Evening star., 1940-12-28
Roosevelt
Continued From First Page.)

ton to the leasing proposal.
"If the President has the right to
lease battleships, airplanes and
munitions" he declared, ''he can
lend the boys who are in the Army
or who are being drafted now. One
is just as legal as the other and
one will lead to the other"
Wheeler Backs Peace Move.
The Senator repeated his stated
approval of aiding the British as
much as possible within existing
statutes. Along with Senators Tyd-
ings, Democrat, of Maryland; Holt,
Democrat, of West Virginia and
Vandenberg, Republican, of Michi-
gan, Senator Wheeler has recently
urged that this Government take
an active part in exploring the pos
sibilities of a negotiated peace in
Europe.
Throughout the country the battle
was one of committees.
From Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the As
sociated Press reported that Verne
Marshall, chairman of the No For
eign War Committee, was urging
the dispatch of telegram to Presi-
dent Roosevelt before the Sunday
night address, countering the sug-
gestion in that of Thursday that
this country bend every effort ito
insure the defeat of the axis powers"
The common people who furnish
~
when wars are fought, and who are
taxed increasingly" Mr.. Marshall
said should not pay for those wars
which are forced on them by gov
ernments and men whose greed for
power and authority transcends all
the principles of that sort of democ-
racy to which Washington, Jeffer-
son, Madison, Monroe, Andrew Jack
son, Abraham Lincoln. Grover Cleve-
land and Woodrow Wilson dedicated
their lives"
Promise Recalled.
Mr.. Marshall said the telegram
would ask the President to keep this
country out of war "as he promised
he would do when asking for your
votes a couple of months ago"
In brief" he said, II will ask the
President: Please, as our elected
servant, keep us out of this war. Do
not give away our national defense
if we are so endangered as you re-
peatedly tell us we are. Above all,
do not give away to any country
$4,000, 100000 worth of our defensive
needs if our peril is one-third as
grave as you and Bill Knudsen say
it is
Kelland Issues Statement.
From this same committee came
a statement last night in the name
of Clarence Buddington Kelland,
author, alleging that the people of
the United States are being worked
upon adroitly by the printed word,
by pictures, by the air waves, to
make us ready to accept foreign
war when it comes"
Nothing that can happen across
the ocean can justify the slaughter
of a million American boys" Mr..
Kelland said. Wholesale murder
in Europe does not warrant whole
sale suicide by Americans. A million
living youths can defend the United
States against any aggressor, but a
million dead American youths in
graveyards 5000 miles away can
repel no foe"
From New York, the Associated
Press reported that four members
of the Executive Committee of the
Committee to Defend America. by
Aiding the Allies had publicly re-
affirmed that groups advocatio of
the modification of statutes bearing
upon aid to the democracies and
had approved the anti-axis appeal
received here on Thursday.
The committee went on record
last month as favoring relaxation of
any statutes tending to hinder CO.
operation with the democratic ma
tons at war, and urged increased
American arms production, the sup
ply of American merchant vessel to
Britain, joint use of American and
British Pacific naval bases, and Joint
operation of American and British
fleets in both the Atlantic and Pa
cific.
The committee stands unquali-
fledly and unalterably on that state