$1,000,000 Bid

Strictly vegetarian and teetotaler Adolf Hitler made the great exception last week of nibbling clear through the State banquet he gave Benito Mussolini and toasting his guest in sweet German champagne. Menu: caviar, soup, sole, chicken, ices and fresh fruit. In after dinner conversations among Germans and Italians in the suites of the two leaders one theme loudly, confidently recurred: "The days when Britain and France were the arbiters of Europe are over. There are now not two great European powers but four": i.e.-Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

All records for hauling passengers on Berlin trams, busses, subways and elevated lines were broken with a figure of 5,100,000 on the day Il Duce and Der Fuhrer keynoted in a heavy rain. This soddened everything but the Nordic cheers of their vast open-air audience nearly 1,000,000 of whom were Germans who had got up at 7 a.m. to march and drill all day in their Nazi organizations before they took their stand to hear the speeches at 7 p.m. As a furious cloudburst came down Mussolini made a quick remark to Hitler who gestured and a rainproof was at once thrown about the shoulders of each Dictator, although their glitteringly apparalled staffs continued to get soaked.

"What moves us the most at the moment," keynoted Der Fuehrer who spoke first, "is the deep-rooted joy to see in our midst a guest who is one of the lonely men in history who are not tried by historic events but determine the history of their country themselves!" Germany and Italy have now formed an "ideal partnership," Hitler went on, "Fascist Italy has been transformed into a new Roman Empire by the ingenious activities of a compelling personality" and "Germany has become a great power, thanks to her racial attitude and her military strength." The two countries have the "cultural mission" of opposing "the Democratic and Marxist International" of Moscow which, cried Der Fuehrer, "revels in demonstrations of hatred!"

"Comrades!" was the word with which Italy's Dictator opened his address to Germans, and he spoke in German, not extempore as usual but reading. "Comrades! . . . We shall never forget that Germany was not among the nations which imposed sanctions against us! ... Germany has awakened. ... I do not know when Europe will awake, for secret forces not unknown to us are at work striving to transform a civil war [Spain's] into a world conflagration. ... In answer to the question posed by the whole world, 'What will be the outcome of the meeting in Berlin, war or peace?' We--Der Fuehrer and myself-- reply in a loud voice 'PEACE.' . . . There exists no 'dictatorship,' neither in Germany nor in Italy, but there exist organizations which really serve the good of the people."

Presents which accompanied Premier Mussolini as he entrained for Rome--and II Duce was the last person to climb aboard, after which Der Fuehrer on the platform talked to him animatedly through an open window until the car moved off-- included three crates of "rare geese" presented by the Berlin Zoo, while the City of Hanover gave Equestrian Mussolini a silver statuette of a charger, the flesh and blood original to be sent to him in Rome. On II Duce's arrival, screaming men and women raced forward waving flags and handkerchiefs with cries to their Dictator of "A noil A noil" ("To us! To us!") Appearing on his famed balcony Orator Mussolini ended his German junket with one of his shortest speeches:

"Blackshirts! . . . The objectives of ... Italo-German friendship, consecrated by the Rome-Berlin axis . . . are close solidarity of the two revolutions, a rebirth of Europe and among the peoples Peace!"

Significance. Mostly European commentators agreed that Hitler and Mussolini had now linked themselves in the eyes of their 115,000,000 people and of the world so definitely that for the present any rumors that they are not in full cooperation over Spain may be dismissed. It was clear that II Duce and Der Fuhrer were both bidding--and bidding jointly--for close and peaceful relations with Britain and France, to the exclusion of Soviet Russia and Leftist Spain. Assuming that Mussolini's state visit to Hitler cost $1,000,000--and the colossal splurge of decorations in German cities alone footed up to at least that--the whole show was a $1,000,000 Fascist way of saying to the Democracies, "You agree to our joining up with you--OR ELSE!"

As Premier Mussolini got back to work in Rome this week his aides predicted he would reject, but not too brusquely, a cordial new British-French note in which these Great Powers were understood to propose that, in exchange firstly for granting Italy "full parity" with themselves to patrol the Mediterranean against pirates (TIME, Oct. 4), and secondly for extending "conditional belligerent rights" to Spain's Rightists and Leftists, Italy in return should agree to a scheme of withdrawing all volunteers now fighting in Spain. Neither Rome, Paris nor Britain seemed likely to take an adamant position in the tri-power negotiations now under way on Spain, and prospects were for groping toward a compromise. General Attilio Teruzzi. staff commander of Italian volunteers in Spain, was said in reliable Rome quarters to have come to report in person to II Duce, will advise the Dictator as to probable war results in Spain of making any move or combination of moves touching "volunteers," "Non-Intervention," "pirates," "belligerent rights. . . ."

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