The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-05-28


 forces any effort to restrict the freedom of the seas. The text oi the epoch-making "fireside chat" Is eS follows:
 am speaking tonight from the White House in the presence of the governing board of the Pan American union, the Canadian min lister and their families. The mem- bers of this board are the ambas- sadors and ministers of the Amer jean republics in Washington. It is appropriate that I do this. Now, as never before, the unity of the Amer 1can republics is of supreme im- portance to each and every one of us and to the cause of freedom &hroughout the world. Our future Independence is bound up with the future independence of all of our sister republics.
 Cold, Hard Fact
 The pressing problems that con- Front us are military problems. We can not afford to approach them from the point of view of wishful thinkers or sentimentalists. What we face is cold, hard fact.
 The first and fundamental fact is that what started as Euro pean war has developed, as the Nazis always intended 1t should develop, into a world war for world domination.
 Adolf Hitler never considered the domination of Europe as an end in itself. European conquest was but 6 step toward ultimate goals in all the other continents. It is unmis- takably apparent to. all of us that unless the advance of Hitlerism is 3orcibly checked now, the western hemisphere will be in range of the Nazi weapons of destruction.
 For our own defense we have &C., cordingly undertaken certain obvi- Ously necessary measures.
 First, we joined In concluding a series of agreements with all the other American republics. This fur ther solidifled our hemisphere against the common danger.
 And then, year ago, we launched, and are successfully carrying out, the largest armament program we have ever undertaken.
 We have added substantially to our splendid navy, and we have mustered our manpower to build up 8 new army which is already worthy of the highest traditions of our military service.
 S-, instituted @ policy of aid for the 6.lnocracies-th nations which have 1,ught or the continuation of human liberties.
 This policy had Its origin in the first month of the war, when l urged upon the Congress repeal of the arms embargo provisions 1 Il the neutrality law. Tn that message of September, 1889 l, I said, T should like to be able to offer the hope that the shadow over the world might swiftly pass. I can not. The facts compel my stating, with candor, that darker periods may lie ahead"
 Tn the subsequent months, the shadows deepened and heightened. And the night spread over Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Bel- gzium, Luxembourg and France.
 In June, 1940, Britain stood alone faced by the same machine of ter- TOT which had overwhelmed her al- lies. Our government rushed arms to meet her desperate needs.
 Destroyers Sent
 Tn September, 1940, an agreement was completed with Great Britain l8or the trade of 50 destroyers for eight important off-shore bases.
 In March, 1941, the Congress passed the lend-lease bill and an appropriation of billion dollars to implement 1t. This law realis- tically provided for material aid s.for the government of any coun- try whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the United States"
 Our whole program of aid for the democracies has been based on hard -headed concern for our own security and for the kind of safe and civilized world in which we wish to live. Every dollar of ma 'terlal we send helps to keep the dictators away from our own hem hsphere. Every day that they are held off gives us time to build more guns and tanks and planes and ships
 We have made no pretense about eur own self-interest in this aid Great Britain understands 1t and 90 does Nazl Germany.
 | "a still fights gallantly, on "far- flung battle line" We have dou- hled and redoubled our vast pro- duction, increasing, month by month, our material supply of tools of war for ourselves and Britain and Chnia a., ] eventually for all the democracies.
 The supply of these tools will aot fail--it will increase.
 With greatly augmented strength, the United States and the other American republics now chart their course in the situation of to- day.
 Your government knows what terms Hitler, If victorious, would Impose. They are, indeed, the only terms on which he would accept c gn-called negotiated" peace.
 Under those terms, Germany < would literally parcel out the World--hoisting the Swastika itself 5 over vast territories and popula- tions and setting up puppet gov ernments of its own choosing, who'll 1y subject to the will and the poll acy of conqueror.
 HitIer's Promises
 To the people of the Americas q triumphant. Hitler would say, as he said after the seizure of Austria, and after Munich, and after the seizure of Czecfoslova- zIa, q am nov completely sat-