Pact Making: Pact Making

(2 of 3)

THE FOUR-POWER PACT (July 15, 1933), originated by Premier Mussohm and signed by him for Italy with the Ambassadors of Great Britain, Germany and France bound the signatories to "co-operate"—for ten years. Scared were the satellites of trance (Poland Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Rumania) who feared their protectrice was about make some sort of deal with Germany behind their backs. To calm the satellites clauses were inserted bringing action under the Four-Power Pact "within the framework ot the League of Nations, to which they are parties. German withdrawal from the League put the Pact on ice but it has served to jar Europe into action. Poland, suspicious as a scorned lover hastily made a ten-year pact with Germany behind the back of France and ever since hard-boiled regional pacts adjusting specific interests have been popping.

POLAND AND GERMANY (Jan. 26, 1934) pledged mutual non-aggression and promised to defend each other against attack with a ten-year pact signed in Berlin by Polish Ambassador Lipski. In the Reich this renunciation for a decade of German designs on the Polish Corridor rates as Adolf Hitler's most unpopular policy.

THE BALKAN PACT (Feb. 9, 1934) signed at Athens by Foreign Ministers Maximos, Tewfik, Titulescu and Jeftitch of Greece, Turkey, Rumania and Yugoslavia pledges all signatories to defend the frontiers of each. Attached was a secret protocol, since divulged, extending the Pact to guarantee all Balkan frontiers against aggression by any Balkan State, and to punish any Balkan State which may join any State whatsoever which attacks a Balkan State. Unless they turn out to be scraps of paper, the Balkan Pact and protocols mean cast iron peace in Europe's inflammatory cockpit.

On the sidelines stand the three smart Foreign Ministers of the Little Entente Rumania's towering Titulescu, Czechoslovakia's astute Benes and Yugoslavia's subtle Jeftitch. Because of them the "Little Entente" is in effect a supplementary Great Power. By their recent Pact of Organization, reenforcing their longstanding entente, the three countries agree to function in international affairs as a single unit, represented at a given place and moment by whichever Little Entente Foreign Minister the other two have designated.

SOVIET RUSSIA AND REPUBLICAN FRANCE were changed from secret enemies into secret bedfellows by mounting mutual hate & fear of Adolf Hitler, rabid anti-Red and anti-Republican. Symbol of this Franco-Russian bedding was Soviet Russia's admission to the League of Nations with French Foreign Minister Barthou as chief sponsor. He and Soviet Foreign Minister Litvinoff had meanwhile secretly begotten in draft form the Eastern Locarno Pact first revealed by M. Barthou at London (July 8, 1934), today the diplomatic white hope of Europe. Rumor persists that he and Comrade Litvinoff arranged a Russo-French military entente. In the French Chamber of Deputies last autumn Military Budget Rapporteur Archimbaud blabbed: "The Russian Army . . . has been offered to us in the event of war with Germany!''