The Washington times., 1939-01-05
The Presidents Message


ered in person yesterday afternoon and broadcast
in six languages to the Western Hemisphere and Europe
We do not remember any
The Emphasis on other similar Presidential state
FOrpi0n Affairs paper in which so large a pro-
portion of the wordage was de-
voted what going in countries other than our
The President led his address with foreign affairs
and gave almost half of it to them.
He contrased dictatorship most unfavorably with de-
mocracy Storms from abroad" he sad directly chal-
lenge three institutions indispensable to Americans
religion democracy and international good faith"
To meet that challenge, he specifically proposed re-
armament In less specific terms, he urged that do
various things "short of war;" of bringing
home to aggrcSoor governments the aggregate senti
ments of our people"
We assume though the President didn't mention any
nations by that the relationships he referred to
Germany Italy and Russia.
All three of those countries
Dictatorship present governments ride rough
Uo no,,,ocrnc, shod the rights which
ligous people enjoy in demo-
cratic countries. All three of them have inundated all
traces of democracy within their borders by turning
their people heots slaves of the state None of them
has been guilty of international good faith in situations
where international bad faith would better their
interests.
However, let's try to think about this situation
Frenchman would think about it, Englishman
would. The Frenchman would think first and last of
what France could get out of it, the
IL is NOC Engshman of what England could get
Our Finhf out of it.
From our own selfish point of view is
It not piece of good luck that Germany and Italy
opposed to Russia that the three relationships not
the same side of the fence? All three of them anti
Democratic Isn't it mmeasurably better for us that
they are divided among themselves than if they were
united determination to wipe democracy off the earth?
And wouldn't it be to interest to stay out of
fob+ +ho dicta ato oct
themselves let them exhaust another rather than
90 in for exhausting ourselves along with them?
We feel sorry for Europe. But Americans should
remember that with Europe age-old habit.
The Sixteenth Century France kill off about half
it's people in Catholic-Protes-
EHTOpeS V0TS tant fight; the Seventeenth saw
Noror Toneo Germany kill about two-thirds
of its people in the Thirty Years
War. In the Eighteenth Century England and France
put on huge American colonial possessions and
who should be King Of Spain; early in the Nineteenth
Napoleon mopped up the map of Europe until he was
mopped up.
Europe treasures its hates and loves its There
is why should join Europe in that
suicidal docy at this time than there has been
Once did, and still paying for our folly,
and our children will go paying for it. Certainly it is
to the interest of the mothers of the United Staesand
of the fathers, too-that their boys be kept out of
Europes and permitted to live out their lives in
free country.
Eventually, of course, the anti-democracies may
gang up on us and we may have to fight Which is
why for armng this country enough to meet
any emergency foreseeabe by levelheaded naval and
military men, and for keeping it everlastingly
armed.
But there is so much talk at present of possible
United States attempts to reform the relationships by
force that it reminds all too much of the Hum Edith
Cavell the "brave little Belgiums" and the Beast of
Berlin.
With what the President said about domestic af-
housekeeping and improving the major New Deal
reforms striving to widen and speed up distribution
and lift buying power; working
HOUI1U OF toward national income of $50 600 OOO