The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-02-15
Economic Highlights
Information Of DOings Of Senate Military Affairs
Committee Leaks Out; Foreign Policy Of Defense
Or Attack Big U. S. Question; Winter Business
DOwnswing Not So Bad-ErgO Even Better
Predicted Spring Rise

In theory, meetings of the Sen.
ate military affairs committee are
usually supposed to be strictly
secret. In practice, information
about what goes on at the con
claves usually starts leaking ou
Immediately after they are over
Senators are only Humankind
+ like anyone else with important
special knowledge in their minds
they have hard time keeping il
to themselves.
The recent meeting between
the President and this committee
at the White House was supposed
to be even more secret than most
Even the stenographers were eX.
cluded. But, as usual, the leaks
were much in evidence. The next
day an account was widely pub.
Hshed to the effect that the Presi
dent had stated in conversation
that Americas frontier was ir
France, and that this explained
the u. S. governments willing
ness to have the French buy big
quantities of war planes here
Still another account stated that
the President had gone further
yet, and said that our frontier
was the Rhine River. pst
Two days later the Chief Ex-
ecutive branded these reports as
"a deliberate lie', and added that
a move was on foot, supported by
some congressman and newSpa-
pers, to misrepresent and discred-
it him. But whatever the truth
of the matter, the episode served
to unlooSe a Veritable torrent OF
oratory in the always-talkative
Congressman served as we'll to
bring into sharp focus the funda-
mental differences that exist over
our foreign policy.
We are embarking on the larg-
est armament program in our
peace-time history. And when a
country builds war machine, ii
involves far more than merely
appropriating the money, in
creasing the personnel of our
fighting forces, and placing the
orders with the arms and NUM-
tionS makers. 1t involves the
gravest question of policy. 1t in
wolves our entire. attitude toward
the other nations in the world.
And it thus very directly involves
every person in the country.
We have apparently reached
the time wherf our foreign policy
must be definitely fixed and es-
tablished in one way or another.
And this is going to be no simple
matter. For the Congress seems
to be bitterly divided over what
our policy should be. And it is
not in any sense a partisan divi-
sion-politics plays little or no
part in it.
On the one hand are those who
believe sincerely that in a sense
we are our brothers keeper
that, as the only great democracy
immune from immediate attack
by a powerful totalitarian state
it is up to us to throw the weight
of our influence and resources
behind the menaced democracies
These men see the world as q
great battle-ground in which an
undeclared war without quarter
is taking place between fascism
and democracy. The cause OF
democracy in Europe, they 'rea-
son, will soon be lost unless help
ed by the New World democracy
And if that happens, they argue
we will be next in line for fascist
aggression. So, they conclude
the thing to do is to help the
Old World democracies stave of
fascism before it is too late.
The other school believes with
equal sincerity in rigorous isola-
ton. That means a policy OF
treating all countries, democratic
or totalitarian, with equal con-
sideration. They feel we must
build up an adequate defensive
military machine, and keep our
resources for our own use. They
favor strengthening, not weaken