Evening star., 1941-01-15
By J. A. O'LEARY.

1SUu4 AllE, q SASAoA "
quest" in the world today, Secre-
tary of State Hull opened HopSs
hearings on the administration S
lease-lend bill today with a
strong defense of maximum aid
for Great Britain and other ma
tions resisting aggressors.
The most serious question con-
fronting the United States, he said,
is whether control of the high seas
shall pass into the hands of powers
bent on a program of unlimited
conquest"
1T is in this light, above all, that
We should order our preSent-day
thinking and action with respect to
the amount of material assistance
which our country is prepared to
furnish Great Britain" he added.
Before submitting to questions by
members of the House Foreign Al
fairs Committee on possible conflict
with international law or old treatles
in extending this aid, Mr.. Hull had
said:
"The most scrupulous observance
bv peaceful countries OF legal con-
cepts provides today no security
whatever. Many nations which
trusted to the integrity of their in
tentions and the care with which
they observed their legal obligations
have been destroyed"
Morgenthau Next to Testify.
While the Secretary of State dealt
with the broad question of the policy
America should pursue against ag-
eressor nations, Secretary of the
Treasury Morgenthau was waiting to
follow him to the stand to discuss
more specifically the form and ex-
tent of aid to the democracies.
Secretary Hull told the commit
tee that to withhold aid from the
victims of attack would not restore
peace, but merely tend to 'perpetu-
ate the enslavement of nations
already invaded and subjugated and
provide an opportunity for the
would-be conquerors to gather
strength for an attack against us"
Mr.. Hull stressed the need for
speed as he brought to a close
a summary Of the era of conquest
that began when Japan created
Manchukuo, followed by the italian
invasion of Ethiopia and the Ger
man conquest of Poland, Norway
and other small countries on the
continent.
Neutral Rights Disregarded.
1.-The protagonists of the forces
against which we are today forging
the instrumentalities of self defense
have repudiated in every essential
respect the long-accepted principles
Of peaceful and orderly interna-
tional relations" Secretary Hull tes-
titled. They have disregarded
every right of neutral nations, even
OF those to which they themselves
had given solemn pledges of in
volatility. Their constantly en-
ployed weapons for the government
of their unfortunate victims are un-
restricted terrorization, firing squads,
deceit, forced labor, confscation of
property, concentration camps and
deprivations of every Sort
Members of the committee listened
quietly and attentively to the Sec
retary's formal statement and ques-
toned him discreetly when the
time came for cross-eXamination.
Chairman Bloom assured him at
the outset that he was free to indi-
cate any question he thought should
be answered in executive session.
Cites Law Of Self-Defense."
Questioned as to whether the pro-
vision of the lease-lend bill permit
ting repair of belligerent vessels in
American harborS involves any con-
flict with international law or agree
ments, Mr.. Hull read technical
memorandum on the legal phases,
but summed up his answer by re-
minding the committee of what
happened to the little nations of
Europe that tried to remain neutral.
The question to be decided now,
he said, is whether a nation shall
wait until the invader has crossed
Its borders, or recognize that this
is a world move of conquest, and
invoke the law of sef-defense."
Asked by Representative Richards
Of South Carolina to comment on
the discretionary power the bill dele