Hint to Hitler

In Spa Marienbad last week, the age owner of the Hotel Weimar created Czechoslovak stir by opening the "Royal Suite," last occupied in 1909 by British King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra when they came to "take the waters." Down from its wall came a portrait of bewhiskered Kaiser Franz Josef and up went a photograph of smooth-face Fuehrer Henlein. The new occupant of the Suite was Sudeten Nazi Leader Konrad Henlein who went there to confer with representative of Britain's mediator, Viscount Runciman.

It was soon evident that the political pot was boiling. After a two-hour conference Lord Runciman's chief aide, Mr. Frank Trelawny Arthur Ashton-Gwatkin flew to London to confer with Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax. He was sa: to have reported: 1) that Fuehrer Henlin was virtually a "straw man," repeatedly refusing to commit himself and saying he must first consult Berlin; 2) that unless Britain again issued a firm warning to Germany, Lord Runciman might not be able to keep the situation in hand. In Central Europe, chancelleries buzzed with a story that German Field Marshall Hermann Wilhelm Goering had just told foreign diplomat: "I have definite information that in case the German Army marches into Czechoslovakia the British will not lift a finger!"

The situation seriously threatened to get out of hand when Sudeten German headquarters issued a trouble-kindling proclamation: "The Party leadership is not able any longer to assume responsibility for the freedom and property of its supporters. We, therefore, withdraw the instruction not to exercise the right of self defense. Party members in every case are free, when attacked, to make use of this right."

At this tacit invitation to Sudeten Germans to provoke an incident, the British Foreign Office issued an exceptionally stiff press communique saying that His Majesty's Government "welcome the conciliatory attitude displayed by the Czechoslovak Government," have hoped for a "constructive response" from the Sudeten Germans, and that "the issue by the Sudeten German Party of a proclamation relaxing the admirable discipline hitherto observed by the Sudeten Germans is therefore much deplored."

More effective as a hint to Hitler than this statement was an announcement made without comment by the British Admiralty that 42 warships of the Home Fleet had been ordered to its base at Scapa Flow, Scotland--that is, directly opposite Germany--for two months' maneuvers. On top of this, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sent Sir John Simon, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to make a speech at Lanark, Scotland. There he strongly reaffirmed Neville Chamberlain's own declaration of last March that Britain might find herself drawn into any war breaking out in Eastern Europe. "The beginning of a conflict is like the beginning of a fire in a high wind," said Sir John, weighing England's words but not mincing them. "It may be limited at the start, but who can say how far it would spread or how much destruction it would do or how many may be called to beat it out? . . . There are interests and duties affecting us, our people and the people of the Empire to protect and discharge which we would fight."

This week Mr. Ashton-Gwatkin was back in Czechoslovakia, he and Lord Runciman conferred with Fuehrer Henlein, and at these conferences there was "fearful rowing" according to reports. Viscount Runciman was said to have told Herr Henlein that he must stop inciting the Sudeten Germans to acts of violence.

This week the German Dictator, in what Frenchmen saw as a most tactless gesture, came with a glittering retinue of generals to inspect Nazi war defenses on the bank of the Rhine directly across from Alsace-Lorraine. Sir Neville Henderson, the British Ambassador to Germany, abruptly flew to London and the I. S. Ambassador to Germany, Hugh Wilson flew to Paris. Mr. Wilson conferred with U. S. Ambassador to France, William Christian Bullitt, and to join them U. S. Ambassador to Britain, Joseph Kennedy, broke off his vacation on the Riviera. Top-rank diplomats do not thus dash about unless urgent matters are at stake. Bonds of virtually all the Great Powers weakened in London. There fiscal authorities put aside their strained optimism of the past few weeks to agree "the peril of war is acute."

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