Evening star., 1941-04-29

aIlN Iletu even ny ILIN4ll tCtAOll ~ LII
ply that because Col. Lindbergh dis
agreed with his Governments policy
he couldn't serve patriotically in
time of war.
Not long ago, in fact, in one Of his
first public utterances on war issues,
Col. Lindbergh implied disloyalty
on the part of the press and dis
seminated in America the same kind
of vicious propaganda about the at
titude of American newspapers as
has been aSsiduouSly spread by the
NaN press bureaus. But two wrongs
do not make a right. And because
Col Lindbergh adopted the Nazi
psychology of casting diScredit on
press which disagreed with him was
no reason for the President of the
United States to assist in developing
q quasi-martyr status for the noted
flyer.
There is, on the other hand, plenty
of precedent for letting Reserve Off
GERS say what they please on pub
lie questions in time of peace, though
In wartime it would not be allowed.
Retired Army and Navy officers
have recently been conspicuous in
the public prints discussing war
issues. None, however, has been as
outSpoken in his disagreement with
the Government as has Col. Lind
bergh.
Protection Despite Disagreement.
Under the American system, any
body can say what he pleaSes on the
merits of public question. In Ger
many. no reserve officer and no
private citizen would be permitted to
speak out as plainly against the
Government as Col Lindbergh is
permitted to do.
What most Americans want is a
democracy which will protect Col.
Lindbergh in his right to disagree.
For it was Oliver Wendell Holmes
associate Justice Of the Supreme
Court of the United States, who once
defined freedom of speech as free
dom for the thought we hate
Millions of Americans, no doubt
are impatient with Col. Lindbergh
and some of them will mistakenly
argue that he ought to be muZzled,
but this is an erroneous conception
of democracy. If Col Lindbergh
cannot be defeated in an open debate
on the issues and any improper
tactics are employed in combating
his viewpoint, many people will be
won to his side on the suspicion that
his argument has merit or else it
would not be SquelChed.
The Lindbergh viewpoint need not
be suppressed at all. In fact, it is
vital that what the flyer says shall
have the widest attention. The for
mer colonel says he believes Britain's S
cause is hopeless and in effect that
the British should surrender. AS
for America, Lindbergh is confident
that Hitler will not be unreasonable
and that by arming now we shall be
able to prevent Hitler from invading
our shores.
Grave Risks Seen.
The public has to choose between
the argument that Hitler may deal
reasonably with America provided
the United States conforms to his
wishes and the argument that Hitler
has never dealt reasonably with
any nation over which he has OBJ
tanned a dominating position. Lind
bergh might be proved right-Hitler
might be willing to let the United
States live on, but if America adopts
the course that Holland, Belgium,
Norway and Denmark did-namely
of trusting to Hitler's benevolence
and then finding the exact contrary
when it suited the whim of the die
tator-the responsibility for a fiasCo
would not be that of the famous
aviator who now WithdraWS from
the Air Corps 1t would be the re-
sponsibility of the President and the
Congress and an acquiescent Amer
lean people.
The military and naval men and
farseeing statesmen do not believe
in taking chances with the national
safety Lindbergh's idea that
Britain should surrender and throw
herself on the mercy of Hitler and
that America should look on with
stole Indifference is philosophy
which involves grave risks to the
whole cause of democracy. Lind
bergh rarely if ever uses the word
democracy in his speeches and it
may be he has the feeling it has
outlived its usefulness. But so long
as the press prints as widely as it
did Col. Lindbergh's letter of resig-
nation from the Air Corps and the
news of his speeches, as it is doing
today, the aviator must ruefully re-
gret the day he wantonly used in
nuendoes about the loyalty motives
and character of the American
press.
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