Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-01-20

sarily those of The Detroit
Times.
WHAT a show we had last
w week, a continuous expert
process of timing and fireworks
on both sides of the Atlantic.
The effect. if not the purpose of
il, was to draw us closer to
battle by transferring the war;
making power from the Con-
gress to the President-a Presi-
dent who was so recently elected
on the pledge of last October "a:
I'VE will not participate In
foreign wars.
Three key cabinet members
were trotted out, All emphasized
their opinions that, unless we do
participate in a foreign war. we
shalt be in immediate danger of
disaster. -
One stressed the fact that
wars aren't declared any more,
they are just started.
Another remarked that the
President already has power to
start one with an implication 80
therefore give him power to
fight it,
All of which boils down to
something like this: The ag-
gresSions of Hitler have amended
our Constitution. The executive,
and not the peoples representa-
tiVeS in Congress. has the war
making power
=HHIfSS- =baiiyhoo for bill
which permits the President
with no further authorization
from Congress, or any appro-
-priatien. TO send billions OF
dollars worth of scanty existing
American armament to any
fighting country he selects any
where on the face Of the globe
and regardless of the effect TO
denude our own defense.
When il was suggested to the
6trf 5wdT-horSe tOr-W o n &
horSe") Harry Stimson, that
slIrelx- nnaelimii- sholsld- be put
on iffS complete war Dictator
ship when there is no war, he
contested the suggestion.
-4Is,-t4A.e- meant iffaeT-the- great
British war chancellor. Winston
Churchill, using the sardonic
presence of Harry Hopkins,
-Srdtert on stage III SCOTLAND,
as a somber figure of America
God save the mark, addressed
10 this lank Mccarthy demand
for our participation.
But no men. not in 1871. Just
ships and guns now TO meet a
present crisis. How about send
ing men in 1912?
60 POOR old Bill Knudsen Is
y trotted out. He says he only
knows how to make things -
which is true. He hasn't studied
tile law for which he testified.
But they squeeze out Of his self
confessed ignorance an opinion
that our only safety lies in Bril-
tain.
He conceded our lingering
failure in industrial mobilization
in a pitiful admission that we
can't send England what Chur-
chill asks from current produc-
ton. Yet Mr. Stimson says:
Ninety days"
So what? So obviously we
must strip our army and our
navy. upon which, in the last
analysis. our whole safety lies,
Of the armament in which they
arc fatally deficient.
Yet Secretary Knox and the
President both say that 1T is
grotesquelv absurd to hint that
they would ever use the re-
queSted powers to transfer any
part of our navy-notwithstand-
ing the fact that Immediately
after a similar scoffing denial
of such an intent we did trans
fer 30 destroyers.
Without saying anything at
all. we had previously transferred
hundreds upon hundreds of
pieces of artillery. tens of thou
sands of rifles and pistols and
machine guns and mountains OF
munitions
THIS country is unanimously
i for aid to Britain as part Of
our defense. but only as part of
il. a far greater part is impreg-
nable defense of our homeland,
care not to extend battlelines
too far for safety, insurance
against tying our destinies to
European war leaders.
This generous public opinion
for aid to Britain is being used
to fuddle and befool an even
more emphatic public opinion,
that we shall maintain an inn
pregnable Independent defense
and not participate in foreign
wars.
We are being made ridiculous
in the eyes of the world by say
ing. that we. the strongest ma
ton on earth, can't protect our
own-that our safety depends
on another country. The man
who numbered that bill "1776"
had a cynical humor. Some OF
us thought that 1776 was the
year of our independence.
Let's give. not lend. to Bril-
tain all that we have to give
without disarming America and
without entangling our destiny
in any alliance.
cts face the problem fear.