THE LITTLE ENTENTE

Hokitika Guardian, 26 October 1921, Page 4

THE LITTLE ENTENTE

AS A KEY TO PEACE. Tho Little Entente, referred to in the on hies in reference to the. attempt by ex-King Karl to again secure the throne of Austria, includes the kingdom of Roumnnin, the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes <Voiigoslavia), the Czeclioslovak Republic. In tlie course of the last lew months Europe as proved in several ways that things nre f improving, and that we are entitled to .look forward to a lull winding up of ille war if, only there he found sufficient goodwill and comprehension for the refjiiiremems c,.l the times among those who are entrusted hy fate with power and the studies entailed hy it. One of the proofs given is the way in which the question ol to- • * . i .... i 1-,-g i L»#l l.oiivin"

aside this problem, however, which ha been tho object of so many discussions, we will address ourselves to n-nothet. which though seemingly less significant from the point of view ol a distant ic>-.-■erver, is in reality highly important for the pacifist policy pursued by all nations. \Yo mean the conclusion ol the. convention between 'i nugo—ln s > and Roumania. Whoever has watched the course of events in Central Europe since t war could not but see that tioin the very hegitiniiig there appeared, claiming' their share, of work and hie. elements purposelv aiming in t,:c upbuilding of Hie State, one of winch was this same convention, which, tar Imm being a pact between Governments merely existing on paper, is rather a promise formulated between two nations lull.' conscious of what the times are :u n. ' of. 11l its substance this treaty is nothing o ]se hut a continuation of analogical treaties concluded a twelve month :„ro between Czocho-Slovakia am Yugoslavia, and, not long since. between Roumania. and Czedm-Slot akin It is.‘as it were, the keystone winnletin.r the realisation of the '-ittli Entente.” In order to appraise tin meaning of the fact, a short sum limit of what went helorc will not coni ■uniss We will quote an editorial ol the “Venkov,” a leading Rragui

journal, and ft daily that has always shown sound comprehension in matte! s of foreign politics. “The Great Rowers of Europe, before the war and long after it had begun, saw in the former Austro-Hungarian monarchy a kind ol agent alone ml 1 able of maintaining peace in Central Europe and of playing the part of regulator amidst the unceasing troubles ooing on in the Balkan countrms. suffering either from the direct Turkish dominion or from its consequences, hi this respect even the happy issue of the Balkan war has wrought but little change ill the ideas of the decisive European factors, for albeit tho lurkish power, bad, in fad. boon entirely broken, vet its consequences, as beloie mentioned, left. nevertheless. deep traces ill the Balkans, traces extending to Central Europe itself. Now. Austria-Hungary was considered ;1 x being a sort of harrier stemming the spreads of “Balkan contagion” to the heart of Europe so as to jeopardise the rest of Ihe principal Great Rowers of that time: and for this reason alone she w-is -rivci* free plav in the multifarious' “settlements” of her interior conditions, and this also is why nobody eared foi< the desperate appeals ol the «|., v nations imploring, ever in vain, help against the ruthless German and Magyar oppressors enjoying the protection of the Hnpslmrg dynasty. Nothing less than the horrors of the world’s war had to appear on the scene in order to convince the authoritative fn,.tors in Europe that Anstria-Hun-

~ry is bv no means a puciii'-r *o * ' " tr.,l Europe, and by no means guaranty Hint, even hv hoi< slructure she is a continual disturber of European peace, being." through lie,- Uapsburg dynasty, in a complete subieetion under AN tl|jam’s knisorism. as lias been aluindantlv proved by the facts of the war and win he further proved still more inennl estnbly. . Austria-Hungary is to-day all episode of tie* past, after having lasted only too long. But from the outset all the factors that had in any wav contributed to the collapse of that unnatural Empire were convinced, after the break up of the ffapslinrg monarchy, of the necessity of replacing it by something Hint would lr* a real guarantee of peace in Central Europe, and would offer to Europe what. Austria-Hungary was unable to give, hopefully as Europe might hnvo expected it from her. i. 0., pence and tranquillity. At the present hour may confident Iv st at,, that this task has been succi'ssfullv solved by the formation of the Little'Entente. More urgent than ever is nowadays the need of a- backbone for Europe. Such a hack-bone titust. In* represented on otic side hv the Entente and by the Anglo-French concordant action, wherever tin* execution „f jx'neel treaties is at stake, the Little Entente sharing this role in (enttul and Eastern Europe. It behoves us to >h;i ami attain iliat tho latter is in no, way an offensive triple alliance, being merely an agreement imposing on the three States the otdit„ pacifying the present conditions ami bringing about normal economic relagation to work in common with a view tions in conformity with tho plan set down in the Ponce Treaties—in tho first place in tlm Trianon. Should it seem as if its point wore directed against the Magyars, any trace of such an intention will disappear as soon as tho situation in Mngynria shall have so far developed as to guarantee co-opera-te,i in a further evolution towards economic growth. There will also be nothing to prevent Magyatia joining tlm little Entente. That as yet there is not. .sufficient ground for such a ti'ust is evident from Charles the Tlnpburg’s Easier prank, which was near saddling millions of men with the burdens of an„|],er war. The Little Entente was there to prevent if. t uiisidercd from this point of view tliv Little Entente is certainly a positi.o oat, out.. 11l that policy which the far-sodig stalcstiiclt of Central Europe, strive to realise. It hits at the saute time been as yet the only positive solution fur all the endeavours aiming at tho reordering of the distracted renditions, endeavours, which, coining often front abroad, arc prime to over, look the peculiar conditions of the States in question. The Little Entente is the work tho Slates themselves, and therein lies the pledge of its solidity. And so it really is the liest of all plans conceived for the euro of the sick, organism ; it is a fact which, by its realisation, has proved its expediency. One of its foremost initiators is the Czocho-Slovak Foreign Minister, Dr Belies. ITc was the first to launch the the idea of a union of Hie States of Central Europe ; nor was lie deterred j by various initial doubts uttered even by our friends. He stuck to his ori- j 1 gin.il concept, with tin* indefatigable ardour and purposeful stubbornness that arm so entirely his own being at the saute time strengthened in what had been from the outset, his firm conception. i. 0., that! only an intimate union of Yqugoslavia, Rottmania. and Czeeho

slovakia can ensure the weal of the rest of Europe. At tho present day even . those who were slow to appraise tho j full value of the Little Entente arc | convinced of its necessity. As for the future, we have re: ison to j hope that, if its policy continues to he such os it was when started, i.e., a po]ev of peace and mutual understanding on all questions touching the fulfilment of obligations resulting from tho ponce treaties, the work of reconstruction for which the great war was waged will lie successfully ended. But there is yet another propitious effect attached to the kittle Entente. Tt is meant to become a regulator between tlie East and West of Europe, a weight destined to maintain their equilibrium. Being pliable, it. will be able to accommodate itself to all kinds of oscillations. Hy the results achieved, the Little Entente has reduced to nought the last attack of its adversaries, who persisted in taking it for a. provisory oi'eaion. Through it. a positive effort for a new order demands to be acknowledged.