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If the guilder should go the way of the yen, pound and dollar, it is certain that Indonesia would increase her sales. But is it certain that the yen, pound and dollar will not dance on down an insane spiral with no bottom? And should Dutchmen join in such a dance? Brave Retreat. In The Hague last week Premier Colijn introduced his new Cabinet thus: "We will defend the guilder against devaluation! The people of The Netherlands must maintain their spirit and assist the Government in fighting the Depression under adverse circumstances!" This sounded as if the Premier had an aggressive program of some sort. As a matter of fact his strategy remained that of a general in brave and vigilant retreat, alert to advance at the first sign that, for example, the Great Powers had recovered their sanity to the point of being ready to join in a World monetary stabilization pact. This Dr. Colijn incessantly urges.
The Dutch Premier last week made only the merest gesture toward any sort of New Deal. He tolerates as his Minister of Commerce & Industry a protege of Professor Aalberse, Professor Henri Gelissen, who will work out an acceptable plan for government subsidies to depressed Dutch businesses.
The Premier, after all, did his first big job as War Minister. Prior to 1914 he persuaded the Queen and Parliament to strengthen the Dutch frontier so heavily that the German General Staff reputedly scrapped a set of plans which was to have sent their War machine crashing across The Netherlands as well as Belgium. Today since the solution of many a World problem may again be sought in war, Premier Colijn is suspected of having tentatively and secretly reversed the most fundamental policy of The Netherlands: neutrality.
"The White Front" Between fear and hope, Dutch editors have begun to speculate on whether some sort of understanding does not exist between the Netherlands Government and British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. It was he who astounded Germany by announcing, "The Rhine— that is where our frontier lies!" (TIME, Aug. 13, 1934), which at face value would mean that between The Netherlands and Germany stands British Air Power. It was Mr. Baldwin's good friend Field Marshal Viscount Allenby who made a mysterious reconnaissance of Java in December 1933 which raised Japanese suspicions to the boiling point. This was followed by a British welcome to the Netherlands Indies fleet at Singapore, with Dutch and British admirals fraternizing, Japanese barred.
The present Governor of Netherlands Indies, Jonkheer Bonifacius de Jonge, also knew Mr. Baldwin during ten years in London where the Governor was a high official of Royal Dutch Shell. Too hopeful, perhaps, Dutchmen who fear Japan and know that Britain shares their fear now speak of "our white front" in the Far East, something as intangible as the Anglo-French entente before the World War and yet, perhaps, something equally decisive.
At The Hague last week clam-mouthed Dutch officials would not discuss "The White Front." Shushing all queries, they told the great and patriotic lie that "there is no crisis in The Netherlands now," added that the entire situation is covered by Dutch determination to continue applying the motto of Queen Wilhelmina's Royal House, "Je Maintiendrai" ("I will maintain!").