INTERNATIONAL: Odyssey & Hell-Hole

Two rounds of diplomatic hopscotch with French Premier Pierre Laval and one round with Italian Premier Benito Musso-Mussolini—both of sturdiest peasant stock— profoundly wilted and discouraged last week fashionable young Captain Anthony Eden of the British Foreign Office who is fairly popping with blue blood.

“The whole thing is on the knees of the gods,” sighed Mr. Eden as he returned to London. Anxious friends thought the old Etonian looked as tired as after his encounters with Hitler and Stalin which put him to bed for a month (TIME, April 1). Just before leaving Paris last week he summed up his conversations with Premier Laval despondently thus: “Oh, we discussed what should be done next, now that what has been done has been done!”

Mr. Eden thus referred to the fact that His Majesty’s Government, tempted by Adolph Hitler’s offer to limit his navy forever to 35% of theirs, not only gave Germany a blank check to violate the Treaty of Versailles (TIME, June 24) but made a further and secret agreement with the Reich. This, made by the British Admiralty, was concealed until last week from the British Foreign Office, a procedure almost unprecedented. It was forced into the open after Premier Laval asked to see Britain’s copy of Germany’s new Naval building plans and was readily promised them by Mr. Eden, so that France could proceed to make her plans. Next day French Ambassador Charles Corbin called at the British Foreign Office for the promised papers, discovered that the British Admiralty had them and by secret agreement with Germany refused to let France have copies. In efforts to calm M. Corbin he was told of an “ancient statute” under which if the higher Admiralty officials feel the Government is endangering Britain’s Naval security it becomes their “right and duty” to endanger it still further by resigning in a body. The mere threat of such an Admiralty strike, so M. Corbin was told, would mean national panic and the Government’s fall. In short, Premier Laval could not have the promised papers last week. German secrets possessed by Britain must be concealed from France, her Wartime ally with all that that implied. Soon the official French attitude was made known by Minister of Marine François Piétri as the French Navy deployed before him in maneuvers at Brest. Said he: “This may cause us to doubt not the friendship of Britain but her pru-dence.”

At Mr. Eden’s stops in Paris, before and after he visited Rome last week, Premier Laval first obtained from him Great Britain’s promise, then informed him it had been broken. In private M. Laval’s words were tart, but in public he made pointed demonstration of his warm personal friendship for the harassed young man who is Britain’s Minister Without Portfolio for League of Nations Affairs. Together they dined & wined in a Paris restaurant, later appeared arm in arm in the gallery of the Chamber of Deputies with the explanation that “Captain Eden wishes to observe the Chamber of Deputies at work.”

While the Briton was in Rome, Premier Laval delivered himself of a speech which proved the most popular he has ever made. Said he with peasant bluntness: “In this world there are five or six men upon whom peace depends. Destiny has placed me among them. … If an agreement with Berlin is impossible, I shall not hesitate to conclude it, but if there is to be such an accord it cannot be between two nations only but with several!”

After this reminder that Adolf Hitler’s policy is to refuse to sign the general peace accords the Great Powers have repeatedly poked at him, preferring to sow dissension if possible with separate treaties, Pierre Laval continued: “In my political life I have met many great men and eminent specialists, but now I believe in only two things: good sense and courage! If we do not have courage it is not only the institutions of the Republic, but France herself that is going to be destroyed.”

This was understood as an appeal to all Frenchmen of goodwill to support the drastic budget-balancing slashes for which the Chamber and Senate recently gave Premier Laval special powers (TIME, June 17). “I am not going to abuse them,” he promised last week, “but I am going to use them! . . . France must, if she is to be strong and healthy, do two things: First, adjust her income to her expenditure; Second, count on herself first of all for assurance of her security.”

Meanwhile strong & healthy Benito Mussolini was having his go at Anthony Eden. The Dictator, no novice in the fine art of getting the jump on public opinion, caused announcements to be made while Captain Eden was his guest which provoked abroad such headlines as BRITISH AGREE TO LET Il DUCE RULE ETHIOPIA and REPORT PACT FOR PARTITION OF ETHIOPIA. Premier Mussolini had just raised his son-in-law Count Galeazzo Ciano from Undersecretary to Minister for Press Relations and the Count proceeded to make good last week. Not until Captain Eden emerged from Italy did the World Press tune change to BRITISH FEAR WAR IN AFRICA AS EDEN FAILS IN ROME and EDEN UNABLE TO TURN DUCE FROM DESIGNS ON ETHIOPIA.

That the Dictator’s smart entourage had profited from rubbing ideas with Mr. Eden, appeared when Italian Undersecretary for Colonies Alessandro Lessona announced on behalf of Il Duce with a perfectly straight face: “We consider our mission in Ethiopia as sincerely and definitely to abolish slavery and to replace oppression by a harmonious regime of order. We shall give to Ethiopia the opportunity to participate in modern civilization.”

An English statesman could scarcely have spoken more persuasively to Englishmen. As tired Captain Eden returned to London it was clear that he had settled nothing, proved nothing. “I am going to report to my colleagues,” said he morosely before facing the House of Commons. Mussolini, it was understood in Whitehall, proposes that, since Ethiopia’s admission to the League of Nations was conditional on her abolishing slavery, and since slavery still flourishes in Ethiopia, the thing to do is for the Great Powers to expel Ethiopia from the League and hand her over to Italy which would guarantee to free the slaves.

While this slick out was pondered by His Majesty’s Government, an amazing indiscretion popped loose in London. From Mr. Eden or some member of his immediate entourage Universal Service claimed to have scooped the actual words of Il Duce to Britain’s envoy at their private conference in the Palazzo Venezia:

“I am sorry that Britain and America are against me. In six months time both Britain and America will see that I am right. … I recognize your goodwill, but Ethiopia is as important to Italy as the British Imperial conquests were to Britain in the time of Raleigh. . . . This is a day when men who can rule should rule and not vacate their places and duties. I intend to rule. . . . The world must not forget that world production is useless and will become stagnated unless it is permitted to flow into undeveloped countries. Ethiopia must provide for important consumption of world and Italian production.”

An additional reason for threatened Italian expansion was viewed last week by Professor Rayford W. Logan of Atlanta University (Negro). Addressing the New England Institute of International Relations in session at Wellesley College, Professor Logan, as kinky-haired as any Ethiopian, gravely declared:

“I am afraid that the defeat of Primo Carnera last night by Joe Louis will be interpreted as an additional insult to the Italian flag, which will permit Mussolini to assert again the necessity for Italy to annihilate Ethiopia.”

In Addis Ababa the Emperor of Ethiopia, shrewd Power of Trinity, who is racially more of a Jew than a Negro, announced last week that his predominantly Negro people are “ready to fight” if attacked. To British correspondents he loudly protested that Belgium, France, Czechoslovakia and Denmark now refuse to sell Ethiopia arms at any price, in obvious collusion with Benito Mussolini. “I shall march to battle with my archbishop carrying the Ark of the Covenant before me!” cried Power of Trinity. “I shall lead my troops in person onto the battlefield and I do not expect to meet there Premier Mussolini!”

Meanwhile the U. S. State Department’s famed “Trouble Shooter,” George Charles Hanson, sailed from Manhattan to become U. S. Chargé d’Affaires in Ethiopia. As a bon voyage gift last week one of his friends gave him L. M. Nesbitt’s book on Ethiopia called Hell-Hole of Creation (TIME. March 25). “This book,” beamed Shooter Hanson, “whets my interest.”