Evening star., 1940-01-04
Looking Ahead

In keeping with the turmoil rock
ing the world at the dawn of the
new year, President Roosevelt de-
votes practically the whole of his
message to Congress to international
conditions and to the augmented
national defense needs of the United
States which spring from them. It
is essentially forward-looking mes
sage. It takes, as is the duty of true
craftsmanship, long-range account
of the things of tomorrow IF the rest
of the world comes to be dominated
by concentrated force alone" With
conspicuous accent on American
youth, it's problems and incalculable
future, the President urges the coun-
try to "look ahead and see the kind
of lives our children would have to
lead if large part of mankind were
compelled to worship the god i'm
posed by military ruler or were for
hidden to worship God at all-for-
hidden to read and hear the facts,
the daily news Of their own and other
nations-if they were deprived of
the truth which makes men free"
From such admonitions to look
and think ahead of 1910, Mr.. Roose-
velt proceeds naturally and logically
to pay his respects to isolationists.
He hopes they are a vanishing breed,
that 1--WE will have fewer American
ostriches in our midst" adding ut is
not good for the ultimate health of
ostriches to bury their heads in the
sand" The President has no pa
tience with those who "wishfully in
sist" that the United States can re-
main an oasis of tranquility and
prosperity undisturbed and untouch-
able by a surrounding desert of
shattered civilization. Mr.. Roosevelt
proposes no messianic endeavor by
this Nation to save the world from
its destructive follies, but, usefully
reminds Americans that there is a
vast difference between keeping out
of war and pretending that the war
now raging in Europe is none of our
business"
The Presidents manifest chief
concern is for United States per-
manently at peace and for practical
means to that end. In that spirit
the budget message he will submit
to Congress today will recommend
larger expenditures only for the
Army and Navy He asks for it in
"the light of continuing world un-
certainty" The increases "are not as
great as enthusiastic alarmists SEEK"
Mr.. Roosevelt explains, NOR are they
as small as unrealistic persons claim
ing superior private information
would demand" In the last quoted
words Mr.. Roosevelt is obviously
thrusting at those omniscient SEN
atorial isolationists who last sum-
mer opposed his neutrality program
with arguments that war in Europe,
according to their grapevine intelli-
gence service, contrary to the facts
at the administrations disposal, was
not in sight.
Nor is it inconsistent with a mes
sage whose leitmotif is peace and
preparedness that almost equal
stress should be laid on interna-
tional commercial amity. In the
Hull reciprocal trade agreements the
President rightly sees concrete con-
structive opportunities for the United
States to lay ever deeper the bedrock
of friendly economic intercourse
among the nations. Mr.. Roosevelt
invites Congress to extend the sys-
tenn whereby more than a score of
give-and-take trade pacts have been
completed with European and Latin
American countries. He holds them
to be "the indispensable foundation
of any stable and durable peace"
Peoples busy and prosperous in the
marts of trade are less likely to
squander their thoughts and ener-
gies on wars of conquest or methods
of waging them. The President "em-
phasizes the leadership which this
Nation can take when the time
comes for renewal of world peace"
and contends that "such an influ-
ence will be greatly weakened if this
Government becomes a dog in the
manger of trade self1shness."
In the consideration and discus
sion of all these vital issues-peace,
defense, trade, the pressing need of
ameliorating the plight of youth
which has not found itself, the ever
present problems Of revenue, recov-
cry and unemployment President
Roosevelt calls in clarion tones for
national unity" if American de-
mocracy is to be preserved. He fears
that the partisanship which seeks
selfish economic, financial and
political advantage" might bring
America to the brink of things
which have helped to plunge Europe
into war"
In railing at unnamed persons or
groups trying to "set our own people
to fighting among themselves" there
may possibly be read an attempt on