Evening star., 1939-09-28

Believes America Connot Be
Indifferent to War
In Europe
To the Editor Of The Star:
1. Due to the long g-looked- for and
many-times forecast European conflict
our President and Congress are faced
with the task Of enacting legislation
In the form of a neutrality law, the
enforcement of which will be calculated
to prevent the embodiment Of this
Nation in this European war.
2. With Congress now m session for
this purpose the American people as a
whole have launched on their usual
spree" Of propaganda claims and coun-
terclaims, some true and some false,
sending of kilograms and postcards to
the members OF Congress and lastly of
radio speechmaking, the latter in some
cases by individuals concerning whom
the average American citizen has a per-
feet right to be skeptical. Whether the
session terminates with the law as it is
today or whether it is changed to the
extent of cash-and-carry clause 1t
would at least be very interesting to know
just how many minds were changed by
all this propaganda.
3. After all, did not our President
in his address to the Nation few weeks
ago admit to the very pertinent fact
that he would not be so unreasonable
as to expect the American people to
remain neutral in thought Not by any
stretch of the imagination can our
members Of Congress be held immune
from this natural right of personal
opinion. Are they not human beings
just like the electorate of this Nation?
Then by the same Geduction-will rot
the wording OF our neutrality law when
1t is finally enacted be a direct cross
section of the personal opinions of the
majority Of the men who have drawn
up and enacted the same, irrespective
Of all the thousands of kilograms and
communications that have been sent
them?
4. Already our President is being
SA2eASA1So III VIC puD1lS lltSS lOT WldL
are termed un-neutral statements in his
address to the members of Congress.
If, as these critics contend, the Presi-
dent did make what in their opinions
were un-neutral statements, who knows
but what his vision and thought are
going little further into the future
than the thought of those who criticize
him.
S. With the generally known and
accepted vows and plans of Hitlerism
and Communism for world domination,
it would be the shortest-sighted of men
who would stand up and make an un-
qualified public utterance that Europe's
war Is of no concern to America, that
the Atlantic Ocean is our insurmount-
able natural defense unless he be one
Of those (and we have some in our
midst who would as leave live under
the swastika of Hitler or the red flag
of Stain.
Such shallow thinking statements
hardly warrant refutation what with
all the large capitals of Europe only
little more than "a hours from oul
home shores, but the question follow.
ing might well be put. Did the Atlantic
Ocean prevent the Earl Browders, the
Fritz kuhns and the Leon Trotzkys
from reaching the shores of America
and preaching their un-American doc
trines?
s. History proves that many times
mans inventive genius has eventually
developed into the means Of his de-
struction and the destruction of all he
once held near and dear In fact, today
the genius of invention along the lines
OF transportation and communication
have brought all parts of the world into
such close proximity that any war no
matter how small w how far removed
it may be, affects the whole world to
certain extent.
7. If the bloody conflict now being
waged in Europe is of no concern to
America, then we of America do not,
any more, place the value we should
upon our heritages Of freedom of wor-
ship, speech and government and he
worthwhile things of life that today
We are enjoying to the fullest extent.
Today, in Europe, Britain and France
stand as the only bulwarks of defense
to these ideals, and who knows, if in
the space of year or two these two
democracies are weakened to the extent
of being conquered, but what the very
people who are now fighting the CASH
and-carry plan of neutrality will be
clamoring frantically for this Nation to
extend this aid to the only defenders of
our form of government against the
ravages Of malice, hatred and urgodli-
ness. T. CANFIELD JENKINS.
Indian Head, Md.
September IS.
Germany Declared Free
From Blame