Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1940-07-12
Roosevelt's Message
On Defense Pledging
No Troops To Europe

Roosevelt's new defense message:
To the Congress of the United
States:
AS President of the United States
and as Commander-in-C Chief of its
armed forces, / come again to the
representatives of the people in Con-
gress assembled to lay before them
an extraordinary estimate of funds
and authorizations required for the
national defense.
In my opinion it is necessary now
that the people of this Nation and
their representatives in Congress look
at the problem of the national de-
tense with utterly dispassionate real
ism.
Never have we as Nation attempt
ed to define the word defense" IN
terms of a specific attack at a GER
tain place at a certain time or with
specified land and sea forces.
In the long sweep of the century
and a half since our defenses have
been concentrated and unified under
Ike Constitution, it mas been a prime
obligation of the President and Com
mander-in-Ch promptly to advise
the Congress with respect to any
world circumstances calling for either
increased or diminished defense needs.
From time to time during the last
seven years 1 have not failed to ad-
wise the people and their representa-.
tives of grave dangers threatening the
United States and its people, and the
institution Of democracy everywhere.
From time to time have availed my
self of opportunities to reassure and
implement the right of all the ma
tons of the American hemisphere to
freedom from attack or control by
any non-American Power.
A year and half ago, en- Jan. a,
1899, in my address to the Congress
I referred to the fat that had felt
it necessary on previous occasions to
warn of disturbances abroad, and the
need of putting our own house in or
der in the face of storm signals from
across the seas.
On that day I said that a war which
threatened to envelop the world in
flames had been averted but that it
had become increasingly clear that
peace was not assured. said then
that all about us ragged undeclared
war, military and economic. said
then that all about US were threats
of new aggression, military and eco
nomic. I said then that the storms
from abroad directly challenged three
institutions indispensable to Ameri-
cans-religion, democracy and inter-
national good faith.
Unhappily, many Americans be-
lieved that those who thought they
foresaw the danger of great war
were mistaken. Unhappily, those of
us who did foresee the danger were
right.
A week later, on Jan. IL, 1889, I
submitted a program considered by
me as Commander-in-Ch Chief of the
Army and Navy and by my advisers
to be a minimum program for the ne
cessities of defense, saying that every
American was aware of the peaceful
intentions of this Government and of
this people, and that every American
knew that we have no thought of ag-
gression and no desire for further
territory. The Congress granted that
request for the minimum program
then deemed necessary.
At the beginning of September the
storm broke and on the 21st day of
that month, in message to the extra
ordinary session of the Congress, I
said that this Government must lose
no time or effort to keep this Nation
from being drawn into the war, and 1
asserted my belief that we would sue
coed in these efforts. We have sue
ceeded. l believe we shall continue to
succeed.
In September last, l increased the
strength of the Army, Navy, Coast
Guard and the Federal Bureau of In
vestigation within statutory authori-
cations made by the Congress.
In January, 1910 submitted bud
get to the Congress which included
provision for that expansion of per-
sonnet, as well as estimates for the ma
tional defense, amounting to approx
mately two billion dollars for the fis-
year 1871.
On May 16 in a message to the Con-
gress, I pointed out that the swift and
shocking developments of that time
forced every neutral nation to look
to IFS defenses in the light of new fac