Evening star., 1941-11-16

There can be no simple answer to
this question.
The roots of the answer are in the
unique nature Of the present war; in
the temperament and character of the
American people 1--WE habitually want to
eat our cake and have it too; in the
temperament and character of the
President; in political expediency; in
American precedent; in strategic con-
siderations. 1t is impossible to disen-
tangle I'll these factors-and no doubt
there are others-and say how each one
has contributed to the result.
The one thing plain as day is the
fact that our naval vessels are operat-
ing against German submarines in the
North Atlantic under orders from the
President to shoot on sight; that one
of our vessels has been badly damaged
and another sent to the bottom, with the
loss of more than hundred American
lives in the two cases; that these hos
tilities have occurred and others ere in
the making without any declaration of
war by Congress or any request for such
a declaration by the President.
Many persons, despite all the efforts
of the President to explain this anome-
lous state of affairs, must now and then
be puzzled The traditional man from
Mars" would be completely baff1ed.
Many Restraints on President.
There will be no attempt here to do
Gefiritjve lInri6iino hylt in
considerations that have undoubtedly
had weight with the administration may
be set out.
One Of these, obviously, is the restraint
imposed upon the President by the
tricky Democratic platform of 1910 and
by his own words in the campaign. The
President in a sense has been the pris
oner of these declarations against war.
| Wendell Willkie has labored under SIM
| liar disabilities. but. since he is not
| charged with the responsibility Of office,
| they have been less onerous.
! Mr.. Roosevelt has been hedged in by
the platform pledge and his own pledge
not to send American soldiers Into any
foreign wars" except in case of attack.
| No one can say what he might have
done had these pledges not been given.
| Conccivablv he would have moved no
faster or farther than he has moved;
a strong case can be made out for the
genuineness of the Presidents desire
as witness his appeals to Mussolini and
Htler-to keep this country free of war.
But what Mr.. Roosevelt might or might
not have done if unhampered by cam
peign promises is beside the point. The
point is only that the promises were
given and that, whatever his inmost
convictions as to the best policy for the
United States in the face of the unfold
ing menace of Hitlerism, he has sought
to keep his acts in conformity (or if you
accept the view of his opponents, in
| apparent conformity with his and his
partys pledges
Much Made of Nazi PIRACY
These pledges-as well, perhaps. as the
convictions of the President-run clearly
against anything savoring of aggressive
war by the United States. So it is that
the President has justified our naval
action against Germany, without
formal declaration of war, on the ground
that Germany has engaged in piracy
against the United States. This is
point he has repeatedly made in his press
conferences and his formal speeches,
notably that of September II in which
he announced his shoot first" order to
| the Navy
When you see rattlesnake poised to
strike" said the President in his address,
you do not wait till he has struck before
you crush him. These Nazi subma-
rines and raiders are the rattlesnakes
| of the Atlantic. They are menace to
the free pathway of the high seas -
Do not let us split hairs. Let us not ask
ourselves whether the Americas should
begin to defend themselves after the
fifth attack, or the tenth attack. or the
twentieth attack. The time for active
defense is now If submarines or
raiders attack in distant waters, they can
attack equally we'll within sight of our
own shores. Their very presence in any
waters which America deems vital to its
AS the President pointed out in the
same address, there is precedent for war
on the 'rattlesnakes" of the sea without
formal declaration of war. He gave
two instances. The second President of
| the United States, John Adams, ordered
the Navy to clean out European priva-
teers which were attacking American
commerce in the Caribbean and South
| American waters. Thomas jefferson,
| the third President, ordered the Navy to
| stop the attacks being made on our
ships by the corsairs Of the nations of
| North Africa"
Naval War With France.
President John Adams in a proclama-
ton July 13, 1889, said that actual hos
tilities" had long been practiced against
American commerce by French cruisers
French and American vessels battled on
the high seas. and American enthusiasm
ran high when the Constellation defeated
and captured L1nsurgente. Napoleon
finally came to power and made terms
with the United States, but from the
middle OF 1798 to the end of 1899 there
had been an actual Franco-American
naval war without any formal declara-
ton of hostilities
In April, 1914, following an affront to
the United States by President Huerta
OF Mexico and the refusal of Huerta to
permit salute to the American flag in
reparation, President Wilson invoked
his powers as Commander in Chief of
L the NqNN q laa Am II