Evening star., 1938-10-27
j. s. DIPLOMACY
SEEN ST|FFEN|NG
Presidents Talk Indicts
Despots-Japan Is Sent
Blunt Warning.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
President Roosevelt blazed the trail
today for q stifIened foreign policy
while the State Department WAS warn.
ing Japan against crippling American
interests in China.
The note to Toxic called bluntly
for protection Of the Open Door policy
in China, and was one of the most
comprehensive sent to Japan during
its conflict in the Far East.
The Presidents radio address last
night. in the opinion Of students Of
world affairs here, again threw the
administration against the dictator.
ships.
Mr.. Roosevelt gave an indication that
this Government does not quarrel with
relationships as such and does not
seek to proselytize them to the ranks
OF democracy.
Its quarrel, he made clear, is with
governments which rely on force in
pursuit Of policy. The fact that the
relationships have been relying on
force, as in the case of Italy in Ethiopia
and Japan in China, or the threat of
it, as in the case Of Germany in
Czechosloyakia, makes the two ideas
coincide.
Seen Indictinr NaxiS
There were many in Washington
who regarded part of the Presidents
speech as four-count indictment Of
Germany. They read into his state
ments about there can be no peace
references to the Czech crisis. Jewish
refugees, the German campaign against
Protestant and Catholic churches, and
Nazi economic principles.
In declaring there could be no peace
If economic resources were turned from
reconstruction to an arms race Mr..
Roosevelt was believed referring to
Germany's system of economic
autarchy designed to enable her to
procure raw materials for rearmament.
This has disturbed United States
officials because it led to the German
system of barter and artificial cur.
rencles which Secretary of State Hull
has said runs Numerically contrary
to the American system of trade.
One generally accepted conclusion
from the Presidents speech was that
ne will oppose the relationships un-
less they are willing to take definite
steps toward permanent peace. Dur
ing the recent German-Czech crisis.
the President sought to maintain a
wholly neutral position. appealing from
an objective vantage point to both the
democratic and the dictator states for
peace.
Warns Others TO Be Good, Too.
The Presidents speech, on the other
hand. extended the administration S
good neighbor policy to the world
but warned the other fellow" to be
good neighbor, too.
| One Of the obligations. he said, is
to make necessary political changes
peacefully; another is respect for the
/ sanctity Of treaties; a third Ia avoid
ance OF policies arousing fear.
In the admonition that the eo,d
neighbor policy must be reciprocal,
the President may also have had Mex
ico in mind. In that case, it would
mean that Mexico. in return for the
help she had received from this
country through silver purchases and
through the bolstering of her currency
should reciprocate by paying for
American properties she was expropri-
ating.
Many persons here saw in the
Presidents speech another hint ot
heavy demands for armaments appro-
priations at the next session Of Con-
gress The United States, he made
clear, is not disposed to limit arma
ments unless there are actual discus
sions among nations for q disarma-
ment agreement.
In other words, the United States
will continue its arms expansion pro-
gram until the big powers actually
have sat down at a disarmament con-
ference table and are ready to sign OH
the dotted line. r