Evening star., 1941-01-19
Ambassador Opposes
Help to Point Where
War Is Inevitable
(TeTt OF Kennedy Speech
on Page A-6.)

By TIE Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Jan. 18.-Joseph
P. Kennedy, retiring Ambassador
to Great Britain. urged tonight
that the United States give the
utmost aid to England" but said
he did not feel the Nations i'm
mediate danger justified passage
of the lease-lend bill in its pres
ent form.
He declared this country's aid to
Britain should not and must not
go to the point where war becomes
inevitable
The lease-lend bill. he said. con-
ferred on President Roosevelt "au-
and he commented.
II am unable to agree with the
proponents of this bill that it has
vet been shown that we face such
immediate danger as to justify this
surrender of the authority and re-
sponsibility of the Congress. I be-
lieve that after the hearings have
been completed there will be re-
vealed less drastic ways of meeting
the problem of adequate authority
for the President
Calls for United Action Then.
Once a bill had become law, Mr..
Kennedy said in an address over the
nationwide Red Network Of the Ma
tional Broadcasting Co., it was the
duty of every American to rally
behind the President
Regardless of what this Nations
foreign policy should be, he went
on, we must go all out for re-
armament"
1T is only in this way he said,
that the American people can real
ize their national policy Of security
and their desire to help England.
The more We rearm, the larger our
arsenal. the more we shall have
available for England. There is no
need to fear if we prepare"
Mr.. Kennedy asserted, "A Just
peace at this time does not appear
to be in the cards. Hitler has slam
med the door on peace
He said the American people did
not have to go to war unless at
tackled.
The American people want to
avoid war" he said IF the lead
ers keep constantly before them
what war means in terms of human
tragedy, if Congress is ever alert to
the dangers Of involvement, the ma
tional determination will be trans
lated into effective action and this
country will not 60 to war"
Discussing how this country could
aid Britain, he said he believed the
British should make available to
us all the assets we can use"
IF after the resources of Great
Britain were used up, it We're still
sound American policy to assist
them" he said, Il would prefer that
it be done through outright gifts,
since I would not expect that loans
could be repaid"
Mr.. Kennedy thought We should
not give the British beyond the
absolute minimum necessary for our
own protection" and said that where
the line was to be drawn should
be determined by President Roose-
welt, together with trained Army
and Navy experts. He did say We
could give the British guns, ammu-
milton, airplaneS and "eVerything
that doesn't make war inevitable" ;"
Keeps Eye on Russia.
A world ruled by totalitarianiSm
he continued, was "a terrible fu-
ture to contemplate" but he said
this country's entry into the war
would virtually leave Russia "alone
outside the war area. getting strong
er while the rest of the world ap-
preached exhaustion" l."
Suppose we go in and the war
continues for two or three years"
he said I'VE will be paying the
whole bill-make no mistake about
that. Does any one in his right
mind think that the world won't be
completely bankrupt"
He asked if the United States en-
tered the war and won who would
reorganize Europe. He said this Ma
tions taxes would be high, the ma
tional debt enormous, there would
be an Army to demobilize and the
Nation would have to readjust it
self from a war to a peace basis.
The same conditions, he said, would
prevail in England.
"Yet, to keep defeated Germany
and the other countries from going
complete Communistic, we will have
to reorganize them as we'll as our
selves. probably standing guard
while this reorganization is taking
place. I shudder to contemplate
1t. Are our children's and our
grandchildren's lives to be spent
standing guard in Europe while
heaven knows what happens in
America? These are only some of
the factors to be considered when
1t Is suggested that We get in the
war"