Any satisfaction which might have been felt over the reports that the tension regarding Danzig had lessened must have been very short-lived indeed, for the latest reports deny that anything of the sort has occurred. There have been talks of mediation, first by the Vatican, which however came to nothing, and now it is suggested that Signor Mussolini might be prevailed upon to intervene. The Jatter appears to have been a German Press story to the effect that Great Britain ana the Reich might take joint action to induce Duce to assist in straightening the matter out, the story doubtless arising from the conviction that the Italian leader is reluctant to become involved in a European wat over such a matter as the Free City, which is of no particular importance to himself. There is a very general desire that war over Danzig shall be averted, but in the present Situation, considering the temper of Poland and Germany it is to be doubted whether that will ultimately be possible. So long as Germany insists that the problem shall be solved to hey satisfaction, and so long as Poland decides that it shall not, there appears to be very little likelihood of the two countries ever being brought to agreement, and at the moment any idea of compromise Seems to be doomed to failure before it is mooted. Those who think to find signs that. the situation might be improved by Der Puehrer dropping the Danzig question, at least for the moment, delude themselves with false hopes, for Herr Hitler has definitely committed himself to the incorporation of Danzig into the German Reich that failure to do so would undoubtedly be the greatest reverse he has suffered during the course of his short but striking career, It is a reverse which he cannot afford, for directly it is shown to the German people that Der Fuehrer is not always invincible, and it may be assumed that Herr Hitler would fight rather than let that occur,—then the sun will commence to set on him and his regime.
That some degree of optimism prevailed in Berlin, after the conversation between Herr Hitler and Gauleiter Foerster, at which fs reported a plan for the peaceful settlement of the Danzig issue had been devised, is evidenced by the despatch of the Berlin correspondent of "The Times." There appears to have been a marked change in the tone of the Danzig Press, while it is claimed that the aggressive attitude of the Poles had been considerably modified. That seems to have been the state of affairs over the week-end, but it is now quite clear that if there had been any improvement it war of a very temporary nature, for in a communigué issued in Warsaw on Tuesday, Poland made it quite plain that any attempt, in whatever form to incorporate Danzig. in the Reich will be opposed, Polish political quarters emphasizing that the very fact of such an incorporation would constitute an inadmissible violation of the present political, and juridical state of affairs, and would evoke an appropriate response. It will be seen from the foregoing that there has in fact been no improvement; tension has not been lessened; the Polish attitude - now is precisely the same as it has always been, and if corroboration of that view were required it is to be found in the emphatic contradiction by German political circles that there has been any relaxation of tension, that anything had occurred justifying the conclusion that any weakening is to be expected from the Reich. There has of late been too much readiness to accept what after all.is but "marking time" as signs of relaxation. It may confidently be stated that the condition of the world is such that, once an issue has been posed, tension prevails until it has been disposed of. That in the circumstances can be the only rational way of regarding international polities, and, while it is very human to seize upon every slight omen as a promise of better things, the realist must accept the view that a problem is never solved until the issues involved have been disposed of one way or the other.
A British Government spokesman set whatever doubts there might be about the situation at rest in a statement made on Tuesday night, when he denied the Berlin report that negotiations were afoot between Germany and Great Britain for a peaceful settlement of the Danzig crisis. That report may with justice be regarded as an attempt to sow Seeds of suspicion in the mind of the Polish Government that Great Britain was preparing to sell the pass, and is al of a piece with the rumours which have been published that Poland is secretly ting with Germany for the same end, denied by Marshal Rydz-Smigly, who declares that Danzig is vital to Polish interests, and that Poland will fight alone if necessary to protect what she considers to be her rights. At the very most cither by accident or German design an atmosphere was created—it only lasted a very short time,—in which hopes were created that a peaceful settlement might be reached. That, if indeed it were designed, would necessarily be subordinated to the distrust which the circulation of such reports would have created both in the British and the Polish mind, but these latest denials on both sides should serve to cleat the air, and emphasize the fact that, only with respect to the flux of time, settlement of the crisis is no nearer now than it was when it frst arose. If the dictator states had been successful in arousing mutual suspicion amongst the democracies united in the anti-aggres~ sion scheme, the chances of their achieving their ambitions would be very greatly strengthened. On this occasion any such attempt has been frustrated and Anglo-French-Polish unity over the subject of Danzig remains unimpaired... But such developments as that which has fortunately now been concluded are to be regarded as part of the psychological war which is one of the weapons with which the Dictitors seek to gain their objectives. They have at all times fo be guarded against, "and if future reports of a like nature' are -en~ countered they should be regarded with the completest cynicism until facts prove them to be true.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.