Evening star., 1940-08-17
Roosevelt 10 See
Mackenzie Kinq
On Defense
Will Meet Conodion
Tonight After Review
Of 10000 Troops
BULLETIN.

panied by military and civil off,
cials, arrived at IL noon (E. S. IT,
today to begin an inspection tour
Of 1st Army maneuvers and
confer with Prime Minister w. L.
Mackenzie King Of Canada.
A 21-gun salute and playing
Of the Star-Spangled Banner by
massed bands and field music
sent the President of on an in
spection tour of the 1,s0o-square
mile area with Secretary Of War
Henry L. Stimson, Governor Her
bert H. Lehman Of New York;
Chairman Andrew ]. May of the
House Military Affairs Committee
and Gen. Edwin M. Watson, the
Presidents military aide.
By the Associated Press.
ABOARD ROOSEVELT TRAIN
EN- ROUTE TO NORWOOD, N. Y
Aug. 17.-President Roosevelt came
to upstate New York today to keep
momentous rendezvous with
Prime Minister w. L. Mackenzie
King of Canada and discuss hemi-
spheric defense problems and Amer
ican acquisition of naval and air
bases in British possessions on this
side of the Atlantic.
The President and Prime Minister
arranged to dine together ct dusk,
behind the drawn curtains OF a spe-
cial train pulled up on siding at
Ogdensburg, N Y.
An inspection of 90,000 troops en-.
gagged in the Nations biggest peace
time war maneuvers had been an
nounced as the purpose of the Chief
Executives trip, but this faded to
secondary Importance when White
House officials announced last night.
after Mr.. Roosevelt had left Wasf,
inston, that he would confer With
M NacSsnds EiDg.
.pr,lIta 70 toaigh, s m-.ting ~a:
tns Hrrsslc sn.s pIsss Con..isnc.
s.4tsM.nt Va tns Capita. yesterday
tast conversations were yuocr way
with thA, Canadisn government on
"the defense of the American
Hemisphere" and with the British
Empires government on "acquisi-
ton OF naval end air bases by the
United States for American hemis.
phere defense, with special refer
ence to the Panama Canal"
Decision Believed Possible:
He gave no hint whether these
conversations had reached the point
where an announcement of plans
OF action would be in order.
But on the basis Of the build-up
provided in Washington for ideas
of hemisphere defense and new
naval and air strongholds, some
members Of the presidential party
reasoned that actual decisions, and
perhaps a definite statement Of oh
Iectiyes, might not be too much 10
expect from tonight's conference.
Lending significance to the meet
ing with Mr.. Mackenzie King was
the fact that Jay Pierrpont Moffatt,
for years an ace diplomat in the
State Department and now Minis.
ter to Canada, was invited to be
present.
1t was expected, too, that Secre-
tary OF War Stimson, who was Sec
retary of State in the Hoover ad-
ministration, also would sit in.
What new defense steps the Chief
Executive had in mind were his Sc
cret. But conjecture centered on
the possibility that the United States
might be negotiating to strengthen
her outlying defenses by establish
ing defense installations on British
Islands in the Caribbean and in
Newfoundland and the Cane dian
maritime provinces.
The pledge of assistance Presi-
dent Roosevelt made just two years
ago to Canada, officials in Wash
ington believe, may provide the
background for the discussions.
Speaking at Kingston, Ontario.
on August l8, 1888, Mr.. Roosevelt
declared:
AAAS POoPlCS "a GI1C ollItCO
will not stand idly by if domination
OF Canadian soil is threatened by
any other empire"
He also said that if the hopes for
peace then entertained proved fu-
tile, I'VE can assure each other that
this hemisphere at least shall re-
main strong citadel where civiliza-
ton can flourish unimpaired."
Interpreting tonight's meeting in
the light of that speech and Mr..
Roosevelt's announcement yesterday
that hemisphere defense discussions
were under way, informed Capital
officials said it was not unlikely that
the Presidents objective was to
bring Canada into the partnership
of the other nations of the New
World in forging an impregnable
hemisphere defense.
1t was pointed out that Canada,
alone Of all the major countries of
the Americas, was not represented
at the recent Havana Conference,
(see ROOSEVELT, Page A-30