The developments in the Czechoslovak crisis towards the end of last week, and over the week-end, must of necessity give rise to the gravest anxiety, though there is 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' to 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! entitled 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.e., that the understandings with France and Soviet Russia shall be abandoned, and that the German minority shall be 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 minor ild seek to control the foreign policy of e nations is something which the Czechs ill be reluctant to accept, for it would ihe complete surrender the function of government, which, after all is the privilege of the majority, even, it is to be sumed, in authoritarian states, to a minor ild completely reorient it. Then again there are manifest objections to e grant of full autonomy to the Sudeten Germans. Their home for the most part is the front 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 th event of warfare with Germany. Under this heading the demands, if met, would result in the militarily weakening of Czecho-lov: 's relative strong position.
Dr. Benes in a broadcast from Tabor in South Bohemia, on Saturday announced that the Czech Government preparing legislation which will confirm the equal rights of all citizens and of all nationalities within ie, and they would be ensured an mic and cultural situation in accord-ince with their number, their strength and their position. They would be allowed to in their national character and to consider themselves as equals amongst equal President emphasized that the scheme r the settlement of the minorities question, ind the Czech understanding with Franc and through that country with Great Britain, hould be considered as a contribution to european peace. That seems to be just about as far the Czech Government an 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 d of Germany must always remain somewhat ak. The grant of autonomy might very well mean that at some future date the Südeten Germans would decide to enter the German Reich of their own volition, which would carry into Germany the present strong antier: On the other hand the maintenance of those frontiers through an area of hostile Germans would in itself present some-illing of a major problem in the event of war, For that reason the natural strength f the heavily fortified boundary between Czechoslovakia and Germany has about it consi, derable elements of weakness, though complete passage to Germany by either of the means suggested above would render ihe defence of the remainder of the country one of ro little di Thus for military as well as politico! reasons, despite the obstacles which are apparent Czechoslovakia li apparently persist in its refusal to grant the complete autonomy which Herr Beni demand: kept in its proper perspec and calmly accepted by the Chinese public, as something h had' to come sooner or later, without interfering with the general Chinese plan, the prosecution of this air-raid at the particular moment chosen, had the effect of bringing a spectacular and successful performance to public notice and thereby offset whatever feelings of disappointment the fall of Hsuchowfu might have created. The whole scheme appears to have been most carefully thought out, and indicates' a thorough understanding of mass psychology and the application of that understanding im a very ingenious manner.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.