Evening star., 1939-10-25
War Threatens j. :.
With mpoverishment,
Writes Hoover
Ex-President Sees
Difficult Years
Ahead Even With Peace

The United States faces a quarter
century of difficulty" whether it
enters the European war or not and
If it does go to war its people can
expect quarter century of i'm
poverishment and loss of their lib
erty, former President Hoover as
serts in the current issue of the
Saturday Evening Post.
Mr.. Hoover proposes that the
United States can best serve Europe
and mankind in this situation by:
l. Strengthening its Army and
Navy tc point where no soldier
dare land on the Western Hemi-
sphere, irrespective of who wins the
war in Europe it guarantees
the peace of half the globe
Would Demonstrate Democracy.
2. Putting its house in order by
restoring employment, building up
humane measures of security, thus
demonstrating that lf-governing,
free people can solve problems i'm
posed by the industrial revolution.
3. Demonstrating on this conti-
nent that true liberalism is not
dead we can prove that the
hope Of humanity lies not in killing
or regimenting men but in preserv-
ing them and in enlarging their
lives"
4 Again healing many wounds of
war. I'VE can aid the starving,
succor the distressed and care for
the innocent"
S. Aiding those who sit at the
peace table, not by ENHANCEMENT
but by counsel to mitigate malig-
nance We can, as President
Wilson did in 1919, secure some JUS
tice, some freedom, some hope to
the world
Would Obey Reason.
Mr.. Hoover concludes his article,
entitled 1--WE Must Keep Out" thus:
go Our sympathies for the de-
me cracies will be drawn upon heavi-
ly in the days to come. Our duty
to our sons is to hold reason in
power over emotion. 1t is to hold
the long vision of Americas future.
1t is to keep out of these wars
The voice of experience, the ex-
President declares, says that
I'VE can make war in Europe. but
We cannot make enduring peace.
I'VE cannot create liberty and
government in Europe. We
cannot reconstruct Europe. The
social regeneration of nations must
come from within. 1t cannot come
from without.
You cannot defeat an idea or an
theology with military force. These
can be educated out of people only
by their own experience. Did the
Great War extirpate the idea that
might makes right?
Cannot Kill All Evil.
America cannot correct the world
every time 1t goes wrong. We
should destroy our physical and
moral strength in a decade If we
set ourselves to police the conduct
and ideas of the world. And our
service to mankind would end.
mot even the victor tin a great
war; is going to pounce upon
a powerful neutral. Especially they
do not attack 100000 900 people 5000
miles overseas, who have a capacity
of 100000 soldiers and $4,000 air.
planes .. We should discard these
forebodings about being the next
victim"
AS to the economic and social
aspects of our possible participa-
ton, Mr.. Hoover warns that:
I'VE would start another war
with a weakened sense of private
enterprise. We would start with a
four-and-onehalf billion dollar def
icit in peace expenditures. We
would start with over $4,000 900 900 |
debt. We would have to rearrange
the debt by some sort of repudia-
tion or devaluation or capital levy
to make room for another 40 billion.
When we emerge from another
World War. our industry and agri-
culture will be far more distorted
and demoralized. Our taxes will be
still more increased . The pres
sures for continued Government re-
glmentation of economic life in
peacetime will have been multiplied
-. We cannot compel men with
out undermining their intellectual
and spiritual progress . If we go
into another World War, liberty will
be lost in America"