The Republican., 1943-02-18
The Function Of
Speeches In Wartime
By NEWTON AIKEN, In the Baltimore
Sunday Sun

Sunday Sun
Words count heavily in nations
war potential, as we have all been
reminded during the past week by the
speeches of Mr.. Churchill and Presi-
dent Roosevelt.
We have not yet reached that penul-
innate stage of the conflict in which
words addressed to enemy peoples
will lend weight to bombs and high
explosive shells. There are occasions
even now when warnings like the one
Mr.. Churchill addressed to Italy
few months ago bring reinforcement
to the work of the armies and the
airmen, but it is on the home front
that words such as the leaders of
Britain and America have just uttered
have their highest value.
This is something new From the
day of William Pitt the speeches Of
great political leaders have formed
bulwarks of defense for embattled
nation. Every one who has read the
history of the Nepoleonic period is
familiar with Pitts famous dictum
that England has saved herself by
her exertions and will, l hope, save
Europe by her example" And we all
remember the great effect in 1917-18
of Wilson's phrase about making "the
world safe for democracy"
In this war, of course, words, ideas,
phrases have played a tremendous
part in marshaling the national
forces of Britain. Mr.. Churchill's fam
Gus admonition about "blood, sweat
and tears" and his declaration that
eve shall fight on the beaches, we
shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields, we shall
fight in the streets, we shall fight on
the hills; we shall never surrender"
passed not only into the records Of
British oratory. They passed also into
the souls of the British people and
served the purposes of war as well as
tanks or airplanes.
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President Roosevelt has not had to
perform such prodigies with his
speeches as Mr.. Churchill did, for we
were protected by the broad Atlantic
from immediate attack, and we had
done more to mobilize our productive
forces before we were dragged into
the conflict. But Mr.. Roosevelt's ap-
peals have helped to gather the ma
tion's forces.
In the later stages of the war,
words, phrases, ideas will assume an
even greater Importance. To under
stand this we have only to recall that
for several months before the armis-
tice which ended the first World War,
the pronouncements of Allied states
men, especially those of President
Wilson, had as much effect in Ger
many as in this country.
To say this is not to underwrite the
Hitlerian claim that Mr. Wilson won
the war by his eloquence in eXpound-
ing the Fourteen Points. That is sheer
nonsense. Germany did not surrender
to an oratorical barrage. Germany
surrendered because her Austrian ally
had been beaten and because the Ger
man armies in the west were power
less to check the victorious advance
of the Allies.
Let no one be deluded into think
ing that propaganda, even of the most
effective kind, won that war OF can
win this one. The armies, the navies
and the air forces of the United Ma
tions must attend to that. But as the
hour of victory approaches, words
can and doubtless will be used to
shape the arrangements which the
Axis surrender will make necessary.
##s
That is why consideration of peace
aims is one Of the imperative accom-
panimCnts Of the war from now on.
What we say to the people of Ger
many and Italy (and eventually to
Japan when the time comes to ar
range even the barest preliminaries
Of peace will depend on what is pre-
pared in the meantime Since any ne
gotiations with Hitler and Mussolini
or their like will be unthinkable, we
must be ready first of all to indicate
with what sort of government we will
deal and how it shall be constituted.
Perhaps some consideration has al
ready been accorded this matter. The
President and Mr. Churchill agreed
at Casablanca to prosecute the war
until our enemies surrendered uncon-
ditionally. 1t is very difficult to con-
slider that question without proceeding
to the next one, which concerns the
kind Of government from which a
surrender would be accepted 1t may
be that the two chiefs of state arrived
at this discussion of this further
point.
Whether they did or not, the fact
remains that the time is approach
ing when speeches by great national
leaders will have to include some ref
erenccs to this and other matters af-
= Il. Il.