Imperial Valley press., 1941-05-13
SPEAK OUT,
MR.. PRESIDENT

President Roosevelt makes perhaps
his most fateful address before the Pan
American Union in Washington We'd
nesday.
If it is not, it should be.
1t is doubtful if any other President in
all history has been as closely attended
as President Roosevelt will oe when he
takes the platform Wednesday. The
people are hungry to hear from him
what the course of their nation is going
to be. They are asking him silently,
"What do you think, Mr.. President
Unless he answers frankly, forcefully
and plainly, there can be no other result
than confusion and strife.
The people have rested in the hands
of this President more power than any
other ever had. They have given him
freer rein than even Woodrow Wilson
had in the hardest days of World War
No. / They have asked from him only
one thing in return-that he tell them
without subterfuge what he is dong
with the power he has been given.
In recent days the President has not
taken the people into his confidence.
Throughout the nation for almost
month now there has been q growing
unrest. More and more, the demand is
growing: Tell us all you know. If things
are bad, tell us how bad"
the President said some time ago that
the people do not realize how crucial the
situation has become He has only him
self to blame for that. The people feel
that they do not know all he knows.
If they do. then they want to know the
reasoning which leads him to extreme
statements.
The PreTdent has his chance Wednes-
day.
Perhaps there has been good reason for
silence up to now. We would not want
him to speak if, in speaking, he would
give away to the powers any secrets vital
to the success of Great Britain. We
would not want him by premature dis
closures to endanger the success OF deli
cate diplomatic maneuvering. But the
time has ended when silence should pre-
vail about things and policies Of a pure
ly internal nature. The time has passed
when there should be silence about the
international movements which may
mean life or death to the American
people.
If the President speaks as ne should
Wednesday, the United States will be
a nation Of greater unity because Of it,
THOSE WHO LISTEN
NEED A FRESH START
The millions of Americans who will
Roosevelt could do worse in the interest
of logical reasoning to bear in mind that
our situation today is not what it was
six months ago What this nation is to
do in the days Immediately before us
should be decided upon the basis of the
situation as it now is, not as it was when
Roosevelt was reelected to third term,
nor even as we believe it might have been
had other tactics been used.
We may not approve OF the things
that have been done during the last six
months-but the fact remains that they
have been done. They are facts. We
have the right and duty still TO criticize
them, but we would be foolish to recon-
mend course of action ignoring them
What we as nation are to do must be
done because certain other things have
already been DONE In the fateful deci-
sion ahead of us, we may bear in mind
the mistakes that have been made, but
we must not, we cannot, we shall not
allow them to detract one whit from
the complete support of every individual
to the course his nation is embarked
upon.
We start toward the future from to-
day and today's facts. not from yester-
day and yesterdays might-have-beens.