Evening star., 1939-09-25
BY BLAIR MOODY.

Is America safe?
A powerful group in Congress,
including some of our most expert
enced and eloquent statesmen, is at
the moment seeking to convince the
country that all we must do to
stay out of war is turn our back
on the rest of the world, mind our
own business and rest on our oars
and our oceans.
Another equally powerful and
probably more numerous group, led
by President Roosevelt, holds it is
not so simple as that. They con-
tend that modern invention has
made the world smaller, contracted
our oceans. knit not so much our
national interests as our national
security itself in with that of the
rest of the democratic world-and
that if we persist in ostrichlike
burial OF one end in the sand, sooner
or later we'll get the other end
kicked-hard!
These rival factions, splitting
straight across party lines, have
single purpose-to keep this coun-
try out OF war. AS ALI M. Landon
told Washington newsmen a few
days ago, This issue of repeating
the embargo to trade with Europe
on cash-and-carry basis is not
only dividing parties, it is dividing
families"
Risk Either Way.
It is dividing them because, at
this epochal point in world history.
it is so hard to tell just what is the
best thing for the country to do;
because either way we turn We are
running q ghastly risk.
One side contends that If by one
clear step like repeal of the en-
barge we commit ourselves as par
tisans of England and France, before
long we'll be sending troops. The
other side retorts that presenting
Germany with an Atlantic feet by
cutting off shipments to the allies
is not only unneutral, but may per-
nit the gorging totalitarian war
machine to juggernaut them out of
existence as major military powers,
leaving us exposed on both coasts
at once-and next on the list.
The danger that the United States
will be drawn into a war which, If
it engulfs all civilization, may end
all civiliZation-when the air bomb
ers cease pulling their punches
is made immensely more acute by
a perilous fact that most Ameri-
cans, including members of Con-
gress. do not seem to realize:
The United States is not prepared
for war.
The United States is not even
prepared successfully and certainly
to defend itself.
II major enemy reached our
shores in force tomorrow we'd have
to send a million boys out to meet
them with no weapons more potent
than broomsticks or boxing gloves.
Not Effective Overnight.
It took us Il months to get our
hrst real body Of troops to France
21 years ago and they had to fight
with British rifles, French artillery
and airplanes. II Hitler, Just to
choose a well-known name at ran
dom, should polish OF his other
enemies and decide to become the
worlds dominant figure, would he
be likely to write US q love note
about 1t IA months in advance, or
IA minutes?
Do our oceans provide real in
sulation against attack Could "a
million men jump to arms over
night" and toss an invader out? Or
in the light of new world condi-
tionS have these favorite phrases
become modern myths and there
fore dangerous delusions?
The defense strategy of the United
States of where We might be at
tackled and how and by what it
could be repulsed has had to be
radically changed. Military and