Evening star., 1940-07-27
Storm Signals

Recent storm signals on Americas
international horizon lend a very
dubious validity to the position of
those critics of the Burke-W -Wads-
worth bill who are opposing COM
pulsory military training at this
time in the belief that the United
States is not faced with any exter-
nal threat which warrants departure
from our traditional peacetime op-
position to conScription.
Their entire case necessarily rests
upon the belief that this country will
not have to fight major war in the
near future. And, further than that,
they must also base their opposition
on the assumption that we will have
the deciding voice in determining
where and when we will fight, if we
must fight at all. In other words,
anything less than supreme effort
at preparedness at this time is juSti-
fable only if we may be assured that
no enemy will force us into a war
at any time in the future until we
have had opportunity to make ade-
quate preparation for the conflict.
The proponents of compulsory
military service based on the selec-
tive draft are similarly situated in
one sense. Like the critics, they can
not read the future with certainty,
but they do not need to do so. It is
not necessary for them to say with
assurance that peace or war is in the
offlng. The case for CONSUMPTION is
established once it can be shown that
war may be forced upon us. The
opponents of compulsory training
must be correct in their appraisal of
the future. If we should act upon
their advice and time should prove
them wrong, the result will be dis
aster for America For victory in
war, other things being equal, rides
with the nation that is ready when
hostilitieS begin. On the contrary,
no such dire consequences would
follow preparation for a war which
fails to materialiZe. In effect, the
most that we could lose under those
circumstances would be a premium
for peace insurance, and it should
always be remembered that an ag-
gresSor who might not hesitate to
hn ic1 of l.
lively unprepared America would
take an entirely different view of
the matter if we were fully prepared,
both in men and materiel.
In recent days we have observed
ominous developments. DR.. Walther
Funk, Hitler's economic minister,
tells us that we must be willing
after the war in Europe to trade
on Germany'S terms or not to trade
at all. In Latin America there are
abundant evidences that Germany
and Italy are making determined
efforts to undermine and defeat all
attempts at inter-American CO.
operation, and it cannot be said that
they are wholly unsuccessful. If
plans for an American 'trusteeship"
Of Dutch, French and possibly Brit
ish possessions in this hemisphere
collapse, what will the United States
do? In the Far East there have
occurred number of made in
Japan" incidents which have strained
our relations with the Island Empire.
American traders are being frozen
out of North China. The Japanese
Foreign Office says that reaction in
Japan to the prospective curb on
American scrap iron and oil exports
to be imposed primarily for ma
tional defense purposes-is likely to
be very great" We have seen
France and Britain virtually forced
out of the Far East by Japan because
they were unable to protect their
position there What are we going
to do if our turn should come next?
The only possible conclusion is
that the international field in which
we may be said to have any real
freedom of choice is rapidly being
narrowed. The time may not be
far off when, for practical purposes,
our decisions will be made for us
by other nations. Under such cir
cumstances it is extremely danger
Gus to gamble on peace. The safer
and more prudent course is to devote
every energy without further delay
to our preparations for the possibility
of war.