Evening star., 1943-01-13

dpoue Vic pOSt- '*'.EE++ =
war world and David Lawrence.
methods Of keeping the peace COM
pletely miss the point.
This point is that the people do
not know what their governmental
representatives are saying till a
decade passes and that one depart
ment of the Government adopts a
hrm attitude, sometimes threaten
ing and sometimes implying threats,
and the country as whole doesn't
know that there is anything Of such
. grave nature going on.
The newspapers report the ups
and downs of negotiations, but Off
cial texts are rarely given out. Few,
for instance, of the notes that were
exchanged between Japan and the
United States over critical periods
were published. During the time
that many serious things were said
In informal conversations with
foreign ambassadors the American
people did not know that they didn't
have an Army or Navy or an Air
Force adequate to back up those
words.
President Must Lead.
If the President of the United
States-as the man who knows
everything that is going on in the
confidential relations between our
Government and other governments
doesn't assert his leadership in
order to build up the Army, Navy
and Air Force, the people as whole
cannot bring their influence to bear
TO support his requests.
An examination of the record as
given out in the white Paper"
leads to many query as to why
the President, who has shown him.
self such masterful radio speaker
and so successful a mobilizer of
opinion, did not see that the people
Insisted on more national defense
equipment being voted by Congress.
During the years that Hitler was
building up armament-he came
into Office in February, l933-the
United States was not only indiffer-
ent to the already demonstrated
lessons of air power. especially in
the Spanish Civil War, but the
United States Navy was not given
the aircraft carriers or the airplanes
or the cruisers or the battleships
needed to defend our interests in
the Atlantic as we'll as in the Pacific
Even in May, 1910, when total war
broke out, there was not the en-
phasis on defense that there should
have been and construction was
allowed to lag as the administration
emphasized social gains" while
strikes were at their height. SINH
larly the President a few years ago
made a spectacular fight to impose
the death sentence" on holding
companies in the utility field, but
he made no such aggressive fight to
get Congress to vote the armament
needed to prepare Americas Ge-
fenses. He could always become an
aggressive leader when he was in
the mood to take an issue to the
country.
1t is true, OF course, that the
United States leaned heavily on
Britain and France and assumed
that, because they were much closer
to the scene of possible trouble
Germany and Italy-those democ-
racies would be stirred to take
safety measures along large scale
lines. But it is apparent, on the
other hand, from study of the
white paper" that Japan wa,
counting on Britain and France and
even America becoming involved in
the European maelstrom and that
the leaders of the United States
did not awaken the people of this
country to the dangers of two
ocean war.
High Sounding Speeches.
So there's little use paying much
attention these days to high-sound-
ing speeches about world organ
ization to protect the peace wher
leaders refuse to risk their politica
lives to store their contry along the
right course. Thus it will be argued
that Mr.. Roosevelt would have beer
frustrated in Congress, and perhaps
even beaten in 1896, if he had made
an issue Of national defense. But
II he had been defeated on that
issue in 1896, he would have beer
returned by an overwhelming vote
in 1910. He would be in a fal
stronger position as the Nation:
leader today had he insisted on fac
ing a possible defeat in order te
carry through vital principle.
1t was Woodrow Wilson who once
said in a public address: Il woulo
rather fail in a cause that I know
some day will triumph than te
triumph in cause that know some
day will fail"
Until public men can adopt that
course. 1t seems futile to talk about
world organizations" to protect the
peace. Germany was completely
disarmed in 1918 and stayed that
way till 1888 period of Is years
but the United States, Britain and
France failed to keep Germany dis
armed, because the leaders of the
democracies refused to pay the price
possibly the momentary loss OF
their own posts, if they told the
truth and endeavored to rally their
countrymen to face the truth. Till
candor comes in public affairs, docu-
ments like the white paper" will
continue to tell tragic story of
lost opportunity and lost leadership.
tReprodustasn RIGHTS Reserved,