Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1936-12-10


peace pact for the western henri
,,,., sphere, President
WHson Roosevelt in his
Policies Fell speech at Buenos
Aires has directed
attention to two important positions
that the United States has taken in
its foreign relations. Whether Mr..
Roosevelt so intended or whether it
is by the very nature of the circum-
stance, he nevertheless has set up
before the American people the ne
cessity for re-examination of the
age-old Monroe doctrine and has
brought up for fresh scrutiny the
policies of President Woodrow Will
son that were designed to establish
eventually world peace by COLLECTIVE
list action.
! think that it must be admitted
that the Wilson policies for inter-
national peace have not worked.
Anyone who examines them
squarely and frankly must recog-
nize one outstanding unacceptable
fact: they have proved to be the
illusions of an idealist.
They constitute a landmark, how
ever, and in so doing it seems to me
they should serve as a guide on
what not to do. Candidly, the Will
son policies, beautiful in theory that
they were, have been shown to be
futile because they did not consider
the perfidy nor the chicanery of Eu-
ropean statesmen. They were pred
icated upon belief that the world
leaders were sincere in their desire
for peace-and it is sad but true
that such is not the case. In other
words, the Wilson theories that were
builded up into supergovernment
to be called the League of Nations
overlooked the element of human
fallibility.
1t requires only a brief review Of
the history of the League of Nations
to reveal the definite conclusion that
there is an absolute lack of sin
cerity on the part of the European
statesmen. Each one has been con-
cerned only with gains and adj
vantages accruing to his own ma
ton. His actions have been per-
meated to the core with selfshness,
sometimes aggravated with desires
for personal distinction. The league
fell down in dealing with Russia's
Stain and Germany's Hitler. It
took mighty flop in the move
ment to check Italy's Mussolini in
Ethiopia. Having fattened out, none
OF the three above mentioned has
any respect for the league authority.
When you add to this the absolute
dismissal of the league as a world
influence as was done by Japan,
you have less than nothing left.
Mussolini said the other day that
in order to straighten out the Euro
vx,.,. pean tangle it
WHsonrdn would be neces-
illusions sary to wipe out
all of the evil
sonian illusions" He could have
referred only to the Wilsonian slo-
gan upon which we entered the
World war, namely, the war to
make the world safe for democrat
cy." Later, it will be remembered,
the World war was "the war to end
war;" Neither of these slogans bore
fruit. Each was an illusion, dream
of world peace held by a great
man whose only weakness in as
Stunning world leadership was that
he trusted other statesmen as he
trusted the American people, to ar
rive at sound conclusion and stick
to it.
! am not prepared to say that the
Wilson policies led us in a wrong
direction. The fact remains, how
ever, that the war that was to make
the world safe for democracy led
directly into destruction of democ-
racy and the establishment of fas-
cism and communism in various
parts of the world as an important
factor in the government of peoples.
All of this, of course, was not
visible nor practicable at the time
the policies were initiated. 1t is all
too plain now, however, and that
Is why President Roosevelt can very
well be governed in his new move
with the Pan-Americas. He can
proceed upon Pan-American basis
with at least hope of success be-
cause it is quite apparent that the
Americas, North and South, can
protect themselves if arrangements
for prevention of war relate only
to the western hemisphere. Inter
national affairs viii have to be con-
sidered, obviously. But m o n g
those authorities with whom have
talked about this problem, there
seems to be little doubt that If the
idea Of collectivist action, first
enunciated in the Wilson policies
is to avail anything, it must be
applied not to the world but to q
section of the world.
noted in the official agenda, the
program outline of the Buenos
Aires conference,
NO BOSS that no reference
Wanted at all was made
to the Monroe doc
trine. Apparently, that course had
IN he followed The Monroe doc.