Evening star., 1939-04-22

ana WQeJNeT, IL ~
there is war, the zse '
United States David Lawrence.
will be drawn in.
Next, the people want to know
whether war psychology is being
created here or whether it Is nat
ural repercussion from European
events.
The emphasis of interest is plainly
international, though it is apparent,
too, that the complex questions
affecting relief and unemployment
are still as bewildering as ever.
Opinions as to the international
situation were quite clear-the de-
sire of the country as whole is to
avoid war and to tread cautiously
lest any act of our own should bring
involvement.
Told of Totalitarian Strength.
What the editors learned in their
many off -the-record sessions is, of
course, not for publication, but in
the public sessions they heard ana
lytical addresses by American news
papermen just returned from abroad
who described the remarkable
strength of the totalitarian states
and the hesitancy of Great Britain
and France, with their conceded in
feriority in the air, to precipitate a
general war at this time.
One might judge from the discus
sion that the allies are not ready to
do battle If they cannot be assured
Of Americas aid, and that the un-
certainty as to what the United
States might do is exercising a bit
of restraint upon the allied powers.
But as to whether there will or will
not be war, there doesn't seem to be
any definite conclusions or certainty
of thinking.
Now, as to whether the admins
tration is unduly exercised over Eu-
ropean events, the editors gathered
here had ample opportunity to make
up their own minds. Certainly the
goings on in Europe, particularly the
feverish war preparations in the
face of repeated denials from Berlin
and Rome of any intention to pro-
woke war, cannot be accepted by our
military and naval and aviation Off
cials at their face value. The right
theory of national defense is to be
prepared for any eventualities. The
appropriation bills just passed by
Congress are deemed adequate by
the military experts to give America
q running start along with whatever
Is being done by other nations, espe-
cially in scientific development of
war weapons.
Could Create Psychology.
Perhaps the query about whether
q war psychology is being created
here arises out of political combat.
Some of the opponents of the ad-
ministration have been going on the
assumption that the talk of prepara-
ton for war in Europe is merely a
means of diverting attention from
domestic problems that have re-
manned unsolved. In opposition to
this line of thought is the we'll
known fact that if the President, for
instance, had cared to create war
psychology he would have had no
trouble doing so by publishing much
of the information available here as
to the relative strength of navies
and air forces and by emphasizing
the nature of the inroads being
made in the economic world by the
barter systems of the totalitarian
states
The administration is caught in
dilemma. If it seeks to persuade
Congress too dramatically of the
need for national defense, it is
accused of producing a war scare.
If it doesn't dramatize the mill
tary needs of the United States, it
will not get much money appropri-
ated from Congress.
Peace Conference Offered.
This correspondent has not OBJ
served any undue use of govern
mental power to create a war
psychology and the recent proposals
for a peace conference have, on
the contrary, focused attention on
the basic desire of the Government
and people of the United States to
see every device of moral force and
diplomacy used to turn the atten-
tion Of the world from war to peace.
If there is talk of war and a war
psychology is growing in America,
1t Is because the American news
papers have been steadily report
ing happenings of such vital
character and of such incredible
proportions in Europe that any,
body alive today who was old
enough in 1914 to realize what these
alliances and counter alliances can
mean will naturally become appre-
hensive about the possibility of
war.
There is plenty of basis, there
fore, for the suspicion that maybe
there will be war in Europe, and
there Is plenty of historical eH-
dence that when Europe gets into
o general war, it is difficult for
America to keep out. Knowing
these two facts makes a war psy-
chology and that is why the Presi-
dent is endeavoring by his pro-
posals to Germany and Italy to
transform Europe from q war to
peace psychology by offering
American economic cooperation.
(Copyright. 1939)