Nationalism Creates European Crisis
Above: Here are four figures who will have plenty to do with maintaining world peace. Left to right: Haille
8elassle, Ethiopia; Pierre Laval, France; Anthony Eden, Great Britain, and Benito Mussolini, Italy. Below: A light
artillery unit In Germany’s new conscription army, during manuevers.
By WILLIAM C. UTLEY
RADIO, flying, moving pictures,
telephone, fast steamships,
swift railroads and all those
other marvels of our present
age have made the entire world ns
small as was eastern Europe say 150
years ago. But human nature lias
changed little, and since pride In his
country Is still one of the most out
standing aspects of man's nature, the
nationalism of Individual nations still
maintains the high pitch which ob
tained to It a century ami a half ago.
But where 150 years ago travel and
communication were so slow that the
nationalism of Individual countries
Irritated only that of countries whose
borders coincided with their own, to
duy we find an entire world beset by
fears of great wars, and nations arm
ing frnntlcally against one another.
Behind the present tension is the
struggle of one of Hie most proud of
nations to regain Its pride through
nrmament to the level of the other
Kuropean nations with which it was
once on a par.
Following the failure of the Baris
peace conference and the rejection of
the League of Nations by tlie United
States, France was forced to the al
ternative of forming an alliance with
the Little Entente and Boland to keep
Germany cowed Into submission to the
terms of the Versailles treaty. The
Washington treaty was supposed to
bring peace and armament understand
ing In the Baclflc and the Far East.
Now Germany, as It Inevitably must,
has recovered enough strength to de
clare for herself how much arms she
needs for protection, has junked the
Versailles treaty and Is rapidly arm
ing. Japan has violated the 5:5:3
naval ratios and has invaded China.
There is universal arnmmenr and the
world talks of war.
Two Alternative*.
Europe seems to be torn between a
return to a military alliance between
France, Russia, Italy and Great Brit
ain to keep Germany In line, or a
three-power “Locarno" treaty between
Germany, France and Great Britain,
ensuring that peace shall be main
tained through the League of Notions,
or some modification of the league.
The first alliance would simply re
create the situation which brought
nbout the World war, except thnt
Japan, fearing Kussia, would be more
likely to line up with Germany than
the ‘'Allies." The second agreement
would leave Germany, considerably re
armed, with eastern Europe before
her, and would In all probability lead
to a war between Germany and Soviet
Russia.
Into the already tense situation has
suddenly been thrown the Italian In
vasion of Ethiopia. In the old days
this would have been countenanced
simply as a bit of colonizing, and
everybody was doing It. But today It
Is generally regarded as out and out
aggression, and therefore In violation
of both the covenant of the league
(since Italy has refused to submit her
case to arbitration) and the Kellogg
pact. If France, Great Britain and
other member nations refuse to close
the Suez cannl or otherwise save Ethi
opia from the Italians It will be not
because they cannot, but because they
will not.
The League of Nations was of course
formed to preserve, In large measure,
the political state of Europe In 1011).
The result was Inevitable. The na
tions which were satisfied by this ar
rangement have become the chief sup
porters of the league. Those which
benefited from the agreements of 1919
have formed coalitions both Inside and
outside the lengue, forcing those which
did not to act more or less on their
own. Germany has nlread.v withdrawn
from the league, and Italy threatens to
If the lengue Interferes with her Afri
can policy—although It must be ad
mitted that Italy certainly gained
more than she lost, If indeed she lost |
anything by the 1919 pacts.
The lengue has, even so, been of
more benefit In Kurope than elsewhere.
It handled the Saar plebiscite with
ndmltted efficiency. It handled the
Balkan case In a satisfactory way.
It has otherwise fostered the pence
of Kurope. Its chief value, perhaps,
lias been as a safety valve.
Fear Characterizes French.
As to the attitude of the principal
league powers on the continent, that
of France Is still created by the Ger
man problem which overshadows
everything else.
The French press and the French
foreign office has educated the people
to the fact that the Reich is standing
today on the threshold of complete
bankruptcy, financial and economic.
The reason for this Is that the wheels
of German Industry which have been
humming so loudly for years, have
been humming In the manufacture of
arms and not of goods to be sold. The
time cannot be put off much longer,
says the French government to Its
people, when Germany will be faced
with doing one of two things: Using
these gigantic war supplies in an ag
gressive war, or giving up to a com
plete collapse which will mean good
by to national socialism. There can
be no doubt about what the Nazi
choice will be, says France.
Efforts of the Reich to fo*m a peace
pact with France have fallen down,
and France has entered Into a pact
with Russia, a step aimed only at Ger
many. There Is little likelihood that
this agreement will cause nny great
stress In International relations for
the simple reason that It Is everywhere
recognized as a negative agreement,
which France entered Into only to
keep Germany from being first to ally
herself with Russia.
A similar alliance has been entered
Into with Roland and the three coun
tries of the Little Entente—Czechoslo
vakia, Rumania and Yugoslavia.
