Evening star., 1939-09-04
save Danzig and the Corridor for
Poland, but to uproot for all time
"the primitive principle that might
makes right"
American Neutrality

The question OF this cOuntry'S neu-
trality. now thai the major powers
of Europe are at war, automatically
becomes the first consideration of
all Americans.
President Roosevelt told the Ma
ton last night that he hopes the
United States will keep out of the
war and that he believes it will stay
out, sentiment that will be ferv-
emily echoed by all thoughtful men
and women. But at the same time
the President wisely did not seek to
minimize the danger which con-
fronts the United States. when
peace has been broken anywhere"
he said, peace of all countries
everywhere is in danger"
AS the war in Europe progresses it
will have repercussions of an in
creasingly serious nature throughout
the entire world. Public opinion will
be infiamed by a degree of fright
fulness unknown in the past. A
German submarine, apparently with
out warning and in violation of
treaty, already has sunk a British
liner bringing refugees to Canada,
and by no stretch of the imagina-
ton couldeit have been suspected of
carrying arms, munitions or other
contraband. (The Germans have
denied the vessel was torpedoed, as
serting it hit British mine) AS
the number of such incidents in
creases it will become more and more
difficult for Americans to retain a
clear conception of the real issue at
stake in the war and the extent to
which our vital interests will be
affected by its final determination.
The immediate cause of war is
the ruthless invasion of Poland by
Germany Poland has been a battle
ground for centuries and it may we'll
be that her fate at this time is of
little moment to America. But the
invasion of Poland is merely a SYM
boil of the larger issue. That issue
is the threat to democracy, the
menace to human decency which is
inherent in the revival of the doc
trine that might makes right and
that the world belongs to him who
has superior force and the will to
employ it in the attainment of any
objective, however wanton it may be.
1t is to prevent the further spread
of that doctrine that the British and
the French have taken up arms. 1t
will be said that they are acting be-
cause the growth of totalitarianism
that they are motivated by a desire
to protect their own interests. Un-
doubtedly that is true, and we
should be Influenced by the same
considerations.
Wholly aside from the fact of
where our emotional sympathies lie,
it is of first Importance to recognize
that the defeat of the French and
more particularly of the British
would seriously disadvantage this
country. At the very least our mill
tary forces would have to be vastly
enlarged and our foreign trade would
have to contend with more serious
obstacles than ever before. What we
have come to call the American way
of life would have to be modified to
very considerable extent to meet
the menace from abroad
| In these circumstances we should
consider with utmost care the policy
we adopt with respect to the war.
The President has announced that
he is preparing to issue the procla-
nation required by the so-called neu-
trality law. That proclamation will
give effect to the embargo on all ship
ments of arms, munitions and i'm
plements of war to any belligerent.
Inevitably, it will have the indirect
effect of aiding Germany, which is
already we'll prepared for war, and of
handicapping the British and French,
who are in dire need of access to
our markets.
Without saying so in express terms,
the President intimated that he
hopes for the repeal of the en-
barge provision. The Star shares
that hope in the sincere belief that
it is to our own selfish interest to
withdraw even indirect support to
the aggressor in this war, and to
make our material resources, includ-
ing fighting planes and other imple-
ments of war, available to those who
are able to come here and purchase
them-in this case France and Great
Britain.
Proponents of the embargo con-
tend that the opening of our markets
to belligerents would tend to involve
us in the war. The best answer to
that contention is that there is little
danger of our going to war so long
as the democratic powers have supe-
rior fighting strength, and our best
peace insurance is to do what we can,
short of going to war ourselves, to
assure that superiority
H(;v:I;1o1U W..E~>