Evening star., 1940-05-11

TN e PRESIDENT OsVio Lawrence.
and Secretary of State and members
of the Congress have all along ex-
pected Hitler to move through Bel
gium and Holland does not in any
way lessen the gravity of the oc-
currence now that the world is
face to face with another deliberate
violation of the territorial integrity
Of an innocent nation.
The fact also that neutrality" is
an ironic word of bygone days, and
that the rules of forebearance and
restraint which international GUS
tom for centuries built into a code
of international morality are now
swept aside by the Nazis, makes all
Washington alert to the dangers OF
dictatorship-made decisions.
Might Under One Thumb.
Overnight anything can happen.
One man decides. No parliaments
or congresses have to debate or
authorize. Free peoples use that
method of deliberation, and so long
as free peoples controlled free gov
ernments, there has been no dan
ger. Today, one-man governments
control vast armies and navies and
air forces. The limit of their capac-
ity for offense is unknown. All the
world therefore worries.
The United States Government
knows that the American people
want to be kept out Of war. But
this means out Of any offensive
war. It does not mean that the
American people will not defend
their own territory, or that they
will regard with resignation the
establishment of any air bases in
the Atlantic near our coasts.
Whether America gets into the
war depends on German initiative.
The most that the American Gov
ernment may ever be asked to do on
. defensive basis to protect the
Monroe Doctrine may be to patrol
the coast lines Of North and South
America. s.
Will America be asked to decide
on aid to the allies in the event
that the war goes against them?
This question Is not being answered
ofncially, nor is 1t answered pri-
vately by high officials. Nobody at
tempts to look further into the
future than the next week or month.
Everything depends on the trend of
the war itself.
Credit Sentiment Rises.
A sentiment, Of course, is already
rising to revise so-called neutrality
laws so as to permit a flow of goods
on credit to the allies. This is in
accordance with international law
as 1t existed before 1899. The pres
sure for such return to the old
oasis will come from those who
think this is the best way to keep
the war from encroaching on the
Western Hemisphere, and it will
come from those who feel that to
require cash at the present time is
to impose a burden on countries
like Canada and the United King
dom, which normally constitute our
best customers for trade.
Not only would the johnson Act
have to be revised, but also the
1889 neutrality law, If exports of
agricultural and oter products are
to be financed for the British and
French governments on a long-term
basis. Some change In the credit
machinery ultimately will be made,
but it had been felt until now
that the issue would not arise till
after the November elections be-
cause the allies have enough cash
to take care Of their immediate
needs.
Could Speed Buying.
But, on the other hand, the knowl-
edge that credit would be avail
able here would alter the whole
allied conception Of war purchases
In America. The British have been
delaying too long in buying war
planes. They have been trying to
conserve their cash so carefully that
they have lost valuable time dicker-