ON THE DANUBE.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 149, 12 July 1937, Page 4

ON THE DANUBE.

In relation to Spanish affairs a week-end message indicated tha.t the deliberations of the international Non-Interven-tion Committee were on the verge of breajdng-down under stress of mutual recriminatioiis in a decidedly heaijed atmosphere. However, this would seem to have cooled down under the soothing influence of a lun.cheon adjournment, and when the sitting was resumed a suggestion advaneed by the Dutch representative that it should be left to Great Britain to find a way ont of the impas&e that has'arisen was a.ccepted. This proposai, so we are told, had the support of both the German an.d the Italian delegates, as well as of the French, and eventnally met with unanimous adoption. The British chairman, Lord- Plymonth, however, nierely undertook to subniit it to his Goyernnient, promising to give as early a reply as possible. Having heen given no intimation of the nature of the preprandiaT discussions, it is difficuit to size up the true significanee of this decision. Genpany and Italy having jointly rejected earlier Anglo-French proposals, had been asked to subniit their .own. What these may have been we are not yet told, but evidently they were not snch as to. meet with any general acceptance. So the responsibility for the next move again rests .with Great Britain. In the meantime attentipn is again diverted eastward by an announcement to-day from Vienna that fresh tension is likeiy to arise between Germany and Austria. It is less than two months ago that Signor Mussolini practically withdrew from his self-assumed role of protector of Austrian rghts, thus, it was thought, leaving that field fairly well open for his friend Herr Hitler to work his will there in the way of extending to the remnant of the old Hapsburg JCingdom spme form of Nazi-Fascist rule. It would appear, however, as if Austria were not going to prove as subpaissive tp German "influence" as had been expected. This will have come as something of a surprfse, for less than a month ago Dr. Sehacht, the German Minister of Economics, was cordially welcomed to Vienna and all seemed to be going swimmingly towards fulfilment of Berlin's designs and towards the establishment of the "Rome-Berlin axis," about which, according to Signor Mussolini, Central and South-Eastern Enrope was to revolve. This meant, of course, the doom of Frerich plans for the creation of a "New Danubia," loosely linking Austria, Hungary, Gjsechoslovakia, Rumania and Yugoslavia on both defensive nd economic lines. It would appear, however, that the plans of the dietatorship consortium are not running quite as smoothly as it could have wished. It may be recalled that only last week Herr Hitler delivered somethiog of an ultimatum to Czechoslovakia, threatening her with dire reprisals unless sjie oomplied with Berlin demands for apology and c'ompensation in respect of a German citizen, who, it was alleged, bad heen unjustly imprisoned and otherwise badly treated at Prague. Neither the one nor the - other has yet heen forthcoming and it would seem as if Czechoslovakia were, so far at any rate, setting Germany at something like defiance, In many other respects the situation as among what are known ,as the Danubian States is one of sucji complexity that . it is hard to guess whajt ppssibilities may arise from it. It is an American onlooker, writing from Prague, who in despair of forming any settled opinion as to how it may deyelop, says : 4 Only one fact emerges clearly, It is that the effort to obtain ecpnomic peace hy 'partitioning' south-eastern Europe among major Powers is like the song about the 'blue' Danube. It has a riice sound. But the turbid Danube isn't reajly bliie at all. Definitiye solution to the politico-economic problems. of southeastern Europe can come only as these smaller nations are permitted to free themselves from continental imperialism. It is a long task that must pass through many pliases before aceomplishment can be envisaged. But it appears the one way to make the economic Danube run blue and elear."