Evening star., 1941-07-27

PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.
eve 1uiH decide for ourselves
1rhether, and 1Chen, or 1Chere our
American interests are attacked
or our security threatened
A. P. Photo.
German push the occupation of Den
mark and Norway, the conquest OF Hol-
land and Belgium. and the crackup of
France. They were the days of Hitlers
greatest triumph, but the nuisance value
of this Governments policy of lending
many words of support to the crumbling
anti-AXis front must have plagued Berlin
somewhat and might we'll have been an
important factor in keeping dismayed
Britain from folding up along with its
allies.
1t was then that Mr.. Roosevelt flung
his contemptuous accusation at Fascist
Italy for its stab in the back of a
sWooning France. And it was then that
the spurs finally were iabbed into our
own preparations for fighting; defen-
sively, it has been emphasized but al
ways with a lurking thought in minds
abroad as we'll as at home that todays
conception of defense may involve action
outside the Western Hemisphere.
On May Is. 1910. the President asked
Congress for 81 1882 100000 in emergency
defense appropriations and authorize
tions Two weeks later on May 81, he
asked another 81 277,740000 for an ac-
celeration and enlargement of the
program contemplated. And on July 10,
he topped both of these earlier requests
by asking another s4848, 100000
1t was obvious then that this Govern
ment might some day be tough in more
than words. and Berlin could not
sensibly have been pleased at the
thought.
Reelection of Roosevelt.
Meanwhile a national election was
approaching and Axis hopes that Mr..
Roosevelt would retire or that one of
the major parties would name an ap-
peasement candidate were blasted by
developments at the two conventions.
Nominated. Mr.. Roosevelt cracked at
the Rome Berlin front persistently
throughout his campaign, perhaps most
challengingly during a worldwide
broadcast from his railroad train in
Dayton, Ohio in october when he prom
ised grimly that no combination of
dictator nations" would force a change
in the foreign policy of this Govern
ment.
During this campaign period came
another administration move which
must have jolted the Nazi hierarchy
the trading of so American destroyers
to Britain in return for rights to eight
Atlantic naval bases 1t was an aggres-
sive step as far as this Government
was concerned, and a double notice to
the Axis that American defenses were
not going to remain stationary and that
here was potential foe that did not
choose to wait for each unfolding of
Hitlerian strategy.
In fireSide chat at the turn Of the
year Mr.. Roosevelt finally stung the
Berlin bigwigs into retort, sure sign
that the American campaign of nerves
was having effect
The United States. he said, had mo
right or reason to encourage talk OF
peace until the day shall come when
there is a clear intention on the part
of the aggressor nations to abandon all
thought of dominating or conquerlng the
world Nazi spokesmen howled indig-
nant denial of such intent
The Four Freedoms.
In his opening message to Congress a
few days later, the President took the
offensive again by defining his own
conception of the new order" to which
the world might look in postwar years,
an order founded on the four freedoms
of speech. worship, economic security
and fearlessness.
THAT kind of world" he jibed at the
Nszis. lis the very antithesis of the So
called new order of tyranny which the
dictators seek to create with the crash
of bomb"
BY this time the pace Of words, deeds
and psychological pressures was becom-
ing even more intensified. In March
Mr., Roosevelt removed the silly old
dollar sign" from the aid to Britain
picture and put everything on lease
lend basis He had promised that Amer
lea would be the arsenal of democracy, y
now he removed the obstruction of cash
considerations and Berlin was encour-
aged to fret about the potentialities of
American production.
In April this Government took the
aggressive again by closing deal with
| the Danish Minister here for inclusion
of Greenland within the system OF
American hemisphere defense. In many
| respects Il vaS 4 maueuver not foreign