The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-09-25
Economic i. j.
.~M9hA9hA
National and International Problems
Inseparable from Local Welfare

The thoughts Of many Americans
who listened to the Presidents ad-
dress Of September II, turned back
more than 20 years. In long ago 1917,
President Wilson laid down his fa-
nous doctrine of freedom of the seas
"a doctrine that held that any cargo
ship of any neutral nation was en-
titled to travel the oceans of the
world without molestation. That,
basically, is the doctrine that Presi-
dent Roosevelt is holding to now. 1t
is the doctrine which was one cause
If our entry in World War l. And,
in the opinion of many authorities, it
is the doctrine which is likely to lead
US into active shooting participation
in World War II.
Mr.. Roosevelt has gone farther
than did Mr.. Wilson. He holds that
the presence of enemy submarines
and surface raiders in waters consid-
cred essential to American defense
and security, will be considered prima
facie evidence of the intention to at
tack. Just what these essential
waters are is not defined. 1t seems to
be the Presidents position that in
modern war it is impossible to estab-
lish fixed geographical boundaries be-
yond which our vital interests do not
extend. 1t is, at least, certain that
the President considers the North At
lantic, where German warships are
most active, within the sphere which
this nation will defend. That means
that American warships may convoy
merchant shipping clear into British
ports-and that any hostile vessel en-
countered may be fired upon and
sunk, if possible.
The order to carry this policy into
effect has been issued under Mr..
Roosevelt's immense powers as Com
mander in Chief of the military forces
of the United States. And now this
country is wondering just what to ex-
pect. The logical thing to anticipate
is more-and more important-inci-
dents of the sort that occurred when
the U. S. destroyer Greer encountered
German submarine. The position of
American naval ships is no longer
made public, but it is generally be-
lieved that we have major concen-
tration of floating gun power rowing
about the Atlantic. The Atlantic fleet
will shortly be substantially bolstered
by the addition of new battleships
and cruisers which have left the ways
and are being outfitted-the great
man-of-war North Carolina recently
successfully underwent her firing
tests and is now in commission. There
is little question but what the Ameri-
can Navy is today the most powerful
on earth. And there is little question
any longer but what it will be used
to the limit in attempting to win the
Battle of the Atlantic-a battle whose
field of action is the Atlantic Ocean,
and whose greatest activity is found
in the 80O-odd miles Of blue water
which lie between American-occupied
Iceland and the British Isles.
German response to the Presidents
speech was that Mr.. Roosevelt was
taking an untenable stand, and that
under the rules of warfare, Germany
was entitled to destroy, with or with
out warning, merchantmen carrying
supplies to England. There may be
some abstract logic in that Nazi po-
sition, but there is grim irony in Hit
ler's spokesman talking about inter
national law. Hitler has proven time
and again that he observes the laws
of nations when, and only when they
suit his purposes. This is war to
the finish, and none of the combatants
observe international statutes which
were established long ago in times OF
peace.
Some are convinced that the full
participation of the American Navy
will definitely prove solution te
Britain's crucial supply problem. Tho
English Navy is big, but it has sus'
tanned major losses and it must at
tempt to police most Of the world
There simply aren't enough British
fighting craft available to provide
adequate conveys for the merchant
men that bring the sinews of war
along with the basic necessities o1
life, from the new world to the old.
There is little effective opposition
to the Presidents position. The iso
; lationists in House and Senate are be
coming more and more in the mi
nority. 1t is reported that Wendell
Willkie will actively support GOl
Congressman next year who hav'
backed and voted for the PRESIDENT
foreign policy. America First Com
mittee spokesmen have been talkin,
to small, often unfriendly crowds
America hasn't been carried ava.
with martial spirit yet, but that spiri
is mounting.
According to dispatches from tn
front lines, Russian troops have a
times actually swept supposedly
crack German divisions back in dis
ordered, flying retreat. That mus
have come as terrific shock to Reic
{ commanders, who were accustomed t
conquests in which the opposition di
practically nothing except surrender
, Those who forecast the swift col