NEWS OF THE WEEK W HETHER the Italian troop movements on
Wednesday constitute a deliberate invasion of Abyssinia, and mark the first step in the long-heralded Invasion of that country, is, as we write, still uncertain. But whether the invasion has already begun, or begins tomorrow, or next . week, matters little. That Signor Mussolini is determined to go through with his desperate gamble at any cost is as certain as anything in human affairs can be. He has deliberately--or impetuously— challenged the League of Nations, and the League, with no alternative before it, has as deliberately taken up the challenge. The danger—and it is great—is that delays Play intervene at the moment when decisive action is Imperative. It is right and necessary to follow the legal procedure laid, clown in the Covenant, and that inevitably consumes valuable time. But the moment Italy resorts to war in violation of her bond nothing remains but to register the breach and to proceed to the measures stipu- lated. Signor Mussolini seems incredulous still about effective action by the League. It is important to disabuse Mini immediately. If Italy takes up the ultimate weapon of war the League States must reply, as a first step, with action in the economic and financial field calculated to make itself felt in Italy forthwith.
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