Feur has been the theme of the en
tire French foreign policy. After
Rierre Laval’s visit to Rome In Jan
uary, it is believed that even the pres
ent Italo-Ethloplan situation arose out
of French fear, for It Is hardly pos
sible that Mussolini would have em
barked on so aggressive and obnoxious
a venture unless he were reasonably
certain of French nssent.
Italy Set on War.
More than anything else, France
realizes that alignment with Great
Britain Is necessary to protect her
against Germany and she Is therefore
unlikely to do anything which will
seriously disturb Franco-Brltish rela
tions.
Italy seems to be the only nation
who has her heurt set upon war—and
that is not a European war. She has
only one Idea in mind—tlie conquest
of Ethiopia, and probably nothing can
prevent the war in Africa.
Since the failure of Mussolini's
Four-Power pact, which was designed
to make the four great European na
tions—France, Great Hritaln, Germany
and Italy—agree to force the others
fo maintain the peace in Europe. Italy
has minimized in its press every act
of the league. She has shown her ill
humor with the league by militarizing
consistently and completely over the
past few years.
Italy’s single purpose today Is ter
ritorial expansion through a protec
torate over Ethiopia, for she must
have more room for her people. With
respect to European affairs, she will
fight to maintain the status quo. She
would like, of course, to reach some
sort of agreement with Germany, be
cause the African campaign, when and
If it starts In earnest, will weaken
Italy on the north.
Italy will continue to attempt friend
ly relations with the Little Entente,
with Yugoslavia In particular. The
only real uncertainty In her foreign
relations Is Austria, for Germany may
attempt a revival of the “Anschluss.”
Through all this It may he seen that
Italy’s policy is maintenance .of the
status quo, with plenty of military
power in reserve should that policy
fall.
Germany Wants No War.
As far as Germany Is concerned, a
war seems to be out of the question,
at least for the present. It would be
too heavy in cost to a nation which is
Just beginning a program of conscrip
tion and of building up military re
serves. Germany tins honestly sought
an understanding with France and hon
estly desires one. She views France
with concern only because of the
Fmneo-Itusslan pacts and the Franco
Polish pacts.
German relations with Soviet Rus
sia leave much to be desired, Iliiler
linvlng made peace offerings to every
important European nation except Rus
sia. Nazi dislike for Bolshevism may
appear to be a reason on the surface,
but more probable Is the competition
for Influence in the Baltic states. Ger
many is set upon building a navy to
operate in ttie Baltic sea, so It may
be seen that she Is not to be left hnl I
lng the bag in affairs of eastern Eu
rope.
Germany and Poland have their ten
year pact signed In 1934, aimed prin
cipally at Russia. Hitler is not going
to forget about ills interests in Aus
tria ; more of this, as has been said
before, may be heard when Italian
strength on the northern frontier U
weakened by the expedition Into Ethi
opia. At any rate, Germany is likely
to be the last nation in Europe to
enter a war, in the opinion of students
of International aiTairs.
Russia, who has been steadily arm
ing for several years, until today she
possesses one of the greatest of nil
military machines, Is definitely for the
status quo. Her vast land lias more
than enough natural resources for Its
people. She is building a new nation,
In a way of speaking, and a war
would seriously upset her schedule.
For this reason, Russia has been one
of the leaders In efforts for collective
security in Europe. But she has not
hidden her belief that It Is Germany
who will topple the equilibrium of Eu
rope since the war and that the Italian
movements in Africa will affect the
situation.
e Western New»pap«r Union.
»
We Made Little Detour* Into Almost Everybody’s Yard on the Trip, and It
Required the Assistance of the Families Owning the Yards to Get Her
Out of Some of Them.
The Zebra
By James J. Montague
S1E was supposed to be partly Jer
sey and partly other things. I
firmly believed, aftu- the first time
i drove her to pasture that she was at
least half zebra. This opinion was
based on her mnrklngs, which I after
ward lenrned were called brlndles.
These were darkish yellow stripes that
extended from her spine down her
sides, much as her ribs would have
appeared had there been X-ray ma
chines In those days, and If she would
have submitted to any Internal photo
graphings, which, from what 1 know of
her I know she would not.
My father proudly drove her home
one night and committed her to my
care. He said that a boy of twelve
ought to be able to take charge of a
cow—especially such a nice gentle cow
as this one. While he was saying
this the anlmnl turned her head
slightly and glanced at me out of the
corner of one eye. I knew from that
time forward that we two were not
soon to be friends. She proceeded to
confirm that conviction the first time
1 attempted to milk her.
I approached her gingerly on the
side from which the milking Is done.
She moved over gently toward the side
of her stall, and without any apparent
effort flattened me against its wall.
I protected myself with my fist, the
only weapon I had at hand. She
braced her feet again -.i the floor and
pushed a little harder. My breath de
parted from my body, but I mnnaged
to worm my way out and dive r.nder
neath her to the other side of the
stall, where there was more room. She
split tacks and came after me again,
but this time I had backed away to
safety.
