Papen and Hitler.

Just prior to the Roosevelt, MacDonald and Hitler speeches there was a “sabre-rattling” speech by Von Papen, who for the moment forgot his recent sedate diplomacy. Was the Von Papen speech a deliberate test of how much the British, the Americans, and the French would stand? Certainly it drew fire—as did the anti-Semitism violence—and Herr Hitler's latest speech is adjudged to be, by comparison, conciliatory. But another pertinent question, whether Germany will agree in the Disarmament Conference to the British short service plan of standardising effectives and getting away from the professional army, is not answered by anything that Herr Hitler has yet said. His statement that Germany has no thought of invading any country does not solve the Conference deadlock. Can it be said that recent German speeches, with their lack of consistency, tell the outside world anything at all? Is it the purpose of language to conceal thought?