"What M. Molotov, Soviet Foreign Commissar, will have had to say on the subject of Russo-German relations, and the question of peace will be known by the time these lines appear in print. There appears.to be a general idea that his speech will contain something in the nature of a demarche demanding that the Allies should come to terms with- Herr Hitler, of course on the basis that the latter should be allowed to retain his ill-gotten. spoils. To that there can still be only one answer, one which was given by Demosthenes in reply to the denunciation by Philip of Macedonia of the treaty between that country and states in alliance with Athens 1t it is open to us to be at peace and the matter rests with us—at peace let us be say I But if someone comes with sword in hand at the head of a great force, and while dangling the name of Peace in front of you, makes war on you in deed,—what is left but to resist him? Call this a peace by all means tas he does, but only a lunatic can believe it to be peace; when he can seize what he chooses and later march against you. The peace which- Philip means is peace on your side towards him but not on his side towards you. That is Philips bargain—for him to make war any you without your making war on ess No passage Written' or spoken today can.with greater appositeness be quoted to describe the position of Herr Hitler vis-à-vis of the Allies, and any peace which he desires, any peace in favour of which Moscow may raise its voice, cannot but be peace on the Allied side towards him, but none on his part towards them. It can be no portion of the Allies' policy to acquiesce in what Herr Hitler has done despite their warnings, allow him a period in which to consolidate his position in the territories which he has seized, and then wait for that moment which he would deem propitious for another onslaught, if not"upon the Allies, at least upon some neighbouring country upon which he has set his covetous eyes. Nothing up to the present has occurred to modify the determination which has been expressed in London and Paris that these continual threats to the peace and security of Europe shall be put an end to, and until that is done all talk of peace is futile, There can be no mistake about it; any peace by agreement at this stage on Herr Hitler's terms can be nothing but an incitement to both Germany and Russia to engage. in further incursions into the territories of their neighbours and the perpetuation of the reign of terror which has already lasted far too long.
There is some speculation as to what will happen if, and when the Allies make it quite clear again that the sword will not be laid aside until the Hitlerian regime '5 driven back into the shadow of things best forgotten. It may be said with the greatest confidence that nothing can happen now which would take the world by surprise. It was early recognized that there was something more in the non-aggression pact between Russia and Germany announced on August 23, than immediately met the eye. There was behind it obviously the arrangement to despoil Poland. There may be still more, and if at some future date it is found that that pact was the preliminary to a formal military alliance neither the Allies nor the world at large will be in any way surprised. That possibility has been fully. recognized, and provided for, and, while it may prove in the ultimate result to be an awkward fact to be dealt with, it does not present any potentialities of which the Allies need be afraid. Of this there can be the completest certainty; whatever Russia decides to do to assist Germany the latter will have to pay through the nose for it. German influence in eastern Europe has sustained a severe blow. It may indeed be said to exist only in those territories at present subjugated by force of German arms. In the Balkans Russia has assumed the paramount position at the expense of Berlin, and that for a pact, and neutral assistance which may prove just as precarious as others to which Herr Hitler has been a party. That Russia does not It is very clear that make everything he pos-the present situation, and induced to go to war it much for the purpose of assist-is obvious that, with Russia engaged in war, the demands which would be made upon her system would increase in direct proportion to the size of-her contribution to the common cause, Obviously, as is the case in other countries at war, demands upon the supply of raw materials would increase enormously, and the result would Be that whatever surpluses Russia may now be able to afford Germany at a price would then be needed for home consumption, so that a Russia engaged in a military adventure would no longer provide those benefits which it is sought to derive from the present friendship. It would seem that, at any rate until Russian resources have been developed to a greater degree than they are at present, an active military alliance between the two countries would not operate to Germany's benefit unless it were to render possible that speedy victory of which Herr Hitler stands in such urgent need. Such an alliance might have the effect of diverting Allied concentration from Europe and the dissipation of their forces to other parts of the world, which some critics of Allied military policy during the last war alleged denied them an earlier victory than that which they secured. That would not necessarily shorten the war now, might even serve to prolong it, and while it would be rash indeed to endeavour discount too greatly the new dangers which such an understanding would inevitably create, it is rasher still to conjure up all sorts of perils which may not in the event prove to exist. The non-aggression pact, as it is pointed out has failed to cause many of the results which were expected; Turkey has remained faithful to the Allies, Italy has remained neutral, the passage of the Pittman Neutrality Revision Bill seems to be almost a certainty, the Finnish problem has not been settled and the question of Bes-arabia remains an open question. It is, therefore, by no means unlikely that 9 military alliance between Germany and Russia would prove just as sterile, and, therefore, while such a development may be anticipated, it is by no means to be feared.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.