The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1940-08-23
They Call 1t
POLITICS
BY CARTER FIELD

WASHINGTON. - Aid to Britain
has slipped into second place, with
our own preparedness now first. This
Is not because President Roosevelt
wants 1t that way. The President
believes that aid to Britain is the
best possible policy for the United
States-that every day Britain holds
OIL the Nazis gives the u. S. that
additional day to prepare, that ev-
cry weakening of Germany under
the British defensive blows will
make the eventual task of the Unit
ed States that much easier. Put a
| little stronger, he believes that when
we give the British soldiers and
sailors something to fight with, we
save the lives Of American boys
later on.
There Is very strong following
for this theory throughout the coun-
try, entirely distinct from the group
which sentimentally favors Britain
either as country or as a form of
government, in contrast with the die
tatorship. Actually it is believed
here that the Republican high COM
mand feels the same way, with the
exception of the vice presidential
nominee, Charles l.. McNary.
Yet it is politics which has caused
the President to turn cagy on new
steps to aid Britain. He has to be
SURE that he is not endangering
his own reelection. Not because
the high command OF the Republi-
cans would attack such an action.
but because the isolationists are
making such a determined effort to
convince the public that Roosevelt is
leading us down the path to war.
For instance, take the matter of
these 30 destroyers. Ambassador
Lord Lothian said in a radio inter
view a few weeks back that the
greatest aid this country could give
Britain IMMEDIATELY would be so
OF those World war destroyers. These
are the destroyers which up until
the present war broke out everyone
thought would eventually be broken
up for scrap. They had been
packed in grease, with no thought of
their ever being put in commission
until last fall, when President Roose-
welt ordered them put in shape for
use. At that time there was much
talk about the neutrality patrol"
But later there came the torpedo
boat episode. 1t developed that the
United States had built some OF
these little ships with l8-inch tor
pedo tubes, the size used by the
British. We have no 18-inch torpe-
does; our navy does not like them.
preferring the 21-inch type.
Congress discovered by accident
that these torpedo boats were to be
turned over to the British and there
was a terrific outcry from the $50
lationists. They protested despite
the obvious absurdity of Our keeping
a type OF boat which fires a different
size torpedo from the one we use
when the British were eager TO paw
! for them, and we could use that
money to build the type we do want
So eager is the President TO aid
the British that there is no doubt he
would have forced the issue. and
| have forced the issue more recently
on the so old destroyers, IL he were
not alarmed by the strength shown
by Wendell Willkie in the polls. Az
it is, he is afraid of alternating the
followers of the isolationists-iust :
few OF them voting against him In
November might decide whether or
not there is to be four more years ot
the New Deal.
But he is working on public senti-
ment. The fact that Secretary ..
State Cordell Hull virtually sum.
moned photographers to picture him
congratulating Gen. John J. Perish.
ing, after Pershing's radio appeal
to let Britain have the destroyera
speaks volumes