BENITO DECRESCENDO

The announcement that Italy and France have reached an agreement on the limitation of their respective navies will undoubtedly cause sighs of relief in diplomatic circles. The conflicting spheres of influence of the two countries and the announcement that Italy would demand revision of the Versailles Treaty has made the continued failure of that country and France to join in the Naval Limitations Pact seem especially ominous. It is to be hoped that the agreement is the herald of a decrease in the tension between the two.

Until the text of the agreement is made public, it is impossible to discuss adequately the reasons which led to this seeming reversal of Signor Mussolini's aggressive policy. The present financial difficulties of Italy, however, were doubtless a factor in the situation. It was perhaps not wholly a coincidence that a large French loan to Italy was announced on the same day as the naval agreement: Also Signor Mussolini has no doubt come to realize that his chauvinistic attitude has done much to antagonize world opinion at a time when Italy is in need of foreign markets.

It will be interesting to see how the Italian people reaot toward this new policy. It is one of the defects of a dictatorship that it must breed a super-patriotism in order to justify its existence, and whether Signor Mussolini will be able to keep the attention of the Italian people focused on peaceful ends remains to be seen. Regardless of the validity of these speculations, however, the treaty is to be greeted as a further step toward the realization of world peace.