Evening star., 1941-03-16

United States if this Nation ever
asserted its own interests.
Let not dictators Of Europe and
Asia doubt our unanimity now.
Before the present war broke
out on September /, 1899, I was
more worried about the future
than many people-most people.
The record shows was not wor-
ried enough. ,
That, however, Is water over
the dam. Do not let us waste
time reviewing the past. or fixing
or dodging the blame for it.
History cannot be rewritten by
wishful thinking. We, the Amer
ican people, are writing new
history today.
The big news story of this
week is this: The world has been
told that we, as a united Nation,
realize the danger which con-
fronts us-and that to meet tnat
danger our democracy has gone
into action.
We know that although Prus-
sian autocracy was bad enough,
Nazi-ism is far worse.
Nazi forces are not seeking
mere notifications in colonial
maps or in minor European
boundaries. They openly seek
the destruction of all elective
systems of government on every
continent-including our own;
they seek to establish systems of
government based on the regi-
mentation of all human beings by
a handful Of individual rulers
who have seized power by force.
Humanity Won't Accept
System Imposed by Conquest.
These men and their hypno-
tized followers call this a new
order. 1t is not new. 1t is not
order. For order among nations
presupposes something enduring
some system of justice under
which individuals, over a long
period of time, are willing to live.
Humanity will never permanently
accept system imposed by con-
quest and based on slavery.
These modern tyrants find it
necessary to their plans to elimi-
nate all democracies-elim
them one by one. The nations of
Europe, and indeed We ourselves,
did not appreciate that purpose.
We do now. The process of the
elimination of the European ma
tions proceeded according to plan
through 1889 and 1910, until the
schedule was shot to pieces by
the unbeatable defenders of
Britain.
The enemies of democracy were
wrong in their calculations for
a very simple reason. They were
wrong because they believed that
democracy could not adjust itself
to the terrible reality of a world
at war.
They believed that democracy,
because of its profound respect
for the rights of men. would
never arm itself to fight.
They believed that democracy,
because of its will to live at peace
with its neighbors, could not mo-
bilize its energies even in its own
defense.
They know now that democ-
racy can still remain democracy,
and speak, and reach conclu-
sions. and arm itself adequately
for defense.
From the bureaus of propa-
ganda of the axis powers came
the confident prophecy that the
conquest of our country would be
"an inside job"-a job accom-
plished not by overpowering in
vasion from without, but by dis
rupting confusion and disunion
and moral disintegration from
within.
Americas Problems Are
Talked Out in Open.
Those who believed that knew
little of our history. America
is not a country which can be
confounded by the appeasers, the
defeatists, the backstairs manu-
facturers of panic. 1t is a coun-
try which talks out its problems
IN the open, where any man can
hear them.
We have Just now engaged in
a great debate. 1t was not linn
tied to the halls of Congress.
1t was argued in every newspaper,
on every wave length-over every
cracker barrel in the land. 1t
was finally settled and decided
by the American people them
selves.
The decisions of our democ-
racy may be slowly arrived at.
But when that decision is made,
it is proclaimed not with the
voice of any one man, but with