The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1943-10-07

This control Of the seas was. of
course, maintained for British secur-
ity. But free communities all over the
world reaped the benefit; not only
countries like Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and South America, but, as
4 Lippmann points out, the American
{ Commonwealth also.
The lesson | read from the past is
this. The peace Of the world is safe
only SO long as free communities have
shield so strong that no autocratic
government, like that Of Germany
under Bismarck, can think it possible
to pierce that shield.
How can such a shield be main
tanned in future? l have given my
answer to that question in three pam
phlcts called "Decision," "Action, -
and Faith and Works" These pam
! ph.crs were written and addressed
only to my fellow-citizcns Of the Uni
ted Kingdom, every man and woman
of tie age Of p G.. upward, the vot-
ers, and therefore the ultimate GOV
eminent Of the country. In these pam
rh.cts | have not presumed to adj
dress citizens Ct the United States
nor even those Of the British Domin-
ions, whose separate sovereignt:es and
independence are now clearly estab-
lished by the Statute Of Westminster
Now what have said to my own
people is this: By 1900 we were losing
the flying start we had gained in pro-
ductjon. The Germans began to forsec
q time when they could afford to build
a fleet strong enough to challenge
British sea power. This was why the
era Of world wars reopened in 1914
after a century Of world peace.
In 1918 we were saved from the
brink of destruction by America s
timely aid, In 1919 the victors assem-
bled in Paris with one clear object
III vieW-to secure that never again
should any great autocracy be able to
involve the world in war. They failed
and why? Because they ignored the
experience Of the 10th century that
world wars will not break out so long
as the free nations have a shield so
strong that no aggressor can think of
trying to pierce it. The victors of
the moment relied on measures for
disarming Germany and other poten-
tial aggressors, and for keeping their
possible enemies weak. In the plenti-
tude Of their power they forgot to
think whether twenty years after they
would still be strong enough to en-
force these measures. Within twenty
years Hitler tore up the Treaty Of
Versailles, reimposed construction, re-
armed Germany and reoccupied the
demilitarized zone; and no one lifted
a finger to stop him.
read this lesson and place on
record my belief that the peace of the
world will be kept only so long as
free communities keep themselves too
strong for any aggressor to think Of
attacking them. Peace is in jeopardy
so long as democracies rely on meas
ures for keeping their possible enc
mics weak.
After the peace the Dominions, with
the fullest cooperation of Britain, con-
centrated on measures to place the
sovereignty and independence Of each
Dominion on a clear legal basis. But
of all these governments, the only one
which was pledged to defend the EN-
pire as a whole, one quarter of man
kind, wherever attacked, was the Gov
eminent Of Great Britain and North
ern ireland. And, because that was so,
the British Government remained in
fact, whatever was said on paper, re-
sponsible for the foreign policy of the
Empire as a whole, for the issues in
volvng peace or war, for the sover-
eign Dominions as well as herself.
We, the people of the United King
dom, are now pledged under the At
lantic Charter to make such a peace
as can never be broken again, and also
to secure those measures of social re-
form, without which peace cannot last
two inseparable objects.
In these pamphlets l am asking my
fellow citizens to face the fact that no
government which commands re
sources limited to Great Britain and
Northern Ireland can hope to main