Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-05-04
u. S. Headed
For Greater
-.
Na+ionaIism
Dream Of United Earth
Called Crazy
By WESTBROOK PEGLER

Deen Toying WIN q kredI
brotherhood of peoples under q
rule of justice to be enforced, Of
course, by us and our partners
in the role of military victors.
and I would like to throw in my
opinion that they are either
crazy or just being politicians.
If our side wins the war, Rus
STA will plan the peace Of the
European continent, and on the
basis of all Russia's past per-
formances we can confidently
assume that in Germany 1t will
be a peace not much different
from that which Hitler has i'm
posed on Poland.
Russia will not be asking our
advice or permission any more
than she Is consulting US In the
conduct Of the war, and our own
people will pick up their mar
bles and come on home to be
not only more nationalistic than
ever, but mllltar1Stlc, 100.
As A NATION we simply
"a aren't inclined to world
brotherhood. We are strictly
toner's as we demonstrated after
the last war when we turned
our backs on Europe and Wood
row Wilson.
Notwithstanding whatever Il
was that Mrs. Roosevelt said
about what the American fight
ing men did when the other war
was over. II was the whole
American people who renounced !,
Europe.
The American Legion had lit
tie influence except in lobbying
up pensions and the bonus and
annoying people with riotous GO
ings-on at the national conven-
tons.
THE people were fed up on
Il "Europe's endless wars" IN
the phrase went. but made the
mistake OF rejecting Wilson'S
alternative stated over and over
in his dying effort to swing IN
into his dream league.
The alternative was that we
must become a nation in arms
with more or less universal COM
pulsory military service.
We turned down his league
because we felt sure that we
always would be running to a
hen-house fire in the Balkans
with a leaky hose and a celluloid
ladder. but we also got plastered
on jake and jumpsteady and. as
DRINKS will. thought we could
lick any half-dozen you-hmow-
whats in the house with no more
training than a haircut and a
shave.
IN ALL this time our national
L ism hasn't diminished a tenth
Of degree. but we surely have
discovered in the last couple of
years that we can learn to shoot
and march and fly as well as
any one else when we put our
mind to II and I think we are
going to enjoy the feel Of being
tough so much that we will keep
in training indefinitely, with
plenty Of divisions, planes, ships
and war industry.
IL we can learn to be as sin
gle-minded and selfish as Russia
about our own national safety
we will do well and we certainly
should try to learn to keep our
secrets about inventions, meth
DDS. supplies. capacities and 50
forth because Russia and Ger
many did that while we were
showing off our toys with the
vain. silly pride of little kids.
| ONE Of our high aviation of
" ficers was saying recently
that when those Russians few
over to drop in on US a few years
ago and we showed them all
our stuff, which wasn't much In
bulk, but rather special, one Of
the Russian officers said he just
couldn't understand why we did
this.
He said we showed him things
that he didn't even ask to see.
whereas, in Russia, they never
showed us anything and our
people knew 1t would be useless
to ask.
Russia, like Germany, has rub
Der boundaries which stretch
and contract, and wherever they
stretch to. there communism Is.
1 just don't believe our people
ever will go for communism or
collaborate sincerely in a post
war arrangement in which one
Of the dominant powers is COM
munism.
| MOREOVER, collaboration has
4'A got to be reciprocal and we
won't be willing to 60 on fur
nishing all the reciprocity while
Russia just grunts.
You may say this Is a very
sordid and pessimistic writing
and not an alternative plan.
OF course, ii is no plan. but
no plan is at least as good as
any plan which calls on us to
Snare world responsibility with
a nation which shares nothing
| hut her troubles with anvbodv