INVASION DENOUNCED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 April 1939, Page 5

INVASION DENOUNCED

OPINION IN UNITED STATES FURTHER THREAT TO WORLD PEACE. BIG ISSUE CONSIDERED IMMINENT. By Telegraph—Press Associati m—Copyright WASHINGTON, April 8. President Roosevelt and Mr Cordell Hull, Secretary of State, today denounced the Italian invasion of Albania as constituting a threat to world peace. Mr Hull issued the following formal statement after talking to the President over the telephone from Warm Springs: "The forcible and violent invasion of Albania is unquestionably an additional threat to the peace of the world. It would be short-sighted not to take notice of this further development. “Any threat to world peace seriousT< concerns all nations and violates the will of all the peoples of the world that their Governments shall lead them, not' toward war, but along the paths of peace. “It is scarcely necessary to add that the inevitable effect of this incident, taken with othei’ similar incidents, is further to destroy the confidence and undermine the economic stability of every country in the, world, thus affecting our own welfare.” Military officials in Washington are convinced that Europe will face the issue of general war within a week, expecting the test to come with a German attempt to seize Danzig and the Polish corridor which they regard as a matter of “when,” rather than “if.”

This forecast is based on the belief that the totalitarian States are hard pressed financially and on the opinion that Germany is in a position where the longer she waits the less chance she would have of succeeding. . They also consider it most likely that Germany will simultaneously attempt to occupy part or all of Polish Silesia. Poland will probably resist and the Anglo-French assurances of support \£zill be put to the test. Thus Germany will probably consider that an invasion of Silesia would involve no greater risks and promise richer results.

Diplomatic and military officials generally regard the Italian invasion of Albania as a prelude to larger military operations by the totalitarian Powers, expressing the opinion that the venture may be a design to attract world attention in order to screen a larger and more important military move or to frighten Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Rumania from the Anglo-French bloc to the Hitler bloc. Senator .Borah yesterday told the Senate that the proposed changes in the nation’s conduct of foreign affairs was the “most subtle way yet designed to get this nation into war.” “It seems that the proponents of these measures want us to become the moral censors of the world and to decide which nation or nations is in the wrong in the case of war and then to punsh the one or the ones we decide to be in the wrong. If this nation wants to get involved in war, I can think of no better way than to adopt this policy.” .