The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1941-11-27
Oda V
AND
OEn1GDrrOw
Frank Parker StOckridge
CONVERSATION argument

CONVERSATION argumen
did you hear what Knox sal
on the radio the other night?"
These days, an innocentl
phrased question like that
dropped in a roomful of people
acts like a fuse to set off a nigh
of heated argument.
Until someone mentions a sub
iect which has to do with war
the conversation may be limited
to a calm exchange of pleasan
tries, but the Knox question, Of
any similar comment on the news
gradually leads to the abandon
ment of all other topics.
Usually it warns up gradually
In answer to the Knox question
the man sitting quietly in the cor
ner of the room may answer, "Tll
say - that guy is really showing
the Germans we mean business!
Someone else will pick up that
answer and remark, "You mean
he's leading us right into war!
Somebody ought to stop his talk
ing"
After a few more preliminaries
the people in the room begin to
choose sides. Soon thoughts begin
tumbling out Of mouths, no one
wanting to take time to listen to
the others argument. 1t has be-
come a question of whether we
should go to war or be isolationists
or stay on the fence-and every
body wants to have his say.
SHIPS attacks
The President and his foreign
policy form the center of most
verbal conflicts about war.
Roosevelt has already broken
every pledge he made to keep us
out of war;" an anti-New Dealer
will remark.
"The heck he has," replies one
of the interventionists. "He prom
ised he wouldn't 60 to war unless
attacked. Well, we've been at
tackled on the seas a dozen times"
mo, we haven't" exclaims an
isolationist. "What we've done is
send our battleships out hunting
for submarines, and when they
shoot back he calls it an attack.
"What about the merchant ships
the Nazis have sunk?"
"Most of them weren't even oul
Ships" comes the reply. "Why dc
you suppose we put them under
Panama registry? Because WE
didn't want to be responsible fol
them if they were shot at carry
ing goods to England! But then
when someone does shoot at them
the President calls them our ships
again to try to get us excited
about war"
That's a lot of boloney," an in
terventionist says heatedly. Il
we can't send ships wherever VIZ
want, it means the end of free
dom Of the seas"
"Freedom of the SEAS" says the
isolationist scornfully, 'is just
lot of hooey. We don't want the
Germans to have freedom of TIT
seas, do we? What we mean b!
freedom of the seas is control o
the seas"
INSULTS ROOseVel
Usually, when an argumen
about war begins to reach the IN
sulting-one-another stage, some
one who hasn't had much to sa,
breaks in with a remark Whlc
shifts the tack Of the conversation
cts not question:" he Nigh
venture, "of freedom of the sea
or the registry of boats. The bl
question is whether we're Willin
to do our part to save democrac
or if we want to be slaves to Hit
Ter"
"What's the use of making tank
and planes if they're just goln
to get sunk in the Atlantic?" an
other remarks.
"Well," another com m n t.
'from what I've heard we haven
got anything much to ship abroa
yet anyway. If Roosevelt reall
wants to win the war why doesn
he stop strikes and really &c
things done?"
'Listen!" shouts somebody VIII
has begun to lose patience. II &c
sick and tired of everybody blan
ing Roosevelt for everything. He
got the toughest job any man eve
had and you just sit around an
criticize! He really knows what
going on. We don't. Why can
you just take his word for it thu
we've got to lick Hitler and thu
he knows how it can best b