Evening star., 1938-04-01
AVOID ALLIANCES,
HOOVER WARNSU.S.
Mission Is to Keep A|ight
the Lamp of Liberalism,
He Declares.
By the Associated Press.

avoid alliance with other democratic
nations against Fascist powers, and
at the same time be wary lest Fascism
take root in this country through
'planned economy"
Il found most nations in Europe
convinced that we would be inevitably
drawn into the next great war as in
the last" said the former President,
just back from Europe, in an address
last night before the Council on
Foreign Relations.
Some people build confident hope
, upor it. But every phase of this pic
ture should harden our resolves that
We keep out of other peoples wars.
Nations in Europe need to be con-
vinced that this is our policy"
Our national mission, he asserted,
Is to keep alight the lamp of true
liberalism.
But" he added. lit is in the United
States that we must keep it alight."
Rumbling War Machine.
Speaking In low voice. his face
tired and grave, he recalled the long
retreat Of democracy across the face
of Europe in the 19 years since
Versailles.
Europe today is a rumbling war
machine" he said. without the men
yet in the trenches"
He devoted much Of his speech to
an outline of forces which he said
had led to the rise of the Fascist
form of government to a raging
power" which had leapt "its original
boundaries" until now it was accepted
in major part by IA nations in Eu-
rope with 24o,oO0,0O0 people"
1T is worthy of emphasis" he said
that Fascism has always begun in
the form of planned economy. And
it was ushered in by the same cries
and slogans that they were for the
liberation of the common man."
With economic planning once
started, each step has required an
other until it arrives at government
dictation to business, to labor and
farmers of wages, hours, production,
consumption, prices. profits, finance,
currency, imports and exports"
Refers to Home Trends.
Let me again repeat" he
said. his voice rising, that democracies
are first infected by the plausible no.
tions of cure the business slump
through so-called economic planning.
Every step in this direction requires
another. Every step further de-
moralizes free economy"
NV, cto nj
coercion must be applied until all
liberty-economic and personal and
political-is lost. Let no man mistake
that we in America have until now
avoided the infection of these Eu-
ropean systems.
If our own so-called planned econ
omy is not an infection from the origi-
nal stream of Fascism it is at least
remarkable coincidence"
On the subject Of international re-
lationships. the former President said
ideas had arisen In many quarters in
Europe and some in America" that
because democracy was endangered
by the rise Of relationships and au-
thoritarian governments, therefore
democracies should join in some sort
of mutual undertaking for protective
action"
These ideas we're greatly stimu-
lated and encouraged by the word
quarantine from these Shores" he con-
tinued, referring to President Roose-
Velt's Chicago speech Of last year.
Involve More Than Words.
Such proposals, if sincere. involve
more than mere good words Anything
honest in that direction implies the
pledge of some sort of joint military
or economic action by the United
States with other powers. We may
as well be blunt about it.
If we join with the two other DOW
erful democracies, Great Britain and
France, we are engaging ourselves in
an alliance directed against Germany
and Italy and all the satellites they
can collect.
Such a combination of democracies
would at once result in combining the
autocracies against the democracies.
1t could have all the hideous elements
OF old religious wars.
We should have none of it. II the
world Is to keep the peace, then we
must keep peace with relationships as
well as with popular governments.
However, he said, the Nation could
and should join lin the collective
moral forces" as distinguished from
those Of economic or military force,
for peace.
In summary, in the larger issues of
world relations, our watchwords should
be absolute independence of political
action and adequate preparedness"