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Show Russia Hopes to Stop Europe's War, Says Writer, With Eastern Europe Peace Bloc By ANNA LOUISE STRONG Eastern Europe is getting down to business. Moscow intends in-tends to stop the whole European Euro-pean war. Despite present British refusal, there Is a fair chance ahe may agree. Moscow has more cards on hand than the agreements with Germany over Poland. In five weeks' time, since signing the nonaggression pact with Germany, Ger-many, Moscow has become the diplomatic center of Europe. Prime ministers from Germany, Ger-many, Turkey, Bulgaria, Estonia, Es-tonia, cabinet ministers from every stale in Europe, fly in and out of Moscow, arranging deals. The businesslike, swift consummation and the satisfaction satisfac-tion shown by moat of the participants par-ticipants la In striking contrast to that four months' dalliance of Chamberlain with Moscow, which Molotov finally dismissed as "frivolous make-believe." What they settle Is the elimination elimina-tion of Britain and France from eastern Europe. Two Mala Deals Two main deala are those with Germany over Poland and with Turkey over the formation of a k e e p-o u t-o f-w a r bloc in the Balkans. Last May Moscow tried to form such a bloc, but was checkmated check-mated by the desires of little nations for each other's lands. Now eastern Europe Is fluid from fear of war, and much may be done even with iron when molten. The arrangement may go so far as a mutual assistance pact against any and all aggressors, ag-gressors, with the soviet army aa part of the guarantee. Germany might have objected to auch a bloc a month ago. but ahe sees in It now her chief safeguard safe-guard in any war of attrition. Note the swift demobilization of Lithuania and Slovakia, on ' the ground that the war danger. It over. Note the haste of Hun- 1 gsry and Jugoslavia to be reconciled recon-ciled with the U. S. S. R. and the repeated declarations by Rumania of friendship with the soviet troops. The flareup in Estonia was swiftly settled by a mutual assistance pact plus naval and air bases for Moscow, without interfering with anybody's any-body's "sovereign rights." la Mead ef Peace All these indicate that east Europe is settling to a mood of peace. The hardest nut to crack waa the German conquest of Poland, still flaming with war. The previous gift by Germany to Moeeow of a hundred-mile atrip of Polish lands east of Warsaw proved temporary: soviet troops conspicuously refrained from entering it Stalin may have auggested to Rlbbentrop a self-determined Poland, Po-land, but when this was proved not only difficult to get but hard to organize In concrete detail under the overhanging threat of the western war, the U. S. S. R, by refusing any part of ethnic Poland, regains her unassailable status aa a neutral nation, which had protected her own borders from war. Let Germany worry with Britain's Brit-ain's demands and those of the Vatican for an ethnic Poland. Let her either try to absorb a discontented population, or offer Polish autonomy or even independence inde-pendence to Britain in return for peace. Kuaala Net Aggressor Thus Moscow steps out of war's responsibility. It would be hard to convict her now of any unneutral action in aa International Interna-tional court She made no at-, tack oa any organized Polish government; ahe walked Into a disorganized chaos, whose government gov-ernment was In flight She con- ' quered no alien territory; she resumed by a policing action territory taken from her by a government that la gone. She destroyed no Polish cities, and there is evidence that the inhabitants in-habitants welcomed her "protection." "pro-tection." The only claimants against her would be a few Polish Po-lish landlords, who have been dispossessed by their own tenants ten-ants with help of the Red troops. Moscow renouncement of territory ter-ritory ethnically Polish strengthens strength-ens her with the small east European countries as a firm but not aggressive power. They are all keenly aware that the soviet army's swift advance to Vllno in the north and the Rumanian Ru-manian borders In the south saved both the Baltic states and the Balkans from the widening of the war. This helps Moscow plan to organize them into a neutral league. Peace er War Issue Britain, France and Germany then, as the only belligerents, face a war that boils down to concrete terms. Either a war of assault on the terrible western west-ern fortifications: or a war of maneuver through neutral countries; coun-tries; or a war of attrition by controlling lanes of trade. Moscow thus in effect serves notice on Chamberlain, Daladier and Hitler: "East Europe is neutral neu-tral and will keep out ef war; we shall protect its neutrality. Now choose. If any nation attack at-tack another on the Maginot and Westwall lines, the attacker will lose a million men and deserve de-serve the revolution he will get If any nation attacks the other via the neutral countries, that nation will stir up the world against It and lose. The war of attrition is out: for both countries coun-tries have limitless supply lines . . . Hadn't you better get together to-gether and discuss terms of I peace:" . J |