Secret Armies | Page 9

deposits of
magnesite, timber forests and enormous water-power resources for
electricity. From Czechoslovakia, if he could get it, Hitler would have
the Skoda armament works, one of the biggest in the world, factories in
the Sudeten area, be next door to Hungarian wheat and Rumanian oil,
dominate the Balkans, destroy potential Russian air and troop bases in
Central Europe, and place Nazi troops within a few miles of the Soviet
border and the Ukrainian wheat fields he has eyed so long.
Five days after Austria was invaded, on March 16, at 3:30 in the
afternoon, Lord Halifax personally summoned the Czechoslovakian
Minister. At four o'clock the Minister came out of the conference with
a dazed and bewildered air. Lord Halifax had made some
"suggestions." Revealing complete ignorance of what had happened
and was happening in Czechoslovakian politics, Halifax was

nevertheless laying down the law.
It was obvious that the British Foreign Secretary was getting orders
from someone else, for Halifax suggested that the Central European
Republic try to conciliate Germany (which it had been doing for
months) and that a German be taken into the cabinet (there were
already three in it). On March 22 there was another meeting at which
the Minister learned that Halifax wanted the Czech Government to take
a Nazi into the cabinet--as Austria took Dr. Seyss-Inquart at Hitler's
orders.
This pressure from England for Czechoslovakian Nazis to be given
more power in the government was virtually telling the beleaguered
little democracy to fashion a strong rope and hang itself. Subsequent
events showed that Chamberlain personally supplied the rope.
Then came the historic week-end of March 26-27, 1938.
The walls of the small drawing room at Cliveden House are lined with
shelves filled with books. The laughing and chatting guests had
gathered there after a delightful dinner. For the Prime Minister of
England to go through all sorts of contortions in a game of charades
might prove a trifle undignified; so the hostess suggested that they play
"musical chairs."
Everyone thought it was a splendid idea and men servants in their
impressive blue liveries arranged the chairs in the required order,
carefully spacing the distances between them. One of the laughing and
bejeweled women took her place at the piano. In "musical chairs" there
is one person more than the number of chairs. When the music starts
the players march around the chairs. The moment the music stops
everyone dives for the nearest chair leaving the extra person standing
and subject to the hilarious jibes of the other players and those rooting
from the bleachers. It's one of the ways statesmen relax.
The music started and the dour Prime Minister of the greatest empire in
the world, the Minister in charge of the Empire's defense measures, the
editor of England's most powerful newspaper, the Right Honorable

Speaker of the House of Commons, the sister-in-law of England's
leading fascist and several others started marching while the piano
tinkled its challenging tune. The Prime Minister, perhaps because he is
essentially conservative, marched cautiously and stepped quickly
between the spaces while Lady Astor eyed him shrewdly and the others
suppressed giggles. The Prime Minister tried to maintain at least the
dignity of his banking background but managed "to look only a little
porky" as one expressed it afterward. Suddenly the music stopped.
Everyone lunged for the nearest chair. The Prime Minister managed to
get one and plopped into it heavily.
After half an hour or so some of the strategic rulers of Great Britain got
a little winded and quit. A conversation started on foreign affairs and
most of the wives retired to another room. When the discussion was
ended the little Cliveden house party had come to six major decisions
which will change the face of the world if successfully carried through.
Those decisions (maneuvers to put some of them into effect have
already begun) are:
1. To inform France that England will go to her aid if she is attacked,
unless the attack results from a treaty obligation with another power.
2. To introduce peace time conscription in England.
3. To appoint three ministers to coordinate industrial defense
(conscription in peace time); supervise military conscription; and,
coordinate the "political education of the people" (propaganda).
4. To reach an agreement with Italy to preserve the legitimate interest
of both countries in the Mediterranean.
5. To discuss mutual problems with Germany.
6. To express the hope to Germany that her methods of self-assertion be
such as will not hinder mutual discussions by arousing British public
opinion against her.

The two most important decisions in this plan are the one for the
conscription of labor in peace time and the effort to force France to
break the Franco-Soviet pact by choosing between England and Russia.
Consider conscription first and the motives behind it: