned that France and Britain were finally willing to support him with something more than fine words. It was to prevent Hungary from following this uncomfortable lead that last week's visit was arranged. There were peasant processions, State dinners, and the director of the Budapest museum gave little Vittorio Emanuele three small silver coins to add to his numismatic collection.

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