1938-10-04 — Page 6

BREATH OF ENGLAND

Onthouars of Whathiend's Hip Form. Eg Algernon Talmage, R`A.

(Exhibited at the Papil Avosert, vzy↑

WHITBREAD'S PALE ALE

BREWED FROM FINEST KENTISH

MALT AND HOPS

Sole Agents:-A. S. WATSON & CO., LTD.

GET THE BEST

OUT OF YOUR RECORDS BY USING

THE FINEST NEEDLES

Low upketp that delights ovory owner is a foaturo

of the NEW

STUDEBAKER

GET IN TUNE WITH THE

TIMES. BUY AN EXCITINGLY SUPERB

STUDEBAKER.

M

She eats in France-sleeps in Germany.

ARIA MORGAN knowa . all about frontiera. She should, because she lives on one. The Franco-German fron-

Sweeter Than Ever! ter cuts right through Lauter-

SENSATIONAL

1

LOW PRICES

AND

SUBSTANTIAL

OPERATING ECONOMY

Ask for trial run,

A demonstration

Hongkong Hotel Garage

Stubbs Rd,

The

Tel. 27778-9.

Hongkong Telegraph.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1038.

APPEASEMENT

“GOLDEN, PYRAMID" Diplomacy succeded in re-

AND

"EMBASSY "

A PRODUCT, OF REDDITCH, ENGLAND WHERE FINE NEEDLES ARE MADE

OBTAINABLE ONLY

AT

over

moving the threat of a general European War

Czecho- Slovakia. But it is a depress- ing thought that quite a num- ber of countries are actively engaged in hostilities at the present time. Spain, and in Spain, Germany, Italy and Russia; Abyssinin (for hostili- ties have not ceased there), China, Japan, Palestine-the |battlefields are fairly evenly dis- tributed over the surface of the globe. It is a bitter commen- tary on the state of the world to-day that far more thought is being given to the question of

S. Moutrie & Co., Ltd. whether the number of battle-

York Building

Chater Road.

14th ANNIVERSARY

SALE

NOW ON

BIG SAVING OPPORTUNITY SPECIAL BARGAINS

IN ALL DEPARTMENTS

INSPECTION

CORDIALLY INVITED BY

The

SHUI HING CO.

187-195 DES VOEUX ROAD CENTRAL

TELEPHONES 32648 & 20049

DEPARTMENT STORE

COUNT THE TELEGRAPHS

EVERYWHERE

burg (Alsace Lorraine), which is her home town. It even cuts Tight through her modest two- roomed house,

Maria's living room 1 in France, her bedroom in Ger- many. During the day she is Mademoiselle Morgan. At night she becomes Fraulein Morgan,

For Maria, life is a confusing business, the frontier apt to. cause any amount of trouble. Maybe you have noticed that frontiers are like that,

At Changkufeng the Japs and Russians have been arguing over different readings of in- adequate frontier maps.

At Wal-Wal, you remember, the same sort of pretext was made the opportunity for armed invasion of Abyssinia. You never know just when a frontier" Incident" is going to fare up to major crisis,

S

OME frontlers you can understand. Every schoolboy knows that the Ural Mountains are sup- posed to divide Europe and Asin, that Hengist and Horse had novel idens of their own about delineating boundaries.

And no one complains about those natural frontiers pro- duced by physical features and elimatic conditions.

But since Napoleon at least, frontiers have largely been de- termined by three things: a war, a peace and a treaty. And too frequently the treaty con- tains the germs of the trouble that will in due course produce. the next war, and the next peace, and the next treaty.

The treaty begins the bother. It lays down, roughly, the Hues of demarcation between the States concerned. It is supposed to take into consideration eco- nomic factors and means of And aften cominiunication. nothing more happens until the tranble begins.

That is what happened over Changkufeng.

W

TAY back in 1806 Tsarist Russia and Imperial China signed a treaty that seemed clearly to delineate what is now the frontier between Manchukuo and Soviet Maritime Province territory.

Many times well-intentioned mun suggested that some exist-

fields will increase rather than how to restore peace in the lands that are being torn by conflicts. Actually, the best way to stop war is to stop the wars; already in progress. There is only one possible way to do this, armies in North China, places and that is by collective action Japan in an unenviable position by the Powers desiring peace to and in mood for mediation. put an end to aggression. The With Hankow slipping from her gravity of the international grasp China, too, must be situation created by the Czecho-cager to end this disastrous war that is retarding her advance to aduit nationhood.

Slovakian crisis removed the conflicts in Spain and China; from "front page" news. In the former country the position, despite General Franco's boasts, is more or less as it was two years ago.

Con

be

Modification of the announced

for their causes intentions of both sides to fight to the bitter end is, however, inevitable if peace is to come quickly to the

That's what

frontiers do

BY S. E. R. WYNNE

This picture was, taken whon Corman troops crossed the Austrian frontier, marked by what looks like a barber's polo.

Ing doubts concerning the frontler line should be cleared up. The clearing-up is being done now-belatedly, but by a supreme plece of good fortune (and because Japan happens to be otherwise engaged) without the major war that might have been.

That there should be any doubt at all concerning that particular frontier can be attri- buted to the fact that after the signing of the treaty which delineates it no boundary com- mission went out properly to establish it.

Commissions like that can help. Generally, they consist of geographers and militarista and perhaps a minor diplomat or two. With maps and compasses they spend months going over the disputed territory.

But even with the best will in

the world they may make mis- takes that in due course will produce still more trouble.

