The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1933-06-08
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
BY FRANK P. LITSCHERT

The pronouncement of Norman H.
| Davis, at Geneva, to the effect that the
United States will assume new re,
sponsibilities to help maintain the
| peace of the world, will abandon the
principle of neutrality in case of trou-
BILE, and consult with other nations
as to what is to be done about it, has
brought forth varied comment in the
press of the United States. Generally
| those papers which have favored
United States entrance into the
League of Nations and the League
Court are favorable to the new devel-
opments, while those which have op-
posed foreign entanglements are not
so enthusiastic. The same line of
cleavage is said to be family visible in
| the Senate.
Although the new policy is gener-
ally admitted to be step in the direc-
ton of departure from the time hon.
ored foreign policy of the American
government, there has been less ex-
citement about it than might be ex-
pected- especially in the newspapers.
The reason perhaps is that the So
called Morgan investigation by a
United States Senate committee turn
ed out of a real nine-days wonder
which drew journalistic attention
away from everything else on Capitol
Hill.
Although many Americans believe
that consultative pacts and peace
guarantees will prove source of fu-
ture trouble for Uncle Sam, French
diplomats are said to be dissatisfied
with what our administration has
promised and to be getting ready to
demand promise of more security
from the United States. And while
German newspapers generally hail the
Davis pronouncement as evidence that
President Roosevelt intends to involve
the United States in European prob
lens, Lord Beaverbrook, the noted
British publicist, is quoted as stating
| that European statesmen are counting
on too much. He expresses the belief
that our Congress will never permit
| the United States to become involved
in any more European wars. Certain
ly it will not be the intent of the adj
ministration or Congress either, to
involve us in any more military ven
lures in Europe. The trouble is, how
ever, that an arms embargo coupled
with a consultative pact is apt to bring
on war unintentionally, before Con-
gress would have a chance to take any
action, no matter how pure the mo-
tives of our government may be.
One of the chief arguments of those
opposed to consultative pacts to pun
ish aggressive nations" has been
that it is always difficult to determine
the real aggressor in any argument.
Mr.. Davis, speaking for the admins
I
tration, seeks to answer this by pro-
posing: "In the long run we may
come to the conclusion that the SIM
plest and most accurate definition of
an aggressor is one whose armed
forces are found on alien soil in viola
ton of treaties"
! But it is not as simple as all this,
in the opinion of the eminently prac-
teal New York Sun, which says edi-
torially:
"Let US put this to the test of prac-
tice. Assume that the government of
foreign country seizes all the Amer
lean citizens within its borders, throws
! them in Jail, kills them or puts them
to torture, confscates their property
and refuses to heed the protests of the
American government. Under the