Evening star., 1941-01-31
Secretary Knox's Statement
Naval Chief Warns of Dangers;
Refutes Lindbergh Argument

The tert of Secretary OF the
Nary Knor'S statement before
the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.
Before coming here, your chair
man advised me that he would per-
nit me to develop further some of
the points which I made in my
statement before the House Foreign
Affairs Committee on Bill 1776, lend
lease bill.
I do not propose to make any di-
rect comment on the testimony that
Col. Lindbergf gave before the
House committee, efflcept insofar as
my entire statement today can be
considered refutation of the argu-
ment Col. Lindbergh made.
1 respect Col. Lindbergh's knowl-
edge and ability concerning COM
mercial aviation. However, his ex-
perience with military aviation has
been slight, and I consider his state
ments pertaining to the strategic
employment of military aviation as
disclosing his lack of knowledge on
this subject. His conclusions con-
cerning the national position of the
United States, and its unavoidable
ties with the positions of the great
powers of Europe and Asia are con-
clusions with which I am unable to
agree Col. Lindbergh's idea that
it might be possible now to effect
stable negotiated peace between
Great Britain and Germany is a
wild fancy. A negotiated peace with
out victory can be effected only when
a military Stalemate has existed for
a long time, and under conditions
where the belligerentS feel reason
able degree of confidence that the
peace terms will be faithfully exc
cuted.
In Europe the military situation
is far from stable, and I believe
that there are few British who
would care to accept German peace
commitments at their face value.
Quotes His Testimony
Before House Committee.
I should like to quote three short
paragraphs from my statement
given before the House committee:
ITO keep our land secure we must
prevent the establishment of strong
aggressive military power in any
part of the New World. We can
keep non-American military power
out of our hemisphere only through
being able to control the seas that
surround its shores. Once we lose
the power to control even a part of
those seas, inevitably the wars OF
Europe and Asia will be transferred
to the Americas.
I'VE need time to build ships and
to train their crews. We need time
to build up our outlying bases so
that we can operate our fleets as a
screen for our continent. We need
time to train our armies, to accumu-
late war stores, to gear our industry
for defense.
only Great Britain and its fleet
can give us that time. And they
need our help to survive"
I reiterate here my belief that
the chief question that confronts
us is whether we shall now take
steps to keep Europe's wars in Eu-
rope, or shall drift along and per-
nit those wars to be transferred
to the Americas. We need time
to get ready to meet out at sea
a strong, aggressive Germany, if we
are to keep the fighting away from
the lands of this hemisphere.
Comparative Table .-
OF Naval Tonnage.
You may remember that in my
statement before the House Com
mittee gave a comparative table
Of naval tonnage which might op-
pose us, both in the immediate fu-
ture and over the next several years,
If Britain does not survive Ger
many's attack. I would not have
you draw the implication from my
statement and from those figures
that I fear that the United States
will not fully realize in time the
danger that threatens them. But
they have no time to waste, and
must act at once.
In public speeches I have warned
the American people that If Britain
is defeated, we ought then to be
fully prepared to repel attempts by
Germany to seize bases on this side
of the Atlantic. Germany would
use these bases either to attack us
directly, or else first to establish
herself solidly in South America.
Many of our people and many of
the speakers who have opposed Civ
ing ample aid to Great Britain, ap-
parently believe it fantastic to
think that there is any real danger
of invasion. I disagree with such
people and believe that victorious
Germany would move over to this
hemisphere just as soon as she could
accumulate the strength to do so,
and certainly very soon unless we
now take the steps to check her
career of reckless aggression.
Admiral General Raeder, chief of
the German Navy, recently made a
speech to the shipyard workers In
Bremen.
German Ambitious
For World Sea Power.
The significant portion of his
speech, to the United States, was a
promise that after the war Ger
many would have-I quote-a fleet
developed and enlarged to a size be-
fitting world power, and overseas
naval bases where there would be
plenty of work of all kinds-un-