Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-05-28
President Puts
u. S. on Full
Wartime Busis
(Terts OF Presidents speech ana
proclamation on Page A.
By JOHN c. HENRY.

By JOHN Z. HENh1.
America was on wartime footlng
TODAY. summoned last night by Pres
tdent Roosevelt to exert its fullest
national effort to bring about VIC
tory for democracy and defeat Tor
totalitarianlsm.
Realistically, it was an action &C
complished by issuance of a presl-
dental proclamation of an unllm-
tied national emergency, setting the
stage for any positive and precise
executive action short of an actual
declaration of war.
1t was expected today that pro-
gressive steps in the implementatlon
of this basic proclamation will fol-
low shortly in the form of executive
orders, as more complete Govern
ment mobilization of AL OF the
moral strength and all of the ma
terial resources of this Nation" may
become necessary.
Mr.. Roosevelt's decision to place
the Nation now officially and COM
pletely on the alert was announced
as climactic surprise near the
close of a 45-minute ''flreside chat"
delivered to the Americas and to all
the world from the flag -decked east
room of the White House.
Seated before him as he spoke
solemnly and with careful emphasis
into battery of spotlighted micro
phones were the formally-dressed
diplomatic representatives OF all OF
the n-American nations, their
families and chosen group OF
Washington officialdom.
And listening in the far-away
places reached by radio were not
only millions of Americans for whom
these words may mean sacrifices as
vet undreamed of, but other millions
of English-speaking people on the
"far-flung battle line" and more
millions of those now living resent
fully under the totalitarian conquest.
For these, the Presidents speech was
translated and broadcast in Is for
eign languages.
Throughout, it was an address
packed with dramatic words, prom
Uses which leave no doubt of the
intent at least of this Government
to see through" today's war of
ideologies. For those who have
pleaded that he point the Nations
course in specific words, Mr. Roose-
welt at several points was most posi-
tive, perhaps most so in three
trenchant paragraphs defining our
national policy today" 1t is, he
said
First, We shall actively resist
wherever necessary and with all our
resources, every attempt by Hitler
to extend his Nazi domination to
the Western Hemisphere. or to
threaten it. We shall actively re-
sist his every attempt to gain con-
troll of the seas. We insist upon
the vital importance of keeping
Hitlerism away from any point in
the world which could be used and
would be used as base of attack
against the Americas.
Second, from the point of view
OF strict naval and military neces-
sity, we shall give every possible
assistance to Britain and to all who,
with Britain, are resisting Hitler
ism or its equivalent with force OF
arms. Our patrols are helping now
to insure delivery of the needed sup
plies to Britain. All additional meas
ures necessary to deliver the goods
will be taken. Any and all further
methods or combination of meth
DDS, which can or should be utilized,
are being devised by our military
and naval technicians, who, with
me, will work out and put into eff
feet such new and additional safe
guards as may be needed.
Deliveries Pledged.
"The delivery of needed supplies
10 Britain is imperative. This can
be done; it must be done; it will be
done"
No more did he tell of what the
further methods in this regard
would be, but frequently and at
length he emphasized American de-
termination that there will be no
construction permitted of the tradi-
tional freedom of the seas, indicat-
ing clearly that his conception of
defending this freedom may soon
mean extension of our armed guard
ianship of ocean vantage points.
THE war is approaching the brink
Of the Western Hemisphere ITSELF"
he warned. 1T is coming very close
to home"
Nazi plans, he explained do not
stop with their conquests in Eur
ope, with their generations in
North Africa, nor with their threats
to Egypt, Suez and the Near East.
They also have the armed power
at any moment to occupy Spain and
Portugal; and that threat extends
not only to French North Africa
and the western end of the Mediter-
ranean but also to the Atlantic
fortress of Dakar and to the island
outposts of the New World-the
Azores and Cape Verde Islands.
The Cape Verde Islands are only
seven hours distance from Brazil
by bomber or troop-carrying planes.
They dominate shipping routes to
and from the South Atlantic"
Occupation Indicated.
That his mention of these geo.
graphical points and of German
raiding operations in nearby At
lantic waters implies an extern
sion of our defensive strategy OF
maintaining bases and perhaps OF
outright occupation of certain of
the key spots was supported at
other points in Mr.. Roosevelt's ad-
dress.
Nobody can foretell tonight just
when the acts of the dictators will
ripen into attack on this hemisphere
and U.S." he said. But we know
enough by now to realize that 1t
would be suicide to wait until they
are in our front yard. - 1t is
stupid to wait until a probable
(see ROOSEVELT, Page AID -.