Foreign News: Blatancy & Moderation

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The public acts of Premier Baldwin's Government, last week, let two sizable cats out of the Cabinet's bag, the drawstrings of which have been kept knotted tightly at secret Cabinet sessions for weeks. It was clear that the moderate Baldwin-Chamberlain*; cabinet-faction had finally composed their differences with the reactionary Churchill†—Birkenhead** group. Swift action followed, letting the cats out of the bag.

Russian Cat. The Churchill-Birkenhead clique, arch-Russophobes, dictated (as their share of the Cabinet compromise) a note of "protest and warning" to the Soviet Government. The language of this note was not that of diplomacy. It was intelligible to the man in the street and clear to the man in the gutter. Had such a note been addressed to the U. S., French, or Italian Government by the British it would have constituted an insult, only to be avenged by war. Paradoxically the mild, peace-propagating Sir Austen Chamberlain was obliged to sign this note as Foreign Secretary. His was another slice of the Cabinet Compromise (see below).

Russophobe Note: "His Majesty's Government consider it necessary to warn the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics in the gravest terms that there are limits beyond which it is dangerous to drive public opinion in this country and that the continuance of such acts as here complained of must sooner or later render inevitable the abrogation of the trade agreement,* the stipulations of which have been so flagrantly violated, and even the severance of ordinary diplomatic relations."

With this threat blazoned, the British note went on to asperse individually and by name five officials of the Soviet Government. Example: Georg Tchitcherin, Soviet Foreign Minister, was described as possessed of the "delusion . . . [and] obsession, which is as illogical as ill-founded . . . that Great Britain is continually plotting against the Union of Socialist Soveit Republics. . . ."

Further compliments to M. Tchitcherin included reference to his "nervous mind," his "preference for bad over good sources of information," and his "malevolent bias which makes pure invention the basis or support of his policy."

Specific Charges. 1) That the Politbureau of the Communist party is really the Soviet Government and that M. Bukharin of the Politbureau has said: "The English miners' strike and the national revolution in China are, it seems to me, the chief spots where the Communist Parties must apply their efforts. . . ."

2) That Isvestia is the official and responsible newspaper of the Soviet Government which is accordingly responsible for "grossly insulting and mendacious cartoons" of British statesmen, etc.

Conclusion. "His Majesty's Government are not concerned with the domestic affairs of Russia nor with its form of government. All they require is that that Government should refrain from interference with purely British concerns and abstain from hostile action or propaganda against British subjects. . . .

"His Majesty's Government trust that this protest and warning will be received by the Union of Soviet Republics with the attention they require and that no further cause of complaint may be given."

(Signed)

AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN