Evening star., 1943-12-28

val bCl III DCS,lIlS. D"'iu
Certainly also, no far-reaching plan
that would do what the League of
Nations or the BRAND kellogg
treaties allegedly failed to do could
be set up and operated and be as
sured of success in any IL or IS
month period such as will elapse be-
tween now and the end of the pres
ent presidential term.
Mr.. Roosevelt plainly expects to
be both President and Commander
IN Chief during the postwar period.
1t will be noted that he refers to
both titles. This is a most signifi-
cant phraseology. 1t may mean that
he intends to keep the British and
American chiefs of staff in actual
operation for long time after the
present war ends. For this, he
technically does not need any sane
ton from Congress. that is, any
treaty or agreement with Britain.
He needs only to function as Com
mander in Chief of the Army and
Navy. The title which he holds is,
under the Constitution, applicable
w pSaNSliiiiV 90 "Nll 1S w al OlllJC op-
erationS of the armed services. He
can issue orders for Joint function
ing of the British and American
services. Thus British American
military collaboration such as has
been carried on during the present
war can be used to maintain the
peace in the postwar period.
Thprp will no rNroctipa1 proI1 hr,,
to solve. of course, in which Con-
eresS will come into the picture.
Thus it will be necessary to renew
the lease-lend legislation and the
appropriation bills whereby America
continues as the arsenal of democ-
racy" in peacetime as we'll as war
time. For it is not to be assumed
that Great Britain will be fnan-
clally able to pay for any part OF
the immense army. navy and air
force which the United States will
keep active. She may need financial
help to keep her own huge forces
modified to maintain peace.
Mr.. RooSeveltS philosophy appar-
entity enviSionS a huge standing
army, the biggest navy and air
forces the world has ever seen in
peacetlme. He presumably believes
that the taxpayers of the world will
cheerfullv bear such burdens indef-
lntely even though the fleet and air
forces OF the aggressor nations have
been destroyed. their military chiefs
imprisoned and their armies demo-
blized.
But that's the philosophy of the
school Of thought which believes in
physical force alone and ridicules
moral fol ce as a possible concom-
liant OF armed might. The President
went out of his way to belittle the
efforts of the democratic nations of
the world to maintain peace by
voluntary methods between 1918 and
1888. He would have been on far
sounder ground if he had analyzed
the acts Of the democratic nations
which contributed to the economic
and social chaos in Central Europe
and thus gave Hitlerism its biggest
impetus.
Whenever President Roosevelt gets
back from a conference with Prime
Minister Churchill, he seems to ac-
cept the Churchill doctrine of force
and force alone. This seems to
ignore altogether the basic psy-
chologv and behavior of defeated
peoples and the natural indifer-
ence which grows up in democratic
nations when the enemy armies and
navies have been conquered and
rendered harmless After the last
war, the German feet was DESTROYED
completely and the army demobil-
lied. but the Allied nations never
carried out the treaty provision
which required international in
spection and full publicity of any
rearnament by Germany.
MI. RooSevelt's address on Christ
mas eve will need much amplifca-
ton and considerable buttressing if
1t is to become American policy, for
1t omltS altogether the possibility
that new League of Nations, with
a contributed military force, could
maintain peace, especially with
courageous statesmen at the helm
In Europe next time instead of will
O. the wlsp politicians.
Reproduction Rights ReservedD