Evening star. [volume], November 02, 1939, Page A-16, Image 16

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
Experts Are Divided^
On Significance of
Duce’s Cabinet Shift
Change Seen Affecting
Future Foreign Policy
In Practical Way
By PERTINAX. __
PARIS. Nov. 2 (N.A.N.A.).—Since
the progress of the Anglo-Franco
German war will be affected by. the
course to be followed by Italian
policy, which was only provisionally
defined on September 1, the recon
struction of the Fascist cabinet at
tracts the keenest attention.
Comments in the present circum
stances are necessarily cautious, they
may be summarized as follows:
The Fascist expression commonly
Used to describe the dismissal of old
ministers and the appointment of
new ones is that "there has been a
change of the guard.” It is intended
to convey that, under the Fascist re
gime, ministers do not fall into dis
favor, but, from time to time, they
have to make room for successors,
because every Fascist of outstanding
merit or ability must in turn serve
at the helm.
But, assuming that such an ex
planation means something, it does
not alter the hard fact that, in a
juncture as critical as the present
one, the selection by Premier Mus
solini of some men in preference to
others cannot be devoid of practical
significance regarding future devel
opments of Italian foreign policy.
TTn'A CaKaaIc a9
To appreciate the implications of
the Italian cabinet shake-up, two
schools of commentators can be dis
tinguished.
According to one, the policy of
abstention and neutrality initiated
in Rome when Germany waged war
on Poland two months ago seems
likely to be strengthened when due
account is taken of the personalities
of the outgoing ministers and offi
cials and of the men who have been
called upon to replace them.
Among the former, Dlno Alfieri,
minister of popular culture, and Lt.
Gen. Achille Starace, secretary of
the Fascist party, are conspicuously
ranked among the most zealous pro
moters of the so-called iron pact of
May 22. A similar remark applies to
Gens. Alberto Parian! and Giuseppe
Valle, who in the past have shared
in all the military negotiations with
the German high command. More
over, the implicit confirmation of
Count Ciano as minister of foreign
affairs and the substitution of Mar
shal Rodolfo Graziani for Gen. Pa
riani at the head of the general
staff of the Italian Army are very
striking by themselves to substan
tiate the same interpretation of
Mussolini's choice.
Count Ciano (we have mentioned
ft more than once in previous dis
patches) was perhaps chiefly the one
responsible last August for the de
facto rupture of the iron pact. As
to Marshal Graziani, the energetic
leader of men who suppressed th<
insurrection in Cyrenaica eight yean
ago and contributed powerfully t<
the conquest of Ethiopia, he i
known to be a devoted Roman Cath
olic, a detail which nowadays can
not be dismissed as negligible.
If those commentators of schoo!
No. 1 are to be trusted, the cabinet
as constituted today will still lesi
than the former cabinet follow lx
the wake orGerman policy.
Men of Action Coming In.
School No. 2 does not go as far ai
to pretend that adepts of the Ger
man alliance have entered thi
ministry. But it Insists that the nee
ministers are. above all, men ol
action and that it will not be in
keeping with their mood to indulge
in a hand-to-mouth policy.
Ettore Muti, who became* secre
tary of the Fascist party, has fought
.all through the Ethiopian and
Spanish campaigns in the air force
Between 1919 and 1922 he was the
Fascist chief who succeeded in
winning, by brutal deeds, the prov
ince of Ravenna to the dictatorial
party.
Gen. Lugi Russo, placed in com
mand of the militia, achieved no
toriety in the capture of Bilbao
Alessandro Pavolini, put in charge
of press and propaganda in place
of Alfieri, enlisted for service in
Ethiopia and shone on a fighting
plane.
More noteworthy perhaps than
the advent of these warriors is the
departure of Felice Guameri and
Stefano Benni, respectively, ir
charge of the exchange department
and of the ministry of communica
tion. Both were representative ol
what is left of conservative capital
ism. In the past, Guameri had
ur<rn me moving spun oi ine synai
cate of defense of Italian stock
companies, and Benni of the Met
allurgists’ Federation. They are
gone, and. as a result, the Fascist
party spirit of bold social experi
ment may be given a fresh impetus
Thus, the new blood infused into the
cabinet is certainly not a languid
blood.
Let us leave there the two sets ol
commentators. It is hardly dis
puted by any one acquainted with
Italian conditions that, whenever
Italian policy has to be determined
for good, Mussolini and he alone
will assume the supreme respon
sibility and make his own will known
straightaway. He alone will weigh
the advantages to be won, as against
the risks to be Incurred, and con
front the means at his disposal with
the ends to be achieved.
Must Heed People’s Disposition.
Only this can be said in addi
tion. A dictator, however omnipo
tent he may be, however secure in
the thought that the whole people
will readily comply with his orders
is nevertheless bound to pay heed, il
not to public opinion, at any rate tc
! the general disposition of his sub
1 jeets. As the multitude gets used
| to an attitude of neutrality, as more
, and more numerous opportunities to
repair the damaged national econ
omy happen to come forward, a
state of affairs Is gradually brought
Into being which bids fair to become
permanent.
As to the activity shown by Ital
ian diplomacy In the Danubian and
Balkan area at the present moment,
it does not enable the foreign spec
tator to foresee Its ulterior develop
ment. Does Italian diplomacy
mainly aim at protecting the Dan
ubian and Balkan states against the
inroads of Russian Influence, or Is It
directed above all against the sys
tem for the maintenance of the
status quo, of which Turkey has
become an active center? A good
deal depends upon the answer to
that question.
Lights Go With Halloween
POMEROY, Ohio, Nov. 2 (/P).—The
lights were off again last night on
Pomeroy streets—a city economy
campaign continuing—but citizens
Tuesday night saw plainly where
they were walking for the first time
In five months.
