Evening star., 1939-02-02
The Political Mill
Senate Demands Full Explanation Of War
Commitment by Roosevelt to Democrocies

anything else-provocative Of Ill
feeling on the part Of the totali-
tartan governments toward this
country.
If there is to be any understand
ing, any alliance, between the United
States and France and Great
Britain, the Senators say the coun-
try should know. The President of
the United States, they say, may be
the commander in chief Of the
armed forces Of this country, but
that does not give him any right to
make secret understandings with
other nations that may draw this
country into war. And they add that
the temper of the Senate and Of the
country is decidedly against any
such understandings or alliances.
Some Of the Senators insist that the
President, by his frequent references
to conditions abroad and the totad-
tartan governments, has been trying
to scare" Congress and the country
into the belief that he must be
given a free hand in dealing with
the foreign situation. 1--WE don't
scare" they say.
President Roosevelt has come for
ward with a new national defense
program, designed particularly to
give the United States large air
force. In his message to Congress
he proclaimed that the program was
for the defense Of the United States.
That program should 60 through. 1t
Is unfortunate now that the country
is getting an idea that the increased
armed forces Of this country are to
be used to defend other nations as
well as the United States.
Aim Barbs at Secrecy.
The secrecy of the whole matter,
however, is the target Of the Sena-
tors. II the President has foreign
policy of his own that has not been
revealed, they want to know what it
Is. Commitment of the country by
its Chief Executive, without the
Senate and the House knowing any
thing about it, or the people, is any
thing but democratic.
So much for the row in the Senate
over secret agreements secretly ar
rived at. There remains the very
realistic and material question Of
the proper attitude of this country
toward democracies of Europe and
the totalitarian governments. 1t
may be very true that it is the part
Of wisdom to help arm France and
| Great Britain against Germany and
Italy and possibly Japan, on the
theory that if Great Britain and
France are gobbled up the United
States, as the last great democratic
government and people, will fall the
next victim. If that Is true 1t Is
equally true that this country should
be prepared to go to war against
the totalitarian governments along
side of France and Great Britain
without delay, once the conflict
starts abroad. It would be folly to
wait until those potential allies had
been defeated and then to take their
conquerors on single-handed.
So far the administration appar-
emily has done no more than agree
to help the democracies arm them
selves. The implication necessarily
goes with that aid, however, that
this country will give other help in
time of emergency. If it does not
come up to scratch, this country
will be pretty much in the same po-
sition that Britain and France were
in when they failed to come to the
aid of Czecho-Slovakia not long ago.
Early knowledge Better.
II war is inevitable, and If the
administration knows that the total
itarian governments have designs
against the United States, the soon
er the country knows 1t the bet
ter. The American people will
not take it lying down. They do
not want war, it is true; they want
peace. But they can understand
plain facts if they are presented.
They do not want to buy war in
a poke. They do not want to have