Evening star., 1937-01-20
South America Will Not
Deprive Other Nations
of Needed Materials for
War, but President Has
Plans for Sessions on
Arms-Embargoes Still
Under Debate.


do with them' For, soon as you use them for
territorial conquestS you become an aggressor
and all economic and financial support, OF
which you are in need in the event of military
campaign, will be closed to you.
This would have been powerful argument,
especially in the case of Germany and Japan,
which are completely lacking raw materials and
gold. According to experts, water-tght en-
barge honestly imposed by the other nations.
would enable either Of these two nations to
carry a war a maximum Of six months
or course there have been certain objections
on the French side to this embargo policy. and
to the definition Of the aggressor.
Would you consider France aggressor."
Blum wanted to know, "in the event OF Ger
many attacking Czechoslovakia, our ally, and we
rushed to her rescue? Would you in such an
eventuality have the embargo applied ndiscrim-
inatey against France and Germany"
To these questions the unofficial answer was:
"We can thrash out these questions once the
general principle is admitted and the worio
gets another breathing spell"
The Presidents hand would have been
strengthened had he been able to confront the
European nations with an accomplished fact
an al-American neutrality agreement. But
this was not possible. Hence, the chances OF
success OF such general conference are
dimmed
The administration has realized that the
claim of the shave -nots'-Germany. Japan
and Italy-to sources of raw materials are well
founded 1t also has realized that unless these
claims are satisfied the danger OF expansion
by the force OF arms cannot be removed. Mus
solini has expressed this need adequately when
he explained in 1895 why Italy had to conquer
Ethiopia. IT'S question of expand or ex-
plode' for US who stransled within the
limits Of 8 territory ~hich cannot take care of
its Increasingly growing population" The
same argument is being set forth by Germany
and Japan.
But while this theory Is appreciated in WASH
ineton. Mr.. Roosevelt believes that 1t can be
settled without bloodshed. without involving the
whole world in q new catastrophe war.
TINE President has hopes that at the good
will conference the nations which own
practically 80 per cent of the worlds
u raw material resources might offer
satisfactory solution to the "have-notS." The
broad idea is that Great Britain, the United
States and France pool their resources together
and offer the countries which are not fortunate
enough to possess these essentials free access
to them
OF course this suggestion is meeting with a
certain opposition from Great Britain and
France, and is not considered satisfactory by
the Germans and the Japanese. They wonder
what would happen in the event Of an economic
war between the countries which can produce
cheaper goods and those where the cost of pro-
ducton is higher. Would these countries in
such an eventuality still continue to deliver un-
hampered raw materials to their competitors?
To this again we answer that their objec-
tionS are we'll founded but that ways and means
could be found whereby such an economic war
could be averted The best means would be
the raising of the standard of living Of the
working classes in countries where at the pres
ent moment it is still very low.
Whether these peace solutions of the Presi-
dent will ma terialize is a question which Is
difficult to answer. In the light of the present
developments it seems that they have but
remote chance. Distrust and hatred have made
too deep inroads in the minds of the European
people to make room for a practical idealstic
solution such as Mr.. Roosevelt wants to pro-
pose. Furthermore time is working against
him. The heavy wheels of the peacemaking
machinery work much more slowly than the
swift war machinery.
1t is true that during the Summer of the last
year the heads of the European democracies
were enthusiastic about such q conference.
They went SO far as to suggest preliminary
meeting between Mr.. Roosevelt and the heads
of states, or their fully empowered representa-
tiveS, somewhere on the high seas They
wanted the President to have heart-to-heart
talk with the men who preside over the destinies
OF Europe. All kinds of suggestions for such
meeting were made, among them that Mr..
Roosevelt take a cruise and meet "by chance"
men like Mussolni or Hitler or Blum It was
even suggested that such "chance meeting"
occur somewhere near the Canary Islands
TNHESE peace ideas, admirable as they may
be- nave the great disadvantage of being
pelated events may overtake the fine
intentions of the President for the
peaceful reconstruction of the world.
year or so ago personal meetings such as
have been suggested might have brought about
Nf