May 23.
The developments in the Czechaslovaic crisis towards the end of last week, and over the week-end, must of necessity' give] rise to the gravest anxiety, though there is} still much ground for believing that even now Europe will not be plunged into war. A great deal depends upon the attitude of} Dr. Benes, the Czechoslovakian President, He and his government have been under! considerable pressure from Great Britain and France which have endeavoured persuade him to. go the full distance in meeting Herr Henlein's demands, though whether he will be able with justice to the rest of the country to grant everything which the Sudeten Germans require is something Which remains to be seen. But briefly, Herr Henlein who represents a third of the whole population of the country, demands that the whole foreign policy of the government shall be changed, i.c,, that the understandings with France and Soviet Russia shall be aban~ doned, and that the German minority shall bbe granted full autonomy, while there are other demands for equality between Germans; and Czechs which could and should be met.
With regard to the first two, however, there are several important considerations to be borne in mind. That a German minority should seek to contro! the foreign policy of the nations is something which the Czechs will be reluctant to accept, for it would represent the complete surrender of the function of government, which, after all is the privilege of the majority, even, it is to be assumed, in authoritarian states, to a minority which would completely reorient it. Then again there are manifest objections to the grant of full autonomy to the Sudeten Germans. 'Their home for the fast part is the frontier adjacent to Germany, and to grant them their desires would be to place the natural defences of Czechoslovakia into' what might prove to be hostile hands in the event of warfare with Germany. Under this heading the demands, if met, would result in the militarily weakening of Czechoslovakia's relative strong position.
Dr. Benes in a broadcast from Tabor in South Bohemia, on Saturday announced that the Czech Government was preparing legislation which will confirm the equal rights of all citizens and of all. nationalities within the state, and they would be ensured an economic and cultural situation in accordance with their number, their strength and) their position. They, would be allowed retain their national character and to consider themselves as equals amongst equals. The President emphasized that the scheme: for the settlement of the minorities question, and the Czech understanding with France, and through that country with Great Britain, should be considered as a contribution to] European peace. That seems to be just about as far as the Czech Government can go without loss of authority and dignity, for to! go further would amount to consenting to) allow the minority tail to wag the majority' dog. Whether full autonomy is granted to' the Sudeten Germans or not, it would seem' that the position of Czechoslovakia vis @ vis of Germany must always remain somewhat] weak. The grant of autonomy might very] well mean that at some future date the Sudeten Germans would decide to enter the German Reich of their own volition, which would carry into Germany the present strong! frontiers. On the other hand the maintenance of those frontiers through an area of! hostile Germans would in itself present some-1g of a major problem in the event of war. For that reason the natural strength of the heavily fortified boundary between Czechoslovakia and Germany has about it} considerable elements of weakness, though their complete passage to Germany by either:' of the means suggested above" would render' the defence of the remainder of the country' one of no little difficulty. Thus for military. as well as political reasons, despite the obes. which are apparent Czechoslovakia' will apparently persist in its refusal to grant the complete autonomy which. Herr Henlein demands.
It may be possible to arrange some sort of settlement of the present dispute which may overt immediate war, but taking the long view, inclusion of the Sudeten Germans within the German Reich must be looked Upon only as a matter of time. The granting of autonomy might make it a matter of only a few weeks. Refusal might lead to war either immediately or whenever Herr Hitler considers himself ready for it. It is open to considerable doubt whether Germany in a position at the moment to embark' upon @ policy of hostilities. 'The idea that' political aims are to be obtained in the future by a short, sharp perlad of fighting does not receive much corroboration from what is happening in Spain and China, and the statesmen of Europe have to face the fact) that once war has broken out there is no) means of telling when it will come to an end. For that reason it may be expected that even at this late hour a compromise between the policies of Herr Henlein and President Benes may be effected, but it will not be achieved by the abject surrender which Herr Henlein apparently demands. That President Benes should go as far ax he reasonably can in an endeavour to reach a settlement has been the advice given to] him by both Great Britain and France, It good advice the value of which Soult'be renlioed by Here Hentein," end Herr Hitler, who is undoubtedly behind him and "the real strength of his position. There are indications that the Czechs are preparing to defend themselves in the event of German military assistance being given to the Sudeten Germans, while the reports of the movement of troops Germany, probably quite as untrue as official German ' statements dub them to be, only serve to show the unstable position in' Central Europe and the possibility that some minor development may precipitate a crisis of which war may be the only solvent, It is a serious position, but given good faith on both sides there is mo real reason why even at this late hour a peaceful adjustment) should not be reached.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.