LITTLE ENTENTE: Great Power?

Ever since the War the so-called “Little Entente” countries (Czechoslovakia, Jugoslavia, Rumania) have been nibbling at the idea of lending real potency to their some-what nebulous union by banding together in a cast-iron military alliance. Last week an astounding article appeared at Prague in authoritative Ceske Slovo, newspaper famed as the personal organ of brilliant, dynamic Foreign Minister Dr. Edouard Benes, “Biggest Little Statesman in Europe,” creator and coordinating genius of the “Little Entente.”

In matter-of-fact fashion the editor of Ceske Slovo announced that he could now tell what took place in Belgrade last spring at the annual and, as usual, deathly secret conference of “Little Entente” statesmen.

They discussed, drafted and signed, he declared, “a secret treaty establishing a military unity between the ‘Little Entente’ nations, thus raising the effective status of the group to the rank of a Great Power.”

Serenely sensational, the Ceske Slovo went on to warn colleagues of Dr. Edouard Benes in the Czechoslovak Cabinet that they must not expect to learn, even from him, all the details of the secret treaty.

They were urged to endorse it sight-unseen as “a duty of unconditional loyalty to the State.” As if this were not enough to stagger politicians and jolt the Peace of Europe, the article concluded gloatingly that while Italy has a standing military force of only 329,000 men “the new Military Power in Central Europe musters total military effectives of 388,000.”

Amazed students of modern history had only a few hours in which to wonder whether Dr. Edouard Benes—co-founder of the Czechoslovak Republic with famed President Thomas Garrigue Masaryk— could possibly have tinkered together in secret the new three-in-one “Great Power.” For the day after its revelation. Ceske Slovo announced that the entire story “must be considered as withdrawn.” In all the “Little Entente” countries censorship was clamped on tight. None of the three Governments made an announcement or explanation. What could not be hushed up in the U. S. can and frequently is hushed in Central Europe. From Prague the only U. S. daily correspondent (New York Times) who handled the story was able to cable only:

“The public is simply substituting the words ‘military agreement’ for ‘military treaty’ and continues to believe that Czechoslovakia, Rumania and Jugoslavia have arranged to combine their military strength in case of need.”