Evening star., 1941-05-19
By the Associated Press.

Week. Again. as year ago. 1t
comes in the midst of war. You
know as we'll as I that now there
Is the midst of war. You know
as we'll as I that now there is
little use in our talking about
and planning for foreign trade
unless the outcome of the war
Is favorable to the free peoples
of the world. For trade means
free bargaining to mutual ad-
vantage. To us it does not mean
exploitation by military cliques
backed by cannon. And so, for
the present, our foreign trade
consists more and more, and will
consist more and more, of making
and placing in the hands of ma
tions which are resisting unlaW-
full attack the tools of self-de-
fense. This trade. like all trade,
is futile if the goods produced
do not reach those for whom they
are intended.
We are practical people.
When we set ourselves to a task
we finish it. We have set our
selves to the task of arming and
supplying those whose successful
defense is vital to our security.
I have said before, and I repeat:
We will not permit this purpose
to be frustrated. We will find a
way to insure that the weapons
pouring in ever greater volume
from our factories will reach the
hands which eagerly await them.
Only as we stand strong and
united in this purpose, can we
look forward to brighter day.
We have seen during the past
year the continued spread of
ruthless aggression by nations
bent upon world domination. We
have seen the enslavement Of
every nation which was so un-
fortunate as to stand in the way
and was not strong enough to
repel aggression. Nations which
were unable to protect them
selves have been crushed by
military frightfulness that has
known no bounds. In each terri
tory taken over, organized bru-
tality has been carried to the
utmost length in order to coerce
conquered peoples into unwilling
support of new conquests and an
overwhelming circle of enslave-
ment.
The safety of our Nation, as of
every free nation. is in mortal
danger in so far as our people
permit themselves to be lulled
into a false sense of security by
those who mistakenly assume
that two oceans, plus natural
desire to be at peace with all the
world, will protect us. The para
mount purpose of the leaders of
the movement of conquest IS to
secure control of the nigh seas,
which control is essential TO the
execution of their program of
world domination. Every con-
sideration of our own defense
and safety requires that we see
to it that Great Britain receives
adequate supplies for her sue
cesSful resistance.
Urges Whole Energy
Be Devoted to Tasks.
At this critical moment We must
not be weakened by internal di-
vision, we must devote our whole
energy to essential tasks. The
production and transfer of essen
tial supplies to those countries
which are actively resisting ag-
gression demand sacrifice of time
and substance, and making of
maximum effort, on the part of
each and every American citizen.
Delays in meeting full schedules
of production of essential military
supplies, whether caused by busi-
ness complacency or by strikes.
can and should be avoided. for
they gravely endanger the safety
of the Nation. Our greatest
possible national effort must be
made, not for the sake of other
countries, but primarily for the
sake Of and to ensure our own
security. Either the spread of
lawlessness in the world must be
brought to q halt or we shall
soon find ourselves surrounded
by aggressors and compelled to
fight, virtually alone and against
great odds, for our own national
existence.
These are obvious dangers that
lie Immediately ahead. But they
are not the only dangers. To get
more complete picture of what
they involve, it is necessary to
envisage the kind of an economic
world that would exist if the
vould-be conquerors were to win.
Their current pronouncements
and practices provide an ample
warning on that score.
The key to their economic pro-
gram Is contained in one simple
word-conquest. Every territory
that they conquer is reduced
forthwith to an economic master
and-slave relationship. The eco
nomic structure of the enslaved
country is forcibly re-shaped and ,
fino1lVy cy,h0rltyootod m
the economy of the ruling coun-
try. Within the entire tributary
area. autarchy or economic self
sufficiency is set up as the central
feature of economic policy. At
the center of this widely dispersed
web of captive nations, the master
country wields its vastly enlarged
powers in an unceasing effort to
ensnare, overwhelm and enslave
every remaining free nation in
the world.
The tragic experience of the
conquered countries of Europe
provides unassailable evidence of
how this system is applied in the
field of trade Under it. trade is
reduced essentially to enforced
barter. The would-be conqueror
forces delivery to him, at his
own price, of the goods he wants;
and enforces this arrangement by
every device of discrimination
and arbitrary control. There is
not the slightest pretense of pro-
noting mutually profitable trade
with other countries upon the
h,r;r of onuolitv opd foir dpa1.