What to do about itV 1 could n>
admit that an undersized cow, how
ever ugly her disposition, could defeat
me. I got a long pole that was for
merly used to separate two horses In
another stall. One end of this I braced
agninst a cleat on the floor, the other
1 wedged into her ribs. Then 1 bal
anced myself on the pole and Jumped
as bard as my eighty pounds would
permit Taken by surprise she moved
over. And for a time she remained
so astonished that I was able to ex
tract about a quart of milk from her.
Then she recovered from her aston
ishment, and with one swift motion of
her off hind hoof scattered that quart
of milk on the stable floor. I gave up
and went into the house, declaring that
I had not been trained In a zoo, and
was wholly unfitted by size and crart
to compete with a wild animal.
"Drive her out to pasture tomorrow,
and you will get acquainted with her.
But don’t half-milk her any more.
That’s how cows go dry.” My father
was a man who expected to be obeyed.
I went to bed and dreamed that 1 was
flying over a fence with a pair of
horns Immediately behind me. When
1 woke up I was consoled by the fact
that 1 felt little pain, and then I
thought of driving that cow to pas
ture.
Practically nothing can spoil a boy s
breakfast, but my mother observed
that I ate only three waffles and was
alarmed. “I think your father should
have driven the cow to the pasture the
first day, anyway," she said. "Bui
never mind. She is only a cow. She
won’t hurt you.”
Completely convinced of the error
of this statement, and of woman's na
tive Inability to understand animals,
1 went grudgingly to the barn. My
charge was sleeping placidly aud when
1 prodded her Indicated by a snort thal
she did not want her beauty nap dls
turbed. I Insisted—with the stick, and
.she rose and looked at me.
It was a look of unfriendliness, I
might say of positive dislike. But she
was a little more patient about suffer
Ing the loss of her milk. I had the
■ . -■ — -
bucket a quarter full before she kicked
It over. That 1 recognized as a vic
tory, and proudly bore the milk Into
the house. My mother looked at It dis
dainfully. “1 thought John said she
was an eight quart cow," she said.
“You hotter go back and see If she
hasn’t been bolding out."
I went back, but I postponed any
argument about bolding out till eve
ning. The cow was glad enough to
get out of the stable, but she was un
der a misapprehension as to where
the pasture was. She thought It was
out on the front lawn, which my father
watched and tended as If It were a
park.
The pnsture was hair a mile away,
but we covered three times that dis
tance on the Journey. We made little
detours Into almost everybody's yard
on the trip, and It required rhe assist
ance of the families owning the yards
to get her out of some of them. But
she finally reached the pasture, and
with a sigh of triumph I put up the
bnrs and bid her au revolr.
When I returned at night our cow
was on one side of the pasture, and
the others were huddled together, re
garding her affrightedly from a dis
tance.
That night 1 managed to get almost
a full pall of milk. I did that by
slipping rope nooses around the crea
ture's neck and hind feet, so that her
radius of action was considerably lim
ited. My father congratulated me on
my ability to get along with her. “At
this rate,” said he, “she'll soon be
giving as much milk as a yearling
heifer. Keep up the good work.”
Between the constable’s bull dog and
myself there existed an old feud. It
began when I was borrowing some
apples from the constables tree, and
the dog came around to object. I re
mained In the tree while he was ex
pressing his discontentment with my
behavior. I remained there out of
prudence till my parents missed me at
supper and turned out to hunt me.
When 1 was discovered there was an
argument between the families, and
an alarming threat on the part of the
constable to put me into the lock up.
But he didn’t, and l thought the trouble
wns forgotten.
And It was forgotten by everybody
except the dog. It appears that he
had borne it in mind steadily, and
was only looking for an opportunity,
He thought he had found It one morn
ing when, the cow nnd I having be
come resigned to each other, she and
I were taking our wny to the pasture.
To do this we had to pass through the
alley behind the constable's house, and
there the dog had entrenched himself
and lay In wait for the enemy.
Ignoring the cow, he leaped lightly
over the fence and started for me.
I do not think the cow would have
picked a quarrel with him over me,
but the dog caromed off her as he
was darting for me. and she was an
noyed. She baclfcil around In front of
him, her horns close to the ground.
The dog dodged to one side, and she
followed him. This continued for a
few seconds till the dog decided to
make an end of It. lie backed off a
few paces, and then made a rush,
snarling. Down came the cow's horns
and when they went up aguln the dog
was having a nice free ride on them.
An Instant later he landed on the
other side of the high board fence be
hind the doctors house. The cow
wulked up to the fence, butted It down
—for It was a flimsy affair—and chased
the dog up on the back porch.
There was trouble about that, but
It was Anally settled. The cow and
1 were soon little huddles together—
and for the Arst time since I was a
tip by, I was not afrnld of being picked
on by any bully In school. "l,ay off
him.” the other boys would say to the
mean ones. "You don't want to come
home hangln onto ole Zebra's horns,
do you?" And none of them appeared
to have any such desire.
•. Bell Syndicate —WNU Service.