Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-11-22
Efforts to Define War Aims
OfUnited Nations Are Revived
Recent Statement of Churchill Held at Variance
With Stain Who Opposes Disarming Germany;
Willkie Pleads for Agreement
By FeIir Morley.

man people can be induced to overthrow
the Na1 dictatorship. This Is really ef-
fective propaganda, shrewdly calculated
to encourage revolt in Germany and thus
er termination.
But is is also way out Of line with the
Atlantic Charter. For in the eighth point
of that historic document President
Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill
agreed that the disarmament Of the ag-
gressor nations lis essential"
The desirability of such unilateral
disarmament was reiterated by Mr..
Churchill in his public statement OF
August "a, 1941. THE United States and
Great Britain" he then said, do not now
assume that there will never be any more
war again. On the contrary, we intend
to take ample precaution to prevent its
renewal in any period we can forsee by
effectively disarming the guilty nations
while remaining suitably protected our
selves"
OF course, personal statement by the
President does not, as the history of the
League of Nations attests, constitute a
policy in any way binding on the United
States. Still less is our Government COM
mitted by the intentions of the Prime
Minister of Great Britain. This country
may, or may not, eventually insist on the
disarmament of a defeated Germany.
Great Britain, however, is at present
| pledged to attempt that disarmament.
And Russia is now just as definitely on
in, To
In his speech of November 10, Mr..
Churchill was admirably precise in de-
filming Britain's war objectives. 1--WE
have" he said, mo territorial aims. We
desire no commercial favors. We wish
to alter no sovereignty or frontier for
our own benefit" And then:
Let me, however, make this clear, In
case there should be any mistake about
it in any quarter. We mean to hold our
own. I have not become the Kings First
Minister in order to preside over the
liquidation of the British Empire
Hong Kong Question Raised.
The lack of any qualification in this
statement seems to make it also, at least
| potentially, at variance with the Atlantic
| Charter. For the third point Of the
| charter asserts that the United States
and Great Britain respect the right of
| all people to choose the form of govern
ment under which they will live
| AS to whether AL peoples" means only
| those recently conquered by Germany
and Japan, or should also include those
subjected few decades earlier by Great
Britain and Russia, there is admittedly
some difference of opinion. But it is
scarcely to be expected that the Chinese,
for instance, will after this war placidly
consent to the return of Hong Kong to
British rule, merely because that crown
colony on Chinese soil was for century,
| by right of conquest. part of the empire
| which Mr.. Churchill proposes to main
| tain inviolate.
Regardless of how such knotty terri
torial problems may eventually be re-
solved, Mr.. Churchill deserves the graft
tude of all Americans for having 50
clearly defined the major British war OBJ
| jective. This is to maintain the British
Empire intact, and to disarm those ma
lions which have attacked it,
| Stain has now similarly at least indi-
Gated the Russian purpose 1t Is to MAIN
tain friendly relations with Japan while
destroying the Fascist governments of
Germany and Italy, eventually s,lbsti-
tuting there Communist regimes allied
to Moscow but sufficiently we'll armed to
defend themselves against possible cap
italist reaction
Must Have a Purpose.
| The Importance of Mr.. WILKES speech
Nf oloo,. e
definition of American war aims. 1t is
found in his eminently reasonable and
by no means premature plea that the :
United Nations may all come into sub
stantial agreement concerning what we
are fighting for"
That such an agreement does not now
| obtain is obvious from the different
interpretations given to the Atlantic
| Charter by Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr..
Churchill, as also by the disagreement
OF Stain with both Churchill and Roose-
welt IN regard to the postwar disarma-
ment OF Germany which, undoubtedly
will eventually disown Hitlerism. If
there Is disagreement now, when uni
formity of outlook Is counseled by the
many pitfalls along the uphill path to
military triumph will the chances for
accord be likely to increase as the end
OF the war approaches?
Mr.. Willkie thinks not In his thought
full and penetrating speech he tells us
that war fought for the mere fun of
fighting is. In view of the destructiveness
OF modern science, sheer imbecility. "A
war won without a purpose" he wisely
says, lis war won without victory"
Ideas for peace, says Mr.. Willkie, are
now every bit as essential for this coun-
try as are guns for war. And such ideas.
1t may be further asserted, are In a
sense more important even than the
ideals Of which we advertise such a con-
ficting plethora.
That is because the noble ideal un-
supported by the practical idea, is not
merely unattainable. which does not
matter, but may also prove definitely
deceptive, which is disastrous. For it is
the embittered sense of deception which
leads eventually to establishment, cyni-
cism, and such profound and uninteIi-
gent reaction as that which Americans
witnessed in the isolationist swing at the
close Of the last war.
Conudions Help Revive
Cornwall Tin Industry