T

11

THE Y delineate

frontier in the bed of a river, perhaps, divid- Ing two areas by a mythical line in the centre of the stream. That's fine; until with the years, the river changes its course and the map with it. Or, again, the boundary-fixers for- get that at a river's mouth there is a delta. And one day a citizen of A-land is aghast at the dis- covery that a family from B- land has landed and is living on an island about which formerly no one cared tuppence.

Not that such a discovery need cause trouble. The classic example of the 3,000 miles of United States Canadian frontier, unguarded by a single

TOLERABLE SNOBS

TF you are fond of watching and,

We are all nequainted with the studying humankind, make friends social snob. He is inclined to look with a snob. He will be a book in his years because ladder-climbing is himself, and one which is never a whole-time job. His monner is closed; for the mind of the sub is so consequential, his expression sug transparent to the man or woman! According to him, Cabinet Ministers of penetration that all who run may hang on his lightest utterances, read. For this reason he is very and the peerage lean on him, which amusing.

(Continued on Page S

Far East. If Japan insists that SIDE GLANCES the terms for peace are dis- There is more

hope that a honourable ones-ns insistence [peace formula can be found in that the gallant Generalissimo the Sino-Japanese conflict if a must go undoubtedly is-then statesman of the calibre of Mr. China will fight and will con- Neville Chamberlain

tinue fighting. Japan cannotĮ found to tackle the problem determination of China this side hope to crush n nation with thei Somewhere between the irro-of 1941 or 1942. Her difficul- concilable-the immovable de-tice. are just commencing. It cision of Japan to crush Gen-took the Japanese army five eralissimo Chiang Kai-shek and months to reach Nanking; sinco the present 'Government, of then nine months have elapsed) China and the unbreakable de-and her armies are still a hun- dred miles from Hankow. After, cision of the Chinese leader and Hankow, Japan must push to his people to fight to the bitter Ichang, to Chungking, south- end-lies a middle course which, wards to Yunnanfu. There are if the two warring nations can Kwangsi and Kwangtung, un-j only be gulded to it by expert scathed by

war except for neutral mediators, · · leads tobombings, which have harmed) pence.

only civilians.

For Jupan, the war is only! It is apparent that all is not starting. Her pace is becoming well with Japan. The Cabinet slower and slower. The Empire crisis--the second within three can no longer afford to dictato months-and the acute financial unreasonable terms, and would position, coupled with carefully do well to meet China half way censored reports of industrial and end this war that is drain- unrest at home and guerilla ing both nations of their econo activities that are swamping the mic and industrial reserves.

M.

fortress, proves that. Nor does any Swede or Norwegian appar- ently sleep less soundly at night. because no guns are mounted along the 700 miles of land frontier between Norway and Sweden.

But it is the post-war fron- tlers that produce this morn- ing's head-aches: whole slices of Europe where now atates have been carved out of areas pre- vlously dependent on other states.

Change a frontier-and im- mediately you change economic. social and political conditions on each side of it. Trouble again.

And that encourages the un- happy alternative to the com- plete frontier “disarmament” of the United States-Canadian and Swedish - Norwegian borders.

F

¶RANCE'S Maginot Line has been written about so often that people tend not to appreciate its immen-

sity. When completed it will be 600 miles in length, long galleries being linked by underground for- tresses that cut-Verne Jules Verne. The miles of gallerica aro im-

pressive enough in themselves. The "strong points" are frighten- ingly formidable.

You must think of London's Underground system to get an iden of the thoroughness with which the late Andre Maginot planned these defences.

Then imagine junctions such as Charing Cross or Piccadilly Circus strongly fortifled and bombproof and capable of being hermetically sealed to reslat attack by polsun gas.

Then conjure up what those sta- tions would be ilko`equipped with food, water, telephones, radio, hospitals, kitchens, even baths— and you can begin to see why Ger- many respects defences on which at least £100,000,000 has been spent.

B

UT mingled with that respect is onvy. 50 Germany replies with the Biegfried Line of forts, on which tens of thousands of con- scripted Germans are now work- ing frantically along the Franco- German frontier.

To, the South, where Czecho- slovakia has its own defence Une of concrete and steel, and to the East, Germany has more frontier fortifications,

And Russia in turn has fortified from the Arctic to the Black Bea- its western frontier-1,000 miles

"till not an inch of territory in the la vulnerable." Now Soviet workmen are repeating the performance in the Far East,

In Eclland the garrisons by strategic dylan and waterways are strengthened. Czechoslovakia mans pill-boxes from which anti-

By George Clark tank guns poke their snub nosen

* Capt. 1924 ky Dallas Posture Spakkuda, kad,

61607

"It's the tenth left turn you've made in the last mile l'm sure

everybody in towns than sean pour new engagement

towards Germany. Poland, Switz- erland, Finland-big_ States and ittle ones dig themselves in.

ONCRETE pill-boxes, barbed wire entangle- ments, underground fortresses. mines, even the thriller- writer's favourite infra-red rays, line the frontiers to separate sus- piclous people from cuspicious people. And every yard so forth- ned increases the prospects of another incident."

"It's all very well for the British to talk about frontiers. They have the 'sen-the finest natural barrier of all." So I heard un irate Ger man say recently...

But who wants n natural barrier? If there were no fortified frontiers-and, while we are at it, no soldiers, no Customs or pass- port inspection, and, most blessed of all, no Babel of tongues to be undone-it is a safe bet that there would be fewer of those incidenta that disturb the breakfast table.

It's looking a long way ahead. perhaps; but lite for Maria Morgan, and the rest of us, would- be much plenannter then.

To-day's Thought- THERE are two worlds; the world that we can measure: with line and rulo, and the world that we feel with our hearts and imaginations,