Evening star., 1932-11-13
CONTINUITY SEEN
IN FOREIGN POLICY
Democratic Leaders Close to
Roosevelt Deny Changes
Are Due.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
On the authority Of Democratic lead
ers who were in close contact with
President-elect Roosevelt during the
late campaign and who will be directly
concerned with the foreign policy Of
the incoming administration, this writer
is enabled to forecast the outstanding
| features of its international program
Broadly speaking, it will reveal no
| fundamental changes in the policies
pursued by the Hoover administration,
| especially on war debts. Revision down.
ward is not in sight. For the first time
In many years Europe and Asia are
about to discover that continuity Of
foreign policy" In line with revered
| traditions in most countries abroad, will
| be perpetuated in the United States
and not undergo radical changes as a
result Of the accession of q great oppo-
| sition party to national power.
| Seven major points will feature the
Roosevelt Democratic program of for
| eign relations, in so far as the program
| covers affairs now current in the world
or likely to become current in the early
future. These points are as follows:
Will Ignore Manchukuo.
/. Non-recognition of the independ-
ence Of the puppet state Of Manchukuo,
brought into existence by Japan in
Manchuria.
| q Continued non-recognition of
Soviet Russia, so long as the Moscow
government refuses the conditions con-
siStently laid down for American recog-
milton by successive Washington admin
iStrations. Conspicuous among these
conditions Is a remuneration by the
Soviet of Communistic propaganda In
the. United States.
8. Refusal during the measurable
future to consider any further revision
downward Of the European war debts
due the United States Treasury.
4. Undiminished support of world
disarmament by agreement, but subject
always, as far as navies are concerned,
to maintenance of the ratios fixed by
| the Washington and London treaties
respecting, respectively, battleShipS and
| cruisers.
S. Unalloyed adherence to the Mon
roe Doctrine as the keystone of Ameri-
can foreign policy.
| 6. Readiness to take the final action
necessary to make the United States q
member Of the World Court under the
Root protocol and the five Senate reser-
vations safeguarding American rights.
! Z. mo UlONG6 lOOhLlk W ally III IAACA
| association with the League OF Nations
beyond the active cooperation this
country has consistently given in the
fields of disarmament, hygiene, opium
control and other humanitarian activi-
ties.
Face War Debs First.
Presumably the first foreign affair"
with which the Roosevelt administra-
ton and the Democratic c-controlled Con-
greSs will have to concern themselves Is
the matter of war debts. Both Great
| Britain and France have already for
mally signaled their expectation OF q
revision of the existing funding agree
ments, which, when made during the
years between 1928 and 1927, In them
selves represented significant revision
downward of the original obligations.
The only possible exception in this re-
spect is the case OF Great Britain,
which, under the Baldwin Mellon agree
ment of 1928. submitted to considerably
less generous terms than subsequently
were obtained by France. Italy, Belgium
and other European debtors.
/ It is the expressed view of responsible
Democratic leaders that any additional
substantial curtailments OF the war
debts could not at this time be justi-
fed to the American taxpayers, to whom
the debts are due. Existing funding set
Elements were made on the basis Of the
respective debtor countries capacity to
pay" Uncle Sam consented to drastic
cuts in the principal and interest sums
because the European nations in ques-
ton convinced us that their ability TO
pay was drastically reduced by the ab-
normal times then prevalent. Con-
gressional leaders point out that now,
with the approach of normal conditions
throughout the world, Is not the time
to seek further reductions As far as
ascertainable in competent political
quarters, the temper Of Congress on the
debts issue will for the visible future be
limited to a readiness to talk with
abroad" as between creditor and
debtor, but to enter into no commit
ments beyond that.
Budget Portions Small
A Senate spokesman who will be po-
tent in foreign relations after next
March, says: "On the present basis OF
her obligations to the United States
Great Britain needs to provide for only
per cent of her budget to meet those
obligations. France needs to use but
per cent Of her budget. Italy eats into
her budget mere l per cent to meet
the annual payments due our Treasury
| very uuCll OOupL IL, uiltCA IAACoC uAAO
all other circumstances involved, Con-
gress will prove very fertile ground for
missionary effort on behalf of wider
debt concessions than we have already
made"
With President of such strong pro-
Navy predictions as Franklin Roose-
welt and a Senate Foreign Relations
chairman so emphatically pro-Navy as
Claude A. Swanson Of Virginia, friend;
of adequate American preparedness al
sea have little cause for disquiet Wher
Senator Swanson was at Geneva this
year and advocating the United States
naval position, he consistently set forth
that this country sincerely favors nava
disarmament by agreement, subject tt
fixed "global" tonnages by categories
so long as the ratios providing for
American parity with the strongest feet
afloat are maintained II one nation
under this plan wants big or little bat
tleships or big or little cruisers, II
would be up to- it to build what II
pleases, so long as battleships we're lin
tied to $4,000 tons, cruisers to 10000
tons, and the margins of strength laic
down by existing international nmita-