Rome Fiddles

II Duce is obviously an honorable man. Or is he? If he isn't, then somebody is in for an unpleasant surprise.

The proposed "talks" with Italy which were the cause of Mr. Eden's departure from office are now completed. The Rome correspondent of the "News Chronicle" says it is understood that the general terms of an agreement which has been drawn up include exchange of information regarding the strength and disposition of all forces in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, which has already begun.

One wonders whether this includes Spain, or is Spain not in the Mediterranean? There is little room for doubt that the success of the Rebels in Spain is due largely to enormously increased supplies of men and aeroplanes from Germany and Italy.

Does the exchange of information regarding the disposition of forces in the Mediterranean apply in this connection? Or are the unofficial press reports of Mussolini's speeches in praise of the exploits of his men regarded as satisfactory official information?

There seems to be something wrong somewhere. Either Signor Mussolini's speeches in praise of his troops in Spain are made in praise of a non-existent army, in which case he is lying grandly; or there are large numbers of Italian regulars in Spain, in which case his speeches proclaim his honesty, but the violation of the nonintervention agreement to which he is a party proclaims even more loudly that he's still a liar.

Whichever of the alternatives we accept, can we see any reason for believing that the Anglo-ltalian "mutual understandings" rest upon a firm basis of mutual confidence?

There is another interesting aspect of the talks. The Italian Premier is much more accommodating than previously. Formerly he demanded naval equality with Britain in the Mediterranean. His dream of making "mare nostrum" an Italian lake has so often been forcibly expressed by him that his reasons for insisting upon this equality need no explanation. Now, however, the press gives us the bald statement: "Britain refused an Italian request for naval parity in the Mediterranean." Apparently Mussolini took the blow quite calmly. Why?

The Australian Associated Press solves the problem. Herr Hitler's Austrian coup and the arrival of Germans at the Brenner Pass on the Italian border have increased the Duce's desire for a comprehensive Anglo-ltalian agreement before Herr Hitler's impending visit to Rome eventuates. Signor Mussolini believes that an agreement would enable Italy to achieve wider influence throughout Europe, especially in Yugo-Slavia and Hungary.

We recall the moving exchange of telegrams between Fascist Major and Fascist Minor on the day of the seizure of Austria, the avowals of eternal fidelity, the proclamations of the permanence and strength of the understanding between Germany and Italy. Now we learn that the Italians suspect Herr Hitler evolved the Rome-Berlin axis primarily to ensure that Italy would not interfere in Austria, and fear that Herr Hitler will pay little heed to the axis! The Duce is anxious to withdraw his troops from Spain and transfer them to Brenner. The Duce seems at the moment to be controlling his anxiety with characteristic firmness, but what a picture of contemporary diplomacy! What company our rulers are choosing for us to keep! Upon what insecure foundations our foreign-office experts are struggling to erect their diplomatic edifice! To any man who values the traditions of British liberty and freedom, traditions of which these same gentlemen are so fond of reminding us, the spectacle of England, "mother of the free." negotiating gentlemen's agreements with political gangsters, whose word is as unreliable a their financial resources are slender, is an unwelcome spectacle. For after all, what are Hitler and Mussolini but a couple of broken-down gamblers looking for tick?

The Anglo-ltalian talks, however, reveal at least one hopeful sign; that is that the thieves are beginning to fall out. For the way things are in Europe at present, if they can't hang together, they stand an excellent chance of hanging separately.

—A.H.S.