Lord Runciman at Work In his first week in Prague
Lord Runciman has undeniably made a good impression. There has been 'some discontent on the Czechoslovak side that he has devoted his attention first to the Sudeten Germans, but it is only common sense that before trying to form a judgement on the Czech response to the demands of the minority he should set himself to understand precisely what those demands are and how far they are based on reason and justice. The Berlin Press comments on the Runciman mission have been generally favourable, but the violent attacks on Czechoslovakia with which the German papers are charged daily are fatal to every hope of conciliation, and as alien to reason as to justice. An affray in which one German was killed by another has been represented this week by every German paper except one, as the brutal murder of a German by Czechs, and the menacing tone adopted in every reference to a violation of the frontier by Czech aeroplanes—it is violated by German aeroplanes continually—make it hard for any unbiassed observer to believe that Herr Hitler wants a settlement. The suggestion that things will soon have reached a point at which it will be impossible to restrain the Sudeten Germans is obvious, in view of the approved technique of external intervention on the appeal of an " oppressed " minority. What Herr Hitler does want before all things is to dictate Czechoslovakia's foreign policy, and in particular, to end the defensive agreement with Russia. If, .as many indications suggest, the Sudeten Germans' discontent is being used as an instrument to achieve that, Lord Runciman will find that the crux of the conflict lies outside his competence.
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