Evening star., 1940-05-26
Meaning Of German
Victory Discussed
By Open L. Scott.

IloualSIH IeEdTOleSS OF any viewpoint
that may still be possessed by President
Roosevelt and Secretary Hull. This
country will need Immediately to take
any required defense outposts-Green-
land, Bermuda, British, French and
Dutch possessions in the Caribbean and
in South America, even the Cape Verde
Islands of Africa-and then settle down
to finding place for itself in hostile
world.
From a military and naval point of
view, the United States can If alert and
willing to work, make the North Amer
ican continent impregnable to attack.
That part Of the job that now may lie
ahead can be by far the simplest. A
powerful Navy, supplemented by a large,
hard-hitting air force, would make even
Hitler-possessed of the British, French,
Italian and Japanese Navies - think
twice before venturing in this direction.
It is the thought Of this sort of COM
bination, following German victory,
that gives rise to the nightmare that
now haunts the highest officials of this
Government. The other side of the
problem that now must be faced Is even
more difficult, unless this Nation under
stands its meaning and agrees to the
required adjustments.
Defeat for Britain and France would
mean the loss of major foreign markets
for surplus products of American farms
and factories. That defeat would end
the relatively free British and French
markets for products of Latin American
countries and in turn, would cut of the
exchange that those countries now use
in buying large proportion of the goods
they purchase in the United States. All
over the world the totalitarian states
would use their methods of trade con-
troll to grab markets on which this coun-
try sustains much Of its agriculture and
industry.
The result would be violent economic
kick-back that Government would be
forced to cushion with super New Deal.
Unless the Nation understands this fact
1t might resist Government action and
produce the sort of internal dissension
that Hitler confidently depends upon to
lmmobilize American effectiveness in the
period ahead
With understanding, however, the
United States-of all nations-is best
able to adjust itself to the change that
would be inevitable.
This continent. which the United
States must dominate in the event of
Allied defeat, produces everything that
modern industry requires for its success
full operation with the exception Of rub
Der and tin. Government could help In.
dustry readjust to the use of Bolivian
tin, which is relatively near at hand, and
could help industry get ready to produce
artificial rubber in required amounts if
access to Far Eastern supplies should
be cut.
Otherwise, with manganese In Cuba.
nickel in Canada. antimony in Mexico
and tungsten and mercury being discov-
cred in some quantity in the American
West. and with production started on
artificial silk. there are at hand the raw
materials upon which modern greatness
OF nation apparently depends.
But II Britain and France are to 20
down to defeat and If totalitarian ma
tions are to take over, this means that
the United States cannot depend upon
an economic system that functions auto
matically to translate it's resources into
abundance. There then would have to be
planning and organization and develop
ment within the outline of a conscious
system. Germany. Russia, Japan and
Italy are developing their systems around
military objectives and are basing them
upon compulsion. The United States
may be forced by events to go in heavily
Tor military and naval DEVELOPMENT as
an outlet for its energies, but it will want
some basis for planning other than die.
tatorial compulsion.
1t is at this point that the great prob
lem of the early future may be posed. in
the event Of British-French defeat
There will then have to be developed
some machinery for cooperation be-
tween American industry, agriculture.
finance and labor that will permit those
major interests to function within the
framework of conscious plan. Govern
ment, rather than the market place, will
become the overall governor of eco
nomics as well as of politics. The need
will be to keep compulsory adjustments
to the minimum.
But the domestic problem, difficult as
1t would turn out to. be, is only part of it.
The same forces that would DISRUPT
American agriculture and parts of Amer
ican industry would disrupt the normal
operation of trade with Latin America.
That area would be drawn irresistibly to
exchange its raw materials for the goods
that would be offered by the totalitarian
states Latin America produces a sur
plus OF many Of the same goods of which
the United States has surplus. Ex.
change with this country would be difi.
cult; exchange with Germany and japan.
and italy and Spain would be simple and
easy.
Economic penetration of this kind
would be accompanied by political pene-
tration Latin America would find that
Its interests were closely intertwined
with the interests of totalitarian nations.
Those nations undoubtedly would require
Latin America to open its doors to coloni-
zation as condition of trade. Under
IL.