Evening star., 1928-12-30
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or principle more nImly anu uIeNoCdOlS
fixed in the minds and hearts OF the
people of the United States than the
determination to avoid the "entangllne
| alliances and the insidiou6 WileS OF for
eign influence" against winch George
washington uttered his historic. warn
ing.
After 1872 years the United Ntates OF
| America has no alliances With other
nations, no treaties of offense sor de-
| fense with any other nation. We have
! it is true, the Monroe doctrine, desA Agneo
| to prevent foreign conquest in the iNeW
World. But even that may be revoked
by our own decision at any moment tina
| Congress chooses to follow that course
! No nation is more free, none more at
liberty to steer an independent course
through the tortuous channels of inter-
national relations.
Nevertheless, the United States owes
certain definite duties, has certain un-
avoidable relationships with and obliga-
| tions to other nations It's So-called
rights" are limited and abridged by the
foreign policies Of other nations. The
! invasion and curtailment of those rights
brought us into the World War, not as
an ally of England or France or Bel
| GUM, but as a defender of our own
vital interests. similar invasion Of
what we still conceive to be our rights
upon the seas brought us into armed
| conflict with Great Britain in 1872. We
can avoid and have avoided alliances,
i but we cannot avoid entanglements.
World Contacts Close.
| AS our foreign trade has grown-and
who would advocate its abandonment?
so have the possibilities for interna-
tional misunderstanding and conflicts
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science of transportation has caused a
"shrinkage" of the world that has
brought nations into contacts often too
close for mutual comfort.
! Bring American fuel oil into compe-
tition by tank steamer shipments with
British controlled oil or British pro-
duced coal and there is conflict OF in
! terestS that certainly does not promote
| international good will. Similarly, the
refrigerator ship that brings Australian
| or Argentine meat, Danish butter or
ates an international conflict of inter-
ests. And so were it possible during the
next month to adjust satisfactorily all
disputes and conflicts the never-ceaSing
change of natural conditions and the
advancement of silence would produce
within a few years other quality dis
turbing international situations
| 1t is plain, therefore, that in 1929
| and in every succeeding year-our Ma
ton must face and deal with a multi
tude of perplexing problems-problems
that not only affect the standard OF liv-
ing of our people but the security OF
their lives.
Problems of Next Year.
! What, then, are the problems involv-
| ing our relations with other nations
that confront us at the threshold of
1929?
First and foremost is the problem of
! finding practical and effective means
of preventing war. The Western world
Europe and America-have had 10
years of peace. Yet throughout the ma
tions that participated in the World
| that we are in the midst of an armistice
! only; that war, more dreadful, more
destructive, more disastrous, waits only
| a few years in the future.
! On the same day recently the master
of Italy and the war leader of Great
| Britain gave voice to this universal pre-
sentiment Addressing the final session
| of Italys devitaliZed legislature, MuSSo-
| lini said
Newspapers daily are recording the
| launching of submarines and other de-
vices which certainly are not peaceful.
The number of cannon and bayonetS is
! increasing. It is advisable that we har-
| Dor no illusion about the general politi-
cal situation in Europe We do not want
| to perturb the European equilibrium, but
we must be watchful. We should not
| ielude ourselves if others speak of peace.
| The truth Is that the whole world is
| arming. When the storms are getting
| nearer. it is then that talk Of quiet and
peace is heard, as if by profound need
of the spirit"
Lloyd Georges View.
And David Lloyd George, after ques-
| tioning the efficacy of the Kellogg
multilateral peace treaty to prevent war,
| said:
LAS things are now, the world is head
| ing straight for war. France now has
| four times as many rifles and three
| times as many machine guns as Ger
many had when the was began. The
pact for disarmament is not pact-it
| is a conspiracy. Neither the Locarno
nor Kellogg pacts will be Of the slightest
use unless we observe the letter of the
covenant which binds us to reduce
| armament to the lowest point COM
patible with security.
UNLESS the nations are prepared to
/ accept soon and whole-heartedly good
faith and peaceable means for settling
disputes, God alone can save us from a
calamity more terrible than has ever
been SEEN"
These are the opinions of men who
know the Europe of today as few other
men do. On the same day that the
cables carried their opinions to America
an Associated Press report from Paris
conveyed the information that French
legislators had voted $4,000 for secret
aviation purposes.
| From all over Europe the news is Of
| the same tenor. Russia is maintaining
an army of an estimated strength of
| 100000 men. Her neighbors, large and
| small, are maintaining armies of equal
| combined size. French and English
soldiers still occupy part of Germany to
enforce payment of reparations the total
amount of which ten years after the
war ended has not yet been fixed. Ger
many'S reparation payment for the year
1928-29 is 600,000,000. Estimates Of
the total amount of reparationS the de-
feated nation will be obliged to pay
range from 10 billion to 80 billions OF
dollars. Meanwhile Germany, by force
of necessity, is improving its industrial
| processes SO materially that her former
enemies undoubtedly will be under great
disadvantage in competition once the
incubus of reparation payments is lifted.
North American Situation.
| North America, with three principal
nations-Canada, Mexico and the
| United States-has difficulty In main
| tanning peaceful relations only where
there are substantial differences in race
and language. The difficulties are
vastly greater where there are numerous
small and comparatively weak nations.
| Witness Central America.
How much more difficult, then, Is the
European situation! The war-or its
ettlement-increased rather than less
ened the possibilities of conflict in the
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