Evening star., 1940-12-15
Administrations Plan of Aiding
Greece Has Its inconsistencies
Observer Points Out That Collective Action Is
Necessary to Back Up Promise of Aid
to Aggression Victims
By Feix Morley.

governments and peoples who defend
themselves against aggression"
If that were the case, we would now
be assisting the legitimate French gov
ernment against the unquestionably ag-
gressive attacks of Gen. De Gaulle and
his supporters. If our settled policy"
were as the President says, we would i'm
mediately stop all aid to Great Britain
If that country should find it necessary
to occupy neutral Ireland. Even to raise
this hypothesis is to show that our policy
is not yet settled" on the principle Of
resistance to aggression as such.
The National Interest.
It would be more in accord with po-
litical facts If President Roosevelt had
told the King of Greece that the United
States has now reached q position where
We are so concerned by any war that
we reserve the right to intervene as we
see fit whenever 4 conflict seems to
threaten our fundamental interests. It
is not necessarily the fact of aggression
which our policy opposes. If the British
find it necessary to attack Ireland, or
Germany successfully, any protest from
Washington would probably be a mild
affair. The aggression we actually pro-
pose to resist is that which we deem
inimical to ourselves.
This. it would SEEM is precisely the
attitude of every great power. 1t is the
attitude which to the British justified
an attack on Germany when the latter
invaded Poland. 1t is the attitude which
to the Russians justified the attack on
Finland. as defense against possible
aggression through that country 1t is
the attitude which makes Japan threaten
war with the United States if our Pacific
Fleet is sent to Singapore. 1t is the
attitude which, from the German view
point, gives substance to Hitler's charge
that he is hated in the democracies
primarily because he is not willing to
see Germany remain in the category of
underprivileged nations.
Finally, analysis will reveal still an
other reason for regarding as incomplete
President Roosevelts statement that "the
settled policy of the United States Gov
ernment" is Ito extend aid to those gov
ernments and peoples who defend them
selves against aggression
Cars Position Recalled.
Such policy, narrowly interpreted.
would tend to align the United States
behind the status quo 1t would indicate
that We oppose change even when change
is an inevitable part OF progress. 1t
would place the United States in a posi-
tion similar to that assumed by Car
Alexander I of Russia after the Ma
poleonic wars BY the "holy alliance
this well-meaning but impractical ruler
sought to. establish system whereby the
great powers would reciprocally guaran-
tee each other their territorial possess
sions. to prevent future attempts to
trouble the general tranquility"
A single satisfied nation cannot sue
cessfully proclaim by edict that there
shall henceforth be no territorial changes
which may trouble the general tram
quillity.' Such a policy probably could
not even be operated for long by all
the great powers acting in concert. un-
less there were some recognized provision
for peaceful changes as we'll as for CO.
operative resistance 10 aggression.
Students of international relations now
recognize that the essential problem for
civilizatio is not merely to establish
a form of collective action which will be
adequate to prevent aggression. Equally
important is effective machinery which
will accomplish peaceful transformation
of the status quo whenever and wherever
the need for change is demonstrated.
Let us not forget says the great
Belgian jurist Maurice Bourquin in a
recent pamphlet that through the
ages war has been the only means of
liberation from injustice, servitude and
anachronism. = " One would attempt ir
vain to suppress it without replacing 1t
by more intelligent and more humane
methods wherever its aims re-echo the
call of reason and life combined"
The League of Nations strongly en-
phasized the idea Of collective action
against aggression, but failed to provide
adequate machinery for peaceful change,
The international organizati ton which
(See MORLEY, Page C-30