The question as to whether Memel will be Herr Hitler's next objective in Europe naturally arises as a result of the elections which took place on Sunday. The territory in question is a thin strip of land about twice the area of Greater London lying adjacent to the northern boundary of East Prussia. In fact, until the end of the Great War, Memel was part of East Prussia, but under the Treaty of Versailles it was detached from Germany and placed under the control of the Conference of Ambassadors sitting at Paris. That state of affairs did not last long, for on January 15, 1923, as the result of a military coup Memel passed under the control of Lithuania, and the Conference of Ambassadors, having practically no other choice, bowed to the fait accompli and ratified the new conditions so brought about. In 1924 the Memel Convention was signed by Lithuania, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, constituting the territory as a unit within the sovereignty of Lithuania, granting it, however, a large measure of local autonomy. The populatión according to Lithuanian official figures consists of 45.2 per cent Germans, 242 per cent. Memellanders, 26.5 per cent. Lithuanians; the remainder consisting of Poles, Jews, Russians and Letts. The country is wholly uninteresting and desperately poor, but to Lithuania it is of considerable importance as the Port of Memel provides her with an outlet to the sea.
The German section of the population has always retained its affection for the Father-
Cook's have their own Round-the-World chain of offices at the service of holders o; their tickets—which cost no more. land, despite attempts by the Lithuanians to wean them from it, a fact which it is reported has considerably irked them, and may to some extent account for the very definite cleavage which has always existed between the two peoples. Ever since Memel was cut} away from East Prussia the Germans have
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.