June 12.
Signor Mussolin''s declaration of war, fol-Iowing so closely upon the declaration of 'Signor Ansaldo's declaration that Italy would enter the war if, and when Paris was captured, is open to one, and only one interpreta~ tion. That is that Herr Hitler has brought the Inst' ounce of pressure to bear to bring Italy into the war, because he is by no means satis~ fled with the way the Battle of France is being waged, and desires to avail himself of the intervention of Italy in the hope of swinging that battle in his favour. Ti Duce would have. preferred to have had the outlook rather more certain than it appears at present, before he declared war, and his declaration' at this juncture reveals the weakness of the German position. Signo® Mussolini's speech from the balcony of the Palazzo Venezia is full of the usual rodomontade, the usual untruths concerning the western de~ mocracies obstructing the progress of Italy, depriving it of its right to live and expand, and the declaration that the Italian conscience is absolutely serene. It is the type of criminal serenity which features the actions of the totalitarian states, the serenity of the cloak and dagger method, There was absolutely no reason why Italy should have entered the war save because of the desire of one man for individual aggrandisement to secure which' he is willing to send thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of his own. young men to a death which might never have been theirs. The claim that Italy was being strangled because she had no access to the sea is Just one of those absurdi~ ties with which dictators stir the emotions of unthinking people, for when has Italy fever been denied access to the sea? The presence of Italian ships taking refuge in many ports of the world, including Shanghai, tives the direct lie to that statement. Italian commerce has at all times moved as freely over the oceans as that of any other country. It has encountered no discrimination and has prospered because of that fact.
Without in any way seeking to underrate Italian strength it has to be admitted that her entry into the war is in more senses than one to be welcomed. Nearly ten months of uncertainty, and anxiety, which were purposely created by the adoption of an ambiguous attitude, have come to an end.' The knowledge of where Italy stands has freed the hands of the Allies for more vigor= ous action, and the kid-gloved methods with which the blockade has been enforced against Italy as a non-belligerent can now be dis~ carded in favour of a more direct and emphatic procedure. The Allied world may, as My, Mackenzie King, the Canadian Prime Minister, said, be breathing hard, but it may truly be said'that it breathes easier, A fur~ ther, and one of the most important leaks in the blockade of Germany has been closed by Signor Mussolint's action, undoubtedly with the approval of Herr Hitler in a frantic effort to bring this war fo a successful conclusion before the stranglehold upon Germany, which is now to be applied to Italy gets in its deadly work. Thus this latest development is but a measure of the desperation of the Nazi government. Herr Hitler could no longer wait for the capture of Paris before his ally came to his assistance. A tremendous effort has to be made by Germany and Italy to end this war before the autumn. Original German hopes that they could do it singlehanded have been considerably dampened by the stubborn resistance which the Allles have offered to the enemy hordes and the heavy casualties inflicted upon them. It is to be expected that. Moly will strike with all the speed she can, that her air force will ce-operate in assisting in the destruction of French cities and towns, though it is possible that the old tradition of Italian chivalry will restrain them from committing the atrocities which have so signally besmirched the German escutcheon. But it Is not to be believed that the Allies will fail to return blow for blow, and will im= mediately bring into operation those forees which have been held in readiness to meet just such an emergency as the decision of Signor Mussolini has brought about, There is at present not the slightest reason to regard this new development with any dismay. It has been said before, but it needs: to be repeated at this juncture, that it re-Presents nothing new or anything which was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.