Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-04-23

Nations. the United States, Great
Britain, France. must protect them
selves. But how do you protect your
selves? BY retaliation? That is to
drag conditions down and down and
down through a vicious spiral, de-
scending spiral course.
When I came here four years ago
was trying to persuade you that COM
petition in ornaments was wrong. Now
1 say precisely the same thing in rela-
ton to this new position that the ma
lions Of the world have got to face.
Come TO Agreements.
II you, politically and nationally,
want to keep secure and be protected,
come to agreements with the other ma
tons; get your round-table conferences
going and honored by other nations.
Then you can sit under your fig tree.
no man making you afraid.
And so on this currency question
agreement is the only protection. We
have been going through difficult times.
What Is the way to handle them?
Agree to get out Of them. Come to-
gether and show that combination to-
gether to do the right, the wise, the
sane thing, to pursue policies which
meet all our requirements, which are
based upon mutual understanding and
then carry those out like honorable
gentlemen.
That is the only spirit in which we
can get our international exchanges
settled. so that all nations will flourish
under them and no nation be victimized
by any other nations obligations.
So say that it Is more necessary
than ever that the international eco
nomic conference should be held. It's
dimculties may have been somewhat in
creased. What are we for but to meet
dimculties. whether they are increased
or not? The very fact that the diff
that the world Is still deteriorating,
showing that we have not yet reached
an equilibrium, the proofs that that is
so only mean that there Is more need
to hasten up this conference and to
make every nation feel that It is its
duty, both to itself and to its neighbor,
to agree with all the others on common
action.
Therefore, I hope that our French
friends and our Italian friends and all
the others will be spurred to seek agree
ment rather than to discourage or to
make no attempt to come to agree
ment.
'Mkerable Isolation"
So that Is, briefly, my friends, what
our purpose is. Tariffs, restrictions Of
all kinds, quotaS-of what use are they
In free and sane world? Exchange is
as profitable in trade as 1t is in ideas
How miserable we would be, even you
men with such a great experience behind
you upon which you can draw, If you
were isolated amongst yourselves. But
even you men, If you were doomed
for that Is the word-if you were doomed
to isolation in this world, cut of from
the great living world of thought and
ideas and experiment outside and had
to live upon the imagination which
you could create for yourselves and the
knowledge which you have already &C
quired, how long will you keep fresh in
mind and strong in body? How long
Will that energy remain in you which
makes your writings SO virile and your
thoughts so much worth other peoples
while studying?
Contact, exchange, that is the life
OF all of us, individuals, nations, the
whole woodland that spirit Of Coop
Grafton. that spirit which recognizes
that in these days, more than ever
and In the future even more than
today, those problems of money, of
labor, Of trade or national prosperity,
Of wealth, Of high standards Of living,
are international problems.
And in that spirit and in that belief
I am glad to say that both your great
President and myself have begun q CO.
operation--co-operation that we are
both determined on, because it is not
merely an Anglo-American concern,
but we have begun a cooperation
which with others, I believe, will dis
cover how the. present distress of the
world can be removed and how all those
who are willing to give service to the
community may get an economic return
which will enable them to live adequate
and good lives. II we didn't believe
that, I think neither one Of us would
have met each other this morning.
Now, my friends, after this rather
dull talk, I swing suddenly back, be-
cause I am conscious that time Is pre-
cious to all Of you, swing suddenly
back, and looking around your faces
and recognising a fair number who did
me honor four yeaEs ago. renew to you
my thanks and ne appreciation for the
-yotiona1 .-.oee Clubs hnSnita1ftv