Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-12
Mr.. Hoover Starts Something.

When Mr.. Hoover last April recon-
mended to Congress limited changes"
in the tariff, he took the lid of the
whole tariff question. Automatically 1t
became open to sweeping discussion
and revision. The result is what Sena-
the Senate.
The President has started something
of the same kind with his Armistice
day speech. Suggesting merely "for the
consideration of the world" and not as
"a governmental proposition" that food
ships should be made free of any inter-
ference in times of war" Mr.. Hoover
opens up, at one fell swoop, the ancient
acrimonious and multi-angled question
of the freedom Of the seas. 1t is not
to be projected, he declares, into the
Forthcoming naval conference, but that
it viii dominate and permeate-not to
say aggravate-proceedings at London
in January can hardly be doubted. All
nations truly interested in decisive re-
suits at the conference, will devoutly
hope that tariff history on Capitol Hill
this Autumn will not repeat itself In
the guise of a naval limitation mess"
on the Thames two months hence.
The Presidents proposal that inno-
cent women and children shall no
longer be made the victims of starvation
as q weapon of warfare" is character
istic of the man and his humanitarian
impulses. Herbert Hoover, as the al
moner of wartime Belgium and post
war Europe, saw starvation at its deadly
work. His long experience abroad
taught him how peoples dependent on
sea-borne food, especially Great Britain,
make those necessities a pretext for
maintaining increasing naval arma-
ments and military alliances" Almost
Enthusiastically referring to the United
States, the President last night also
mentioned countries heavily engaged
in producing food for foreign consump-
ton. They. too. he pointed out, de-
mand armament to protect their over
seas trade.
Thus Mr.. Hoover logically tied free
food ships into his program for limita-
ton and reduction of navies. He is too
sagaciouS q statesman to think that
the proposal can speedily eventuate
in an agreement to adopt 1t. He con-
cedes 1t is one of those ideas that can
only be perfected upon the anvil Of
debate"
The President may depend upon
plenty Of hammering on the anvil he
has now set up in the international
blacksmith shop. 1t is dificult to con-
ceive Of any single question he could
have raised more certain to bring out
the hammers Of opposition. The ham,
mer likely to pound the loudest Is
welded by John Bull. More depend
ent on imported food supplies than any
other country in the world, because Of
her insular position, Great Britain Is
nevertheless irnmeasurably welded to
the idea Of sea power not only as a
means of protecting her bread lines, but
Of cutting the bread lines of an enemy
in war. Nearly choked to death them
selves by Germany's submarines, the
British lived to see their own feet lit
orally starve the Germans into submis-
sion. Britain may not lightly consent
to be shorn Of the power some day to
bring another Kaiser to his knees.
Mr.. Hoover cites persuasively his sue
cess in delivering more than two
thousand shiploads Of food through
two rings of blockade" when he was
relieving Belgium, as evidence of the
'practicability" Of free food ships. He
tells us this miracle was accomplished
under neutral guarantees" Presum-
ably, the President feels that states
manship with a win can find a way of
doing for all peoples in any future wars
what he did for Belgium. BY guar
antees Mr.. Hoover means safeguards
that food intended for non-combatants
should not find its way to belligerent
armies; for, if it did, food would be-
come q munition of war.
Napoleon is reputed to have said that
"an army fights on its belly" Before
an unregenerated universe, far from
being cured as yet of the habit of war,
will accept the Hoover doctrine of free
food ships, craftsmanship must devise
a method whereby bread destined for a
civilian population will not be diverted
to its armed defenders.
That it is a desperately hard nut for
statesmen to crack is as sure a thing
as anything in international politics at
this witching hour. The most hopeful
prospect that it may be cracked is
Herbert Hoover's splendid initiative in
bringing it into the arena of world
discussion. If the problem proves sus-
ceptible of solution the humanitarian
statesman now in the White House will
have still another hold on immortality
Now and then a railway train is SC
unfortunate as to meet with disaster