Evening star., 1942-10-27

49,. 90
Mr.. Willkie as he rehearst
fast. They like us for this, and they
respect us.
Our motion pictures have played
an important role in building up this
reservoir of friendliness. They are
shown all over the world. People o1
every country can see with theil
own eyes what we look like, can hear
our voices. From Natal to Chung
king I was piled with questions
about American motion picture stars
questions asked eagerly by shop
girls and those who served me coffee
and just as eagerly by the wives OF
prime ministers and kings.
There are still other reasons for
our reserve of good will abroad. The
people of every land, whether indus
trialized or not, admire the aspira-
tions and accomplishments of Amer
lcan labor, which they have heard
about, and which they long to emu
late. Also they are impressed by
American business and industry.
In nearly every country went to-
| there is some great dam or irriga-
ton project, some harbor or factory
which has been built by Americans.
| People like our works, found, not
only because they help to make life
easier and richer, but also because
we have shown that American busi-
ness enterprise, unlike that of most
other industrial nations, does not
necessarily lead to political control
or imperialism.
Imperialism Dreaded.
I found this dread of imperialism
everywhere. The fact that We are
not associated with it in mems minds
has caused people to go much fur
ther in their approval of us than I
had dared to imagine. was amazed
to discover how keenly the world is
aware of the fact that we do not seek
anywhere, in any region-to i'm
pose our rule on others or to exact
special privileges.
All the people of the earth know
that we have no sinister designs
on them; that even when We have
in the past withdrawn from inter-
national affairs into false self
sufficiency, it was without sinister
purpose And they know that, now
foht-
ing for profit, or loot, or territory,
or mandatory power over the lives
or the governments of other people
That, 1 think, is the single most
important reason for the existence
of our reservoir of good will around
the world.
Now, as I see it. the existence
of this reservoir is the biggest po-
litical fact of our time No other
Western nation has such a reser-
voir. Ours must be used to unity
the peoples of the earth in the
human quest for freedom and JUS
tice. 1t must be maintained SC
that, with confidence, they may
fight and work with us against the
Gigantic evil forces that are seek
ing to destroy all that we stand
for. all that they hope for.
The preservation of this reservoir
of good will is sacred responsi.
bility, not alone toward the aspir.
ing peoples of the earth, but to.
ward our own sons who are fight.
ing this battle on every continent
For the water in this reservoir i!
the clean, the invigorating watel
of freedom.
Reservoir Leaks Dangerously.
I bring you the assurance tina
this reservoir exists. I also bring
you the warning that it is leaking
1t is leaking dangerously 1t il
leaking at thousand points. I
is leaking through steadily spread
ing cracks and holes. These hole
have not been punched in the res
ervoir by Hitler. They have beer
punched by us.
reservoir are of our own making
For the very existence of this reser.
voir is built on confidence in us, il
our integrity of purpose, our honesty
in dealing, our ability in perform.
ance. We have made great prom.
ises. How have these promises beer
fulfilled?
Take the vital matter of our pro.
duction of war materials. Here We
are, supposedly the biggest indus.
trial nation on earth. But the flow
of war materials out of this country
to some of the nations I visited is
not only small in itself, but as com.
pared to the immensity of thi.
global war we are engaged in, it i:
tragically small.
This was first dramatized for me no
at the end of the trip, but near the
start, when I saw warehouse that
was supposedly an important distri.
button center for American ma
terials to be delivered by air trans
port. That warehouse was about
the size of my house in Rushville
Ind. which has 10 rooms. But wher
I came to examine the goods in it
found there were only enough to fill
about one room of such house.
From this inflnitesimal supply
materials would have to branch ou1
into ever-smaller streams, ane
finally trickle into the hands o.
those who so desperately need then
people who sometimes do not know
whether to laugh or to weep wher
these crates and packages arrive.
Some Exceptions.
! I followed some of those stream.
and other streams to their destina.
tions-and I stopped talking abou
American production. If I were Il
tell you how few bombers China ha!
received from us you simply woul,
not believe me. If I were to tell 70,
how far Russia feels we are from
fulfilling our commitments yo,
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