Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-03-26
BY HUGH S. JOHNSON

THIS Lindy has CUTS. saw
= and heard him testify before
Sol Blooms House committee on
the lease-lend bill
There were about war men
/ in that tribunal who. at first,
felt they had him as securely
tied to the post, in front Of the
fires, as was ever sixteenth z
century Jesuit missionary, by
any savage Huron or Iroquois
tribe Of torturers.
+ He was an isolationist. far
more extreme than most of the
rest. He boldly said that he
didn't care which side won in
Europe. he hoped neither would,
he was interested only in per-
fecting and preserving the de-
Tense strength of the United
States, which he believed could
be done if we concentrated that
strength on our own defense and
did not fritter IT away. attempt
| ing to conserve the British
empire.
TT WAS not hard to hear the
Il whinny of the whetting knives
on the committee rostrum. A
very hostile publicity background
had been built up by the defend
Britain committee. People in
the packed aud ence almost
gasped at such audaciiy. When
he first started TO testify. l
thought that he was in, for a
I sort of torquemada inquisition
by the war-minded whirling der
wishes in the committee semi
circle with the encouragement
Of the crowd.
Nothing of the kind happened.
One reason that il did not hap
pen was that the committee
chairman, Sol Bloom-who has
frequently been criticized as
what. at West Point. is called a
gallery boner" and in more
understandable Americanese a
publicity hound let
it happen.
LIE WAS impressed with the
II stateSmanlike necessity, re-
CARELESS of his own apparent
burning conviction, to have this
debate proceed, as he said sew
eral times, in order" / have
known Mr.. Bloom for years.
Under the weight of these great
responsibilities, he rises. Wood
row Wilson once said during the
World War:
Take an ordinary citizen and
subject him to these terrific war
pressures and the duty of fate
full decisions and one of two
things happens. He grows or he
swells."
Sol has grown maiestically.
But there was another reason
that you could see as it perme-
ated both committee and audi
ence. 1t was the cool, calm
courage, logic and fearless frank
ness of this American eX-hero
in faith in his convictions-like
the Jesuit at the Iroquois stake.
When he left the stand, the
largely hostile audience and the
Overwhelmingly hostile political
committee spontaneously stood
in silent tribute-and Sol Bloom
was the first to stand. 1t was
great tribute tC Slim" but it
was almost as great a tribute
to the committee and the usual
American way of looking at
things.
NOW Lindbergh has taken a
~ similar stand in a long let
ter TO Americans and Golfers,
which apparently doesn't agree
with much of it, in spirit SINH
lar to that of MI. Blooms COM
mittee. has published it, 1t is
/ important to read it. l too dis
agree with some. but far from
all. of its conclusions. But l
first met this clear-eyed Ameri-
can when he was a kid. flying
the mail between Chicago and
Kansas City. l knew his father
before him. He has no fair or
apparent wish for popularity and
no sense at all for favorable
publicity He is simply sincere.
In every act of his life,
/ through more than one epochal
/ national and international incl
/ dent. he has shown a rarely
equaled calm, deliberate intelli-
gence and fearlessness-and I'M
eXampled fortitude-that, in his
/ prominence, are not merely per-
,Sonal. but national assets. He
| has nothing TO gain and a great
deal 10 lose by his attitude. He
is seeking no public or private
/ prefermept and, by his present
stand. is bravely counting the
reverse Of either.
/ don't see how anybody can
read his letter" without a con-
Xiction- that II time and past
time for all of us not only to
stop, look and listen" but to
begin to question the high-power
propaganda which is whipping
US into one of our greatest dan
gers-high time 10 try to stop
the current strengthening of
...l.. L ..r... L.. 49,. a.,tl. nndl....r.