Evening star., 1939-01-29

They declared before the visit that
we were going to Rome to sur
render British interests, that We
were going to grant belligerent
rights to Gen. Franco, that we were
going to betray our friends and
allies in France, and when we came
back without having done any OF
these things they changed their
complaint and they said 1t was not
worth while to have made the visit
at all because nothing had come
OF it.
Evidently, if it is necessary to
please them, we have got our work
cut out over it.
It is not true that nothing came
out of it. We did not 60 to Rome
to make bargains, but to get to know
Italian statesmen better, to ascer-
tain by personal discussion what
was their point of view and to make
sure that they understood our
selves.
We accomplished all that, and al
though there was complete frank
ness of speech on both sides, al
though we did not convert or at
tempt to convert one another to our
point of view on any subject on
which we might differ, yet I can say
we came away better friends than
we were when we went there.
Objects of Remarkable
Welcome Demonstration.
And something more than that
came out of it. From the moment
we entered upon Italian soil till the
moment we left it we were the
objects Of the most remarkable,
spontaneous and universal demon
stration of welcome that I have ever
witnessed.
1t was a demonstration which it
seemed to me signifled two things.
In the first place it brought out the
genuine friendliness of the italian
people for the people Of this coun-
try.
Nobody could make any mistake
about that. In the second place it
demonstrated as clearly as possible
the intense interest, the passionate
desire of the Italian people for
peace-a desire which is matched
by an equal feeling in this country.
That feeling is not confined to
the peoples of Britain and Italy.
You find exactly the same thing in
France. You find it again in Ger
many and you find it, I believe, in
every country Of the worlo
I do not exclude the possibility
that these feelings of the peoples
may not always be shared by their
governments and I recognize that it
is with governments and not peo-
Piles that we have to deal. Never
theless, let us cultivate the friend
ship of the peoples, and that can be
done by individuals and by traders
as we'll as by more official repre-
sentatives. Let us make it clear
to them that we do not regard them
as potential foes, but rather as hu-
man beings like ourselves, with
whom we are always prepared to
talk on terms of equality, with an
open mind to hear their point of
view, and to satisfy so far as we
can any reasonable aspirations that
they cherish and which do not con-
flict with the general rights of
others to liberty and justice.
Count Your Blessings"
Is Good Rule.
In that way alone we shall remove
these eternal suspicious that poison
the international atmosphere and
get back our security of mind and
that confidence which is the life
blood of successful enterprise.
1t is a good rule sometimes to
count your blessings" ANY one
who does so in this country-wheth-
er employer. worker, man or woman
will find that there is very much
to be grateful for in the conditions
here as compared with the condi-
tions in most other countries.
We should be glad to see their
conditions improved and, indeed, we
should be ready to consult with the
representatives of other countries to
see how best to bring about such a
result. But, of course, it is in times
of peace alone that attention can
be directed to improving the stand
ard of living of the people-war
must have the opposite effect-and
I am confident, therefore, that all
thoughtful people in all countries
will join with me in working for the
avoidance of war, 50 that we and
they may equally share in the high
er wages, shorter hours, better food
and better clothes which the devel-
opment of science and industry has
rendered possible.
I wish I could stop there and
turn at once to other fields in
which you and we could work to-
gether for the benefit of the ma
tions. But there is another side to
international relations on which I
must say a few words. We cannot
forget that though it takes at least
two to make peace one can make
a war. And until we have come
to clear understandings in which
all political tension is swept away
we must put ourselves in a posi-
ton to defend ourselves against
attack whether upon our land, our
people or the principles Of freedom
with which our existence as a de-
is bound up and which TO
us seem to enshrine the highest at
tributes of human life and spirit.
Progress in Rearmament
Is Rapid Now.
1t is for this purpose, for the
purpose of defense and not of at
tack, that we are pursuing the task
Of rearmament with unrelenting
vigor and with the full approval of
the country.
It has taken a long time, so low
had our defenses fallen in the vain
hope that others would follow our
example, to get going the machinery
that had run down. But progress
now is being made more rapidly
every day in all directions. It is now
nearly three years since we started
m a verv large nrocram for re-.