Evening star., 1938-03-28
A Democratic Front.

For obvious reasons-mainly because
. 1t is not pertinent to the issue-no en-
phasis is placed on the fact that the
United States appeal for an interna-
tional effort on behalf of the victims of
Nazi oppression constitutes in effect an
informal attempt to link twenty mine
democratic nations in collective action.
That only humanitarian motives under
lie the proposal in no wise minimizes its
inherent potentialities in other direc-
tions. The American program, indeed,
only suggests the invincible power DOR
mant in the free peoples of Europe and
the Americas, if they will but grid
themselves to use it before Il is too late.
The mere mathematics of the situa-
tion are impressive and inspiring. The
United States Is ready to unite with the
British Empire. France, Italy. the Meth
erlands, Sweden. Denmark, Norway,
Belgium, Switzerland and the twenty
sister American republics in the emf
grafton of persons for whom life has be-
come intolerable under the Hitler
tyranny. Italy alone among the ma
tions addressed by Secretary Hull is
democratic. The others. with our
selves, constitute civilizations bulwark
against the theology of aggression and
political servitude represented by the
Fascist powers.
Writing recently in The Sunday Star,
Mr.. Frederic j. Haskin tabulated that
there are IA principal democracies
against 9 principal relationships. People
living under the former number 1882
100000, while only 5lOOOO,0 900 have their
shackled being under principal dicta-
torships. The earths remaining popu-
lation of 22s00OOOO inhabits countries
neither frankly democratic nor fatty
dictatorial and does not greatly influ-
ence world policy.
The total population of Germany,
Italy and Japan is about 190,00O00O. as
compared to the 13O,O00OOO of the
United States alone. This figure for the
anti-Communist bloc does not embrace
the hundreds of millions of Chinese now
under the japanese yoke. who could
never be relied upon to abet the die
tatorial alliance. or Italys colonial serfs
tn North Africa. Nor, in comparing the
sheer human resources of the democra-
cies and the relationships, should it be
forgotten that Soviet Russia's near 2OO,-
100000 souls would in all likelihood, in
an emergency, be on the democratic side,
even though now dictator-ruled.
If the overwhelming preponderance of
manpower rests with the democracies,
what Of their even vaster superiority in
natural resources, raw materials and all
those sinews which spell strength in
war? The moral is plain. The democ-
racies hold the whip-hand in popula-
tion and physical power over any dicta-
torial combination that can be brought
against them. What they do not have
IL exactly what the dictators possess
the ruthless will to exploit the ad-
vantages which are theirs A tithe of the
audacity and determination, coupled
with genius for the -opportune, that
marks the Fascist program, and it would
be the democracies, not the tyrannies,
who would face the future with conf
dence and calm instead of the fear and
trembling that are the result solely of
indecision and blind inability to realize
that the world can even yet be kept safe
for democracy-if democracy will unite
and act, instead Of merely moping and
moralizing.