"Much Vaguer"

Efforts on the Continent by its leading wiseacres to guess the future Ethiopian-Italian policy of new British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden drove them to arguing last week that inevitably it must be the same as that of Sir Samuel Hoare. To argue thus was worse than premature. "Tony" Eden was still boning up on Egypt and engaged in formal amenities (see p. 19). From London that distinguished wiseacre Augur observed in the New York Times:

"Mr. Eden's task will be to steer a course through obstacles heaped in apparently inextricable confusion. Premier Laval's clever move in leaving the final [French] decision on the oil embargo to the Chamber of Deputies makes London doubtful of the possibility of proceeding in that direction at all because the French Premier coupled this concession with the notice that there would be a need for simultaneously declaring mobilization of several classes of reservists. No French Deputy in his senses, with an election impending, can vote for putting thousands of electors into uniform.

"It appears therefore that Mr. Eden's line will be to carry on the existing repressive measures while seeking conciliation by putting up several weeks hence a new.offer in a form better adapted to the views of Geneva than the ill-fated Hoare-Laval proposal.

"The reproaches aimed at the Hoare-Laval plan were mainly directed at the fact that it gave too many details. The new plan will be of a much vaguer nature."

In other words, if the Great Powers can only be vague enough about dismembering Ethiopia, they may succeed.

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