Two Men in a Boat

Statesmen of small countries have to do undignified things. Last week small Austria's minuscule Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss (he is less than five feet tall) flew to the Adriatic beach resort of Riccione for a conference with Premier Benito Mussolini, found him swimming offshore and disinclined to come in. For Chancellor Dollfuss to have waited abjectly on the beach would have been too undignified. He hired a small skiff, rowed out to where Il Duce was floating on his back.

After a few words of greeting, Dictator Mussolini grabbed the edge of the skiff which teetered dangerously as he pulled himself aboard, sat down sopping at the tiller while Chancellor Dollfuss rowed the skiff out of earshot of plebeian bathers. During their rowboat conference the two statesmen undoubtedly discussed: 1) the Italian-Austrian-Hungarian trade pact negotiated by Il Duce and Premier Julius Goemboes in Rome (TIME, Aug. 7); 2) the fact that anti-Dollfuss propaganda was again being broadcast to Austria from German radio stations last week, despite the Hitler Government's assurance to Premier Mussolini that such propaganda would cease (TIME, Aug. 21); and 3) the general question of whether Italy will support Chancellor Dollfuss in his efforts to prevent a Nazi coup and union of Austria with Germany. Returning to shore, Rower Dollfuss and Steersman Mussolini were cheered good-humoredly by hundreds of Italian bathers on the beach.

After a further conference at Riccione's Grand Hotel the two statesmen issued a communique from which it was clear that Chancellor Dollfuss agreed to Il Duce's plans for an Italo-Austrian-Hungarian bloc in return for Italian support of his regime. "Austrian independence" was laid down as a "basic principle" by Chancellor Dollfuss, according to the communique and both statesmen "perceived that there exists between them a common identity of ideas regarding the problems examined."

Broadcasting from Munich that same night, Chancellor Hitler's chief anti-Dollfuss propagandist, Nazi Theodor Habicht, roared: "There can be no peace and stability in Europe until Germany and Austria are united!" In Vienna counter-propaganda was released by the Austrian Foreign Office which inspired reports that Chancellor Dollfuss can now count on "certain military action" by Great Britain, France and Italy to preserve the status quo in Austria should his cabinet be menaced by "either German or Austrian Nazis."

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