Power company officials donated
the electricity for a civic Halloween
celebration.
German Artillery
Continues to Bombard
French Positions
Town of Forbach Shelled,
But War Ministry Notes
Lull in Operations -
By the Auoclated Press.
PARIS, Nov. 2.—German heavy
artillery la continuing its pounding
of French positions on the western
front, military reports said today,
disclosing that the town of Forbach
was shelled yesterday.
Forbach, 2 miles inside the French
frontier on the eastern edge of the
Warndt Forest, was believed to be
the town mentioned by the French
as having been attacked unsuccess
fully Tuesday by a German raiding
force of 1,000 men.
French dispatches said damage to
the town was minor.
German artillery also directed its
Are against French positions on
the left bank of the Blies River,
near Saareguemines. There were a
few encounters of small infantry
detachments.
Premier Daladier conferred with
Generalissimo Maurice Gustave
Gamelln to review the war situa
tion.
Despite the artillery activity, the
war ministry noted a general lull ir
operations on the western front
and military commentators pre
dicted a winter-long “waiting war.’
These commentators expressed be
lief that Adolf Hitler has decider
on the advice of his general stall
to postpone any general offenslvt
until spring. They theorized thai
recent German feeler attacks hat
been staged by the high commant
to demonstrate to the Fuehrer ttu
impracticability of a winter cam
paign.
Nasi Patrols Rebuffed.
Nazi raiding patrols, it was pointer
out, have met with a spirited rebuf
during the past three days.
The war ministry, in its morning
communique, dismissed operations
in the west with the statement,
“Night generally quiet.”
Summing up the first two months
of the war, Henri de Kerlllls de
clared in the newspaper L’Epoque
that Hitler had been outmaneuvered
in both diplomatic and military
fields.
! Having won an easy victory over
his “weakest adversary” (Poland),
1 Hitler now finds himself in “the
' ridiculous and paradoxical position
1 of launching a peace offensive with
' out the shadow of a victory over
1 Prance or Britain,” De Kerillis
wrote.
Reich Without Ally.
He said Germany is “without a
| single ally,” that she has been
gravely checked by the Turkish ac
cords with Prance and Britain, that
she has lost to Russia her age-old
position in the Baltic and that her
inarch toward the east has been
checked.
Comparative inactivity on the war
front was reflected in Paris by the
opening of more than 150 motion
picture theaters after they provided
air raid refuges. Football and other
sports were revived.
Germany is trying to increase the
sales of German toys in the Near
East
Snow Cruiser Resumes Trip
BUCYRUS, Ohio, Nov. 3 OP).—A
giant snow cruiser today resumed
its lumbering journey from Chicago
to Boston, where It will become a
major piece of equipment In Rear
Admiral Richard E. Byrd's expedi
tion to the South Pole.
The cruiser, held up four days
after plunging off the highway into
a ditch, probably will stop tonight
at Akron, where new parts are to be
picked up.
rn^iusi^^
and Antique Jewelry
Moderately Priced
LOUIS ABRAHAMS
1 711 G St. N.W. fife
Special purchase and sale of
PEBBLY WEAVE BROADLOOM
CARPET
Regularly
$5-95
sq. yd.
The new twisted pile kind that
gives years of wear, and prac
tically shows no foot-prints.
A speciol purchase mode many
weeks ago, before price ad
vances, ond now just received,
enables us to offer this most
unusual volue.
Colors: Burgundy—Van Dyke
Brown—Jade Green—Copper
Rose.
I
****** ~ —— -— — —I-,^LJ-Lr^J-l_r-ur-LJ-l - - -
Twenty-seven-inch wide
runners for halls and stairs,
; regularly $3.95 a yd. Spe
cial _
y
Free Parking on our lot adjoining store.
WOODRIDGE RUG & CARPET CO., INC.
THOS. A. BOYAN
1715 Rhode Island Ave. N.E.
| Open Evenings Until 9 DUpont 8930 and 8956
IMPORTANT -
TO THE ENTIRE PAINT TRADE
Service, backed by genuine practical knowl
edge, is a Union tradition. And now—with sin
cere pride—we announce the appointment of
Mr. C. M. S'tretmater
AS MANAGER
' In Full Charge of Our Paint Department
Mr. Stretmoter's 34 years of practical point
experience enables him to offer a remarkable
service to the entire paint trode With our
matchless line of "MOLETA" Paints—the
world's finest—and Mr. Stretmoter's personal
interest in all your problems—we are sure we
bring you an unbeatable paint combination!
Come in ond see Mr. Stretmater.
UNION
WALLPAPER CO.
630 Moss. Ave. N.W. Phone NAtionol 9312
CHOOSE FROM 150 j
New & Used Pianos ,1
Included are— gw
BETSY ROSS 1
SPINETS-LESTER
GRAND PIANOS $
STUDIO CONSOLES
During this sale, you may
purchase any piano in
our store for only $3
down and $1 weekly, plus
a budget charge: you may
pay more if you wish. We
will also trade in your
old piano
OPEN EVENINGS UNTIL
9 P. M.-IF YOU CANNOT
STOP IN-MAIL THIS
COUPON
F. A. NORTH PIANO £
Seventy continuous yean of piano morchanditing
1231 G ST. N.W. — Dl. 1324
Branch Store
829 KENNEDY ST. N.W.—RA. 0312
Pleas* Send List of Pianos and Prices
Name _..... . .. . _
PRICE
m
Radio-Phonograph Combination
Every Set a brand-new 1939 RCA-Victor. Plays 10-inch
or 12-inch records. A handsome console, walnut finish,
electric push button tuning radio. Our greatest value!
Former
List Price
Including $9.00 Worth of Records
13th Anniversary
NO MONEY
DOWN '
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