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Show Foreign Expert On Tour Notes Scene (EJitor's Note: Following Is an authoritative estimate of the European diplomatic situation, made by Webb Miller, Mill-er, star United Press war correspondent, cor-respondent, after a two-week round of visits to European capitals during which he covered cov-ered the Czechoslovak crisis. By WEBB MILLOR United Press Staff Correspondent (Copyright 1938, by United Press) LONDON, June 7 (U.PJ The outstanding factor in the Czechoslovak Czecho-slovak minority crisis, and one which is likely to be the decisive element in its eventual settle ment, is that Great Britain will not go to war in any circumstances which can be foreseen, to prevent the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslo-vakia. After a fortnight spent in London, Lon-don, Berlin and Paris talking to government officials, foreign diplomats dip-lomats and correspondents, and two visits to Prague within the last year, I have reached a number num-ber of definite conclusions. Among them are the following: Britain Halts Britain will not fight to prevent Germany's absorption of the Sudeten Su-deten German minority area into the Nazi Reich. Britain will use every means in her power to prevail pre-vail upon France to abstain from military action in aid of her ally Czechoslovakia in the event that Germany invades Czechoslovakia. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's Chamber-lain's government would favor a plebiscite by which the Sudeten Germans could secede from Czechoslovakia and join Adolf Hitler if the Czechs agreed, which is most unlikely. The Czechs will fight if. their country is invaded, even if they are not confident that their allies France and Russia will fulfill their engagements to aid here. Although the French government govern-ment emphatically repeats its determination de-termination to fulfill its pledge to aid the Czechs in event of attack, British pressure and the perils foreseen in the possibility of a general European war might deter her when the moment for a fateful fate-ful decision came. French Arc Wary Regardless of this, the French general staff is convinced that France must fight if Germany invades in-vades Czechoslovakia. Russia's attitude In case of the invasion of Czechoslovakia remains re-mains in enigma. Adolf Hitler hopes to achieve his objective or absorption of the Sudeten Germans by peaceful means, without recourse to war, and I personally am convinced that he had no intention of marching march-ing into Czechoslovakia two weeks ago when it looked as if war might be near. The German general gen-eral staff feels that the risk of war is too great now in view of the uncertainty of French and Russian action, and the imponderable imponder-able action of Britain's actions in event that France entered a war despite Britain's restraining influence in-fluence an uncertainty which the British government naturally carefully fosters to maintain its position and influence. None of three nations, Britain, France or Russia will definitely decide upon the question of war over Czechoslovakia until the moment mo-ment the necessity arises. Then action will be dictated by existing circumstances. Meanwhile Britain Brit-ain will continue strong pressure on the Czechoslovakia government to yield the last jot of concessions to the German minority and to Hitler, simultaneously pressing France to act similarly and pressing press-ing Germany to refrain from action: |