Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1937-10-21

Chinese. Rather, the American pol
icy for the time being at least in
wolves working hand in hand with
other nations that may be striving
to maintain international order and
morality in matters in which we
are directly concerned.
I have been asked several times
recently concerning the possibility
that the United
Keep Out OF States NAV en-
FarEost War gage in actual war
in the Far East. +
think that eventuality is very far
removed.
Possibilities always exist for a ma
ton to get tangled up International
ly under conditions such as obtain
throughout the world today, vet /
do not believe that the United States
ever will do more in the Far East
than exert moral pressure upon the
laps. It must not be overlooked.
however, that the bulk of Ameri-
can sympathy is with the Chi
nese. One cannot tell how far that
may lead us as a nation. Nor is it
possible to forecast the weight of
this sympathy in an economic way.
! mean by that, NO one can fore
tell what such thing as q boycott
OF Japanese goods may mean even
tually. .
From all of this it must be plain
that our national course IN the next
few months will have to be deter
mined largely by the other fellow.
Or, to state the proposition in an
other way, the lengths to which the
United States will go in punitive &C.
ton against Japan is likely to be
determined, first, by the reaction of
our own citizens to Japanese bar
barism and, second, the moves by
other dominant nations Of the world.
Mr. Roosevelt was returning from
an 6,000mile trip when he delivered
his Chicago speech. That trip was
announced in advance as being for
the purpose of an inspection-to see
how the country was taking the New
Deal That, however, was not the
whole truth. Mr.. Roosevelt wanted
to feel the public pulse politically
on the Supreme court packing prop
osition and its related questions; he
wanted to find out how the country
felt concerning those Democrats
who had opposed the court packing;
he needed information about the de-
mand for an extra session Of con-
gress to enact crop control legisla-
ton and. in addition. he wanted to
see what the general feeling was
about the Sino-Japanese war.
The trip was timed admirably. It
took Mr.. Roosevelt away from
Washington and, further, away from
the red-hot cauldron resulting from
the fact that Associate Justice Hugo
L. Black of Alabama was q men,
Der of the Ku Klux Khan.
The information that filters back
from observers aboard the Presi-
dents train presents something of
paradox. Almost unanimously,
the observers found that Mr.. Roose-
welt was still immensely popular
personally. Concerning his various
programs, including crop control
Legislation, the observers report that
they found conditions ranging from
violent opposition to plain apathy or
complete lack of interest.
It is a most confusing situation
from a political standpoint. / have
found few individuals able or willing
to attempt an analysis Of it. Cen
orally speaking, lack Of enthusiasm
for a program sooner or later will
kill off politically the individual who
sponsors the program. Yet, no one
will say at this time at least that
such a result can be expected in Mr..
Roosevelt's case.
But the political effect Of his Chi.
cago speech must not be minimized.
Whether Mr.. Roosevelt so intended
or not, his speech demanding that
Japan respect treaties and observe
the rights Of other nations and his
pointed criticism Of policies such as
those employed by Mussolini, Hit