Britain in Crisis

Some 10,000 Britons, led, according to dispatches by British Communists, rioted in Trafalgar Square last week on account of the Austrian crisis (see p. 19), swept over to the nearby German Embassy singing the Communist Internationale and there engaged London bobbies in one of the bloodiest fist fights ever staged. It was estimated that the crowd grew at last to 20,000, shouting "Chamberlain must go!" and "Ribbentrop get out!", yet this mob was expertly "handled" by only 800 police. Noses streamed and eyes were blacked, but British Democracy triumphed in the complete absence of firearms.

The night after Anthony Eden resigned, Britons who gave the Communist salute led a crowd which whirled into the great octagonal Central Hall of the House of Commons, crying out against the Prime Minister (TIME, Feb. 28). This week Mr. Eden, had he cared to make difficulties for the Prime Minister who forced his resignation, could easily have provoked a monster demonstration. Instead "Tony" Eden, a British aristocrat who thinks first of being true to his class, kept away from his seat in the House of Commons, remained with his sister the Countess of Warwick at her villa on the French Riviera.

Neither the Government nor the Opposition entered the House this week with a program of doing anything about what Labor members bitterly spoke of in private as "the rape of Austria." However, 3,500,000 British trade unionists are organized under the Trades Union Congress and its Chairman, Mr. H. H. Elvin, roused a Labor audience to cheers by proposing that Britain demand that Germany withdraw from Austria and, in case of Hitler's expected refusal, break off diplomatic relations with Germany and Italy and expel from the British Isles all Nazis and Fascists, permitting other Germans and Italians to remain.

This struck British statesmen as amateurish, fantastic, dangerous. When the Prime Minister rose in the House of Commons he spoke with an air of firmness which fired Associated Press to fire Manhattan's World-Telegram to headline eight columns wide: "BRITAIN WARNS GERMANY--WILL MEET FORCE WITH FORCE." It was the Prime Minister's character and reputation, rather than his words, which gave this impression for Neville Chamberlain actually said: "The hard fact is that nothing could have arrested this action by Germany unless we and others with us had been prepared to use force to prevent it.

"Accordingly we have decided to make fresh reviews and in due course we shall announce what further steps we may think it necessary to take.

"We must consider the new situation clearly, but with cool judgment and with confidence that we shall be supported in asking that no one, whatever his particular preconceived notions may be, shall regard himself as excluded from any extension of national efforts that may be called for."

This brought hearty House of Commons cheers, was supposed to mean that the Prime Minister may resort to CONSCRIPTION--a bombshell. In England the public in peace time has long been extremely hostile to conscription, lacking it His Majesty's Government have been unable to bring the British Army up to full strength, and this week it was possible that the Austrian crisis will be cleverly used to get Britain really ready to fight, with plenty of man power. Neville Chamberlain hinted that Britain's -L-1,500,000,000 armament program would be expanded, and Home Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare later went on the air to appeal for "at least a million men and women" volunteers to prepare for defense and rescue work against air raids.

The Prime Minister carefully did not associate Britain in any way with pledges the new French Popular Front Cabinet (see below) was said to have given Czechoslovakia this week to send French soldiers if German soldiers should start into Czechoslovakia.

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