CLASH OF INTERESTS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 4, 28 September 1937, Page 7

CLASH OF INTERESTS

Control of Mediterranean ITALY PUSHING AHEAD What occurred at the meefcing of the London Non-Xntervention Committee re* cently should go a long way towards dispelling the illustion? pf thosp who believe that the antagohistic policies regarding Spain followed by Prance smd Grpat Britain on the one hand and Cfermany and Italy on fhe other can be preventod from clashing, writes "Pertinax" in ihe New York Times. The truth is that neither Mussolini aor Hitler has ahandoned the idea pf; asing the Spanish civil war as a means' t>f threatening tho Prenph and British Ifhes pf communication acrpss the Mediterranean and thus compeBing Paris and London to agree to a revision pf the territorial and.political map of Central-Easteru Europe and Northern Africa. There is reason to believe that Mussolini quite recently tried oue© more to Induce UiHer to send fresh German trpops tp Bpain, hp being wfliing, if his fuggestion were aqcepted, to make ai still higger contribution to the common eause. The high comroand of the German army, however, is reported not to have relayed the hostility it displayed to plans of that kind m early a? last, . January. However, the following facts from «| trustworthy source indicata clearly thatj the German Government is nevertheless' going abead in the Western Mediterranean and the Atlantie with all sorts jbf pprilous plans; while Pascist Italy precedes it and is ready to bohave pro-' voeatively upon avery occasion. Subraarine Bases. f Along the coast pf wpanish Monoceo, at Mplilla, Villa Alhucemas, Cputa and Larache, and in the Canary Islands the Germans are methodically building andj equjpping pffensivp base?, each eoosist-i ing pf sheltor and repai? ghops for ?ubmarino?, pil depots, aorodromes, radio. stations, ,and electric power plants,; Moropyer, at Ceuta, marino guns of a( medium calibro have been put into position, which, in conjunction with the firej pf similar batterjes at AJgeeiras, Spain, i could cover the wboJe Straft of Gibraltar, Probably arrangements of a fimijar nature have been made by the Italian garri?on at Majorca, but details as to thi? arp lacking. The ahove is enough to rnake clear that the prohlem of the Bpanish civii' Wa? is bound to degenorate in the long run into a contegt for supremacy in and around the Mediterranean between Erance and Great Britain and Italy and' Germany. An explanation of the greater haste shown hy Italy in hringing the Mediterranean question to an issue is probably due to the fact that ihe fear? ber game may be up nest year, when Britain 'a nUvai and air TO' armament will have- made -great sf rides that can be expected to be more effectively f elt ijUbfi Mgiiterranjeaa .thaa pn. Ahtf